Please join In the Spirit Christian Church (1020 S. Garnett Rd. Tulsa, OK) on July 14th at 3:30pm for a concert to benefit the Oklahoma Family Empowerment Center. Oklahoma Family Empowerment Center is a not-for-profit agency that seeks to provide resources and assistance to individuals and their families that will empower them to live a successful and purposeful life.
Watch a video about the emergency kits impact!
A Letter From Church World Service:
As you might have heard, the CWS Kits program is a critical one for disaster responses both near and far. But we have one big problem: we don’t have an easy way for congregations in your area to collect the supplies needed to fuel those responses.
We’re determined to overcome that problem this year, which is why I’m reaching out to your congregation. We’re looking for one congregation to serve as our Emergency Kit Depot in your area when disasters strike the U.S. It’s a very low-maintenance commitment with a powerful outcome. Will you consider serving in this role?
As an Emergency Kit Depot, your congregation would open your doors for a limited period of time (around two months) following a major emergency, and only when CWS makes it clear that there is a need. This gives local congregations a place to drop off their emergency cleanup buckets, hygiene kits and school kits based on your availability.
Our team supplies almost everything you’d need to make this a smooth process: we communicate with local congregations, we send you a toolkit with preparation information, and we arrange for kits to be picked up at a date that is convenient for your congregation. You would simply be offering storage space and a handful of volunteers to help with the collection.
If your congregation is interested, I’d love to share more information with you about this important opportunity to see if it’s a mutual fit. Just complete this interest form and we’ll reach out to you right away – this is a first step in learning more, but it does not commit your congregation to the kits ministry.
Thanks so much for your support as we respond to more needs together,
Samantha Fore
Congregational Outreach Specialist
Church World Service
For more than 60 years, the Christian Church Commission, in relationship with The Christian Church (DOC) in Oklahoma, has been a part of the formation of almost 20 congregations in the greater Oklahoma City area. The Commission helped with my home church, Southern Hills Christian Church in Edmond, and may have helped with your church! In the past few years, the Commission has helped Iglesia Cristiana de Capitol Hill, Refuge Fellowship and Simplicity Christian Church with funding and support.
The Commission continues to pursue its mission of starting new churches in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. We feel a real need to continue working toward bringing the Good News to all that we can reach.
As a Commission, we have not done a very good job lately of publicizing our mission, or even our existence! We hope to do a better job of that this year. As part of that process, we have updated our brochure. For those of you who attended the Leadership Training School in February, we hope you saw our booth and picked up a copy of the brochure.
We would love to have you join us in our mission and we would love to visit with you and your church to let you know how you can help. You may view our brochure HERE. If you would like copies of our brochure or for someone to come to your church and make a (short) presentation, please let us know. We would be happy to!
Karl F. Hirsch
Hirsch, Heath & White PLLC
901 Cedar Lake Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73114
Telephone: (405) 235-1768
Northwest Area clergy invite Oklahoma clergy in active service of a congregation to join your colleagues for time away to rest, for continuing education, and connection to others that share a call to ministry. The retreat will focus on congregational transformation. The theme is “So You Think Something Needs to Change!”
Presentations by: Rev. Gene Spillman, Pastor Jeanette Heitfeld, Rev. Larry Metzger, Rev. Tom Stanley, and Rev. Pam Holt. Continuing education credit available.
The retreat is held at Roman Nose State Park. Housing options include typical hotel rooms in the lodge and small duplex style cabins away from the main campus. Housing options are limited, as this event is limited to 22 participants. The Northwest Area Cabinet underwrites up to 50% of this event so that the cost is a reasonable $160 per person.
Questions? Contact Michael Davison mdavison@okdisciples.org
The Central Area Disciples Men will gather for fellowship and a delicious meal at FCC Yukon this summer.
Date & Time: Thursday, July 11, 2019 • 6:30 pm
Dinner: $6 Brisket & All the Fixins!
