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Prayer for Amy Calderone
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Let’s all be in earnest prayer for Amy Calderone and her family.
Amy developed a cerebral hemorrhage on the evening of Tuesday, December 14, and was subsequently medevaced to Georgetown University Hospital where she had emergency surgery. As of this writing she remains in critical condition at Georgetown.
Amy, 18, is a member of the Ace Leyva care group. Her parents, Dave and Patti Calderone, are long-time members of Covenant Life and care group leaders.
The best way to stay up to date on Amy’s condition and to know how to pray is to follow her Caring Bridge website. It contains a running journal maintained by the family along with a guestbook that allows our church family and others to offer Scriptures and words of encouragement.
“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” —Deuteronomy 33:27
September 1 2010 at 3:45 pm
‘A Front Row Seat’ at Introducing God
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In the fall of 2009, I found myself fresh out of college with loads of unscheduled time. God had been working in my heart in the area of evangelism, largely due to the influence of Jon Smith, who is now leading the OneU campus ministry at University of Maryland, College Park. I’d really been struck by Jesus’ commission in Matthew 28 to “make disciples of all nations.” As I prayed about ways to evangelize, I recalled the amazing opportunity we have at Covenant Life Church through the Introducing God course.
There were many things that struck me as I led a discussion group. I was reminded that our guests are not projects that we target with the gospel, but real people I could begin loving, listening to, and sharing the love of Christ with. And yes, they do need the saving message of the gospel, since those who haven’t trusted in Christ for salvation are under God’s wrath. I was amazed as I watched God work in hearts, and humbled as I saw that it often had to do with God’s timing and not my “eloquent speech.” This drove me to pray more often and with more fervency. It’s funny how much more real and “alive” prayers can become when you’re thrown into a situation that you can’t control. God is the one who saves, and the only one who can change hearts. This truth resulted in much joy and confidence as I lead the group. I found myself praying even during the group times.
Not only was I humbled, but I learned how to listen better, love better, and pray more. And as I saw God work in the group, my faith grew. One girl in my group got saved in the first couple of weeks. He gave her a hunger for his Word, and she came to the point where she believed. Another guy in the group was quieter, but at the overnight (a weekend mini-retreat that’s part of Introducing God), he professed faith in Christ as well. Another is now a friend, is seeking to understand the gospel, and has come to Covenant Life many times since. I’m praying God will open his eyes. I’ve also heard countless testimonies from those whom God saved at the overnight; it was a sweet time of seeing the Spirit at work.
Finally, I was amazed at how God worked in me. I don’t normally expect to be the beneficiary when I go somewhere to “serve,” but I learned so much from the guests, from the teachings by Mark and Robin, and from working with my group.
If you have a hunger for evangelism and are trying to find a way to get a kick-start, try serving in IG. If you don’t have a desire to evangelize, come serve in IG and watch God grow you in this area. If you don’t have the time to commit to serving in IG, please pray for our volunteers and guests.
In John 3 God tells Nicodemus that he must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. Only God can bring the new birth, so let’s pray that he will do this in the lives of many who enter the doors of Covenant Life Church! God calls us all to evangelism, and IG is one way you can evangelize alongside other Christians, learn from them, and get a front row seat to how God is using this church to powerfully spread his gospel!
—Andrew “Ace” Leyva
July 28 2010 at 5:41 pm
A Job That Requires the Patience of Job
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God has blessed Covenant Life with many members who honor God in the workplace by being examples of faithfulness and excellence. The Baltimore Sun recently published an article about the work of Covenant Life member, Nick DeCarlo, pictured here with wife, Becky.
Enjoy reading about the rigors of Nick’s work as a cold case detective in Howard County.
July 8 2010 at 7:20 pm
Words of Care and Comfort for the Harris Family
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Dear Covenant Life family,
On July 4 our senior pastor suffered the loss of his mother, Sono Harris, to cancer. We have all experienced the fruit of her life through Joshua’s ministry.
Joshua and his family are grieving, but with great hope (1 Thess. 4:13-18). They know there will be a day of great joy when they will be reunited in him.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the father of mercies and the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3), and I know we are all praying that he will comfort and be near the Harris family this coming weekend, and in the days ahead.
But the pastors wanted to create a place where Josh could hear words of care and comfort from his Covenant Life family. This is that place. Please feel free to share your prayers and expressions of gratefulness to Josh and the Harris family by leaving a comment. To do so, click on the word “Comments” at the top of this post.
Thank you for your partnership in the gospel, for your prayers, and for your expressions of care toward Josh and his family.
