Simplicity Christian Church is in need of around 100 folding chairs for their growing congregation. If you have folding chairs for sale, loan, or as a gift please contact Jamie Bramble at 405-812-8206 or rjbpublishing@gmail.com
By Ms. Marilynn Knott (Retired Commissioned Minister)
Chair, Commission on Faith in Action
Member, Crown Heights Christian Church, OKC
Race as a descriptor of human types is a relatively recent addition to history, first appearing around the 17th century CE. Tribalism was the predominant difference during the centuries covered in the Bible. Both provided fodder for discrimination. We deal with both racism and tribalism today. While our indigenous tribes have felt the sting of bigotry since the arrival of others to what was described at the time as the New World, we now seem as a people to be developing groupings based on privilege.
An elderly white female being interviewed after voting recently said she voted for a certain candidate because she represented the woman’s culture. She apparently did not take into consideration the candidate’s positions on the issues. Fear of losing our identity to diversity is a very real challenge in our world today as it was in Jesus’ time.
For our prayer experience this week we invite you to spend some time meditating on how Jesus dealt with peoples of different cultures and backgrounds. One way to do this is to read the story shared in scripture and then re-enact it in your mind, putting yourself in the various roles of the participants ending each time in the role of Jesus. Will you be modeling Jesus?
For example, read the story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman found in Mark 7:24-30. Sit back and relax in a quiet place, close your eyes and image yourself in the story as the Syrophoenician Woman.
Now replay the scene and see yourself as one of the disciples.
Finally, try to take on the persona of Jesus. See the woman as he sees her. What do you think he sees that his disciples do not see? That we do not see?
Now try some others. How about Jesus meeting with the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-16 or Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus’ cross in Mark 15 or Jesus’ interaction with the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39.
What common themes occurred in each situation? What surprised you? What are some of the things from Jesus’ behavior can you adopt to help you love your diverse neighbors more successfully?
The Pension Fund would like to invite you to lunch on March 15th from 11am – 1:30pm at First Christian Church Norman, located at 220 S. Webster Ave. Norman, OK 73069.
Pension Fund is hosting a member luncheon to share with you the exciting work of Pension Fund this past year including our focused efforts on Ministerial Relief & Assistance.
Seating is limited so please RSVP to Chandra Haskett no later than March 8. You may RSVP via email (chaskett@pensionfund.org) or by phone at 317.713.2630. Be sure to let her know if you have any special dietary restrictions.
We look forward to seeing you in March!
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Todd Adams and Rev. Kyle Fauntleroy
By Ms. Marilynn Knott (Retired Commissioned Minister)
Chair, Commission on Faith in Action
Member, Crown Heights Christian Church, OKC
Luke 10:25-37 tells the story of a lawyer asking Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life and Jesus asks him back “What is written in the law?” The lawyer’s answer was one must love God and to love our neighbor’s as ourselves. Jesus concurred with the lawyer, but the lawyer was not satisfied. He wanted to know the limitations regarding who was considered a neighbor and who was not. I fear our society invests much time in parsing the definition of our neighbors.
Jesus answered him by telling a well-known story, The Good Samaritan. We even have laws that use those terms to limit liability when a person in good faith tries to help someone in distress. We must make decisions regarding who our neighbors are and whether they are someone we can love all the time. If not, why not? You are invited this week to delve deeper into the story of the Good Samaritan, an outcast himself as far as the Jews were concerned.
Every type of prayer form may not be meaningful to everyone. Trying something different though can sometimes help us move out of our comfort zones and into a richer relationship with God.
Lectio Divina which is Latin for “divine reading” is an ancient prayer type based on scripture readings. It is intended to generate communion with God and to increase knowledge of scripture calling participants to study, ponder, listen and pray from scripture. You are encouraged to read all of Luke 10:25-37 perhaps more than once and perhaps from more than one translation to understand the context of the scripture.
