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Caring in Crisis Webinars for Congregation Leaders

Embracing God’s Future without Forgetting the Past in Congregations

Crisis Care Ministries is hosting a four-part series to help congregations navigating changes that have led to decline and significant loss, Embracing God’s Future without Forgetting the Past: A Conversation about Loss, Grief, and Nostalgia in Congregational Life.

The four free, hour-long webinars focus on ways clergy, church staff and lay leaders can work through these experiences with the congregation. Registration is now open for the first session on Tuesday, January 17th at 10:00 am CT. (sessions will be recorded)

2023-01-04T15:17:30-06:00Jan 4, 2023|Clergy News|Comments Off on Caring in Crisis Webinars for Congregation Leaders
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Disciples Men Restructured

By Ron Patrick
President, Men’s Discipleship Council

Overview

A new Men’s Discipleship Council (MDC) was approved by the Disciples Home Mission Board. This new organizational structure allows us to bring together a reasonably sized group of people to develop and promote the ministries of Disciples Men with a greater diversity of perspectives.

Our Rationale

The General Conference of Disciples Men (GCDM) is the long standing program arm of the Office of Disciples Men. The GCDM consisted of the President of Disciples Men for each Region and the Regional staff person responsible for Men’s Ministries in each of the Regions. The Director(s) of the Office of Disciples Men served as ex officio members. The GCDM was led by an Executive Committee made up of elected officers and appointed representatives from National Convocation, Obra Hisipana, and North American/Pacific/Asian Disciples (NAPAD).

Over the years fewer and fewer regions have maintained functioning Disciples Men’s groups at the regional level, and many regions do not have a staff person assigned to resource Disciples Men. To be effective a new approach was required.

These realities, along with the COVID pandemic, prompted the Executive Committee of GCDM to gather for a retreat in March 2022 to discern and develop a new structure for Men’s Ministries in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The new Men’s Discipleship Council is the result of that effort.

This new organizational structure allows us to bring together a reasonably sized group of people to develop and promote the ministries of Disciples Men with a greater diversity of perspectives. The new Men’s Discipleship Council (MDC) was approved by the Disciples Home Mission Board at its November 2022 meeting.

What’s New

Each of the five Regional geographic clusters will have three representatives on the MDC (no more than on person from each Regional cluster to be a clergy person). In keeping with our prior structure, National Convocation, Obra Hisipana, and NAPAD will each have two dedicated seats on the MDC. It is our intention to fill the 15 cluster representative seats with men who also represent the diversity in leadership priority of the DOC. In addition, there will be one dedicated seat for an indigenous representative nominated by the Center for Indigenous Ministries.

The Executive Committee of the GCDM also wanted to ensure that the MDC was intentionally including perspectives from across the denomination.

We hope this new structure will enhance the ministry of Disciples Men, but also be a support to the wider church.

The Five Touchstones of Disciples Men (loving, serving, faithful, compassionate, and Christ-like) are the foundation upon which the Men’s Discipleship Council will develop its ministries.

Click here to get a copy of the new organizational structure.

Disciples Men is a ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and proud to be a part of Disciples Home Mission.

2023-04-03T10:55:00-05:00Dec 12, 2022|Disciples Men|Comments Off on Disciples Men Restructured
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Remembering the Saints

By Regional Minister Pamela Holt

Because November 1st fell on a Tuesday this year, many Disciples in Oklahoma celebrated All Saint’s Day on October 30th or November 6th. Thank you for remembering those saints in your midst who have walked this journey before you and alongside you.

The Regional Church also celebrates All Saint’s Day by remembering our clergy who have gone before us this last year.  We keep a library of these faithful servants on our website. These saints said “yes!” to the call of God to serve vocationally. These saints planted seeds of faith formation over the years and found great joy in preaching, teaching, caring, and offering God’s forgiveness and grace around many tables. They also presided at funerals and officiated weddings, and baptized many. We remember and give thanks.

