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July Mission to Caminante

The Oklahoma Region is sponsoring a mission trip to Caminante in the Dominican Republic from July 29 – August 5. Caminante is a Global Ministries Partner of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It is located in Boca Chica, a beach-resort town with a 30% unemployment rate and significant social problems.

Caminante Offers Resources for a Better Life

The mission focuses on education and counseling for children, teenagers and adults. Henry Brewer-Calvert, a recent Global Ministries Intern at the site, recently spent three weeks talking to churches across Oklahoma about the successful growth of this mission. Participants in this month’s trip will see how the mission of Caminante has grown.

Participants Include Students, Clergy and Teacher

Co-leaders are Rev. Donald Johnson from Central Christian Church, Enid and Rev. Loma Sullivan from Woodlands Christian Church, Ponca City. Others traveling on the mission trip include Rev. Dr. Stephen Samples, a middle school teacher and chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital, Enid, Taylor Anderson a student at Oklahoma University, and Allison Wenthold, a recent Oklahoma City high school graduate.

Allison, an excellent dancer and Taylor, an excellent baseball player, hope to meet with teenagers and young adults.

Working, Learning &  Fellowship

Participants will work, paint, make coconut jewelry, teach English and learn Spanish as well as worship with our mission partners.

The group will deliver dental supplies, school supplies, T-shirts and baseball hats with American sports’ team logos.

They will learn about new priorities for Caminante. In addition, the group will learn how to partner with them in education and how Caminante can help our churches in Oklahoma – a mutuality of missions.

Trips Planned for 2017

Rev. Johnson says preliminary dates for future 2017 mission trips are expected to be in early February and July. Partial scholarships are available.

Please contact the Regional Office if you are interested in learning more about Caminante or to request a speaker to come to your church. We’d also love to hear from you if you are interested in participating in a future mission trip. 405.528.3577

See a slide show and learn more. >>

2017-01-08T11:03:02-06:00Jul 7, 2016|Mission|Comments Off on July Mission to Caminante

Oklahoma Clergy Retreat August 10-11

Oklahoma clergy are invited to spend some time away with colleagues for conversation and rest. It is sponsored by the Northwest Area and is open to all Disciples clergy.

This retreat will be held at Roman Nose State Park, on Highway 8A, 7 miles north of Watonga.

The $125 fee includes 2 meals, housing, and meeting space.

Registration closes on July 20 at 12 noon.

2017-01-08T11:03:02-06:00Jul 6, 2016|Clergy News|Comments Off on Oklahoma Clergy Retreat August 10-11

Author John Dominic Crossan to Speak in Oklahoma

FCC Edmond to Host Renowned Author John Dominic Crossan August 26-28

First Christian Church in Edmond is pleased to host an educational weekend event featuring renowned author and New Testament scholar Dr. John Dominic Crossan August 26-28.

The event is open to the public and will include small group presentations throughout the weekend. Dr. Crossan will also preach at three worship services on August 28; service times are 8:15, 9:00 and 11:00 am at the church located at 201 E. 2nd Street in Edmond.

New Testament Scholar

John Dominic Crossan has received awards for scholarly excellence from the American Academy of Religion, DePaul University, and an honorary doctorate from Stetson University, DeLand, FL. An author of twenty-seven books on the historical Jesus, the apostle Paul, and earliest Christianity, Crossan’s work has been translated into thirteen foreign languages. His most recent book is How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis through Revelation (HarperOne, 2015).

For more information on the event contact the First Christian Church of Edmond (405) 341-3544 or go to http://www.fccedmond.org/summerseries. UPDATED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS LINK

About John Crossan

John Dominic Crossan was born in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, in 1934. He was educated in Ireland and the United States, received a Doctorate of Divinity from Maynooth College, Ireland, in 1959, and did post-doctoral research at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1959 to 1961 and at the École Biblique in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1967. He was a member of a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic religious order, the Servites (Ordo Servorum Mariae), from 1950 to 1969 and an ordained priest from 1957 to 1969. He joined DePaul University, Chicago, in 1969 and remained there until 1995. He is now a Professor Emeritus in its Department of Religious Studies.

