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Ever Wanted to Go To Church Camp? Now’s Your Chance!
Would your child, grandchild, friend, or neighbor like a spiritually enriching, outdoor experience this summer? Due to a recent gift to our church, we are in a position to offer full sponsorships for young people interested in attending summer camp. The Oklahoma Region of the Christian Church has announced the dates for the camps to be held at Central Christian Camp in Guthrie. They are always seeking adults to serve as counselors as well, so if this is something you feel called to do, please visit with me and I will connect you with the right people. There are camps for children who have completed the 2nd grade all the way through high school. The dates for each camp are available in the office and are posted on the bulletin board in the office hallway. In order to avoid a late fee, all registrations must be postmarked by May 15. Let’s encourage our young people to take advantage of this great opportunity. I have been a part of many summer camps, and I know they can be life-changing! Let’s encourage the children and youth in our lives to sign up.
We also express our thanks to the anonymous donor who has made this a possibility.
Blessings,
Amy
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In the Bulb There is a Flower
All around us are signs of struggle. All around us are signs of new life! This is the tension of Lent and Easter, and this is the tension of the life of faith. Having just returned from a week-long mission trip to Mexico, where we witnessed devastating levels of poverty, over and again we were impressed with the graciousness of the people we met. In the midst of the most terrible living conditions, the people were so welcoming---so genuinely hospitable. In the midst of such suffering we were made to feel fully alive!
We are having a rich and full Lenten experience here at the church. We have had great attendance in Lenten worship, and it seems that many are taking this time of spiritual renewal seriously. Easter is just around the corner, and spring is already beginning to bloom around us. Easter will be more meaningful for those who have taken time to “go deep” in Lent. I encourage you to stay on the Lenten path, examining your life for areas where you can grow, baggage or resentments you can let go of, commitments you can make to draw closer to God (God is always seeking to draw closer to us).
Put the Holy Week dates on your calendar and plan to walk in the footsteps of our Lord. Resurrection is just around the corner.
Journeying Through Lent with You,
Amy
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Faith Matters
One of the hallmarks of being a Disciple is that we encourage people to “think on their own”. As a denomination, we have always valued higher education and life-long learning, and we demonstrate this commitment by heavily funding multiple colleges and seminaries. We are less known for doctrine and dogma than we are for independent theological reflection. In other words, we believe that God calls us to make our own decisions about how we understand God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to be at work in the world.
Of course this means we need to work at it! There is a wonderful opportunity for adult learning being presented this winter by Philip’s Seminary, being held at Southern Hills Christian Church in Edmond. Each session will be taught by a seminary professor, and each session stands alone (feel free to pick and choose). Come for the challenge, for new ideas, for fellowship, and to grow in your faith. By the way—it’s free! All sessions will be held on Monday evenings from 7 to 8:30 at Southern Hills Christian Church, 3207 S. Boulevard, in Edmond.
February 16 Digging the Faith: Archaeology and the Bible
Bill Tabernae, Seminary President
February 23 Faith Matters at the Table: Dinner with Jesus and Paul
Dennis E. Smith, Ladonna Kramer Meinders Prof of New Test.
March 2 Faith Matters in Our Singing: Going Down to the River to Pray
Belva Brown Jordan, Instructor in Ministry Studies
March 9 Political Faith: How Candidates Use Religion
Joseph Bessler, Professor of Theology
March 16 Gardern-Variety Mystics: Living Our Faith
Kay Lynn Northcutt, Professor of Preaching and Worship
March 23 Practices of Faith: Call to Discipleship and Decolonization
W. Anne Joh, Professor of Theology
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The Stories of Advent
Ready or not, Advent is upon us. It follows quickly on the heels of Thanksgiving this year. Even before we have finished our Thanksgiving Day leftovers, we will be stringing popcorn and cranberries here at the church in preparation for our Old Fashioned Christmas. Somehow things seem different this year. Perhaps it’s because our economy is suffering. I’m hearing many say that they want to pare down Christmas and focus on the part of it that really matters. When I ask them what that part is, they usually say “the story”.
Of course there is so much bound up in this story. This story of waiting and hoping. This story of expectation, where the world waits for the birth of One who truly makes a difference. And where will we find him?
In a recent article in The Christian Century, James Brenneman reflects on the prophet Isaiah’s search for a savior. “Tear open the heavens and come down”, Isaiah writes, and underneath it he seems to be saying, “Make yourself known to us. Don’t just stand there silently, God. Do something!”
My experience has been that in spite of our desperate pleas, God usually comes in quiet ways. As I’m decorating cookies with my children, God comes. As we gather in worship and sing the familiar carols, sort of forgetting to hope, God comes. As we call on someone who spends most of their time alone, and we sit in the quiet with them, God comes.
This is the story of Advent. We wait. We watch. And we look for signs of God all around us.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
The world is waiting.
May the blessings of this season be upon us.
Amy
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The New Testament Lectionary texts have recently included Paul’s letter to the Romans. Much of this letter focuses on reminding “young” Christians how to get along. The church had begun to bicker over insignificant matters, and in the letter to the Roman Christians, Paul is directing their focus back to this central tenet of our faith: love.
As we live in the community called “church”, we practice learning how to love, and something is formed that is greater than the sum of its parts. With the following excerpt from The Art of Forgiveness, the spiritual writer Jack Kornfield offers a wonderful illustration of communal love, suggesting that a gesture of love can transform us.
“The patrons sit at a communal log table and each finds before his plate a modest bottle of wine. Before the meal begins, a man will pour his wine not into his own glass but into his neighbor’s. And his neighbor will return the gesture, filling the first man’s empty glass. In an economic sense, nothing has happened. No one has any more wine than he did to begin with. But a loving community has appeared where there was none before”.
May love be both our lesson and our guide as we continue to live out Christ’s call to form community.
Grace and Peace,
Amy
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