Mercer Island member Mike Holmgren was in Detroit coaching the Seattle Seahawks, so the congregation figured the least it could do was gather together to watch the game. Tables and chairs and three eight-foot by eight-foot projector screens were placed in the sanctuary, says senior pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos. Food – pizza, hot dogs and plenty of snacks – was abundant.
The 125 people who attended the event got into the spirit of the day. Children waved homemade signs and would run onto the stage to be cheerleaders, Asimakoupoulos says. “People cheered as if they were actually in the stadium and as if the players could hear them.
“As the momentum of the Seahawks ebbed and flowed, the emotions followed suit,” Asimakoupoulos continues. “But there was no booing, as many Seahawks fans across the country were doing to express their displeasure with the officiating.”
During halftime, the church played a segment from the Friday broadcast of ABC World News Tonight that featured the trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo by Kathy Holmgren and the couple’s daughter, Calla – they are part of an eight-member medical team currently working at the Karawa hospital. After Asimakoupoulos shared about the Evangelical Covenant Church’s involvement with the Congo and its connection to Paul Carlson through the Paul Carlson Partnership, the church showed a video that ABC aired during the pre-game show about the trip.
Showing the video meant the congregation missed most of the Rolling Stones’ first song. Church member John Hendricks told the Seattle Times reporter who was at the church, “This is probably the first and last time we’ll see the Stones in the sanctuary.”
Earlier, during the regular Sunday service, Asimakoupoulos announced, “I’m overdressed” and pulled off his black robe to reveal a Shaun Alexander jersey. When the game was over and the Seahawks had fallen to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10, Asimakoupoulos led the church in prayer for Kathy and Calla, and that Mike would be able to comfort his dejected players.
The Holmgrens’ connection with the church continues to make news in unusual ways. Asimakoupoulos recalled that while he was waiting at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport following the Midwinter Pastors Conference for his flight to Seattle, he ran into the morning anchors for his favorite radio station. As a result, they interviewed the pastor prior to church on Sunday.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