He was Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar from 1985 to 1996 as it met in twice-annual meetings to debate the historicity of the life of Jesus in the gospels. He was Chair of the Parables Seminar in 1972-76, Editor of Semeia. An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism in 1980-86, and Chair of the Historical Jesus Section in 1993-1998, within the Society of Biblical Literature, an international scholarly association for biblical study based in the United States. He was elected Vice President of that Society for 2010-2011 and President for 2011-2012.

He has received awards for scholarly excellence from the American Academy of Religion in 1989, DePaul University in 1991 and 1995, and an honorary doctorate from Stetson University, DeLand, FL, in 2003.

He has lectured to lay and scholarly audiences across the United States as well as in Ireland and England, Scandinavia and Finland, Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, and South Africa. He has been interviewed on 200 radio stations, including four times on NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross. He has been interviewed on television networks in England–such as Weekend TV, Channel 4 and the BBC; also in the United States–such as ABC’sPrimeTime, Peter Jennings Reporting, and Nightline, CBS’ Early Show and 48 Hours, NBC’s Dateline, and Fox News’The O’Reilly Factor, as well as on cable programs such as A&E, History, Discovery, and the National Geographic Channel.

Authored National Religious Bestsellers on the History of Jesus

He has written twenty-seven books on the historical Jesus, the apostle Paul, and earliest Christianity, and his work has been translated into thirteen foreign languages, including Polish, Hungarian, Russian, as well as Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.

Five of those books have been national religious bestsellers for a combined total of twenty-four months. The scholarly core of his work is the trilogy from The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (1991) through The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus (1998), to In Search of Paul: How Jesus’s Apostle Opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom, co-authored with the archaeologist Jonathan L. Reed (2004).

Along with Marcus Borg, he has co-authored a series of books: The Last Week: A Day by Day Account of Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem (2006); The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach about the Birth of Jesus(2007); and The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon (2009).

His most recent book is How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis through Revelation (HarperOne, 2015).

2016-08-17T10:01:13-05:00Jul 6, 2016|Congregations|2 Comments

Thank You Camp Counselors!

The Region’s summer camp program closed July 1st as Chi Rho campers and staff as well as CYF campers and staff said their final prayers together and headed out the gates of camp back into the world.

Our Region owes a BIG THANK YOU and our gratitude to the adults that volunteered this summer at a camp, and those that will volunteer at Texoma Camp and Mission Guthrie later this month.

Our brand of Christian witness is alive and well. Not sure? Come and serve as a camp counselor next summer. Our children and youth get it when we say, “There is ministry to do and gospel to be that only we can do and only we can be.”

Check out the latest edition of the Children, Youth, and Young Adult Intersection.

2016-07-05T16:16:03-05:00Jul 5, 2016|Youth|Comments Off on Thank You Camp Counselors!

General Assembly 2017 Promotional Sundays Set

July 31 • October 30 • January 29, ’17 • April 30, ’17

You have an opportunity this year to incorporate calls to attend the 2017 General Assembly with your worship and newsletters. Check this out!

• GA is providing a short video you can download from the promotion page to show before or during worship (or add to your website!).

• Just posted on the new General Assembly website is a document (in Word and  PDF) that contains text for newsletters/bulletins and suggested hymns for the fifth Sundays between now and the opening of the event.

• In addition there are communion and offering meditations and liturgies based on the Common Lectionary for the date.

• And the first two weeks of this month (and offered again in October and continuously from January to June) you can order polo shirts with the GA2017-Polo-ShirtGeneral Assembly logo to wear as promotion and also bring along to the event. Ten percent of all sales benefit Disciples Mission Fund. You can also order customization for a small fee and your purchase will still benefit DMF.

General Assembly registration opens Friday, July 8, 2016

2017-01-08T11:03:03-06:00Jul 5, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on General Assembly 2017 Promotional Sundays Set

Central Area Disciples Men Invited to Quarterly Meeting

Disciples Men-logoThe quarterly meeting of the Central Area Disciples Men will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday, July 14, 2016. The gathering will take place at Wildewood Christian Church (South Building), 6900 N. Kelley Ave., Oklahoma City.

Spouses are welcome to attend. Please phone your reservation for the $8.00 meal to Randy at (405) 306-9695 by Friday July 8.

2017-01-08T11:03:03-06:00Jul 5, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on Central Area Disciples Men Invited to Quarterly Meeting

Healthy Boundaries Fall ’16 Schedule

Clergy wishing to fulfill Healthy Boundaries training to meet 2017 Standing requirements have a choice of five fall seminar locations.

