“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1.9

 This verse from Ecclesiastes was something of a theme verse during my time studying computer science at Covenant College. One of my professors would reference it regularly, instructing us on what it meant to be a Christian computer scientist. He would humble us in the reality that even with all the technological development in the world there was nothing truly new. The Internet, Facebook, laptops, and iPhones were simply faster and fancier versions of stone tablets. Ecclesiastes 1.9 is helping us understand that knowing our limitations gives us wisdom. After all, everything we create points us to our innovative, Sovereign Creator. 

 In this newsletter, I would like to share with you a few new updates in the life of our church. First, this month, the Pastoral Staff hired a Pastoral Administrative Assistant, Shannon Ratliff. Shannon, daughter-in-law to Gary Ratliff, has served in this capacity in three different area churches. She holds a degree in organizational management from Covenant College, and we are very excited to have her join us. Shannon is working Tuesdays through Thursdays and maintains the schedules for Pastors Jones, Mullinax and myself. You may reach Shannon at or call her directly at 423-899-5099.

 Second, you may have noticed on the back of our new bulletins a link to www.cpcchatt.org. This address will direct you to our new church website that went live last week. Through our new website we hope to keep you more informed of church events, pastoral blog entries, resources, and more. There are aspects of our website that are still under development, but our goal is to roll out more features and opportunities in coming months. 

 Third, our office has recently migrated our email and data to Office 365, creating a more efficient internal data structure. Whenever you upgrade any system, there are always learning curves. Please be patient with us as we learn a few new tools that will help us communicate with you more effectively over time. 

 So many “new” things happening behind the scenes at Covenant Presbyterian Church, but none of it is ultimately something “new under the sun”. As the Church, we continue to serve the faithful and gracious King. In Him we live and move and have our being. As this is a special week of reflecting upon the Resurrection, it is also a time for us to dwell on the newness He brings through our union to Him in Christ, both in His death and resurrection. In Him, we experience something new – for His work in us testifies to the world and points one another to who He is as our Sovereign Redeemer. 

 ~Pastor Bennett