Rev. Dr. Joshua E. Bell was awarded his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Rev. Dr. Nancy Pittman, president of Phillips Seminary at the 2024 Spring Commencement.
Joshua is the minister at First Christian Church Perry. Congratulations!
Rev. Anna Holloway was ordained into Christian Ministry at Disciples First Christian Church, Oklahoma City on April 21, 2024.
Interim Regional Minister Rev. Randy Kuss and Associate Regional Minister Rev. Michael Davison conducted the services attended by a large group of Anna’s family and friends.
06-10-24 The Regional Minister Search Committee had their initial meeting Saturday, June 8, 2024 at the regional office. Rev. Paul Koch, Regional Minister of Mid-America Region, is serving as Regional Minister Search Partner, providing orientation for the team and guidance through the Executive Search Process used by the search committee.
Disciples General Minister and President Rev. Terri Hord Owens joined in via Zoom to bring some words of insight and guidance for the search. Rev. Nathan Hill lead the team through a session of Pro-Reconciliation Anti-Racism training.
The Search Committee will be scheduling Listening Sessions in late Summer and early Fall to discern current needs of the region that will assist in the call of the next regional minister. Watch for the schedule of sessions in a future issue of the Regional Roundup.
(Pictured L to R) Rev. Jerry Black, Madi Showalter, Ruth Moore, Ashley Gibson, Rev. Jose Garza, Rev. Susan Payne (committee chair). Not pictured: Rev. Milton Bowen.
Among our churches and church families, the Sulphur and Morris communities were hit the worst during our spring tornado season. First Christian Church Sulphur (above) and First Christian Church Morris suffered extensive damage from wind and water. Cleanup and repair is underway though final assessment of what is needed and the full cost remains to be seen. Pastors Randy Martin (Sulphur) and Tim Craighton (Morris) along with their church leaders are shepherding their congregations through this challenging time. Members of Sulphur have returned to worship in their building; Morris is currently meeting at the Lion’s Club.
Eleven church member families in Sulphur suffered partial damage or complete loss of their homes. Rev. Gary Mitchell, pastor of Midwest City Christian Church, also had damage to his home.
Disciples across the region and beyond responded! Week of Compassion, the disaster response arm of the Disciples of Christ, as well as the Disciples Pension Fund provided funds to assist. Numerous congregations and individuals sent donations to our regional disaster fund. Nearly $27,000 has gone so far to congregations and also to the Sulphur families (pictured below) to aid them toward recovery. Thank you!
It will be a long road. Communities are not yet ready for volunteer teams to do hands-on recovery work but when the time comes, we will get the word out. Further donations are still welcome. You may contribute through the Region’s online Givelify account, or checks may be noted Regional Disaster Relief Fund, Christian Church in Oklahoma, PO Box 891140, Oklahoma City, 73189-1140.
Click here to see images of the FCC Sulphur and FCC Morris building damages.
By Marilyn Bohlender, ODW President
Did you ever meet someone you instantly had a connection with? When you looked back at the details, you felt God’s hand was in it! A welcome smile, where they sat and where you sat were just the beginning of a new friendship! I could add more details but on May 20th at the meeting in Stroud, I met Maria Garza who will be part of the program at ROSES 2024 which will be held June 28-29th in McKinney, Texas.
At this point you are expecting a shout out for ROSES! Of course, I will do that in a minute. For just a moment let me diverge to a thought on how we connect with others and the impact we want to leave. To improve our relationship with others we must first look at our relationship with our loving God, Lord and Savior, which includes prayer.
Pray with me, “Lord, I want to be the friend others want to be friends with, I want to be the type of person others want to work with, I want to be the type of person that brings a smile to those around me. Most of all, I want to be the Christian in which others see Christ in me! If I stumble, I pray that I forgive myself and focus on the path forward, growing and filling myself with your spirit and message of love. Amen.”
Now a shout out for ROSES which will help you grow, renew and be spirit filled. It is not too late to register at CCSW.org. Deadline is June 20th. For more information you can also go to our web page.
Whether you are able to go or not, please pray for the ROSES event, the leaders, presenters and those attending. At last check we need one more to make 50 women attending from Oklahoma. With busy summer and camp schedules this is great attendance! It is not too late to reach out to other women, neighbors, or family, to attend; this may be the christian spark they need.
Are you the one more we need to attend to make 50? Do not let the fact that you are the only one from your church keep you from coming; you will make friends there. I know; at one time I was the only one!
I pray all of us go and make friends.
2 Peter 3:18 (NKJV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.
Weatherford Federated Church is celebrating its recent designation as a Certified Green Chalice Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Green Chalice recognizes that this church community is living out its faith by caring for God’s creation and leading the denomination and its community in authentic ways.
