What a Feast in Green Lake, WI!
Pastor Greg's Message for July/August, 2008
36 Edgebrook Covenanters shared three days of life together at the beautiful conference grounds owned by the American Baptist Church in Green Lake, WI during the third week of June.  As you undoubtedly recall, the event we were attending was the Feast, the Evangelical Covenant Church’s triennial spiritual life retreat for the entire Covenant family.  

For about half our group, the Feast actually began a day earlier as eight bikers, accompanied by several other Feast attendees in three “Support and Gear” (SAG) vehicles headed out on our 2 day, 215 mile bike ride to Green Lake.  It was a challenging ride!  Two of our bikers (Charlie Mesimore and Keith Bakken) had to make trips to hospital emergency rooms following mishaps on the ride.  We encountered closed roads (due to flooding in Wisconsin), brief periods of rain and hail, massive hills and a 15 to 20 mile headwind the entire second day.  

But we made it!  Tremendous encouragement and refreshments from our “Feastrollers” (those who were in the SAG vehicles), much prayer and an awesome spaghetti supper prepared by the Feastrollers after the first day’s ride, carried the riders through.  All eight Feastriders (Blake Baer, Colin Baer, Chris Baer, Keith Bakken, Bruce Bakken, Charlie Mesimore, myself and Rollie Persson) were able to ride triumphantly through the gates at the Green Lake Conference around 8:30 PM on Saturday night, exhausted but also exhilarated!

We, and all our Edgebrook Feast participants, were renewed in both body and spirit by what followed!  We enjoyed three days of incredible worship, helpful seminars, quiet times of rest and fun times of recreation, and many serendipitous moments where we got to know one another better over a cup of coffee or a meal.  The best experience of the Feast varied for each of us, but I would dare say that all of us were glad, both personally and spiritually, that we made the commitment to experience together the Feast.

A highlight for me as your pastor was to gather together our entire group of 36 from Edgebrook Covenant on Monday evening.  We took over a part of the spacious dining area and ate as a church family together.  We also sat together as a group for the worship that night.  Part of the evening’s service included a three minute video of our Feastriders bike adventure that was filmed and produced by the Covenant Church.  Following that, I had the privilege of sharing a testimony about what the Lord had done in my life at the last Feast (in 2005) and why it was so important for me to get as many people from our church to go to this year’s Feast as possible.  

Let me encourage you to seek out a 2008 Feast participant and talk to them about the experience.  And start praying and planning now for making the Feast 2011 a part of your life!

Hello!  Mbote!  Shalom!  Hola!  Hej!  Bonjour!  Aloha!
The greeters’ schedule for August is:
8/3 – Wayne and Vicki Hanson
8/10 – Steve and Linda Fusek and family
8/17 – Mary Coleman and Maureen Pankow
8/24 – Steven and Melissa Velez Luce
8/31 – Shirley Sowell and Ginny Ware

Thank you all for your warm and welcoming presence!

Shower Time
All ladies are cordially invited to a bridal shower for Jennifer Hanson on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 11:OO AM in the Chapel. Jennifer is registered at Crate and Barrel and Macy's.  Hostesses are Mary Doucette, Lois Janken, Gail Sshimpff, Ginny Ware and Judy Whipple.  If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Mary Doucette by August 12, 2008 at 630-800-1888 or edgebrookmichael@comcast.net

Good News!  A Good News Community Kitchen (GNCK) Update
Volunteers from Edgebrook Covenant Church helped serve a healthy supper to those at the GNCK on Saturday, June 7th. Thank you to all who contributed toward the cost of the food.  A special thanks to Randy and Jason Nelson, Tom, David, and Katy Patterson, Charlotte and Charlie Messimore, Nancy and Michael Senatore for helping to serve and clean up.

Missed the chance to join us in June? Never fear! We will be returning to the GNCK to serve dinner on Saturday, August 2nd and would love to have you there! Please contact Tony Senatore if you would like to volunteer.  If you cannot attend but are interested in contributing financially, you may write checks to Edgebrook Covenant Church and mark ‘GNCK’ in the memo section.  Most importantly, please continue to pray for this exciting new outreach ministry!

