East Coast Recommends New Church for Membership

MANCHESTER, CT (May 5, 2004) - A new constitution and bylaws was amended and a new church was recommended for membership in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) during the 114th Annual Meeting of the East Coast Conference at Trinity Covenant Church last Saturday.

A total of 98 delegates from 42 churches (132 attended in all) participated in the business meeting. They recommended Parkside Community Church in Clifton Park, New York, for membership, pending approval by the ECC June Annual Meeting. Superintendent Robert Dvorak said that church growth and transformation were key topics at the meeting. David Olson of the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism was a special guest and shared a presentation on church growth.

Parkside Community Church (www.parksidecc.org) is located in a suburb of Albany, the state capital. Paul McCart is the pastor of the congregation, which includes Sports Ministry and Mothers of Preschoolers (M.O.P.S.) programs, along with a variety of other ministries to children, men and women.

An encouraging update was provided concerning the Pilgrim Pines Conference Center's ongoing negotiations with Town of Swanzey officials over the levying of property taxes on the conference property. No property taxes were levied on the facility, which opened in 1957, until November 1996. For more information, read an earlier published story, Pilgrim Pines.

Dvorak stated that the positive momentum of church planting, particularly in multi-ethnic congregations, has been a sign of encouragement for the East Conference. "And," he added, "we're really glad to see some resolution on the Pilgrim Pines negotiations."

In other news:

Delegates voted on new Executive Board members, electing three new members and re-electing another. Those elected for the first time include pastor Earl Dunbar of Concord Covenant Church in Concord, New Hampshire (vice chair for Church Life/Christian Formation); Rob Allyn of Christ Church in East Greenwich, Rhode Island (Third District Trustee); and Kathy Williamson of Salem Covenant Church in Washington Depot, Connecticut (Western Connecticut District Trustee). Alan Svenson, Community Covenant in West Peabody, Massachusetts, was re-elected as a First District Trustee.

Brad Hedberg made a presentation on insurance issues pertaining to local congregations at both the annual meeting and the conference's ministerial association, which preceded the annual meeting.

Dvorak made a presentation regarding the Covenant's Ethnic Roundtable in February and shared some of the recommendations for churches and conferences as they seek racial reconciliation throughout the denomination.

The conference announced that next year's annual meeting will occur on April 30, 2005, at Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin, Connecticut.

To learn more about the East Coast Conference and its annual meeting, call 860-635-2691 or email the conference office at ECCEast@sbcglobal.net.

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