MINNEAPOLIS, MN (February 25, 2010) – More than 400 people celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) by focusing on themes that have been at the core of the movement from its inception – compassion and mercy.
The gathering Sunday night at First Covenant Church raised $6,100 to benefit relief and recovery work in Haiti. The money will be distributed through Covenant World Relief.
“I was deeply moved by the several hundred people that came from both Covenant churches and non-Covenant churches to pray and give on behalf of the people of Haiti,” said Dan Collison, lead pastor at First Covenant.
The theme for the Founders Day event was “Growing together in mercy.” The plight of the Haitian people following the January earthquake led the Northwest Conference to focus on responding to the tragedy.
“The people really responded to the emphasis on being a people of compassion and mercy,” says Jon Kramka, director of mission development for the Northwest Conference.
ECC President Gary Walter spoke. The First Covenant worship arts team led music and the Twin Cities Gospel Choir also performed.
The Covenant was founded on February 20, 1885, in Chicago, Illinois. The 125th Annual Meeting will be held June 24-27 in Minneapolis and will commemorate the Covenant’s founding.
See photos from the service by clicking here.
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I met John Kramka this past weekend at the Northwest Conference. He led a workshop on Exploring Community Missions. I’m trying to get a copy of a resource he had a photocopy of “Compassion By Design” by David Mills. I cannot find a copy anywhere – I tried amazon.com, even the website listed for the leader’s manual doesn’t work. I would really like an e-mail address so I could communicate with Pastor Kramka and get a copy of this manual. Thanks.