(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
Sep 04, 2025
“Grace meets us in every sunrise—reminding us that each day is a chance to begin again.”
Sometimes life asks us to begin again. That beginning might come after a setback, a season of struggle, or a moment we wish had gone differently. It may not feel easy, but it can be holy. Each sunrise carries the invitation to take a fresh step forward, to choose peace, to walk with clarity.
For those of us in recovery—or any path of healing—we know that relapse is not failure. It is part of the journey. To stumble is human; to begin again is grace. Each return to the path is not defeat, but courage. And every milestone, whether thirty days or thirty years, is worth honoring.
At Holy Covenant, we believe that God’s love meets us not only at the mountaintop but also in the valley. Grace doesn’t vanish when we fall. Grace whispers to us, “You are still beloved. You are still welcome.”
No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey—you are welcome here. If you are beginning again, know that you do not walk alone. You are part of a community that holds you in prayer, celebrates your courage, and welcomes your story as sacred.
#GraceForTheJourney | #HCUCCEverywhere | #RecoveryIsSacred
✍️ About the Author:
Eric Miner is a grateful and hopeful recovering alcoholic who believes in sharing his story with others who may be suffering. He trusts in the power of honesty, grace, and community to help carry one another forward. As the AA tradition reminds us: “We are not alone on this road. We will walk together in honesty, humility, and hope.”
Sep 04, 2025
What fuels your call to justice, joy, service, or spirit?
This September, Holy Covenant’s theme is Live with Purpose—and we’re asking the sacred question: What’s your why? Whether it’s caregiving, advocacy, teaching, parenting, creating, praying, protesting, or healing, our purpose connects us to God’s movement in the world.
Your “why” is more than a job or a role—it’s the reason your heart beats for justice and joy. And it’s worth listening to.
Read. Reflect. Renew. is Holy Covenant’s book suggestion initiative. Each selected title invites us to grow in wisdom, deepen our faith, and connect to justice-rooted living. This month’s selections speak directly to the question of vocation and purpose:
Take time this month to reflect, journal, walk, pray, or talk about the purpose that fuels you. It may not be loud—but it is sacred.
We’ll be spotlighting community reflections throughout September! Want to share your “why”? Email us at [email protected].
You are called. You are needed. You are enough.
Aug 22, 2025
Comment Period: July 28 – August 29, 2025
Hosted by: North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)
Many members of Holy Covenant have long expressed concern about the dangerous traffic pattern on West W.T. Harris Boulevard in front of our church. The lack of a traffic signal and the prevalence of risky U-turns have led to frequent accidents and near misses. Now is the time to make our voices heard.
NCDOT is accepting public input on transportation project priorities for its 2028–2037 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). They are collecting community ideas for everything from major highway changes to small-scale intersection improvements—including projects like a traffic light, signage, or turn lane enhancements near our property at 3501 West W.T. Harris Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28269.
Please take a few minutes to your input and recommend safety improvements in our area:
📝 Make Your Voice Known
For background on this statewide effort, you can review the official NCDOT project submission notice here:
📄 View the 2028–2037 STIP Submission Phase Document (PDF)
Let’s come together and advocate for safer access—for our congregation, our neighbors, and everyone who passes through this high-traffic corridor.
⛪ Every voice matters. Help us be a witness for safety, justice, and care for our community.
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 10, 2025
At Holy Covenant UCC, we believe that faithful giving extends far beyond our walls. Each year, we participate in the United Church of Christ’s “Five for Five” initiative, a powerful expression of shared ministry through five denominational offerings that change lives and bring hope nationwide and around the world.
These offerings support everything from disaster relief to pastoral care, community justice efforts to sustaining our beloved denomination. When Holy Covenant contributes to all five, we join with hundreds of UCC congregations across the country to embody covenantal love in action.
Each offering has its own mission and focus — here’s what your gifts support:
OCWM is the foundational offering that supports the daily work of the wider church — from conferences to national ministries. It funds leadership training, youth events, justice work, and the calling of new pastors. HC’s regular budget includes support for OCWM, affirming our ongoing covenant with the UCC and its mission in the world.
This special offering provides emergency relief and long-term development in over 100 countries. From hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico to hunger relief in sub-Saharan Africa, OGHS responds to disasters both natural and human-made, bringing hope where it’s needed most. This offering is typically collected during Lent.
Collected on Pentecost Sunday, this offering invests in the vision and vitality of the UCC by supporting new church starts, youth ministries, and innovative local initiatives. When you give, you help plant new seeds of hope and equip the next generation of faith leaders.
For over a century, the Christmas Fund has supported retired and active clergy and lay church employees who face financial difficulties. It provides pension supplements, emergency grants, and holiday “thank you” gift checks. This offering is a sacred opportunity to honor the people who have walked with congregations through baptisms, weddings, funerals, and decades of ministry.
Let’s be honest — December is a hectic and often financially draining time of year. But July can be the perfect moment to support this fund. Making our Christmas Fund gifts now ensures that faithful servants of the church will feel our love and support when it matters most.
