 Every Tuesday afternoon at 5:15, seven women gather at the church. We put out the table runner with the
Covenant Discipleship logo that one made, the clock and talking stick; then we light a candle, and begin. Together, we read the preamble of our covenant and then take turns, with alternating leaders, sharing our experience of each portion of the covenant during the last week. At the end of the hour, we go around the circle again naming our prayer concerns for the week, holding hands and closing with prayer. This is Hope's first Covenant Discipleship Group.
For several months, I announced I was starting a Covenant Discipleship Group. Some of the women volunteered to join; some were invited. The group didn't begin meeting until six people were ready to commit with me. We cover three generations, from 30 to 70.
Our covenant follows the four basic areas in Covenant Discipleship: compassion, justice, devotion, and worship. Each week, we also discuss the obvious signs of God's promptings in our lives. Some areas are easier for us; compassion and devotion come more naturally than justice, although everyone is willing to be pushed in this area. We all agreed, for example, to pray daily for forgiveness because of those dying of hunger. The covenant did not indicate what we should do about hunger, only that we would pray.
But we've discovered that everything we pray about affects us deeply. So one
woman held a bead party, invited the group and friends, and raised $1,200 for a
village of women with HIV in Africa. Another prays this prayer with her family and noticed a change in their eating habits. One is contemplating becoming
a vegetarian, and another reports taking more care with her food and her meals.
Praying for one another has also been powerful. When one woman asked for prayers for her daughter, hospitalized during a pregnancy, we sent the daughter a prayer blanket we'd blessed. A few women accepted leadership positions in the church, mindful of prayerfully offering their service instead of just filling a need. I have learned to ask the group to pray for me and my life instead of only sharing the concerns of the congregation. Each week, we share how our prayers have evolved and demand more of our time or become more frequent or central to our day; each week it seems our concerns have shifted or resolved. "Something is
expanding in us," one woman remarked recently. "Our awareness of others, opportunities to be compassionate, our understanding of God's spirit with us are all growing."
I decided to start a Covenant Discipleship group after talking with Steve Manskar of the General Board of Discipleship. "What is the most powerful way for my church to grow in discipleship right now?" I asked. He answered quite quickly, "Covenant Discipleship." This one group is hopefully the first of many, but the ripples of compassion and change that are emerging from this one group of seven are affecting the congregation and the world in sure, quiet ways.
••••
The Rev. Michelle Hargrave is the Pastor of Hope United
Methodist Church, Duluth, Minnesota.
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