Covenant Christian Church in Urbandale is an open and affirming Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation with Sunday worship at 10 a.m., weekly Communion, five walking labyrinths and a mission commitment extending from its neighborhood to Des Moines and beyond.
Sunday at 10 on 72nd Street
At 10 a.m. Sunday, Covenant's regular worship gathering runs for an hour, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Members and friends greet arrivals, and visitors may sit wherever they are most comfortable. They do not have to stand and introduce themselves. At times the congregation shares a passing of the peace or pauses simply to greet one another.
Worship includes singing, prayer, scripture, a message and Communion. Music can range from traditional hymns to contemporary songs and music from around the world. The organ, piano, electric piano and acoustic guitar are used, and members are invited to share their talents. Communion is part of every Sunday gathering, with all people welcome at Christ's table.
A volunteer-staffed nursery serves children six and under. Other children are encouraged to worship with their families. Immediately after the service, coffee is served in the downstairs Fellowship Hall.
The congregation also provides an hour-long Sunday service online for people who prefer to participate from home. It is livestreamed on YouTube, with earlier messages also available there. A Disciples lectionary supports Scripture study at one's own pace, and devotionals are also offered by email.
From Thirty Families to a Urbandale Congregation
The story begins Jan. 1, 1965, when about 30 core families met in the home of their founding pastor and his wife, Elaine, for Christian fellowship. They wanted to plant a faith community in the growing Urbandale area. On Pentecost Sunday, June 6, 1965, Covenant Christian Church was formally chartered.
For the next two years, the congregation gathered at the ice arena, with weekly worship in the Peppermint Lounge. Groundbreaking for the current building took place April 16, 1967. Its first service was held March 24, 1968, beginning with a procession from the arena. On the church's 40th anniversary in 2005, worshipers again gathered at the arena and processed up the hill for Communion in the new sanctuary. The 50th anniversary in 2015 brought the founding pastor together with pastors from Covenant's past.
Those beginnings connect with the church's continuing conviction that it should move beyond traditional hierarchies, make faith relevant and explore new ways of being church. Covenant describes itself as God's earthy people in the world, with a spirit pointed toward possibilities rather than numbers.
Your Journey, Your Way
Covenant organizes its life around three pathways: Journey with God, Journey with Us and Journey with Others. Journey with God involves worship and Bible study; Journey with Us centers on gathering together; Journey with Others moves people into service of the community.
The church recognizes that people are at different points in faith and provides resources for spiritual growth. It also insists that no one should walk through life alone. Members are invited to help one another and to follow Christ by serving others.
- Journey with God offers worship, an online sermon, the weekly lectionary and devotional material for study and prayer.
- Journey with Us means worship, fellowship, meals, conversation and small groups that nurture love for one another.
- Journey with Others gathers people for outreach projects, special offerings and service projects.
Covenant calls itself a community of spiritual seekers growing in love of God, deepening connection to one another and sharing a passion for justice and peace. Because it sees God's grace in all creation, its welcome extends across racial and ethnic backgrounds, generations, physical and mental abilities, economic conditions, gender identities and sexual orientations. The church affirms the faith, baptism and spiritual gifts of all.
Red, Rainbow and Green Chalices
Three chalices summarize much of Covenant's public identity. The red chalice, marked with a white St. Andrew's cross, identifies the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and recalls Communion's central place in worship. The Communion table is open rather than restricted.
The rainbow chalice marks Covenant as an Open and Affirming congregation. The church commits to welcoming people without condemning them because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender expression or any other characteristic protected by law. Its Imago Dei ministry extends that welcome to the LGBTQIA+ community and challenges the church to love every neighbor.
The green chalice expresses commitment to Christian faith, spiritual practice and care for creation. Covenant connects this environmental calling to justice and shalom, seeking to demonstrate the fullness of God's peace through stewardship of the earth.
Faith Shared at the Table
The Disciples of Christ movement arose in the early 1800s in the United States, when founders sought to move beyond denominational disagreements and envision a united church modeled after the New Testament. Its statement of intent calls Disciples a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world and welcomes all to the Lord's Table as God has welcomed them.
Covenant affirms that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God and offers saving grace to all, and that all people are God's children. Its faith is expressed through several shared practices:
- Open Communion is celebrated in weekly worship and is open to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
- Freedom of belief allows people to follow their consciences guided by Scripture, the Holy Spirit, study and prayer, while extending that freedom to others.
