Dear Faith Family,

I’m currently in the final course of my Doctor of Ministry program through Fuller Theological Seminary—an independent study on the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. As part of this course, I have the incredible opportunity to go on a pilgrimage tracing the footsteps of Paul.

I’ll be visiting several key sites from Paul’s missionary journeys, including Philippi, Ephesus, Colossae, Athens, and Corinth. I’m especially grateful to be traveling with our brother Rick Wolff on this journey!

We’ll be traveling from May 16 through June 2, and I would deeply appreciate your prayers for safe travel, meaningful learning, and that God would guide me to a dissertation topic that serves both His Church and His Kingdom.

Thank you for your prayers and ongoing support.

In Christ,
Pastor Nate

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (From John, Immerse 425)

Have you ever Googled: What is a Christian? Or asked a group of people: What does it mean to follow Jesus? Hundreds of voices shout very different answers to these questions. Believe this! Do that! Follow me! Trouble is, quite a few of these voices sound angry and belligerent. It can be confusing, even frightening. To quote the old game show “Could the real Christ-follower please stand up?”

But during his last dinner with his friends, Jesus answered this question for us: Love one another. This, Jesus says, is how the world will know we are followers of Jesus. This will be the fruit, the sign, the proof. Love.

What does this love look like? That’s a fair question, and Jesus has that covered too: Love each other as I have loved you. Jesus said that while crouching on the floor, God-made-flesh in the lowliest position, Master and Teacher washing the feet of his students. Jesus spent his life putting aside status to adopt service, turning with compassion to the hungry, sick, afraid, and vulnerable. He confronted the greedy and those using God’s name to gain power for themselves. Soon he will go to the cross rather than be silent about God’s love or fight his enemies.

These, then, are our marching orders. Love. Love in the ways Jesus loved. This is how the world will know we are his. This is how the world will know him.  

What a mission, friends. Can we try this together? We’ll need each other every step of the way.

-Catherine McNiel

Celebrate the season with light & refreshing dishes made with spring vegetables & fruits Bring an entree, side dish, or dessert to share! Bring enough to feed 7-10 people.

Can’t contribute food? No worries, you can also make a donation. We will have a donation box at the church meal for cash or check donations, or you can click the link below and give online. Select "Give to Church Meals" in the dropdown box.

Jonathan Connors will be on paternity leave for the next few months. We are excited that the amazing Catherine McNiel will be our Interim Worship Coordinator while Jonathan is gone. You can connect with Catherine about any worship-related things. Email her at catherinemcniel@gmail.com.

May 18 marks the end of our 16-week Immerse: Messiah Bible reading journey! Whoo-hoo!!! Thank you all for participating. Over the past four months, we’ve read through the entire New Testament together, growing in faith, deepening our understanding, and discovering new insights about Jesus and His mission. On Sunday, the 18th, during the worship, we invite you to share how this experience has impacted you—insights that stood out, ways you’ve applied the readings to your life, or moments where God met you in the pages of Scripture. It doesn’t need to be polished—just honest and from the heart. If you would like to share, please let Pastor Zachs know by May 14 at outreach@faithecc.org or 331.236.0316.

Guiding questions for reflections:

1. What stood out to you during this journey?
2. Was there anything confusing or challenging?
3. Did anything change the way you think about God?
4. How might this experience shape the way you live?

Let’s celebrate together and encourage one another by reflecting on what God has done through Immerse: Messiah!

Join us for a joyful evening as we celebrate all that God has done at Faith Covenant over the past ministry year!
We’ll share a delicious catered meal, worship together, and hear encouraging testimonies and reports from every ministry area in our church.

To thank our amazing volunteers, we’ll wrap up the evening with a fun ice cream social.

RSVP is appreciated, but not required. Gluten-free and dairy-free options will be available. RSVP to Bethany Romero.

May 11 Last Youth Group
May 18 Last Sunday School; Church Meal
May 25 Start of Summer Schedule- worship will start at 10:00 am. 

**Worship will start at 10:00 am May 25-August 31**

More summer calendar details coming soon!

This year's All-Church Retreat is right around the corner. Mark your calendars for the first weekend of August, and check back soon for the registration and all the details! 

Custom Faith Covenant playlists coming your way! Follow our first playlist, "The Songs that Made Us," which includes all the songs you submitted to us. 

What kind of playlist do you want next? Let us know!

Please help us welcome guests by parking outside our parking lot. If you are able, please park at the Northwestern Medical building (we have permission to park there). See the diagram! Thank you for your ongoing help with this. 

