Food & Faith -
a PC(USA) Hunger Action Blog

Swords into Plowshares -
a PC(USA) Peacemaking Blog

We invite you to join us in service and mission.

At Covenant Presbyterian in Napa, we believe that God invites us to partner with God in serving and caring for all God’s children. Our Vision Statement emphasizes that we are called to serve God’s world “with energy, intelligence, imagination, joy, and love.”   So, we joyfully look for creative ways that we can serve the community together.

            Here are just some of our ongoing (or recent) opportunities for service:

• Serving hot meals at “The Table”:  The fourth Friday of every month, a team of Covenant volunteers cooks and serves a meal at “The Table” – a community-wide, hot-meal program for homeless and low-income persons in downtown Napa.
• Partnering with Salvador Elementary School:  Since 2005, members of the Covenant community have volunteered as tutors and reading-mentors at Salvador Elementary School, our neighborhood school. At the beginning of each school year, our congregation (led by one of our youth) also collects and donates backpacks filled with school supplies for the students at the Salvador School.
• Walking together in the Napa Valley AIDS Walk:  The Covenant community has a longstanding commitment to support persons living with HIV/AIDS through the Napa Valley AIDS Walk. For the past 5 years, Covenant has been the highest church donor and has had the largest number of participants in the Walk. In 2007, Covenant had 18 people participating in the AIDS Walk and raised $2,360 in donations.
• Supporting V.O.I.C.E.S. youth services:  In partnership with Napa’s V.O.I.C.E.S. program, Covenant regularly gathers household goods to help youth who are transitioning out of the foster-care system and into independent living.
• Collecting food and clothing:  In our church narthex, Covenant collects canned goods for the Napa Food Bank, and clothes for the Church Women United Clothing Center.
• Giving mission support through fundraisers like our holiday “Alternative Gift Market”:  As part of our mission outreach, Covenant hosts a holiday market of fair-trade gifts.  The proceeds of the alternative market go to support local, national, and international non-profit organizations.
• Traveling on mission trips:  In response to Hurricane Katrina, a group from Covenant traveled to the Gulf Coast to work on rebuilding homes in connection with the efforts of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
• Hosting a display of “The Shower of Stoles”:  Covenant Presbyterian Church has been proud to host “The Shower of Stoles,” a traveling display of liturgical stoles. As described by its national sponsor, the Shower of Stoles “celebrates the gifts of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgenedered persons who serve God in countless ways, while also lifting up those who have been excluded from service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

These are just some of the ways that we try and serve the local and global community. Come join us for any or all of these opportunities – and feel free to bring your ideas for other ways that we can serve together.