Just in From ECC Headquarters
A recent letter to Edgebrook from ECC President Glenn R. Palmberg and Executive Vice President Donn N. Engebretson included the following excerpt:

“This past year, your church increased its giving to Covenant Shared Ministry (our coordinated budget) by over 20 percent. This is a very significant increase, and we are deeply appreciative. In 2007 (Covenant fiscal year from February 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008) your church gave $13,000 to the Shared Ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church, compared with the $9,000 your church gave in 2006. Your church also gave $5,277 to other important ministries of the ECC in 2007. We understand that the support of your church for our shared ministry is in large part a result of your commitment and leadership, and we are deeply grateful. Together, our gifts are transforming the world. Together we are being the hands and feet of Christ in our world

Covenant Women Visit Japan
A group of seven Covenant Women, traveling under the Cross Cultural Opportunities program of Women Ministries, spent one week visiting our Covenant missionaries and Japan Covenant Churches from May 11-19.  Promotional material on the Women Ministries website stated that “The purpose of these trips is to provide women an opportunity to use their unique gifts in a cross cultural ministry while connecting with team members from across the denomination.”  

This particular team focused on prayer and cultural experiences.  During their stay they visited each of our mission families and spent time learning about our work and praying for our ministry and personal needs.  

The PACE (Prayer and Cultural Experience) group arrived in Kuki on Saturday afternoon and spent the next two days with our International Bible Fellowship and Kuki Grace Church congregations.  Rather than focusing on the cultural aspects of our community they went right to work praying for several of our church families who were in crisis. They also prayed for key institutions that have played an important role in our ministry. Takagi Hospital and Akebono Kindergarten have opened their doors to our church people and we asked our prayer team to bring their unique needs before the Lord.  We have welcomed many different types of mission teams to Japan, but the ministry of this team was specifically focused on prayer.

At each juncture, these wonderful servants applied their gifts and committed themselves to a ministry of prayer that will have long lasting fruit.  Our people were blessed in showing hospitality and their hearts were opened to welcoming strangers.  Prayer makes a difference and we saw it at work in the hands of the PACE Team.  When our oldest granddaughter, Lauren, needed help on a difficult Algebra lesson in preparation for a final test before leaving for the U.S., one of the team members, Anna, stepped in and offered to take time away from prayer to go over Lauren’s questions.  Anna is a high school math teacher and was able to help Lauren prepare for her test.  She had no way of knowing how great Lauren’s need was, but the Lord brought need and supply together in a beautiful way.  Prayer opens the door to action.

Blessings Tripled - Covenant Missionaries at Edgebrook
Over a period of just six weeks, our congregation will have received visits from five of our missionaries representing ministries on three continents!  We were delighted to host Carl & Karen Groot, our Covenant missionaries to Thailand, over the last weekend in June.  Some 15 Edgebrook Covenanters joined the Groots for ice cream sundaes and s’mores at the parsonage on Saturday.  On just a perfect summer’s evening, we were able to hear the latest about the Lord’s work and presence in the Groots’ lives and ministries.   The next day (Sunday), many Edgebrook Covenanters purchased hand crafted bags made by women who work at the Abundant Life Center in Thailand.  This micro-enterprise is one of the ministries Carl and Karen work with in Bangkok.  Our purchases totaled over $600. that day!  (The remaining ALC bags will be available for purchase on select Sundays throughout the summer.)

On the last Sunday in July (July 27th), we will host Jerry and Vicky Love, Covenant missionaries in Puebla, Mexico.  The Loves will be sharing in morning worship and also at a special luncheon gathering immediately following worship that day.  Don’t miss this opportunity to hear these faithful servants as they reflect on God’s goodness and work over 31 years of missionary service!  The Loves are retiring to Portland, Oregon in October 2008 and this will possibly be our last opportunity to hear from them.

After the service, we will be hearing more from Jerry and Vicky and honoring them at a special “Meet-n-Eat Taco Fiesta” luncheon, hosted by the Missions and Evangelism Committee downstairs is Fellowship Hall.  Please join us.

The following Sunday (August 3), the continent of Europe will be represented as we welcome back to our congregation Pia Restrepo, Covenant missionary (along with her husband Eugenio) to Spain.  The Restrepos made Edgebrook Covenant their “home church away from home” while they were in the United States obtaining their U.S. citizenship.  We are delighted to hear what God has been doing thru the work in Spain since their return to that country a year ago.

