From the International Director

From Bobbi Johnson-Tanner
International Director, Covenant Players--

We are the Covenant Players, not the ‘Charles M. Tanner players’. The imprint from Chuck’s hand as founder and designer of CP has given us our foundation—and our mainstay; the magnificent repertoire of 3000+ plays that Chuck wrote over his 35 years of leadership. What Covenant Players does now, who we mature into being, and for what tasks God is forming us—these things are all before us to discover.

I do have hopes and dreams and goals, and challenges to meet, changes to set into motion, and a nemesis or two to defeat. My vision of the work of CP, is however, one that was set before me through Chuck’s building foundation: to be free to serve Christ full-out, to witness at once as a community the Lord’s ultimate provision and faithfulness, and to serve Christ’s Church by offering ourselves, as Paul said, as a drink offering, poured out.

My vision is that we will be a people who own who we are—standing firm in the belief that it is possible to be a community set apart in the midst of the church we are called to serve.

We are God’s Voice—not the only one, of course. Still, God’s voice. We are to speak what we are to speak, and to go where we are to go. Whether the pathway God has for us will mean living hand to mouth for years to come is not a question I have the answer to: I hope not. I do see that we are a witness to the Church, and in that respect we are living and serving not for our own rights and ideals, but for the Kingdom of God. As Chuck said, ‘To turn the world upside right for Christ, in our lifetime.’

Our history finds us coming alongside those battling addiction, sin, abuse, grief, self .... battles of the inner man and woman. We serve face-to-face in an internet world. Not to gain power, or affluence, or fame or renown—but for the crowns to be enjoyed in the forever of our Lord’s presence.

We are pots on the shelf—to be used, to be set aside as the Lord determines—and our uses shift, from season to season. I see where we have been used by the Potter—hanging on in hope through apartheid; working with Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland; offering solidarity in East Berlin and Poland; teaching English in post-Cultural Revolution China. CP served the men in the Southeast Asian theatre during the Vietnam war, and were there during the US withdrawal before the fall of Saigon. CP was ministering in New Delhi when Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was assassinated, and stood beside brothers and sisters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. When the Berlin Wall came down and the peoples of the East poured into the West, our unit serving in Berlin went the other direction—to serve the people still in the East. In South and Central America during times of political oppression and unrest, in Nepal, the Philippines, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Serving Catholic Youth Days attended by Pope John Paul II, serving near New York City in New Jersey on 9/11, as well as through the Gulf Coast region following the ravaging of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

As CPers, we are privileged to hold the hands of the aged and handicapped; discuss anger and bullying in schools rocked by gunfire and rage. We go ‘where the people are’, and they are often in trouble. We serve the servants: our brothers and sisters sharing the gospel among peoples of severe poverty & lack of resources—in the West, as well as in many second and third world countries. We have become well familiar with the jarring reverberation of prisons’ slamming doors—performing in chaplain-sponsored programs, and in ‘the yard’ in what is perhaps true guerilla theatre.

The Potter’s shards that make up the unpredictable and joyous ministry of Covenant Players are no doubt not the most glamorous pieces in the shed. But in the Master’s hands, we are often used to hold the bread and the wine. I don’t think a disciple dare think higher than that.

Covenant Players’ extended family includes you, dear reader. This is your ministry, too: your place and participation is important. We are particularly strengthened by your regular & consistent support. Help is needed in the daily operations, which keep each unit serving: playdates, personal needs, vehicles, gasoline. I hope you will consider increasing your involvement with CP. We value your prayer support, giving of money, making contacts and booking playdates, housing and helping to spread the word—your giving helps make the work of the Covenant Players possible.

We are God’s Voice—not the only one, of course. Still, God’s voice. Covenant Players will continue to go to where the people are, to do our part in turning the world upside right for the Lord. We will continue to be your missioners, sent out from your churches and fellowships, the beneficiaries of your prayers and petitions, demonstrating the fruit of your financial support. We ask you to continue to stand by us and with us, as we continue into the next generation.