Every Sunday after worship, we gather for coffee, hors d'oeuvres, and great conversation in Metzger Fellowship Hall. Members and friends of the congregation take turns bringing food for fellowship hour, and everyone is welcome to come and linger. Fellowship Hour is a great opportunity to spend time with your friends and visit with new friends.

A new fellowship opportunity for Covenant-First members and friends in their fifties and/or sixties began on October 11, 2008! This new group is designed to provide fairly frequent fellowship opportunities for those born between 1939 and 1959. Future events will include be both fun and serious, and all events will provide opportunities for deepening friendships in our church family. Interested? Contact John or Mary Jensen or Ken or Debby Welsh.

Following worship each year on the Sunday closest to Independence Day, join us across the street in Piatt Park for Sundae Sunday. It's a great day for socializing with family and friends, featuring ice cream sundaes and homemade cookies. We hope to see you there July 4, 2010. For more information, contact Mary Jane Mitchell, 513-574-6937.

Our next family night dinner is our traditional Chili Cookoff! This year's event is set for Friday, February 26, with dinner at 6 p.m. Chili cooks may enter their favorite recipe in the contest---may the best cooks win! If you don't want to bring chili, you may also contribute sandwiches, desserts, or $5/person. Watch for RSVP sheets in the Sunday bulletin, or contact Rob Heidenreich to sign-up.

Our evening continues after the dinner with a concert by the Augustana College Choir, beginning at 8 p.m. Augustana College is located in Rock Island, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The Augustana Choir has established a tradition of excellence in performance of a cappella choral literature, and has performed in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, and sings regularly in churches of various denominations and on concert series programs. Founded in 1869, the college is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Designed especially for parents with young children, Parents' Night Out is when we open and staff the nursery on a Friday or Saturday evening so moms and dads can spend the night out---for dinner, shopping, or maybe just a long walk around downtown. Watch for upcoming PNOs later this fall and winter. Children should be fed supper before being brought to the nursery. To help offset the church's costs, there is a $10 fee per family. Watch for information in the Sunday bulletins. Contact either Pastor Wright or Rob Heidenreich with any questions.

The Covenant Courier is our monthly newsletter. It contains inspiration, announcements, upcoming events, prayer needs, artwork from our children, birthdays, and information and updates from our mission partners. Genita Heidenreich is editor, and submissions are due to her by the last Sunday of each month. If you would like to add your name to the mailing list, please call the church office (513-621-4144).

Enjoy knitting? Longing for fellowship with other church women? The Covenant Purls meet monthly for knitting and conversation. Dates, times, and locations are announced each month in the Courier and Sunday bulletins. For more information, contact either Shirley Swisher or Nancy Hobstetter.

Sponsored by the Covenant-First Board of Deacons and coordinated by Amy Evans, the Food Tree ministry provides home-cooked meals for church members in times of need (e.g., following the birth of a baby, following a hospital stay, etc.). This is an increasingly important ministry at Covenant-First, and more helpers are needed. If you are interested in becoming a “volunteer cook” or would like more information, please contact Amy Evans (513-576-0460).

We hope you enjoyed our third annual conference led by Dr. Marva Dawn. All three of her sermons can be found on the Sermons page.