THEOLOGY - continued

Covenant, 3rd paragraph - continued

In The Covenant of The United Church of Los Alamos the word “covenant” is used twice, once in the first paragraph and again in the last paragraph. In both cases it is used as a verb and not a noun. That is, “covenant” is an action we promise and take. In the first paragraph we covenant to know Jesus and do his will, to respond to God’s grace. In the third paragraph that promise becomes even more concrete as we covenant to be a part of the church. That promise is spelled out in four specifics.

First, we promise to uphold the church with our prayers. Prayer is a means of speaking with and listening to God. It is a means of opening our innermost selves to God (and consequently to ourselves) and listening for God’s Word to us. Prayer takes the forms of confession (honestly recognizing faults and failures), thanksgiving (praise to God), petition (thoughts for others) and contemplation (resting in God). We pray alone and in fellowship with others; we pray silently and aloud. In such ways our prayers uphold the church, remembering the church is “the people of God.”

Second, we promise to attend the church’s services. We believe that worship is important. The basic emphasis in our worship is seen in the furnishings that dominate the sanctuary: the pulpit and lectern, the communion table and the baptismal font. We wrote earlier of the Bible. The Bible is typically read from the lectern. The sermon, preached from the pulpit, is an exposition or interpretation of the scriptures. The sermon most often is at the center of our worship. The hymns, anthems, prayers and other parts of the service reflect the scripture. It is in the service of worship, gathered as God’s people, that we hear God’s word for us.