Don't you love the sight of kids running around with whole loaves of bread after church? We need your help to continue providing Panera bread each week!

Sign up to help pick up the bread donations HERE.
Sign up to help wrap/package the bread on Sundays HERE.

Current Class: The book of Hebrews 
Teacher: Kevin Johnson
Dates: 5/4-5/11

Let us know how we can be praying for you or how God has been answering prayers in your life by clicking on the link below!

Prayer Requests:

• Praise the Lord for a good report on my routine 3-month brain MRI. The doctor said it looked fantastic without any new lesions, and my anemia is under control.
  I would like to request prayer for my right clavicle. Due to radiation it fractured three months ago. It has started to heal a little, but stopped healing about a month ago. There are a few options to try to regrow some bone to close up the fracture, but none of them hold a guarantee. So the doctor said, I may just need to live with this pain the rest of my life. I would really appreciate prayer that God would heal my collarbone completely. -Jean P.
• Please pray for me as I recover from my neck surgery on Monday. May I get the rest needed to heal. -Rita C.
• Prayers for students and teachers as we head into the final month of school. AP testing starts this week for the next two weeks, followed by exams shortly thereafter. Lots of stressors and grading for many of us. -Aaron H. 
• Please pray for mom, Eleanor, age 90, dying from pancreatic cancer. Ask for God’s wisdom and sustaining emotional and physical strength for my siblings and I as we provide care. -Marie A.
• Praise that I'm almost done with my first semester as a teacher! Prayers that I finish this semester well and keep up with the grading and planning that is required of me. Also, that I will be able to meet the needs of my students so that they are well prepared to finish this semester well, too. -Stephanie M.

Continue to Pray for:

• Sally & Gary H
• Ben H & family (find updates on Ben's CARING BRIDGE page)
• John & Wendy W

 Pray For Our BLESS people:
BLESS is the Covenant's approach to intentional prayer and evangelism. Listed below are names of people in your lives who you are praying would come to know Jesus this year. We are praying with you.

• Al
• Marie
• Brad
• Tyra
• Matt

Pray For Our Church Family:

• Phoebe P.
• John & Mary P.
• Megan P.
• Jean & Tom P.
• Mel P.
• Bonnie & Brad P.
• Barb & Mark P.

Pray For Our Missionaries/Ministries:

J & H’s work with Serve Globally MENA.

• Pray for logistics in the closing of our NGO organization.
• Pray for preparations for our international move to the US for home assignment in July.
• Pray for smooth transition and all details will come together well.

If you want to learn more about these missionaries and how you can support them, please talk with the missions team. For their safety and security, we cannot post more about the amazing work they are doing. 

The Care and Prayer Ministry Team prays for all prayer requests submitted through the digital and paper Connect Cards.  If you have an urgent prayer need, you can email careteam@faithecc.org or call Team Leader Rita Christensen at 630-835-8737.

Support World Relief as they navigate changes in their funding due to recent executive orders issued by our new administration. These changes impact both the critical services World Relief provides and those helping to provide these services.

Continue to keep their staff and clients in your prayers.

Week 16
Day 76 pp. 460-464 
Day 77 pp. 464-467 
Day 78 pp. 467-473 
Day 79 pp. 473-478 
Day 80 pp. 478-482 

Looking for the audiobook? Listen to this week's reading here: Immerse website, Spotify, or Apple Podcast.

May 8
Mark Torgerson
May 10
Pam Benda
Aaron Hayes
May 11
John Herpolscheimer
Toby Jacobson
May 12
Susan Aarseth

Wednesday (5/7)
Wednesdays at Windsor (12:00 pm)
Choir Rehearsal (7:15 pm)

Sunday (5/11)
Morning Prayer (8:45 am)
Sunday School (9:15 am)
Worship (10:30 am)
412 Youth (6:00 pm)

Wednesday (5/14)
Choir Rehearsal (7:15 pm)

Sunday (5/18)
Morning Prayer (8:45 am)
Sunday School (9:15 am)
Worship (10:30 am)
412 Youth (6:00 pm)

This week we continue our series Messiah with a sermon on Luke 14:25-33.

Sunday worship begins at 10:30 am. Join us in person or via live stream on Facebook or YouTube.

We have two assisted listening devices available at the sound booth every Sunday morning. Ask one of our sound booth volunteers if you would like to use one during worship!

The Community Board is a space for us to... 

Ask to borrow items
Give stuff away that’s useful to someone else 
Announce an event 
Have something to contribute? Send it to the church office: office@faithecc.org