“O Divine Master”

Hello! My name is Rachel Kovacic and I am currently a junior at North Park University. My home is in Wilmette and I grew up attending Winnetka Covenant. I am volunteering as a Senior High leader and absolutely love it!

Winnetka Covenant has always been a place of comfort, love and acceptance for me. I am beyond blessed to have grown up with such a solid Christian community supporting me. I hope that by being a volunteer with the senior high I can give back to a place and group that has meant so much to me. A good friend from Winnetka Covenant showed me a prayer by St. Francis of Assisi about a year ago that I have since looked to for a basis of how to live a Godly life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love

Where there is discord, union

Where there is doubt, faith

Where there is error, truth

Where there is despair, hope

Where there is sadness, joy

Where there is darkness, light

O divine master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born into eternal life.

Amen.

This past semester I wrote a research essay on St. Francis of Assisi and was amazed by how godly he was. He not only blessed all the people he came into contact with, but all of God’s creation, including fish, birds and trees. I think that it is important for Christians to be like St. Francis in the way that he blessed all of Gods creation. God does not just call us to love others but we are also called to love the Earth. It is our responsibility to God to bring light, truth and hope to the many environmental issues. I especially love the small paragraph starting with “O divine master.” It is hard to not be selfish in a society that is centered around being independent, and this is a great reminder that we are to put others before ourselves.

Rachel Kovacic, Senior High volunteer

Rest

Hi there! My name is Hannah Hawkinson.  A few years ago, I had the privilege of volunteering as a leader for WCC’s junior high youth group, and I can honestly say that it was one of the greatest and most fun experiences I’ve ever had.  Nowadays, I’m a sophomore at North Park University, where I’m double majoring in Biblical and Theological Studies and English Literature.

As part of my Ancient and Medieval Philosophy class this semester, I re-read Saint Augustine’s Confessions, and, as always, it blew me away.  One sentence has particularly stuck with me these days:

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.

I don’t know about you all, but I have a lot of trouble resting.  The ceaseless pace of daily life is overwhelming, and I somehow fool myself into thinking that it is easier and better to succumb to the exhausting routines of school and work.

I can’t rest now! I tell myself.  I’m going to prove that I can handle all this, that I’m not weak.  Just one more day.

But, deep down, I know that true rest isn’t found good grades or in higher salaries or in anything of human origin.  To be sure, none of these things are bad.  It’s extremely satisfying to get an A on that test you studied so hard for, to beat your personal record for a mile time, or to get an outstanding performance review at work!  But, the fact of the matter is, the contentment and sense of finality that these things provide are temporary.

As Augustine writes, true and eternal rest is found in God.

So, as we continue to move through this hectic season of Advent, let us remember to rest in the arms of a God who neither slumbers nor sleeps, who so loved the world that he sent he sent Jesus into it, and who is waiting for us with open arms.

Hannah Hawkinson, Jr. High volunteer alum

Staking Claim

Hey! This is Ellie writing this week!

I wrote this poem a few months ago for a friend who struggles to know that we, her friends, love her. She is going through a lot and needs reminding that we love her, choose her, and in the words of one of my roommates, we claim her as our friend and sister.

I don’t really think my friend is alone in feeling that she is alone and unclaimed. I think we all wonder sometimes if there is a place where we fit and if there is a family or group that we really belong in. We have been studying Henri Nouwen’s The Life of the Beloved in High League this fall and I think this idea fits well with Nouwen’s belief that we, as Christians, are taken, blessed, broken and given. We need to know that God chooses us and that we belong in God’s family! We need to be reminded that we are chosen, loved, that we belong and that God has claimed us as God’s own, no matter who we are and no matter what we have done or left undone. And it is from that place of knowing that we are loved and claimed by God and God’s family that we can be broken and given too.

So. May you know that you are claimed!

 

You sometimes say the wrong things
And your motions show your deep, rooted uncertainties
That hold on to your beautiful mind
Despite your hard work
To see yourself with the truth.

But in spite of it all
Or maybe because of it,
We claim you.
You are ours.

And maybe our shared broken hearts,
Minds,
Souls,
And bodies
Can rest
And snap off the cords of those nets that hold us
In the territory of the unclaimed.

Maybe someday soon
We will know
That we too
are chosen.

 

Ellie VerGowe, High School volunteer

Identity

Hi everyone! My name is Kim and I have been volunteering with Winnetka’s Sr. High for the last few months, and I am having a blast. I have been working at Covenant Point Bible Camp for the last 2 years and just moved back home permanently about 2 months ago! More about me is that I enjoy being silly and making jokes, I know all the words to all your favorite songs, I am obsessed with honeycrisp apples and I have the high score in Nintendo Tetris at CPBC!

