Encounter Is Changing
Our last weekly Saturday Worship Gathering is March 31, 2007, 5:30 p.m.
Encounter may begin happening monthly. Watch here for the latest.

Encounter was an alternative worship service for those who could not attend on Sunday or who simply desired a different kind of worship experience. It was an experiment in the "emergent" style and for awhile was a welcome addition to our worship offerings. In the spring of 2007, interest and attendance waned and our leadership team decided to postpone further weekly offerings of Encounter. The future of the gathering is now under discussion.

We followed this schedule each month:

1st Sunday: Encounter - worship with Word, prayer & Holy Communion, followed by a meal

2nd Sunday: Encounter Vespers - Evening Prayer, Communion, and a meal, often followed by our monthly event, Java House.

3rd Sunday: Encounter - worship with Word, prayer & Holy Communion, followed by a meal

4th Sunday: Encounter Taizé - worship in music inspired by the Taizé community, followed by a meal

5th Sunday: Encounter in Film, a thought-provoking Hollywood movie with spiritual themes, accompanied by pizza, salad and popcorn

The impetus for a second service came from the pastoral staff and a group of individuals interested in an alternative worship gathering. A leadership team met for the first time on August 24, 2005. We asked these questions of each other: What are your three wishes for worship at Valley Covenant? When have you felt most alive, touched and engaged in worship of God? What contributed to that experience? What was your part? This was the first of many meetings from which Encounter was birthed. Every facet of the second service was given careful thought and prayer, from the name, the meeting time (Saturday evenings with a meal), to our vision statement:

The love of God the Father,
throught the grace of Jesus Christ
and the presence of the Holy Spirit
moves our community to worship him.
In our worship,
God reveals himself
and our own true selves
inspiring us to respond
in humble, generous expressions of our gifts.

We seek to honor God in what we do, be true to how he has made us and called us, and enjoy the adventure. We hope you feel welcome to join us.

Worship Team: Herb Leaming, Garry McCready, Rob Rudeen, Kim Shepherd, Glen Waddell
God Encounter: A new volunteer each time.
Teaching: Mike Fargo, Luke Johnson and others.
Meal prepared by: Joel and Mary Bartlett, Joanne Haverland, or Pam Rudeen
Technical Support: Amy Dennis, Carl Shepherd