February 1, 2026
Beloved of God,
We are returning to a tradition at Covenant to have the Pastors’ Annual Report be the front page letter of our monthly communication (formerly called The Chimes). Here is the report:
Most of us know that God loves us.
But do we know whether God likes us – “likes” us in the sense that (as several scriptures, such as Psalm 147:10-11, put it) He takes “pleasure” and “delight” in our character and conduct?
Most of us know that God loves our church.
But does the Lord like Covenant?
Certainly, He can like a church that is imperfect and still has room for improvement.
Even if He already “likes” us a lot, He could like us even more if, say, we more consistently interacted with one another with kindness and sensitive considerateness, and we increased our active concern for those living at a distance from God and thus missing out on the blessings closeness to Him brings.
We believe that God finds deep delight in the joyful reverence of our worship, in the mutually supportive friendships our fellowship fosters, in the spiritual growth and imitation of Christ our discipleship and educational efforts nurture, and in the generous and diligent service we provide for the community and for any in need (whether within the church family or beyond the church family).
We must, by the way, tell you how often people outside of Covenant express astonishment as to how much a church of our size, and with the challenges of our location, does to help and uplift others. What is obvious, and even impressive, to many is that we are a church that tries hard to give its best in every way it can.
We do well to thank God for what He has accomplished in and through us thus far, even while we continue to prayerfully persevere in pursuit of the fulfillment of His further dreams for our future. That’s not so much a matter of programming as our doing what we do with the right attitude and in the right spirit.
It is attributed to Mother Teresa to have once said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
This year, 2026, is our “today”. Let us remember that today is the first day of the rest of our lives; and, with this present opportunity, apply ourselves to embody to each other, as never before, the presence of Christ in all His loving magnanimity, and to seek to help still others, as never before, find their way into an ever-deepening friendship with Christ in all His generous grace.
While 2025 was, for many different reasons, a year that wore down and wore out the two of us, we both love and like Covenant very much, and we have been renewed in the Holy Spirit with an excited expectancy over what God has in store for Covenant in its dedication to making, throughout 2026, new disciples of Jesus and stronger disciples of Jesus.
Blessings on you, our dear church family,
Pastors Adele & Rob Langworthy
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