(One last minute update…we may have an opportunity to hear from Nick Bruckner, our short-term missionary to Alaska.  Be watching your bulletin for details!)

What a joy to share in God’s kingdom work around the world with these faithful servants!

A Letter from the Clausons
"I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvelous works." Psalm 9:1

God is amazing and has shown Himself to us and our whole Foundation staff team by answering two prayer requests that we shared with you in our last update, and the answers are truly miracles.  Please give thanks to God with us for these two things:

You've been praying for our friend and colleague Carlos Barragan and his fight against cancer.  The following was his message to prayer partners after receiving the results from the evaluation of five months of chemotherapy:
'The mercies of God are new each morning and give me strength to wait in Him.'  (Lamentations 3:22-24).  I was prepared to accept whatever the results may show.  But the Lord my God delivered the surprise that surpassed my expectations: the cancer has disappeared.  According to the doctor, my situation had been severe at the beginning of the treatments as my entire lymphatic system was infected with cancer; he was legitimately surprised by the results as he is a bit of a skeptic.  Words seem insufficient to express the importance and significance that your prayers have been for me and my family.  The good news I am sharing with you is in large part a product of your faithfulness to intercede for me before our God. Thank you to each and every one of you for being the body of Christ that ministers to so many people in need such as me.  I believe God hears your prayers.

Please continue to pray for Carlos' continued recuperation and healing after chemotherapy.

What seemed impossible to us, God proved that all things are possible for those who put their trust in Him, and that is exactly what Brian and Kerith Weld have been doing for the last few months.  After months of dealing with Kerith's US visa issues and having been told it would be impossible for her to come back to Mexico until she was granted citizenship, God made a way.  It appears that the Weld family will be able to stay in Mexico while Kerith works on her US citizenship!  We praise God for this amazing answer to prayer!

Additionally, God is answering our prayers for the community ministry that reaches out to youth and women in two lower income communities.  We are very excited about the VBS that we will be offering in partnership with a California church for the kids and teens from the English Club this week.  Many of them haven't been invited to commit their lives to Christ, so we ask that you would pray that this VBS would bring them to a decision or closer to deciding to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Pray also for the implications of kids accepting Christ will have on our ministry, like looking for ways to disciple them and invite them into a church.

Please join us in prayer for these additional petitions:

• Please pray for Monica and Josefina, the women Erika is meeting with to study the Bible and pray together.  Pray that they may come to know Jesus as their Lord, Savior, Friend.
• Please pray for Lisandro and Patty Restrepo, who will spend six months on home assignment connecting with churches.  Pray that this would also be a time of rest for them.
• We continue to have the privilege of serving together in ministry and at home.  While this is a huge blessing for both of us, it also presents a challenge in time management and learning how to enjoy each moment God gives us whether teaching an English class at the Foundation, discipling a friend, cleaning up after we've put the boys down, balancing the Mexico mission budget, planning a staff meeting, translating, taking a walk with the boys, worshipping in church or praying together as a couple or family.  Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we continually seek the proper balance of how to be good stewards of our time and resources.  Please also pray for our walk with Jesus to remain fresh and alive as individuals and as a family.  

Thank you for your partnership in ministry especially through your prayers!  God is a God who delights in answering our prayers!

Our love and blessings,
Erika, Nils, Matías and Lucas

CYAK Salmon Dinner is Coming!
Come join us at North Park Covenant Church for a ministry presentation by Covenant Yourth of Alaska on Covenant missions in Alaska.  Dinner of wild Alaskan salmon will be at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, September 3.  All churches in the North District of the Central Conference are invited.  Please RSVP to your local church by August 27.

Update from the Restrepos in Spain
MALAGA,  SPAIN (July 9, 2008) – The recent baptisms of 10 people during a service of the Comunidad Cristiana Parque Victoria (Parque Victoria Christian Community) alongside the Mediterranean Sea reflected the impact of the congregation’s holistic ministry and became a witness to people in the area.

“People from the community stopped playing, walking, and talking along the beach to see what was going on,” says Karen Hallberg, associate director of mission mobilization and connection for the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission. “A young family, curious about the baptism, asked members of the church to pray for their sick child.”