This past week, I had the privilege of preaching at Yale Avenue Christian Church in Tulsa. I took the opportunity to invite us to also be “saints” with a story from my journal. I do not know the original source.

I learned about a congregation who took their Halloween celebration and tied it to a celebration of All Saint’s Day in a little bit different way. The did this by inviting everyone to come to church on Sunday morning dressed as their favorite saint. St. Paul was there, as well as Saint Francis. Saint Nicholas made an appearance, and Saint John the Baptist showed up too, with his head on a platter!

Then there were those who did not follow the instructions at all. Or maybe, they just had a better understanding of what the word “saint” means. There were a couple of cowboys present, and many people came dressed in the costumes of nurses and doctors, constructions workers and policemen, firefighters and even a politician. One even dressed up as a minister.

At the end of the party awards were given out to those with the best costumes, and then everyone was given a glittery halo to wear. Made with Christmas tinsel, they were beautiful things that hovered over every person’s head just like the real thing might. And then everyone marched into the church sanctuary and took their place for a time of worship with their halos bobbing and swaying and sparkling in the light of candles. The minister wrote, “I was amazed at how funny and eerie and even beautiful this all looked. There were all kinds of people there, from all the different times and places on earth, and binding them all together, making them one, were those delicate, beautiful halos, linking each person with the others and everyone there with all God’s saints in all times and places.”

Saints are not just those in our past who we remember and to whom we are still connected by love. They are also all of us who are baptized, proclaiming Jesus as our Lord & Savior, who gather at the Lord’s Table every week where all are invited to eat the bread and drink from the cup of the new covenant, and who strive every day to love and serve as Jesus. I hope we can recognize our holiness amidst our humanness. It is a thin place to be. Thanks be to God.

You may view those we honor in Oklahoma on our Saints page.

2022-11-22T15:28:03-06:00Nov 22, 2022|Pamela Holt Blog, Regional News|Comments Off on Remembering the Saints
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Help Local Afghan Children with Winter Clothing

Might you help? Winter clothing for local Afghan children

Oklahoma Disciples have been asked to help provide winter clothing for our Afghan neighbors; children between 5-10 yrs. Winter is coming and many children still need warm clothing – particularly to wear at school for recess and for those who walk to school. In working with CAIR Oklahoma (Council on American-Islamic Relations), we will help provide 248 children with hats, gloves, and scarves, and socks. There are several ways you can help!

  • Make a financial donation to CAIR.
  • Purchase items from the Amazon wish list on the CAIR website.
  • Donate new purchased items you choose.
  • Volunteer to help sort, greet families, and help choose items in the clothes closet, or deliver the winter items to families in need. Sign up here.

If you would like to participate in this ministry or need more information, please email Rev. Mary Heath at [email protected].

2022-10-10T15:48:48-05:00Oct 10, 2022|Mission|Comments Off on Help Local Afghan Children with Winter Clothing
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College of Regional Ministers Bring a Variety of Gifts

By Pamela G. Holt, 09.09.2022

Finally, we gathered in-person! After two years and five months, on July 21-23, 2022, the College of Regional Ministers and the Fellowship of Regional Moderators gathered in Fort Worth, Texas to learn, to worship, to fellowship, and to eat good food! We had such a good time being in one another’s presence!

On Saturday, just the Regional Ministers met together, and our meeting opened with worship and a time to get re-acquainted. The first exercise invited each of us to name two gifts we bring to the College. The following is a list of just a few of the various gifts we share together in our ministries.

Wisdom
Generation x representation
Strength
Saying hard things
Intersectionality
Flexibility
Listening
Openness
Diversity
Quirkiness
Teaching
Joy
Memory
Vulnerability
Energy
Organization
Forthrightness
Love
Curiosity
Spiritual direction & formation
Honesty
Holy impatience
Compassion
Presence
Gentleness
Leadership
Planning
Transparency
Sense of humor
Brokenness

The second exercise invited each of us to name something we have done recently that was inspiring.

