(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
Nov 06, 2025
Be the Church — Everywhere: turning compassion into groceries, meals, and hope.
“As people of faith, we remember that feeding hungry people was central to Jesus’ own ministry. When he broke bread and shared fish with the multitudes, it was more than an act of compassion, but a living expression of God’s love and justice. Our response today follows that same call.”
— Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
This week, Holy Covenant’s Endowment Ministry Team approved a $10,000 gift to Nourish Up, a Charlotte nonprofit working at the front lines of hunger in our community. The organization reports a sharp rise in demand as SNAP benefits face disruption and cuts, with visits across its pantry network up by roughly 20% in recent weeks. (Charlotte Observer)
Nourish Up—formerly Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays—rebranded in 2024 but continues the same mission: to nourish our neighbors with food and compassion. As Mecklenburg County ramps up emergency support while federal aid remains uncertain, local partners like Nourish Up are scaling operations to meet urgent needs for families, seniors, and children.
Mecklenburg County alone has approximately 138,000 SNAP recipients, according to The Charlotte Observer, underscoring the magnitude of this hunger crisis. County officials have committed $740,000 in emergency support to local food programs as partners like Second Harvest Food Bank, Crisis Assistance Ministry, and Nourish Up work in tandem to serve those most affected.
Why give cash instead of canned goods? As noted in Observer reporting, food banks can purchase in bulk at wholesale cost, acquiring exactly what’s needed—fresh produce, proteins, and dairy—far more efficiently than individual donations allow. Cash gifts stretch resources and reduce sorting, storage, and waste.
This gift expresses our congregation’s call to love made visible—standing with vulnerable neighbors, responding quickly to real need, and partnering with trusted community organizations. It’s how Holy Covenant lives our mission beyond our walls and into the city we love.
Our thanks to the dedicated members of the Holy Covenant Endowment Ministry Team, whose stewardship and generosity made this gift possible:
Together, their leadership ensures Holy Covenant’s endowment continues to grow, serve, and make tangible impact in our wider community.
Your gift helps purchase nutritious food at scale—right when and where it’s needed most.
Learn more:
Nourish Up (pantries & Meals on Wheels) •
Charlotte Observer Article •
Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina •
Crisis Assistance Ministry
#HCUCCEverywhere #ProgressiveClergy
Aug 22, 2025
As part of our ongoing commitment to justice and compassion, Holy Covenant’s Mission & Justice Ministry invites you to join our 2025 Back-to-School Supplies Drive. We’re partnering with the Classroom Central to collect much-needed items that will support local students and educators as they prepare for a new school year.
Now through August 31, bring your donations to the church. All collected supplies will be delivered to the district for distribution to schools with the greatest need. With back-to-school sales happening throughout July and August, it’s a great time to stock up and give generously!
Let’s equip our young neighbors for success and start the school year with love in action. Thank you for being part of this community-wide effort!
Justice begins with a sharpened pencil and a willing heart.
Aug 07, 2025
DON’T DARE READ THESE BOOKS!!!
Holy Covenant is joining the 2025 UCC General Synod by establishing a Banned Books Lending Library. Check it out in the Gathering Room this Sunday, and get them while they’re hot!
https://www.ucc.org/ucc-offers-resources-in-the-battle-against-book-banning/
Imprisoned people are underserved in nearly every way imaginable. The Prison Books Collective is one powerful way we can help counteract that injustice with compassion, dignity, and meaningful connection.
This North Carolina–based organization sends over 1,000 books and educational resources each year—completely free of charge—to people who are incarcerated and cannot afford them. These resources provide more than information; they offer joy, relief, and a critical sense of connection to the outside world. They support both personal growth and reentry preparation.
Holy Covenant’s Missions & Justice Team is now collecting gently used paperbacks for this important cause. A collection shelf is available in the Gathering Room.
📌 Please Note:
📝
Click here for a printable book donation list
Thank you for helping us bring light, learning, and dignity to our neighbors behind bars. At Holy Covenant, we believe that justice includes education, restoration, and the sacred act of remembering those the world often forgets.
Jul 01, 2025
Indivisible CLT: A regional hub for civic activism and grassroots justice work in Charlotte.
Holy Covenant believes in living our faith beyond the walls of our sanctuary. We are recommending a meaningful way to put our commitments into action: by engaging with the advocacy tools and events offered by Indivisible Charlotte, a local grassroots network mobilizing people to speak out against harmful, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in North Carolina.
This is not about partisan politics — it is about being the Church in the world. It’s about protecting the sacred worth of LGBTQ+ youth, challenging injustice, and showing up for human dignity.
Indivisible Charlotte is offering practical ways to live our values through:
Explore resources and upcoming actions:
🔗 Indivisible CLT Website
📣 Indivisible CLT on Facebook
At Holy Covenant, we are building a church where inclusion is not just a statement — it is a practice. This is one way to be part of that practice. Show up, speak out, and help create the world we pray for every week.