On behalf of the pastors,
Pictured: Joshua Harris and family with Joshua’s mother, Sono. Left to right: Emma, Mary Kate, Shannon, Sono, Joshua Quinn, and Joshua
November 17 2009 at 10:07 pm
A Life of Servanthood
14 CommentsA few weeks ago, I gave a message called “The Poor and Needy.” Below is a testimony of how a member in our church is living out this message. We asked Sherly Giglio to share about how her husband, Peter, has given of his time and money to bless others over the years. I hope this story will be both encouraging and provoking.
When I was asked to share about my husband’s generosity and his heart for the lost and needy, it was easy to come up with a life time of examples. For the past 32 years, I have seen Peter give, give, and give even more. He humbly serves without looking for recognition or anything in return. This is seen in many ways, such as: providing rides to people in need, opening our home and giving people a place to live, visiting a wounded soldier, going on mission trips, and giving financially to our church and other ministries, as well as to those in need.
I’d like to share the most recent example of his selfless generosity. It is something that was close to his heart:
Back in August of this year, Peter had the privilege of serving with Drew Garfield to help plan a work day at the Laytonia community, located across the street from Covenant Life. Initially, he gave of his time by attending planning meetings and liaising with the Laytonia Homeowners Association Board to see how we, as a church, could help them. 
This was followed by numerous trips to Home Depot and time spent organizing materials. Finally, the big work day came. Volunteers from Covenant Life and Gracia Soberana labored alongside people from the Laytonia community. What a joy it was to see multiple races, rich and poor, Christian and non-Christian working side by side each other. Most importantly, the work day provided an open door to share the gospel!
Another way Peter demonstrates his heart for the needy is that his main focus in business is to provide excellent service and be able to give even more money and time to further God’s kingdom. Peter recently did a commercial advertising our company. In the commercial, he let people know that a portion of the sales would be given to Give Uganda Water.
Peter recently returned from a trip to Fabens, Tex., where a team led by Grant Layman built an apartment for Dean Adamek (who runs an orphanage in Mexico that our church has partnered with). This apartment will allow his family and staff to have a place in the U.S. to stay when circumstances make it difficult to cross the border.
I am reminded over and over again, through my husband’s heart and example, of how much he loves the Lord and gives of himself so that the gospel continues to go forward.
October 29 2009 at 9:14 am
A Generous Life
0 CommentsThe following is an e-mail I received from Rachel Robb after this Sunday’s message, “The Poor and Needy.” Thanks, Rachel, for honoring your dad and pointing to God’s grace in his life! (Pictured: Frank and Rachel, sharing a hat moment)
Hi Josh,
First of all, thank you SO much for the message that you preached today. It was very convicting and an excellent reminder. Personally, I was convicted of a few specific opportunities that God has given me to be supporting the poor. I also just wanted to share with you the amazing example that my father has set as someone who cares for the poor, the fatherless and the alien.
When he was first converted in South Africa, my dad would go out into the poor townships with a church group and teach the impoverished population how to grow vegetables. This was in a time when it was extremely dangerous for any white people to go into those areas.
Also, our home has always been a shelter for those who are needy. From visiting scientists from around the world, to PC families and people coming to conferences, my dad has led our family heroically and opened up our home generously and without hesitation. I literally cannot count how many people have stayed with us since I have been alive… Almost my entire life there has been at LEAST one visitor staying in our house. Many times, these people are from another country and in desperate need of friends and family. My dad has shown me what it means to love others selflessly.
Right now a missionary family from Israel is staying in our basement. They have been in Israel for the past six years, and when they were called to come back to the U.S. for a sabbatical-type-thing, my father graciously offered them our basement. He is generous to a ridiculous degree sometimes. When a charity is calling and they reach my mom, I will hear her telling them that Dad has already donated to their cause recently.
What’s even more amazing is that, when I encouraged Dad after the message and told him that he was the most generous and giving person that I knew, he was amazed and said that during the message he had been very convicted of his shortcomings in this area. That blew me away. He is the most humble man that I know.
I don’t really know why I wanted to share all that with you so badly, but I was so overwhelmed in the message at the amazing example of my dad in this area. I guess I just wanted to encourage you with the grace of God that is at work in our church!
May God bless you richly, Josh!
Rachel Robb
P.S. Also, thank you so much for honoring my mom. I love the fact that I, as her daughter, can heartily agree with everything you said about her being a faithful servant, and that I know that she is even more amazing and godly and self-sacrificing than anyone else (other than our family) will ever know.