Reservations: Call Dwight Weber at (405) 650-1442 by July 9th
Location: First Christian Church Yukon, 601 Maple Ave., Yukon, OK 73099
The recent Retired Clergy Gathering took place on June 18, 2019 at First Christian Church Stroud, followed by lunch at Rock Cafe. Please plan to join us for the next Retired Clergy Gathering in September. These events will primarily be fellowship, and occasionally a program. And, we will be collaborating on some organizational matters.
Future gatherings will be:
Right to left:
June Pruitt, Peggy Ziglar, Valerie Driscoll, David Hockensmith, Marilyn Knott, Regional Minister Pam Holt, Richard Ziglar, and Bill Shields at Rock Cafe on old Route 66 in Stroud, Oklahoma June 18, 2019.
Mark your calendar for October 28 – 30, 2019 from noon to noon for a Pastor’s Silent Retreat. It will take place at Canyon Camp, 31600 Camp Road, Hinton, OK 73047. More details, including registration information will follow soon.
In the last month, Oklahoma has sustained a severe weather pattern with unprecedented rain and tornadoes. El Reno endured flooding one week and a devastating tornado the next. The following communities also sustained flooding: Stillwater, Ponca City, Skiatook, Chandler, Miami, Muskogee, Langley, and the greater Tulsa area.
Thank you for your generous giving to Week of Compassion and the Oklahoma Disaster Fund, not just this spring season, but EVERY TIME YOU GIVE.
Every time you give, and there is a disaster in the world or in Oklahoma, you are there. Week of Compassion and Oklahoma Disaster Fund have provided assistance to individuals and congregations and will continue to do so because of your generosity.
Please continue praying for the long term disaster clean up in communities, for first responders who have rescued people and animals, for the Red Cross and the Medical Reserve Corps folks who are working endless hours with people, for the sandbaggers, for those who are providing clean water and a place to stay above water, for farmers who have lost crops, for those who still wrestle with weather anxiety, and who are battling extra mosquitoes, ants, and snakes. Your prayers hold a special place and fill the space between fear and safety.
Let us be grateful for our Disciples pastors who are prepared to stand alongside all those affected and members who are reaching out to love their neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ.
Images taken a few days after the first rain in May – view from I-35 and Ponca City exit. (Photo credit: Regional Minister Pam Holt)
Pentecost Offering supports new congregations! Also, thank you for praying for our brothers and sisters who are called to start new congregations by reaching out into the community with Christ’s love. Your gifts are helping 4 congregations in Oklahoma.
PRESS RELEASE:
ENID, OK June 3, 2019 — Phillips University Legacy Foundation is excited to announce that on Wednesday, May 1, J. Gottman began work as Director of Development. J. will work remotely, full time, from his home in Paducah, Kentucky, with regular trips to Enid as needed. He will serve in partnership with Executive Director, Kelly Coker, in support of the mission of PULF by providing scholarships and opportunities to educate and develop leaders who embody Christian values in their lives, service and work.
J. is a graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and earned his Masters of Divinity in 1997 from Vanderbilt Divinity School. Prior to joining PULF, J. served as Director of Development for Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. Additionally, he served 6 years as pastor at Century Christian Church in Owensboro, Kentucky, followed by more than 11 years as Lead Pastor at First Christian Church of Paducah. He is an experienced fundraiser and minister who appreciates the value of PULF’s mission of providing scholarships to undergraduate students who wish to attend a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) affiliated college or university.
J. has been married for 23 years to Erin, a Nurse Practitioner. They have a daughter, Bailey, who just graduated high school and will be attending Transylvania
University in Lexington, Kentucky, this fall; and a son, Gage, who will be a sophomore in high school. J. will have primary responsibilities for the Annual Scholarship Fund, alumni/ae relations, regional PULF gatherings around the country, major gifts, and the Legacy Foundation of planned givers. He is excited about partnering in the mission of PULF and looks forward to seeing the Legacy Foundation grow in providing even more scholarships to deserving students.