Since moving home I have been struggling to define who I am outside of Covenant Point, and it honestly took me by surprise that I was feeling so lost. I spent those 2 years at camp defining who I was and now felt like I was back to the beginning. *sigh* After spending a few weeks being sad, uncertain, exhausted and uncharacteristically quiet, I found my way back to the identity I worked 2 years to find by reading from a book Erik gave us. The book is called “Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership” by Ruth Haley Barton and there is a chapter on our calling that says:

Our calling is woven into the very fabric of our being as we have been created by God, and it encompasses everything that makes us who we are: our genetics, innate orientations and capacities, our personality, heredity and life-shaping experiences, and the time and place into which we were born. ‘Vocation does not come from a voice ‘out there’ calling me to be something I am not. It comes from a voice ‘in here’ calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood to me at birth by God.’

(A Spirituality of Calling)

It is pretty obvious that we have a lot of life left to go that will shape our identity, but exciting that God is in us guiding, supporting, challenging, and constantly loving us along the way.

Kim, High School volunteer

Leviticus 28:1* “Hang your towel with love”

A few weeks ago in the Adult Sunday School class, Paul Koptak was talking about Levitical Laws. That might not seem exciting, but he made one point that has stayed with me. He said that some of the distinctions and divisions in the purity laws – eat this kind of fish and not that kind of fish, do this and don’t do that – are meant to remind the people that they have been called apart and are meant to live differently. That making the right choice – even about small things – is important.

I think it’s important for two reasons. One, it reminds us that we have a choice and, two, it reminds of us of the relationships that define our lives. For the Hebrews, that meant choosing to keep the purity laws and the holiness code. It reminded them that God loves them and delivered them from bondage and was a way to return that love to God.

This lesson is changing how I see the small things in life and I have one example that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It might seem strange but it involves how I hang up my bath towel. I now share a bathroom with Christy and I know that she likes it if things look neat and tidy. Normally, I would just toss my towel over the bar but, recently, I’ve been taking time to carefully fold and hang the towel. I have a few observations to share that I think parallel the Laws of Leviticus and offers opportunity for challenge and reflection.

1. This act – in itself – is still meaningless to me. I have not developed a new preference for a neatly hung towel.
2. This act is tremendously meaningful to me because it reminds me of Christy and my relationship with her. It provides a simple opportunity to show my love to Christy.
3. Habits form you. Doing something regularly – positive or negative – shapes your mind and heart. I’d like to think that practicing this small act will prepare me for larger decisions in the future.
4. This could get hard. What happens when I’m tired? When I’m running late? When I’m mad at her? Will I have the resolve to stop, neatly fold and hang the towel, and choose to love her in this action?

I’d like to think I will continue my record of neat towel folding and hanging… but other stories in the Bible provide two warnings. First: those laws are hard to keep. I’ll probably fail at some point and need forgiveness and grace. Second, I might keep doing this action but miss the whole point. For the Hebrews, the point was to love God and love their neighbors but they often forgot about that. For me, the point of neatly folding and hanging my towel is to show my love and respect for Christy.

So my invitation is this: choose something to do everyday that will remind you of an important relationship. I don’t have any idea what that could look like for you – but I have a few ideas:

• Walk by a certain tree each day to remind you of God’s creative power.
• Wash your dishes everyday to remind you to love and honor your parents.
• Say a prayer each morning to remind yourself of people that matter to you.

Let me know your ideas – either via the comments or at church this week – and please ask me if I hung my towel neatly that morning!

Andy Meyer, Jr. High volunteer

*Lev. 28:1 isn’t a real verse.

 

Faith of a Child, Story of a Man

Hi everyone!  My name is Bobby, and if we haven’t gotten the chance to meet, I’m the new intern at WCC, loving it and can’t wait to meet you.

I’d like to share a story with you that has carried with me.  When I was about five years old, my mother spoke to me about the first steps of faith, and what being a follower of Christ is.  I had come home that day asking about religion because a friend at Kindergarten had bragged about being Catholic.  Though I’m sure neither of us understood the complexities or theology behind these titles, I went home and asked my Mom if I was Catholic.  She explained that she and Dad weren’t, but they were still Christians.  She explained that I could be a Christian too if I wanted and that it meant that GOD and Jesus would always be with me in everything I do, all I had to do was ask them to be in my heart.  So I looked towards the ceiling and yelled “GOD, JESUS, BE IN MY HEART!!!”

My Mom chuckled, took my hands and prayed with me, asking GOD to enter my heart.