This offering directly supports UCC ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. A portion of the funds goes to the Council for American Indian Ministry, and the rest supports grassroots justice efforts led by UCC churches and partners. From immigration to economic justice, NIN empowers real change.
Participating in all five offerings makes us a “5 for 5 Church.” It’s a distinction we’re proud to hold — not for the label, but for the ministry it represents. When we show up with our gifts, we stand in solidarity with the hurting, the hopeful, and the healing. We keep our covenant strong.
Whether it’s $5 or $50, your gift becomes part of a holy story — one that spans churches, cultures, and communities. Together, we give with hearts full of purpose and hands ready to serve.
🌎 Support UCC Ministries – Give Now
Five offerings. One covenant. Countless lives touched. #HCUCCEverywhere
Jul 07, 2025
The United Church of Christ is part of something much bigger than itself — a body of Christ that spans cultures, traditions, and theological perspectives. That expansive vision is at the heart of our Full Communion agreements, formal partnerships with other Christian denominations grounded in unity, respect, and shared mission.
In this in-depth UCC article, you’ll discover how Full Communion relationships are formed, how they differ from mergers, and what they mean for clergy, congregations, and justice ministries. These agreements affirm that while differences in worship and doctrine remain, we recognize the authenticity of one another’s sacraments, ordination, and shared call to gospel service.
Through Full Communion, we gain partners in disaster response, advocacy, chaplaincy, and church planting. We also open pathways for clergy to serve across denominational lines — a vital asset in today’s spiritual landscape.
One of the most visible examples of Full Communion is our relationship with the United Church of Canada, as pictured above during a shared moment of worship. These commitments are more than symbolic — they are rooted in accountability, trust, and a shared desire to follow Christ’s prayer “that they may all be one.”
Holy Covenant celebrates our denomination’s ecumenical spirit — and we look forward to the energy and discernment of General Synod 35. These conversations and covenants are a vital part of who we are as a united and uniting church.
Two historic resolutions will be up for vote by the delegates of the 35th General Synod — to formally recognize full communion with both the
Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) and the Iglesia Evangélica Unida de Puerto Rico (IEUPR). These proposals deepen our global connections and further embody our call to be a united and uniting church.
Pastor Chris will be attending General Synod 35 as a voting member from our conference. Please keep him and all Synod delegates in your prayers as they discern the Spirit’s guidance in this important work.
Learn more and read the full article here:
What Does It Mean to Be in Full Communion?
Called to unity. Rooted in justice. Living out the gospel together. #HCUCCEverywhere
Jul 02, 2025
Every two years, the United Church of Christ gathers for a major denominational event—General Synod. This summer, thousands will meet July 11–15 in Kansas City to worship, discern resolutions, and shape the future of our church. The theme, “Into the Deep” (Luke 5:4), calls us to risk bold action rooted in faith. Learn more at the official site: generalsynod.org.
Pastor Chris Czarnecki will be attending as a voting delegate, representing our Southern Conference and bringing Holy Covenant’s voice into the national conversation. He’ll return with insight, stories, and resources to strengthen our local ministry and justice witness.
Highlights to watch:
Why it matters: Synod is where the wider church listens, prays, and commits itself to action. The choices made there ripple outward—through conferences, congregations, and into communities. Pastor Chris’s participation ensures that Holy Covenant’s values of inclusion, welcome, and prophetic love are part of the national witness.
📌 How to stay connected:
This is one more way HCUCC Everywhere becomes real—not just as a website, but as a spirit of connection across our denomination and into the world. Let’s be proud that our pastor is helping shape the UCC’s future in faithful, loving ways.
#GeneralSynod35 | #IntoTheDeep | #HCUCCEverywhere
Jul 01, 2025
Christian nationalism—the merging of Christian identity with state power—poses a serious threat to democracy, pluralism, and the Gospel. As Sojourners reminds us, it’s not enough to dismiss it; we must actively engage and unmask its dangers.
In the U.S., Christian nationalism often claims our nation was founded as a Christian God-state, a narrative contradicted by historians and theologians. This fusion elevates Christianity above all other faiths, erodes church-state separation, and fosters exclusion—especially toward LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants, and racial minorities. Scholars at the Public Religion Research Institute and other watchdog groups have documented this growing threat to democratic institutions.
It’s not just a theological misstep—it’s dangerous. As TIME warns, Christian nationalism fuels authoritarian impulses, agitates for political violence, and undermines public trust in science and democracy. The January 6 Capitol attack stands as chilling evidence of its real-world impact.
Holy Covenant stands firmly against this. Our Open & Affirming witness proclaims a Gospel of radical inclusion—not exclusion. We affirm the sacred dignity of every person, and we reject any ideology that says “only my vision of faith” belongs in public life.
This July, we invite our congregation to help shape a meaningful digital response:
Please send your ideas directly to [email protected]. Your voice matters. Together, we can be a witness to a faithful, just democracy.
*Let’s talk back to Christian nationalism—not with anger, but with grounded truth, prayer, and shared resources.*
#FaithfulResistance | #HCUCCEverywhere | #ChristianNationalism
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
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