A Connection

New Covenant Community Church

Schuylerville, NY

Source

(This connection in no way implies that New Covenant Church is under the direction of Homestead Heritage, but that there has been an influence.)

In 2007, The Saratogian of Saratoga Springs, New York, ran an article about the New Covenant Community Church in Schuylerville, New York entitled "Breaking Their Ties," by Jim Kinney.

Shannon Ketchum was on Broad Street in Schuylerville a few weeks ago when she spotted a family from her former church, the New Covenant Community, walking toward her on the sidewalk.

The oncoming mother, clad in the distinctive long sleeves and long skirt required of women by New Covenant, whispered something in her children's ears. The whole family then crossed the village's main street to avoid Ketchum.

 "I just laughed," she said.

But some of what  Ketchum has to say about her experience with New Covenant doesn't make her laugh. In fact, she's already gotten a Family Court judge to bar church leaders from proselytizing her teenage children.  

The church has raised eyebrows in Schuylerville during its 35-year existence. Besides requiring women to wear long skirts and long sleeves, members are encouraged to socialize together almost exclusively. (p. 1A)

Ketchum, along with another former member who didn't want her name used for fear of retribution, said the church has lost many longtime members in the past two years, as New Covenant has moved closer to the teachings of Homestead Heritage, a communal living group based outside Waco, Texas. . . 

Ketchum said she had to step back from church activities for more than a year because of family issues, and when she returned, the church had changed.  'Now we are all going to be artisans and live off the land,' she said. That's the influence of Homestead Heritage, Ketchum said.

Phillip Arnn is a senior researcher with Waschman (sic) Fellowship, a group that studies religious organizations like Homestead, which is Pentecostal in nature. He said Homestead's founder and Tom Bowden were young evangelists together in a Pentecostal denomination in the 1960s.

Bowden said New Covenant isn't moving toward Homestead's teachings, despite the fact his brother lives there. . .[Ed. I'm not aware of Tom's brother being a part of Homestead. I do know that his son, Micah, is.] 

But Ketchum said over the past two years New Covenant has become more conservative. She said she was asked not to take mental health medication and had to quit the church for that reason.

The other former member confirmed that members were told not to take drugs to treat mental health conditions or seek counseling outside the church.

Ketchum claims New Covenant members are instructed not to talk with former members.

The anonymous former member backs that up. "It can be hard for some of these people," she said. "These are your friends; theses are your family members." 

Members are encouraged to socialize together nearly exclusively, a practice Bowden defended.

"That's sound biblical teaching," he said. "You never know where a bad influence can come from."

Ketchum claims the church's teachings go beyond that. She said she was even told by church leaders not to attend her parent's funeral. (p. 10A)

On 11-19-06 a member of NCC read a letter aloud to the congregation that was directed toward people who had left the church. "The response of the congregation was to stand and applaud."

Dear Brother Tom,

 As blank And I contemplate our decision to leave NCC,we realize we owe you one more respect.We are compelled to write you this letter in an effort to explain the truth of why we would leave.We also see that time is of the essence now to write this while we still have some remnant of understanding.Please read this letter to the congregation so there is no question of the truth of this matter. 

 The blank family is choosing to break our covenant,leave the body and come out from under your covering of ministry because of our failures,our unbelief,our lack of faith,our poor decisions,our foolishness,and our choice to merely survive in this world rather than overcome it.We do not possess the level of commitment that is required to be called a brother and sister in the body of Christ.We can no longer be faithful to NCC and no longer want to submit to the ministry because of our own lack of understanding and shortcomings that we refuse to see change.We want to see our sins hidden and deal with them on our own.We're hoping for the best. 

In no way are you the leadership or anyone else in the body to blame for what we have chosen to become.Your love,covering,devotion,care,justice,patience,graciousness,guidence, and counsel,were consistantly there for us and always sure and upright.You never tickled our ears but always told us what we needed to hear.Your ministry always pointed the way to the Lord and never to yourself.You have not failed us;it is we who have failed the Lord and you.It is we who became impatient,predudicial,and self-seeking. 

 We have chosen to excersize our senses for our own purposes and goals and no longer want to submit them to your leadership.Therefore,we have forfeited your apostleship for what we want to see.We have forfeited your prophetic ministry for what we want to hear.We have forfeited your vision for evangalism for what we smell in our future that is coming.We have forfeited your pastoral covering for what we want to touch and we have forfeited your teaching for what we choose to taste. 

You see,our own five senses have become our five-fold ministry. 
This letter serves as record for the truth,for one day,it will call us liars,for as we walk away from your covering,we know we will eventually lose whatever truth,understanding and wisdom we now possess.Please make sure the congregation never forgets the truth. 
Thank you for the past ???years 

Signed-all who have or will leave NCC Source

The most recent Saratogian article on New Covenant Church makes only a brief mention of the
controversy surrounding them.

Reaction to the community and its practices from people outside has long been mixed.

"From the first time we bought this land and had a picnic, rumors started," Bowden said. Rumors that they were a commune, that they brainwashed members; that members were pressured to stay . . .  Source

In 2002, New Covenant Church made the news when "a youth ministry volunteer" at the church "sodomized a 15-year-old by force over a two-year period that began when the boy was 14, state police said." Source

Quoted material from:
Kinney, Jim. "Breaking their ties." The Saratogian. 14 Oct. 2007: 1A, 10A.