This memory has stayed with me, though fuzzed around the edges by the passage of time, because it was the first step of my faith journey.  I had no idea the full extent or even what those words really meant, but that doesn’t make them mean nothing.  Over the years I went to camp and Sunday School and learned what it meant to be a true follower of Christ.  There were many trials along the way, some I prevailed through while others I stumbled upon, but I always came back to this truth; GOD and Jesus were with me, and so I would follow them.

Mark 10:14b-15 says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of GOD belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of GOD like a little child will never enter it.”  When a child believes, they believe fully and without doubt.  I have grown a lot since that day, as has my understanding of theology, scripture, the Church, and GOD, and don’t get me wrong, that is a good thing.  But even as I study all of this theology at North Park, it all seems to grow from a singular truth, that we must trust and believe in GOD fully and without doubt, and that is definitely not easy.  This steadfast belief though is what pulls us to GOD and gives us the desire to be closer to him.

This story is the seed of my faith; GOD given to my mother who planted it and nurtured it with the help of GOD, my father, my brother, my friends, and my Church family to grow my faith to where it is today.

What is a silly childhood story you remember that may have impacted your faith?

Where do you find your seeds?

One last thing about me, I love stories, and I’d love to hear yours.  Thanks to everyone at WCC for being so inviting to me, I pray that we may help each other grow.

Bobby Becker, Youth Intern

camp in spirit

Things are pretty good right now. I just graduated high school and the weather is finally starting to take a turn for the better. The only thing that has me feeling a bit down is that this summer, for the first summer since 4th grade, I won’t be going to camp. I know a lot of WCCer’s think of Covenant Point as “their camp”, but I have always gone to Cascades Camp in Washington. It feels so natural to go there every summer, and not being there at all will be a little odd for me. Camp always seems to facilitate a spiritual renewal and excitement for not only being a Christian but also getting more involved in God’s work. After last summer when I spent a month as an assistant counselor I really felt like I was conscious of what God had planned for me. I was happy with the direction of my life and already anticipating future time spent at camp.

Unfortunately, pretty early on this year, reality struck. I’m going off to school next year and it’s nowhere close to free. I had to go get a “real job” where you get paid more than 28 cents an hour. It was disappointing to have to tell all my friends at camp that I was taking this year off and realistically I may never see some of them again. This was when I decided I had to make a change and try to take something positive out of this situation.

I decided that I was going to live my life in Evanston a little bit more like I do at camp. I started actively seeking out spiritual conversation with my Christian friends and being more open about my faith even with people I knew to be vocally against religion of any sort. What I found was remarkable. As soon as I opened up to these people it was no longer weird or uncomfortable talking about faith with them. The only reason it had been so difficult was that I wasn’t confident enough in my beliefs to talk about them. I saw that when I was genuine with them they actually gained a new respect for me. It was a tricky step to take, but one that was well worth it.

I know that nothing can quite compare to the greatness and freedom of camp, but just because I’m no longer at camp doesn’t mean I have to regress back to my “Closet Christian” existence. Practicing this spiritual openness away from the comfort of camp has been a powerful way to dampen the blow that I won’t be returning until next year at the earliest.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be
ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth – 2 Timothy 2:15

I graduated high school against all odds

Henry, Jr. High volunteer

Spring is Here! New Growth Is All Around Us

As we have finally approached spring after a LONG cold winter, sprouts of green and new growth are all around us. This is a time of year I truly yearn for. While there is a bit to do with fertilizing, removing weeds, and trimming back overgrown hedges – the best part in my mind is planting new flowers and finding the right placement with ample sunlight and good soil. I feel like we all can apply a lot of these gardening comparisons to all of our lives as well.

1 Corinthians 3:6 says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” The world is full of seeds (people) that need to be watered with the good news so that the Lord can grow us into beautiful sprouts of life. Sometimes we find ourselves needing extra watering as perhaps we have surrounded ourselves with too many other vegetation (representing life’s distractions and hindrances), thus leaving us craving nutrition and hydration. This is when we need to be open to receiving the rich waters of Christ. Alternatively, perhaps we find ourselves as a flourishing flower – then we need to take the opportunity to plant new seeds in efforts to grow the kingdom. When planting these new seeds try and think of an environment where the new seed can thrive and absorb the sustaining waters.

With this beautiful growth made possible by God, it’s hard not to relate this to our lives. The hope found in the blossoming of flowers can open our minds to the world around us to help us not only in our gardens, but more importantly in our personal life. The more you can be absorbing and dispensing the waters of Christ’s good news, the better off you will be in the next season of life that you will encounter.