#FaithInAction | #HCUCCEverywhere | #ProtectTransYouth
Jun 07, 2025
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
—Amos 5:24
June is here, and with it comes a celebration of truth, beauty, and belonging: Pride Month. Across Charlotte and the greater region, LGBTQ+ communities and allies are gathering for parades, festivals, film screenings, family events, art shows, and sacred storytelling. This is more than a party—it’s a declaration of dignity.
Holy Covenant UCC stands proudly alongside the movement for LGBTQ+ liberation, joy, and justice. Whether you’re new to Pride or have been marching for decades, this month offers meaningful opportunities to show up, speak out, and experience beloved community.
From SouthPark to Uptown, from libraries to church sanctuaries, Pride is unfolding all around us. And your presence matters.
See the Charlotte Pride website for more event details as they are announced.
At Holy Covenant, Pride is more than a month—it’s a ministry. We show up in the streets, in the pews, and at the ballot box. Our sanctuary is a place where queer and trans people are not just welcomed—they are centered, celebrated, and sacred.
This June, we invite you to live boldly into your faith and your truth. Bring your whole self. Wear your rainbows. And let your love shine.
Whether you attend an event, share a post, or offer a prayer for safety and celebration, you are part of this holy movement. Let us keep marching, singing, and loving—until justice and joy are no longer the exception, but the norm.
📖 And each morning in June, join us on Facebook for our daily devotional series, Sacred, Seen, and Called, from the UCC’s Open and Affirming Coalition—a prayerful companion to your Pride journey.
Jun 07, 2025
The Western North Carolina Association of the Southern Conference announced our new Association Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Tom Warren, Pastor of Peace United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC.
To read his full introduction letter click here.
by Charles Jefferson, Jr. | published on May 27, 2025
The practice of banning books has been at an all-time high. Last year, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom reported more than 4,000 unique titles were challenged in public libraries and schools — the most since the office began tracking censorship efforts.
Jun 04, 2025
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”—Galatians 3:28
From the ordination of Rev. William R. Johnson in 1972 to Holy Covenant’s march in the 2024 Charlotte Pride Parade, the United Church of Christ has boldly proclaimed that love is love and sacredness belongs to all. This vibrant Pride History Reel honors the faithful steps and bold leaps that brought us here—and points forward to the justice still unfolding.
Explore these bold voices of faith and liberation:
✨ Visit our LinkTree collection for more sacred storytelling.
This reel isn’t just a look back. It’s a mirror, a banner, a blessing. May it move us toward a future where every body is beloved, every orientation is honored, and every identity is held in the light of divine love.
May 24, 2025
At Holy Covenant, we believe love shows up in practical ways. This season, we invite you to support The Compassion Closet, a local nonprofit serving asylum-seeking migrant families here in Charlotte by providing much-needed clothing and linens.
Your donations offer warmth, dignity, and welcome to families navigating a new beginning.
🧺 Drop-Off: Please place items in the collection box in the Gathering Room at Holy Covenant.
The Compassion Closet at Holy Covenant UCC offers essential items and radical care to our unhoused and underserved neighbors—because compassion is always in style.
Thank you for helping us embody compassion and hospitality — one shirt, one blanket, one act of love at a time.
Apr 20, 2025
At Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, our faith calls us to act — with love, with courage, and with a heart for justice. Through our Missions & Justice Ministry, we work side by side to build a more just, compassionate, and inclusive world. Whether you’re called to march, plant, donate, or build — there’s a place for you in this movement.
🎒 Backpacks for Kids (David Cox Elementary): Providing weekend meals for students facing food insecurity at our neighborhood school.
🏳️🌈 Charlotte Pride & Regional Events: Holy Covenant shows up loud and proud, celebrating and affirming LGBTQ+ lives in the metro area.
🌱 Community Garden: Grown right on our campus, our garden provides fresh produce to Second Harvest Food Bank and Friendship Trays.
🚶 CROP Hunger Walk: A powerful walk raising funds and awareness to fight global and local hunger.
🏃 AIDS Walk Charlotte: We walk in honor and in hope, supporting those living with HIV/AIDS.
🧳 Migrant Assistance: Providing clothing and support to asylum-seeking migrant families in Charlotte.
🍽️ Feed NC: Serving neighbors in need with warm meals and dignity through this regional nonprofit.
🏳️⚧️ LGBTQ+ Outreach: Advocating for our LGBTQ+ siblings with partnership, presence, and public witness.
🛏️ Men’s Shelter of Charlotte: Offering care and needed items to men experiencing homelessness.
🥪 Sandwich Ministry: Making bagged lunches for local shelters to extend nourishment and compassion.
🏠 A Roof Above: Helping provide meals and support to neighbors experiencing homelessness.
👕 Compassion Closet: Collecting and distributing clothing and linens to migrant families with dignity.
🗳️ Voter Registration Drives: Empowering every voice through nonpartisan civic outreach.
Ready to roll up your sleeves and make a difference? Whether you can give an hour, a weekend, or a season — you’re needed, and your presence matters.
Let’s build a just and compassionate world — together. 💛
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