Four Covenant missionaries serve at the church. Eugenio and Pia Restrepo are long-term missionaries; Erin Neises and Katy Kerl are short-term missionaries.

Nearly 150 people gathered under a tent on the beach for the service. Among the attendees were 14 members of a youth mission team from Bellingham Covenant Church in Bellingham, Washington.

Curious beachgoers watched and listened as the congregation sang songs of praise. Pastor Juan Carlos preached from John 3, and individuals gave witness of their desire to be baptized. Blue skies, cold water and big waves added to the experience.

Non-traditional ministries have helped the church reach out to the community. Among the baptized was a Pilates instructor at the fitness center the church operates. Others baptized included two young men who have struggled with drugs, a young mother finding healing from a past filled with violence and abuse, and an 11-year-old boy reached through soccer connections.

Greetings from North Carolina
Hi Greg,
It was so good to see you down here, and to catch up a little. I think often about the family at Edgebrook.  Please pass on our love and greetings to all, and especially to the dear ladies from the ladies’ Bible class!

We are excited to announce we are expecting our second addition sometime early February!  Wow!  We are excited, and Owen will be a great (and active) older brother. We are also excited that I have been put forward as the candidate for Associate Pastor of Adult and Family Ministries here at trinity.  The congregation will vote to affirm the call by the board on July 13th.  We are very excited about what the Lord has been doing here over the last year, and feel confident of the work of the Holy Spirit in making this call to us.

Grace and peace,
Olaf, Kristen and Owen ( and #2!) van der Klashorst

Help Wanted
Rob and Angie Lyke are moving and need your help!  Rob and Angie will be moving on Tuesday, August 19 from 3343 W. Hollywood Avenue to Sheboygan, WI, where Rob will start his internship at Zion Covenant Church.  We are in need of someone to help load the truck.   If you are available at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, August 19 and would like to help, please call Rob or Angie at 773-279-0124.

With Thanks
To our dear church family,
Thank you for the many, many kind expressions of love extended to us during Rich’s illness and at the time of his death.  Your prayers, cards, flowers, and gifts comforted us and reminded us of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.  Each day we thank our Father for the gift of family we have found in the people of Edgebrook.  May He continue to bless us and keep us in his care as we travel this pilgrim journey.
With all our love,
Bunny and Chuck Hughes

Dear Crafty Angels,
Thank you so much for the beautiful prayer shawl.  You have no idea how much your love and thoughtfulness has meant to me and how much it has helped me during this time of physical disabilities and the loss of my sister.  Thank you again for your continued prayers and concerns for me.  – Judy Porm

In Search of a Webmaster
We need YOU to be the new webmaster!  The webmaster is in charge of updating the church website weekly.  Imagine…a way you can help our church and introduce others to our ministries…all from the comfort of your own computer!  Must be comfortable using a computer and the internet, and willing to learn some new skills.  It is helpful if you are comfortable using Microsoft Word.  Interested?  Please fill out the blue card in the pew rack or contact Jennifer Reed at 773-631-6886 or the church office at 773-763-4230.

Edgebrook Womens Ministries Update
The Edgebrook Women Ministries Board wishes everyone a safe and happy summer.

We enjoyed having such a nice group for our picnic on June 10, and were glad we could present Cornerstone ministries and Sue Heis with a $750.00 check for the Hannah House Project  (5 dressers).  Sue also took sometime to explain to us some of the other projects.  Cornerstone is the only ministry that keeps families together, they come with nothing and everything is supplied to them.  So if you have gently used linens, towels, sheets etc. bring them to church, what is old to us is new to them and greatly appreciated.

Another highlight of the evening of our picnic was presenting Ethel Mae Gundlach, with a Women Ministries Recognition pin for her many years of service not only to our church but the women’s group at large, Ethel Mae and her family have been members of Edgebrook since 1953, I am sure many of us have some very fond memories of those years.  We were delighted her daughter in-law Janet Gundlach could join us for the evening and the presentation.

There were two birthdays for the month of July, at the Leland House and the women were very thankful for being remembered .

We have a SAVE the date event coming up September 7, 2008 Celebration Sunday, the women’s group is sponsoring a luncheon after church, and want to welcome everyone to join us for this event.

Once again, we thank everyone at Edgebrook for their very generous giving.