The Federated Church (Weatherford, OK) began the process by forming a Green Team, consisting of Rev. Kelsey Cobbs, board president Holly Clanahan, Tim and Sara Marie Bodenstein, Gaylene Perry and Marcie Grant. The Green Team then signed the Green Chalice covenant, a promise to make meaningful changes toward sustainability.
Working with the local utility company, the church had an energy audit conducted that identified a number of ways that the Federated Church could become more energy efficient. The most pressing need was to replace an antiquated HVAC unit, which the church was able to do almost completely through denominational grants. Very soon after installation of the new unit, the church’s utility bills were cut dramatically.
Lastly, in April, Rev. Cobbs led the congregation through a month-long sermon series titled “We Are Standing on Holy Ground: A worship series on the creator and a creation in peril.”
This trifecta of awareness, action and prayerful contemplation about how to walk more gently on the earth are worthy of celebration, and the Federated Church pledges to continue working toward better environmental stewardship, one green step at a time.
Weatherford Federated Church sings along with the Psalmist who wrote, “the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” (Psalm 24) They invite other congregations to join in caring for God’s creation. Learn more about Green Chalice Ministry.
Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.
(Psalm 24)
By Marilyn Bohlender, ODW President
Let’s look at opportunities. In February, we gave an offering for Week of Compassion; they have already reached out to our Oklahoma Region about our storm damaged churches. The opportunity to donate to Week of Compassion is online year round.
Let’s look at the opportunity to go to church. I was reading the most attended Sundays are Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day. Another highly attended Sunday is “Bring a Friend Sunday.” How important is it to ask a friend? Did you know someone is more likely to visit a church because a friend invited them! Relationships are important!
I will also ask, ladies are you inviting other women to our events? Bringing others to our events may get them excited about our churches besides being uplifted from the event. If you haven’t already, find out more about upcoming events.
ROSES, June 28-29th, is an event with women from a six state area and held only once every four years.
The NEODW Fall Retreat, Oct 4-5th, is for all women across Oklahoma. We will be adding more.
To keep in the loop, go to Oklahoma Disciples Women Facebook, Northeast Disciples of Christ Women Facebook, sign up for Regional Roundup or go to our Oklahoma Disciples Women page.
Pray for God to give you opportunities and act on those opportunities!
Colossians 4:5 (NIV) Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
04-29-24
We join in prayer and care for all those impacted by the tornadoes this past weekend. Of special concern among our Oklahoma Disciples family are First Christian Church, Sulphur, and First Christian Church, Morris. Both suffered significant damage to their buildings.
Expressions of care may be sent in care of their pastors, Randy Martin (Sulphur) at martins_ada@sbcglobal.net
Monetary gifts to help with recovery may be sent to
FCC Sulphur damages
FCC Sulphur exterior
FCC Morris roof damage
FCC Morris office damage
FCC Morris sanctuary damage
By Marilyn Bohlender, ODW President
Do I trust my GPS? Recently it gave directions that did not feel right to me. I took a different turn and the words “recalculating” shouted at me. Actually the path felt right and I did reach my destination!
I wonder if God tries to keep us on track and has “recalculating” moments when we take a different direction. The wise men followed a star to find Jesus. What do we have to guide us in a spiritual direction? We can turn to the Bible; we can pray for wisdom and discernment. Do we listen when we pray? Will God send messages through different means? This is a question many have explored and a question with many different answers.
It has also been my experience that I feel God’s presence when we as Christians gather together. Of course, we gather in church but for the women we have other opportunities to gather together. These events have quality presenters, service projects and the icing on the top is the fellowship and spiritual feeling that happens when Christian women gather.
All these events are welcoming of our church women outside their area. Pray for these events and our women to find a path to attend.
~Prayers and Blessings
Marilyn Bohlender, ODW President
Psalm 25:4 (NIV) Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.
We’re pleased to share that First Christian Church Stroud is hosting our 2024 Regional Assembly on Saturday, April 20, 2024 from 10 am-noon.
Please join us for the biennial business meeting with:
This in-person event will also be broadcast on the Region’s YouTube channel.
Let’s gather Oklahoma Disciples!
The gathering of the 2024 Regional Assembly will include voting delegates from each congregation and Oklahoma’s clergy to participate in the Region’s biennial business meeting. They will vote on the 2024-2026 officers of the Regional Board and the location of the 2026 Regional Assembly. They will also hear Interim Regional Minister Rev. Randy Kuss’ State of the Region address, and receive the Region’s 2023 financial recap.
$35 Adults – includes lunch
$20 Youth (7-18) – includes lunch
