CLYDE, KS (August 6, 2010) – Gary Carlson, a member of the Brantford Evangelical Covenant Church, will serve as coordinator for the Midwest Conference’s partnership with Mountain Village Covenant Church in Alaska.

Carlson participated in two mission teams that traveled to the Bush village in 2009. The teams constructed a shed that serves as a workshop for members of the church and the community to repair four-wheel vehicles and snow machines.

Carlson is an industrial arts teacher and coach for Clifton-Clyde High School. He will help with planning projects for the ongoing partnership with Mountain Village.

Community Honors Volunteer – Designates Don Hintz Day

NORTHBROOK, IL – The Village of Northbrook has designated September 19 as Don Hintz Day in honor of the Covenant Village of Northbrook resident. He will be feted during the Chicago suburb’s Annual Shermerfest fall festival.

Hintz, whose family has lived in the community since 1856, was a charter member of the Northbrook Historical Society in 1974 and has served the organization in some capacity ever since. Over the years, Hintz helped document Northbrook’s history, working on a slideshow for the village’s 75th birthday and a book for its centennial.

Hintz has contributed numerous volunteer hours to Covenant Village and built the communion table and lectern for its fellowship center (top photo).

Covenant Village of Northbrook is a nationally accredited not-for-profit continuing care retirement community administered by Covenant Retirement Communities on behalf of the Board of Benevolence of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Schaumburg Church Growing Food for Pantry

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Covenant Church of Schaumburg is partnering with a local food pantry to provide the social service organization with 1,000 pounds of produce from the congregation’s “Half-Ton Garden.”

Food grown in the garden (lower photo) will assist families in need served by the Schaumburg Township Food Pantry. In 2009, the church provided 800 pounds of food to the pantry.

Congregation members often stay after Sunday services to tend and harvest the crops, which include eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes. The garden is in almost full sun, which has helped increase yields. Pantry officials say the produce is a big draw and recipients are grateful for the fresh food.

The church uses gardens to serve more than physical needs. The congregation also tends a prayer garden.

CRC Vice President Testifies Before Senate Committee

WASHINGTON D.C. – David Erickson, vice president of legal affairs for Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC), testified recently at a U.S. Senate hearing on transparency and disclosure of information in continuing care retirement communities.

Erickson represented the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) as well as CRC at the hearing, which was held by the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Erickson chairs an AAHSA task force addressing transparency and disclosure issues.

Covenant Retirement Communities has assisted in research by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which evaluates all retirement community accounting practices and provides regulatory oversight. That assistance included hosting GAO representatives as they did their study.

A recent GAO report had cited a western Pennsylvania retirement community with “Covenant” in its name as one that had entered bankruptcy. Erickson told the committee during the July 21 hearing that the facility was not one operated by the denomination.

“We operate our Covenant Retirement Communities with fiscal responsibility and strive for constant and complete communication with our residents about the management and stability of our residents,” Erickson testified. “That commitment extends to prospective residents as well. We feel it is our responsibility and duty to be transparent about our stability for their health and living needs as well as our financial stability.”