The Lectio Divina process seems most helpful when using briefer segments of scripture. After reading the full scripture select a verse or two on which to center. You might want to start with Luke 10:30b-31: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Using this scripture or another of your choosing follow these prayer steps:
If this was a meaningful experience, you may want to try it with some other scriptures from the story like Luke 10: 33-34 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Psalm 92.15 (Psalms Now)
Many years ago, a local United Methodist Church uptown was struggling with a conflict. They tried every way they knew how to correct the situation. After following UMC protocol, members still perplexed and dissatisfied with their minister, the District Superintendent, and Bishop, they walked out. Forty families, hurt and broken, frustrated and disappointed, walked out of their “church” not knowing where they would go or what they would do as a community of faith. At first they gathered in one member’s home, which worked for a few weeks. But as Sundays came and went, they missed being in their sacred space to worship. So, one Sunday morning these forty families walked into the local Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for worship. Imagine being the minister and looking out to see the pews full with quadrupled attendance. Imagine the people in the pews wondering why all these people were here.
These folks needed a safe place to worship. They needed a safe place to grieve. They needed some time to heal and discern what would be next for them. As worship moved along, some held hands with their pew mate and quietly wept. Some sang along with the hymns, some could not. All listened to the sermon that morning, and all shared in the Lord’s Supper that morning, clinging to every word uttered.
My colleague and I were very strategic and careful in our pastoral care in the days that followed. Should we call upon each family? And when? What questions would we ask? We decided to meet with a few key families to glean some understanding of the situation. And after a few weeks, we personally invited each family to a fellowship dinner for a meal and pastoral conversation knowing that these families were broken hearted and just needed sacred space to unpack what had happened and to discern their faith identity. They all had deep roots in their home church and many served in significant leadership roles. We were certain that once they had some distance from the situation, and allowed some time to get some perspective and heal, they would find their way back home or to another Methodist congregation.
Twenty years later, most of these folks are still with that Disciples congregation. However, they still remember their Methodist identity which is deep in their heart and soul. With the decisions of the UMC General Conference, they once again remember the pain and sorrow from long ago and are again deeply grieving decisions of the church that originally shaped and formed their faith.
With this week’s tragic vote of the UMC General Conference to adhere to tradition, along with the added disciplinary action, our Methodist brothers and sisters across the nation and the world are experiencing trauma, are heartbroken, and are in need of safety, comfort, and care. My prayer for them, whether they are serving as ministers or lay people, is that they do not lose all hope, that the Spirit gently guides them into sacred space to cry out or quietly grieve their deep disappointment in their “church” which has betrayed them, and that they remember God’s grace and love will prevail. I pray that we, as Disciples, walk beside them in their deep grief and as they discern how they will continue to serve God as a follower of Jesus Christ. I also pray that we Disciples are there for them with open arms when they are ready.
Picking up the Peaces,
Pam
By Ms. Marilynn Knott (Retired Commissioned Minister)
Chair, Commission on Faith in Action
Member, Crown Heights Christian Church, OKC
This year we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Christian Reformation. Martin Luther brought to a head the corruption that was choking the church from being the force God intended it to be. It seems we do not heed well the lessons of history. Although the issues differ, the strangling behavior continues as we ignore what is right in front of our eyes and take no action to correct it.
I must say as we considered calling Oklahoma Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) to a season of prayer regarding racism, we were seeing social media posts saying, “thoughts and prayers are not enough.” When this phrase is stated hollowly as a means of withdrawing from action, I agree with those who are offended by it. However, a quote from Martin Luther provides a different perspective:
Ah, if I could only pray the way that dog looks at meat. –Martin Luther
Prayer is an active verb and one should never pray unless he or she is willing to respond to God’s answers. I once had a tiny eight-pound dog who loved everybody and was mild mannered. Yet, one should never come between a dog and meat. I had just fixed my dinner plate and sat down at the table to eat when the telephone rang. As I rose to answer the phone, my dog apparently jumped onto my chair and snatched my pork chop. When I returned to the dining room, he was chomping down on it. I do not know why I did it, but I attempted to take it away from him. It is amazing how feisty and illusive an eight pounder can be.
Anytime we pray we are charting a path to personal action. God is not in the business of waving a magic wand to solve our woes. God will show us the paths we might take to solve issues both as individuals and as communities of faith as we strive, in partnership with God, to fulfill God’s vision of a world ruled by love. As Luther worked with dogged determination to end corruption in the church, we must work to end racism and other forms of bigotry in this world.