Helped my mom to make end of life decisions
Got a new puppy
Attended my best friend’s wedding
Sold a home
Served as a church camp counselor
AquaFit
Enjoyed a beautiful sunset during summer camp worship
Sabbatical
Read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy for the first time
Learned to quilt
Made a “hole in one” while playing golf
Completed a major life goal
Pilgrimage to Ghost Ranch
Trip to Martha’s Vineyard
Read the US Constitution and Amendments
Traveled back to my hometown NYC
Hiked the Continental Divide to an elevation of 11,800 ft
Attended granddaughter’s graduation

As you can begin to see, Regional Ministers together reflect a diverse, extraordinary group of individuals with a variety of gifts and passions, just like our diverse Regions. Regional Ministers also bring a vast collection of ministerial experiences. We are often referred to as consultants or administrators, but also we are pastors. We hope and pray we are still alert in our vocation as pastors who, Martin Marty writes, “are daily engaged in discovering, as [we] unearth old, often ancient stories for the light [we] throw in an otherwise shadowy or dark world of human activity.” Cynthia G. Lindner, Varieties of Gifts, (Roman & Littlefield, 2016), forward vii-viii, (adapted).

I am grateful to serve as a Regional Minister and to be a part of this very gifted group of colleagues! Enjoy!

2022-10-10T10:57:01-05:00Oct 10, 2022|Pamela Holt Blog, Regional News|Comments Off on College of Regional Ministers Bring a Variety of Gifts
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Fall 2022 Annual Fund Encourages Generosity

Greetings Faithful Disciples!

Thank you for your generous giving to the Regional Church! We are always grateful for your financial support that helps our Region equip and empower Disciples to tell this amazing story of God’s love and grace, which is for everyone.

Below is a glimpse of how your gifts are working for congregations and clergy to make a difference in simple and profound ways. You may see more of the Region’s activities by browsing our website or our monthly Regional Roundup newsletter. (You may sign up here)

Fall is an exciting time for your congregations with outreach into your local communities: backpack blessings, teacher blessings, Pride activities, planning for Fall festivals and Pumpkin Patches, as well as new bible studies and retreats. Thank you for loving your church. Soon we will be preparing for the holy season of Advent and Christmas!

Remember, we are in mission and ministry together, and we cannot do this ministry without you! So we are inviting you to prayerfully consider a monetary gift to the Regional Church Annual Fund. Please click this secure link to give online, or return your gift in the envelope we mailed to you recently.

Note: If you have a retirement account where you are required to take a distribution, you may make a charitable donation directly from your “required minimum distribution.” Please contact a financial advisor to learn more and if eligible, please include the Christian Church in Oklahoma as one of your gifts.

Peace and God’s Grace,

Pamela G. Holt, Regional Minister

2022-10-06T11:31:33-05:00Oct 6, 2022|Regional News|Comments Off on Fall 2022 Annual Fund Encourages Generosity
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Demolition of Iconic FCC OKC Building

A Pastoral Letter from the Regional Church:
Years to Build, Hours to Demolish

A Community Service of Remembrance and Hope
upon the demolition of the iconic building of
First Christian Church Oklahoma City

Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 4:00 pm

at Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma
The Disciples Center
301 NW 36th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73118

On Monday, September 26, 2022, the iconic sanctuary built and owned by First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Oklahoma City was demolished. This demolition was surprising, shocking, and unbelievable to many. And yet, over the years this sacred space had become an unhealthy building with more overhead than First Christian Church of Oklahoma City could manage. Interestingly, this building took years to build and only hours to demolish.

As you know, this demolition was quickly reported in the media who primarily focused on the generosity of the congregation to open the space back in 1995 to serve as the gathering space for the families of the Murrah bombing victims. This is a significant part of this building’s story, but not the only story.

