Covenant World Relief and Development: A History
Covenant World Relief and Development: A History describes the Evangelical Covenant Church’s international relief and development work, connecting that to the Covenant’s Pietist core values. This digital unabridged edition includes historical illustrations, appendices, endnotes, an index, and a bibliography. It is available to download from the Frisk Collection of Covenant Literature, North Park University.
From the book
Mission has been central to the Evangelical Covenant Church’s identity. The founding Swedish Pietists put the Christian gospel into practice with words and acts of compassion, mercy, and justice, done in August Franke’s phrase, “For God’s glory, and neighbor’s good.” Those who had received acts of mercy and “new life in Christ” desired to help restore, transform, and bring about God’s shalom to others. “Heads, hearts, and hands” symbolized the application of their gracious, holistic, and justice-oriented Christian gospel. That was the foundation for Covenant World Relief and Development.
– Covenant World Relief and Development: A History, p. 243
Words From Readers
At the heart of the Covenant church are acts of compassion, mercy, and justice done for the good of neighbors. It matters how Christian belief is lived out. The Covenant is notable among denominations because of its emphasis on faith leading to justice-based actions. Bryce and Bonnie Nelson explain clearly the natural connections within the Covenant church that led to Covenant World Relief and Development. All Covenanters should read this book to understand how the work of Covenant World Relief and Development is central to the denomination’s ongoing mission.
– Glenn R. Palmberg, President Emeritus, Evangelical Covenant Church
Nothing is more at the core of Covenant history and life than its passionate commitment to mission at home and abroad. It has been woven as a bright thread into the fabric of everything the church believes and does—combining evangelism and nurture, tangible works of mercy and justice, and structured development and vision that sustain body and spirit in a damaged and hurting world. Bonnie and Bryce Nelson are masterful historians in their comprehensive research and documentation, clear organization and elegant writing, and setting the denomination’s story into the wider North American and global context. This is a complex developmental narrative of lay and clergy leaders inspiring Covenanters everywhere to labor in partnership as one body to advance health and wholeness for all that God creates, loves, and redeems.
– Philip J. Anderson, Professor Emeritus of Church History, North Park Theological Seminary
About the Team
Authors
Bryce Nelson, Ph.D.
Bryce Nelson was educated at North Park College, Northwestern University, and the University of Washington (Ph.D., History of Education). He was a teacher, librarian, and administrator in the Seattle Public Schools. Bryce Nelson also taught part-time at the University of Washington, and was library director at Seattle Pacific University. In addition to publishing in his academic field he has co-authored a film about Covenant history (A Great Ambition), and a history of Covenant camps in the Pacific Northwest (Cascades Camp and Conference Center. A Century of Covenant Camps in the Pacific Northwest).
Bonnie Nelson
Bonnie Nelson was educated at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. She was an elementary school teacher and secretary to Covenant president Milton Engebretson. She co-authored Cascades Camp and Conference Center. A Century of Covenant Camps in the Pacific Northwest. Bonnie Nelson is also a weaver of ecclesiastical items, and pieces of Scandinavian-inspired design.
Designer
Sandy Nelson
Sandy Nelson is originally from Chicago and attended North Park College there. She moved to Seattle following three years as artist-in-residence at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in the Cascade mountains of Washington state. She spent 14 years as a senior graphic designer for Starbucks Coffee Company before starting her freelance career as a designer for a variety of companies and organizations. She is also a painter, printmaker and creator of large-scale art installations. Sandy was married to the late Christopher Brown and they have one daughter, Elsie.