- Baptism by immersion is the Disciples practice, while other baptism traditions are honored.
- The oneness of the church calls all Christians to unity in Christ, common witness and service.
- The ministry of believers means both ministers and lay people, including women and men, lead worship, service and spiritual growth.
Five Labyrinths for Walking and Prayer
One of Covenant's most distinctive features is its Labyrinth Park, a ministry of prayer and meditation with five walking labyrinths open to the public. The first labyrinth was dedicated on Good Friday in 2011 using a copyrighted design by Clare Wilson from South Africa and was the seventh labyrinth of its kind in the United States.
Covenant commonly describes a labyrinth walk as a threefold spiritual path:
- Journey with Us: Walking toward the center with others quiets the mind, releases everyday concerns and reminds the walker that no one faces life's challenges alone.
- Journey with God: Resting in the center makes space for meditation, prayer and openness to whatever gift or insight may be present.
- Journey with Others: Walking back out can deepen awareness of Communion with God, the Holy Spirit, sacred energy and all of God's children.
The paths are used in formal gatherings and by individuals for contemplative prayer. There is no prescribed way to walk, and each of the five designs offers its own experience. Many people leave feeling centered, peaceful or renewed as they return to daily life and its challenges.
Mission Beyond the Sanctuary
Helping neighbors is a Covenant priority. The church tithes 10 percent of incoming church receipts to various outreach priorities, alongside support for Disciples special offerings and mission work in the community and around the world. Giving is accepted online, by phone and in person; online giving supports these commitments.
Its local and regional work includes:
- Monthly financial and supply support for the Des Moines Area Religious Council food pantry, reinforced by a special offering on the third Sunday of each month.
- Preparing and serving a meal about six times a year for roughly 100 people through Children and Family Urban Ministries.
- Packing food through Meals from the Heartland.
- Providing fuel vouchers and other needed items to the Urbandale Police Department for people in the community.
- Volunteering with Family Promise.
Special offerings support Week of Compassion, Reconciliation, Thanksgiving and Christmas ministries. Members have taken mission trips in Texas, Louisiana, Poland, Haiti and India, linking local concern with international partnership.
The mission reaches through relationships beyond conventional service projects. Covenant shares its building with the messianic Jewish community Ministry of Shofar and Chin Christian Church, a Burmese Christian community. With Lutheran Services of Iowa, it makes land available through the Urban Greens program for immigrants and refugees to grow their own gardens. The church has planted fruit trees for future use and for the community, volunteers in activities with Special Olympics of Iowa alongside adults with intellectual disabilities, and welcomes people to Imago Dei ministry centered on the image of God and LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
Pastor Loren Strait says the church's defining banner is Journey Not Judgement. That phrase joins a rooted Disciples identity to the practical work of welcome, creation care, contemplation and service.
Gathering Beyond Sunday
Coffee in the Fellowship Hall can lead into conversation and shared meals after worship. A women's fellowship meets for breakfast at 9 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month at Perkins on 86th and Hickman. A men's breakfast fellowship gathers at 8 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month at Cozy Cafe in Johnston, Iowa.
Covenant also has a women's book club and a Friday fellowship that meets at the church, in homes or in other settings. Older youth have opportunities to serve on the Church Board, participate in the Pastoral Relations Committee, sing in the adult choir and assist in worship services.
These gatherings extend the church's central pattern of faith, shared life and service well beyond the Sunday morning hour.
Finding Covenant and Coming Inside
Covenant stands at 2700 72nd Street in Urbandale, between Hickman Road and Douglas Avenue, just up the hill from the DM Buccaneer Arena. The parking lot is on the west side of the building, reached from 72nd Street. Visitors can use either upstairs door on the north side. The door closest to 72nd Street has a wheelchair ramp. Entering downstairs is also possible through the west door on the south side; visitors proceed to the end of the hall, turn right, then left, and look for the stairs to the first floor.
The first floor has a ramp at the main entrance and an accessible unisex restroom. There is no elevator to the lower level, but a sloping sidewalk outside provides another route downstairs. Dress is relaxed: come as you are, wear what feels comfortable and know that jeans are fine. A volunteer can also provide transportation to worship or another church event and return the rider home.
Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and the church's welcome extends from the parking lot to the open Communion table, from the nursery to the labyrinths and from fellowship with members to service beyond Urbandale.