Over the years, the unique building of First Christian Church has been a sacred place of worship. It is a place where members and friends have come to sing and praise God, to pray for the sick and the vulnerable, confident that no prayer would go unheard or unanswered, to hear and be transformed by a Good Word from the Lord, to gather around the Lord’s Table every week and to receive God’s grace and mercy.

This sacred space has served as a gathering place over the years for families to celebrate baby dedications, baptisms, graduations, weddings, and funerals, as well as installations of new ministers, and ordinations of clergy. This space has been a place of faith formation with members as well as gathering the entire Region of Disciples of Christ in Oklahoma for our Leadership Training School and for Regional Assemblies. This building has been very visible to the community in its iconic structure, and it has drawn the community into its Jewel Box Theatre for amazing musicals.

Six years ago, First Christian Church listed their entire property, 31 acres, for sale on the commercial market. Only then did they realize the community impact. There was mighty opposition from a segment of the community who desperately wanted to save the iconic architecture and design and did not want anyone who purchased the property to demolish the building.

As of this date, the property has not been sold. Over the years, this building has become a heavy burden with maintenance and upkeep, and very costly to the worshiping community of First Christian Church. Thus, the congregation decided to undertake the demolition, knowing the impact this destruction would have on so many people’s hearts and memories.

To honor this difficult time and to recognize the surprise, shock, anger, dismay, and deep grief, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma, also known as the Regional Church, will be hosting a Community Service of Celebration of Remembrance and Hope on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 4:00 pm on the grounds of the Disciples Center located at 301 NW 36th Street, OKC. This is the building just east of First Christian Church.

We lament the unique, iconic building is gone, but the joy of remembering is always with us. Please join us as together we grieve and invite the Holy Spirit to bless whatever will rise next from this sacred ground.

Peace and God’s Grace,

Rev. Pamela Holt
Regional Minister

View a video from ABC affiliate KOCO 5 about the service.

2022-10-06T11:37:50-05:00Sep 27, 2022|Regional News|Comments Off on Demolition of Iconic FCC OKC Building
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Going Digital!

In November of 2023, the Lease Agreement between OKC First Christian Church and the Disciples Center comes to an end, and the Disciples Center will revert back to OKC First Christian Church. This has been a long-held relationship between the two. For sixty years, the Disciples Center has been the home of the Regional Church, Oklahoma Disciples Foundation, Oklahoma Conference of Churches, and Oklahoma Interfaith Alliance, working together to share space, collegiality, and oftentimes collaboration.

As this Lease Agreement comes to an end, that means that all four entities will be transitioning to other locations some time in 2023. This does not mean that our collegiality and collaboration will go away, just the shared space!

Over the 60 years, the Regional Church has collected many, many, many paper files such as Official Board Minutes, Financials, Clergy Files, Congregational Files. Over the summer, the fabulous staff has been going through files, cleaning them out, in preparation for all of our files to be scanned and digitized into a database. It has been and still is an overwhelming process.

We have secured the services of eFileCabinet for our digitized filing system, and plan to do the scanning in three to four phases. Last week, the first phase began. We boxed and shipped to the scanning company in Utah all of our active “clergy and congregation files.” The team there is in the process of scanning our documents and uploading them into the system so we can have access. It is a remarkable process and also requires us to re-imagine our thinking and workflow processes! All of the Regional Church files should be in the new system by the end of 2022. This will allow us to significantly reduce our square footage for a future space.

After the first of the year, we will also need assistance in packing what we need to keep and selling the remnants. The Regional Church Board is on task to help! After the first of the year, there will be a sign-up schedule for volunteers!

We will keep the Region posted here on our ongoing office transition! Thank you for your patience and your prayers as we continue to do our work in the midst of all of this.

2022-09-08T13:58:41-05:00Sep 8, 2022|Regional News|Comments Off on Going Digital!
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Christian Church in Oklahoma (Disciples of Christ)

PO Box 891140
Oklahoma City, OK 73189-1140
Phone 405.528.3577

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1099 N. Meridian St., #700
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone 317.635.3100
www.disciples.org

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