John, High School volunteer

College Stuff Sucks, But It’s Worth It in the End Because God Has a Plan

Hey! Chloe the junior high volunteer/current senior high participant here! I want to talk about something that many seniors in high school absolutely hate talking about – college. I used to hate talking about it, and then on April 27^th (decision day) I hated it even more. But now I love it. My entire journey of where I would end up next year did not go the way that I wanted it to, but I really believe that it’s proof of God’s plan for us.

Long story short: my parents and I visited schools last spring break, and I fell in love with three – Brown, Penn, and Yale, but most especially Yale. I applied there early action and was deferred, which meant that I would be considered in the regular round. I also applied to Brown and Penn in the regular round in the hopes I would get into one of the three. I put my heart and soul into every single application; hours were spent poring over them to make sure they were perfect. I felt like they described me as well as a college application ever could. My college counselor was pretty confident I could get into one so I didn’t apply to a lot of other schools. I was banking on getting into one of the three.

And guess what? I didn’t get into any. Three rejections from the only three schools I was seriously considering. I was heartbroken – the first week afterwards, I would sit in my room and cry. Most of all, I was embarrassed that I had tried for something and completely failed. I thought that the schools were rejecting me–not just as an applicant, but also as a person. I had put so much time into every application that I thought they really represented who I was, and to get an outright rejection from places that I had grown to deeply care about absolutely sucked. It sucked. It sucked it sucked it sucked.

As the days went by, though, I began to feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It wasn’t because I was rejected. It was because I realized how ridiculous I was being to mourn something I barely knew when other people, both around me and around the world, were the owners of much greater problems. I became more thankful for my house and for the fact that I have three meals a day and access to clean drinking water. I became more grateful for my parents and for WCC. I especially became even more grateful for my friends. They supported me better than I could have ever imagined: from nice texts like “Yale doesn’t know what it’s missing” to impromptu ice cream sundae parties. Sometimes I take things for granted because I am not used to hardship or failure. The three rejections really led to me being more grateful for what I have.

The main Bible verse that kept me going was Jeremiah 29:11. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” God came through for me on the actual college decision part. Good-enough financial aid came from a school in Virginia that my parents originally thought would be too expensive. I visited the admitted students day, and I fell in love with it. It’s called William & Mary, and I love it. I never thought I could say this on the day that I was rejected, but I can now: I am excited for college! So excited! It was a rollercoaster ride, but now I know that I was supposed to end up at W&M all along. I am going to a college that I love now, and I’m also more grateful for what I have. God has a plan for everything, even if you can’t see it when you’re in the middle of it. I never really believed that growing up, but I believe it now. Thank you for reading!

Chloe, junior high volunteer

 

 

struggling

 

I want to share a story with you that my dad shared with me. I don’t know who originally wrote it, but I like how it explains the importance of life struggles.

“Along a dusty road in India there sat a beggar who sold cocoons. A young boy watched him day after day and the beggar finally beckoned to him, “Do you know what beauty lies within this brown chrysalis?  I will give you one so that you might see for yourself.  But you must be careful not to handle the cocoon until the butterfly comes out.” The boy was enchanted with his gift and hurried home to await the butterfly. He laid the cocoon on the floor and then became aware of a curious thing. The butterfly was beating its fragile wings against the hard wall of the chrysalis until it appeared it would surely perish. Wanting only to help, the boy pried the cocoon open. Out flopped a wet, brown, ugly thing which quickly died. When the beggar discovered what had happened, he explained to the boy, ‘In order for the butterfly’s wings to grow strong enough to support him, it is necessary that he beat them against the walls of his cocoon. Only by this struggle can his wings become beautiful and durable. When you denied him that struggle, you took away from him his only chance for survival.’”

We all have struggles, and obviously it is not fun when we go through difficult times in life. What struggles are you dealing with right now? Are you struggling with friendships, family, school, self-identity, sports, believing, etc.?

I think it’s important to realize that our struggles can actually be good. There are situations I have been in that are frustrating and confusing at the time, and then I learn that my struggle actually helped prepare me for something else later. For me, many of my struggles happen to deal with work/teaching, and more recently learning how to be a good parent. One important thing that I need to remember is that everyone is unique and does life differently. God created us to be just as we are and therefore, we all have different struggles.

If we were always happy, we might start to think that we don’t need to rely on God and instead we may begin to think we can do life on our own. I know when I go through trials and struggles, that is when I realize I need help and I find myself turning to God more. God is my strength and he gets me through tough times, but sometimes I need to remember to go to God in the best of times. I like to think about these verses from James 1:2-4, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

So the next time you are struggling with something (because I assure you that you will), remember the story of the butterfly. Just as the butterfly needed to struggle inside his cocoon in order for his wings to become strong and to get the strength to survive, we too will have our own struggles throughout life, which will help prepare and build us up in to the people God created us to be.

Kari, High School volunteer