So What Faith

Greg Smith

My Visit to Covenant Presbyterian Church (#2271)

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This morning I was a first time visitor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City.

About Covenant

Formally organized in 1955, the congregation initially gathered in a dance studio at Casady Shopping Center. They moved to their permanent campus in 1972, which was then updated in 2005.

As Covenant celebrates 70 years of ministry in Oklahoma City they gather on Sundays for worship at 10:30am and are shepherded by Rev. Kathleen Luke, Interim Pastor.

Welcome

I arrived on the church campus about 15 minutes before the service and immediately noticed that the only parking lot was located behind the building. After parking, I watched where others were entering and followed someone who looked like a regular attendee.

Once inside, I easily found the path to the sanctuary. Along the way, I noticed bulletins laid out on a table and picked one up before taking my seat.

During the ten minutes before the service began, the congregation grew from just a handful of people to roughly thirty, including the minister. No one approached or greeted me during this time.

Worship

When the countdown timer on the screen reached 0:00, the pianist began a prelude to start the service. The large screen made it very easy to follow along as a newcomer, displaying everything I needed in a timely way, including the music for all of the congregational singing.

The order of service was as expected for a Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation with one variation: Bible readings. Rather than the assigned Revised Common Lectionary readings for Christ the King – the final Sunday of the church year – others were used. These included three Old Testament readings from Exodus (chapters 2, 18, and 24) and a New Testament reading from the 11th chapter of Hebrews.

Musicians (photo by Greg Smith)

The trio pictured above and a pianist provided instrumental leadership for music. Additionally, a soloist sang during the offering, accompanied by the piano. The man who played the piano practiced on the organ before the service, but to the best of my recollection did not play it during the service.

The children’s moment was the longest element of the service lasting 12 minutes or 20% of the service time. Rev. Luke engaged the six youngest disciples with a wide ranging discussion of the covenant between God and Moses, including educating them about the stained glass windows in the sanctuary. She ended this time by inviting one of the older children to read a prayer from an index card that the congregation repeated.

Rev. Kathleen Luke Preaching (photo by Greg Smith)

Surprisingly, the sermon was significantly shorter than the children’s moment – lasting nine minutes. Rev. Luke used this time to focus on the Exodus passages and their historical context with limited attention to its implications for the present moment. She did, however, encourage folks to come back next week when she’ll explore the new covenant.

Offering (photo by Greg Smith)

During the passing of the peace nearly everyone present greeted one another with most offering a handshake and a short greeting.

And, in keeping with the less formal style of worship, the pastor invited folks to name aloud prayer requests before offering the day’s pastoral prayer.

Rainbow Covenant Stained Glass Window (photo by Greg Smith)

Kudos

I commend this congregation for clearly valuing children. These young disciples were engaged beyond the children’s moment with one serving as the liturgist and another as the acolyte.

Additional Oklahoma Worship Experiences

My experience of worship at Covenant today was my sixth time to worship in Oklahoma this year and my tenth in the last two years. My prior experiences include: