Church Helps Feed Students During Summer

LAFAYETTE, IN (May 29, 2013) – The Evangelical Covenant Church will be one of three sites in the community that will host the Summer Food Service Program, which makes certain that young people ages 18 and younger receive meals during their three-month break from school.

The church will serve dinner every Thursday night from June 13 through August 8.

Sponsor sites are able to make their own food or purchase it locally and then file for reimbursements from the state. The sites will serve food to all youth, regardless of income.

The program is operated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Service Program. Indiana has at least 800 sites statewide providing meals to children.

Lack of nutrition during the summer months may set up a cycle for poor performance once school resumes in the fall, so maintaining good nutrition is important for academic achievement as well as warding off other health issues, according to the USDA.

The program is operated throughout the United States. Churches that are interested in being sponsors can visit the USDA website.

Congregation Celebrates Blessing of the Bikes

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (May 29, 2013) – Abbey Way recently conducted a blessing of the bikes ceremony as part of a larger worship service.

The congregation has many members who commute to work, including several who do so all winter. The congregation prayed that all riders – including children on their tricycles – would have fun on their bikes, but also would be protected.

The blessing service wasn’t directly related to a previous incident, but one of the members suffered multiple fractures in a severe collision while commuting to work more than a year ago and still is recovering from the multiple surgeries related to the accident.

Swedish Denomination Adopts New Name

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (May 29, 2013) – The ecclesial body formed by the merger of the Covenant Church of Sweden, the Swedish Methodist Church, and the Swedish Baptist Union, has adopted its new name – Ecumenical Church.

The church has operated under the name Common Future since the 2011 vote to merge.

The Covenant Church of Sweden is the sister denomination of the Evangelical Covenant Church, both springing from the Pietist movement that began within the German Lutheran Church.