Glendora 40th anniversary

With about 170 people in attendance, New Covenant Fellowship, the GCI congregation in Glendora, California recently marked its 40th year as a congregation.

Over its 40 years, New Covenant Fellowship has been a family-oriented, biblically-based church with a strong commitment to youth ministry. Young people from the congregation have gone on to study at the University of Southern California, Azusa Pacific University, Claremont Graduate University and Yale, as well as serving in the Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force.

The day’s guest speaker, Dr. Jeb Egbert, Provost at West Coast University, was typical of the many coaches and counselors who helped motivate teens and pre-teens in the 1980s when the church met at the Masonic Hall on Valley Center. Since 2001, the congregation has rented space from the Glendora Friends Church. Co-Pastor Judy Shoemaker of Glendora Friends gave the opening prayer for the anniversary service and Curtis May of the Office of Reconciliation Ministries ended with a benediction.

Bringing greetings from GCI were GCI’s Superintendent of Ministers, Dr. Dan Rogers with his wife Barbara, and District Pastor Eric Shaw with his wife Pat. Senior Pastor Neil Earle read official greetings from Glendora Mayor Gene Murabito saying “we appreciate the service and ministry of the New Covenant church [as] part of making Glendora a great place to live, work and play.”

As slide-show narrator Rose Neumann mentioned, New Covenant Fellowship has hosted Black History Month and Cinco de Mayo services every year since 1997 as reflections of its ethnic and cultural diversity. “Glendora has always been a welcoming and warm-hearted church,” said Assistant Pastor Roger Lippross, “one has only to look around to see the blend of races and cultures that has given the church a special composition.” The church also is involved in the National Day of Prayer and other civic events planned by the Glendora Ministerial Association. Ongoing outreach activities of the church include support for the Pomona Valley Shelter; the Bengali Evangelistic Association in Bangladesh; and Amigos Sin Frontera, a medical mission to the poorest mountain tribes of Mexico.

Dr. Egbert covered the subject “We’re Getting Older—Now What?” He brought out several points on facing the senior years joyfully, including enjoying the journey, taking care of yourself, doing something meaningful for others, and finding one small area of ministry and making it special.

Filipina culinary expert Maryann Baylosis led the women in serving a catered meal of braised beef and chicken. Margaret Villanova was happy to say that three generations of her family were in attendance. “So good to see lots of old friends,” she added. “You can’t beat that.”