Covenant Prayer

 

In 2021, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson invites North Georgia United Methodists to spend time praying and living Wesley's Covenant Prayer together.

You are encouraged to print the prayer and put it on your refrigerator, tape it to your mirror, frame it and display it on your dresser or bookshelf, or post it anywhere it will serve as a reminder to pray and ponder our covenant with God. Find several printable PDF versions below:

From January 2021 through Lent, Bishop Sue led weekly conversations on the North Georgia Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ngaumc) at 6:30 pm on Mondays. Watch the videos here on this page or on Vimeo at www.vimeo.com/NGUMC.

 

At the Table: In Good Hands

This week Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson invites Rev. Dr. Yvette Massey to share a Sermon on Psalm 31. Afterward Bishop Sue and Yvette talk about what it means to be in God's hands.
 

At the Table: All People

This week Bishop Sue invites seminary student Mychal Ellis to share a sermon and have conversation on the lectionary text and Wesley's Covenant Prayer. This is Mychal's very first sermon! She and Bishop Sue discuss Jesus' journey and his desire to draw in all people.
 

At the Table: A Mirror of Bronze

This week Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson invites Rev. Blake Trent to share a sermon on Wesley's Covenant Prayer and our lectionary text. They ask, "Can we just go back to normal!?!" and whether a return to the past is really what God wants for us.


At the Table: What's in a Name

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson continues the series, inviting a guest pastor to share a sermon on Wesley's Covenant Prayer and our lectionary text. This week she is joined by Rev. John Tomlin, a local pastor serving North Fayette UMC. They discuss John's interesting career path and what's in a name.

At the Table: Looking for Direction

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson begins a new series, inviting a guest pastor to share a sermon based on this week's lectionary and Wesley's Covenant Prayer, and then join her to discuss the message. This week she invites Rev. Blair Boyd Zant back to "The Table."

Find more resources for Lent at www.ngumc.org/So-Be-It.

Week 7: Ratified in Heaven

Bishop Sue is joined Rev. Dr. Yvette Massey and Rev. Blair Boyd Zant as they conclude this series of conversations on the Covenant Prayer. Hear about their joys, their calls to ministry, and their own "So Be It" moments. 

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, Rev. Dr. Yvette Massey, and Rev. Blair Boyd Zant.

Focus Lines of the Prayer
And the covenant which I have made on earth.
Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

So Be It: Our Call to Action
Tap into your calling and let the light of Christ shine through you. 

Breath Prayer
On Earth as It is in Heaven
So Be It

 

Week 6: So Be It

This week Bishop Sue is joined by her friend and colleague Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey. Bishop Harvey serves the Louisiana Annual Conference and is President of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. They discuss the next lines of the Covenant Prayer: And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it."

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey

Focus Lines of the Prayer
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it."

So Be It: Our Call to Action
Hold each other more tenderly and love each other as people claimed by God. 

Related Scripture
Isaiah 43

 

Week 5: I Freely and Heartily Yield All Things

This week Bishop Sue is joined by Rev. Scott Parrish to discuss one of the most challenging lines in the prayer, "I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal."

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and Rev. Scott Parrish

Focus Lines of the Prayer
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.

So Be It: Our Call to Action
Let go of the grandiose and deal with the small, simple things in front of us that we can do with great love.

 

Week 4: Employed by Thee or Laid Aside for Thee

Bishop Sue didn't have to look far to find a great conversation partner for this week's focus line of the Covenant Prayer. She is joined by her husband Rev. Allen Johnson. Allen is currently serving as Associate Pastor at Johns Creek UMC.

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and Rev. Allen Johnson

Focus Line of the Prayer
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exhaulted for thee or brought low for thee.

So Be It: Our Call to Action
Let go and let Christ live in you and live through you.

Book Recommendation
"Falling Upward" by Richard Rohr

 

Week 3: Put Me to Doing, Put Me to Suffering

In this week's At the Table in Prayer conversation, Bishop Sue is joined by Rev. Dr. Jessica Terrell, Brandall Lovvorn, Rev. Joya Abrams, and Rev. Whit Martin. They discuss the United Methodist itinerancy and appointment process through the lens of the Covenant Prayer. 

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, Rev. Dr. Jessica Terrell, Brandall Lovvorn, Rev. Joya Abrams, and Rev. Whit Martin

Focus Line of the Prayer
Put me to doing, Put me to suffering.

So Be It: Our Call to Action
Rise to the challenge of moving outward. 

Book Recommendation
Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud

 

Week 2: Our World and Our Faith 

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference and Bishop Ken Carter of the Florida Annual Conference.

Focus Line of the Prayer
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Related Scripture
And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? Genesis 4:9

So Be It: Our Call to Action
Recognize Christ in each other.  

Detecting Disinformation Resource
The Florida Annual Conference hosted an eye-opening, informative four-part webinar with Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute on detecting misinformation. The webinar was specifically designed for clergy and church members. Watch the recordings at https://www.flumc.org/detecting-disinformation.

 

Week 1: No Longer My Own, But Thine

 

Conversation Partners
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, DuWanna Thomas (president of North Georgia's Black Methodists for Church Renewal), and Rev. Dr. Byron Thomas (pastor at Ben Hill UMC in Atlanta and chair of the North Georgia Conference General Conference Delegation).

Focus Line of the Prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.

So Be It: Our Call to Action
This year may we grow in Christ and magnify God as never before. 

Breath Prayer
As you breathe in: Father, your will, not mine.
As you breathe out: Keep us as one. Let us be your body.

Your Thoughts
Would you like to share your thoughts on this line of the Covenant Prayer with Bishop Sue? Email CovenantPrayer@ngumc.org.

 

 

Bishop