FEATURE I Covenant Sunday 2022
Lieut-Colonel Jayne Roberts introduces resources for Covenant Sunday ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37–39) Loving Father, Your love for me is unconditional and unceasing. The depth of your love is beyond my comprehension, but today I respond to that love. As your love lives in me, may my thoughts, my words and my actions reflect you at all times and in every place. May my soul be a place where we meet – where all that I am becomes all that you want me to be in heart, mind and spirit. That in being one with you, I might see you, know you and show you in every part of my life. That in me and through me your Kingdom may come now. May this covenant of love draw me deeper and bring others closer to you.
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REPARATION for Covenant Sunday (9 January) began many months ago with conversation, planning and prayer that God would inspire the work of commissioning people to create a variety of resources for the territory. Immediately there was a sense of alignment with the ‘Love God, Love 4
Salvationist 8 January 2022
Others’ statement that identifies who we are and what we do. Major Andrew Bale (Southend Citadel and Southend Southchurch) has contributed teaching notes to inform sermon preparation or a small group study based on Matthew 22:33–40, the passage in which Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ (v37). This theme is also the focus of worship ideas, small group activities, creative prayer and resources for toddler church and children. The covenant card displayed on this page reflects a partnership between those who craft images and those who paint with words. Assistant Secretary for Personnel Major Julian Watchorn wrote the text shown on the left and I hope this beautiful prayer will help us respond to our Father God, who invites us to live in covenant relationship with him. Printed cards have been sent out to all corps in the territory for distribution. Covid-19 restrictions may mean that you do not receive your covenant card on the day, but it is worth waiting for – and worth keeping and reflecting on. The prayer card designed for children says: ‘Dear God, your love for me never ends, no matter what I do. The amount of love you have for me is almost too much for me to understand! I hope to get to know you better and show your love to others in everything I think, say and do. ‘I am going to write my name on this card to show that I want to be close to
you and always have you in my heart. Help me bring your love to this world and everyone in it. Amen.’ In his new year video message Territorial Commander Commissioner Anthony Cotterill encourages us to participate, whether Covenant Sunday is marked on 9 January, on a different day or at home. He says: ‘It’s for you. It’s the opportunity to stop and to breathe and to take stock of where we are on this journey, which we take together as followers of Jesus, as his disciples, as his apprentices.’ It is his prayer ‘that this will be a sacred life-giving, life-renewing moment for you’, which ‘will shape our commitment, will shape our words, will shape our actions for 2022 as together we move forward for the glory and praise of God’. We continue to live through challenging times but I hope that these resources will play a part in enabling each of us to flourish as we live out the gospel of Jesus and ‘Love God, Love Others’ in every aspect of our lives. O The TC’s new year message can be viewed at youtube.com/ salvationarmyvideo
LIEUT-COLONEL ROBERTS IS SECRETARY FOR SPIRITUAL LIFE DEVELOPMENT