Around 8 years ago Rev. Daniel U’Ren, Senior Minister at Western Oaks Christian Church started hosting a Lenten series called “Soup for the Soul”. In the past Western Oaks has done studies on Hospitality, Community, Justice, and Love Thy Neighbor. This year, given the growing feeling of being fragmented and divided in the country and the world, the topic is “Shalom”.
This year Western Oaks is happy to welcome Rabbi Abby Jacobson, Dr. John Starkey, Sen. Rev. Dr. George Young, and Dr. Imam Imad Enchassi as guest speakers.
Click here to view the flyer.
Please join First Christian Church Moore on Monday, April 15, 2019 at 7 pm to hear a presentation called “Christ in the Passover”. The presentation will show how each component of the Seder meal/Passover celebration pointed to Jesus. Jesus’ Last Supper was actually a Jewish Passover. Shoshannah Weinisch of Jews for Jesus will re-create the traditional Passover service and explain how it foreshadowed Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Shoshannah Weinisch will set a table with items traditionally used at the Passover meal and detail their spiritual significance. She will also explain the connection between the events of the first Passover in Egypt and the redemption that Jesus accomplished, as well as the deep bond between the ancient Passover feast and the Christian communion celebration today.
Jews for Jesus has presented “Christ in the Passover” at over 38,000 churches. It has been enthusiastically received by Christians who appreciate learning more about the Jewish backgrounds of their faith. Moishe Rosen, who founded Jews for Jesus in 1973, has also co-written the book, Christ in the Passover, with his wife, Ceil. This seminal work includes a look at Passover in ancient times and how it is practiced today.
Brickner, a fifth-generation Jewish believer in Jesus, succeeded Rosen as Executive Director in 1996. Brickner has kept Jews for Jesus on the cutting edge as the ministry has expanded and established branches in eleven countries, including the United States, Brazil, Israel, Russia, France, and South Africa.
“We exist to make the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide,” Brickner states. “There are still a few that haven’t heard of us!”
Shoshannah Weinisch will be happy to answer questions after the presentation. Call (405) 794-6166 or visit http://www.fccmoore.org for more information. There is no admission charge.
By Rev. Don Johnson (retired)
Member, Central Christian Church, Enid
Economic and racial discrimination exists in education. There are often specific schools for children of the rich and other schools for children from poor families. Schools for children from poor families often provide substandard education.
Our Sunday school class became aware of a problem in such a school in a poor village of indigenous people on the shore of Lake Titicaca, in Peru. Here, 15 children, ages 3 to 6, went to a one room school with meager school supplies. As an example, they shared one box of crayons and one pair of scissors. It was no surprise that children from this village were not allowed an opportunity to take the admission test that determined who could attend the very good schools for children ages 7 to 12. As a result, these children didn’t get to go to the schools for “rich children.” And these parents, particularly fathers in this patriarchal society, saw little value of education for their children that led nowhere.
Our Sunday school class began to donate $50 per month to provide this school with adequate school supplies. After a year, a father from this village felt empowered to insist that his six-year old daughter take the admission test. She came in fourth of the 2000 children tested. She was admitted to the rich children’s school. And she did well. Through our providing school supplies for her school, Maria has a better future than her parents had ever hoped for.
Because of Maria’s success, parents from this village have changed their attitude towards school. They have hope for a better life for their children through education. And they tell their children, “Follow Maria’s example. Pay attention to your teacher and do your homework. Now, children from this village routinely test well and are admitted to the schools for rich children. And they succeed.
The Oklahoma Region changes lives with education through your contributions to the Region’s Annual Fund, the Disciples Mission Fund and our ministry to Caminante. Call the Region for opportunities to make a difference.
Would you like to help make finger labyrinths to be given away at General Assembly 2019? This will provide an opportunity for General Assembly attendees to feel the far-reaching witness of our Disciples Women. (Disciples Women from across the United States will be joining us in this project.)
All the details, patterns, and instructions are included below.
When you are finished please write your first name only, your congregation, and your city and state on the tags for each labyrinth.
Please mail by June 1st to: First Christian Church, 2500 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311, Attention: Wende.
Thank you to First Christian Church, Des Moines for offering to hold the shipments until General Assembly!