  • Northwest Area – 9/10/16 (Saturday) FCC Stillwater
  • Northwest Area – 9/24/16 (Saturday) FCC Yukon
  • Central Area – 9/29/16 (NEW weekday session Thursday) Disciples Center, OKC
  • Southwest Area – 10/8/16 (Saturday) FCC Lawton
  • Northwest Area – 10/22/16 (Saturday) University Place CC, Enid

Cost: $50 (includes lunch and materials) • 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Class size is limited so register early to reserve your space.

For more information contact the Regional Office at (405) 528-3577.

Find Your Date and Register Online

2016-07-05T14:37:59-05:00Jul 5, 2016|Clergy News|Comments Off on Healthy Boundaries Fall ’16 Schedule

Regional Office Closed July 4th

The Regional Office will be closed July 4th to celebrate Independence Day. Normal office hours will resume Tuesday July 5th. If you need emergency assistance please contact Assoc. Regional Minister Michael Davison (918) 899-8940. We wish you a safe and relaxing holiday!

2016-06-30T15:48:25-05:00Jun 30, 2016|Regional News|Comments Off on Regional Office Closed July 4th

Picking up the pieces. This time from Orlando.

“We have conquered every distance except one – the distance between human beings.”  — Jonathan Henry Sacks, British rabbi, philosopher, and scholar of Judaism

Dear Colleagues,

We are picking up the pieces once again. This time from Orlando. Words are everywhere, but there really are no words that speak enough comfort to the grieving. In the 21st Chapter of Revelation, we have heard many times, “God will be with the people; God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.” I cannot help but wonder, “Who? Who is wiping the tears from God’s eyes?”

Pastors, you are doing hard work ~
~ tending to your congregations, your people, searching for words of comfort and words of hope amidst such despair and even anger
~ tending to your friends whom you are deeply connected
~ tending to your own family
~ tending to your own soul that cries out with a resounding, “No, not again!” and joins the Psalmist, “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.”

God hears, my friends.  God hears.

I am grateful for your work that I know seems endless. I am grateful for your work that is making a difference. I am grateful that God is working with you and through you. Keep bending down to pick up the “peaces” given to us by the Holy Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. May God’s comfort and strength continue to be upon you.

The Rev. Juan Rodriguez, who keynoted Oklahoma’s Regional Assembly, is the Regional Minister for Florida.  We offer our prayers for the grace of God at work there. Here is the link to his response to the Orlando crisis.

The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, our General Minister and President, offers these words as well.

Please share these heart-felt words with your people.

Peace & God’s grace,

Pam-signature

2017-01-08T11:03:03-06:00Jun 14, 2016|Clergy News, Pamela Holt Blog|1 Comment

Authors Crossan and Campolo to Speak at Summer Events

FCC Edmond to Host Renowned Author John Dominic Crossan August 26-28

john_dominic_crossanFirst Christian Church in Edmond is pleased to host an educational weekend event featuring renowned author and New Testament scholar Dr. John Dominic Crossan August 26-28.

The event is open to the public and will include small group presentations throughout the weekend. Dr. Crossan will also preach at three worship services on August 28; service times are 8:15, 9:00 and 11:00 am at the church located at 201 E. 2nd Street in Edmond.

John Dominic Crossan has received awards for scholarly excellence from the American Academy of Religion, DePaul University, and an honorary doctorate from Stetson University, DeLand, FL. An author of twenty-seven books on the historical Jesus, the apostle Paul, and earliest Christianity, Crossan’s work has been translated into thirteen foreign languages. His most recent book is How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis through Revelation (HarperOne, 2015).

For more information on the event contact the First Christian Church of Edmond (405) 341-3544 or go to http://www.fccedmond.org/summerseries.

Tulsa’s East Side Christian Church Welcomes Author Tony Campola June 17-19

Tony CampoloOver his many years of Christian service, Tony Campolo has boldly challenged millions of people all over the world to respond to God’s boundless love by combining personal discipleship, evangelism, and social justice. East Side Christian Church, Tulsa, has scheduled a weekend of events to give people the opportunity to participate and be inspired by Tony’s powerful message of hope.

Baptist minister Tony Campolo is an American sociologist, author, public speaker and former spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. A professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University, Campolo is founder and president of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education. He has written more than 35 books, and is one of the founders of the Red Letter Christian movement.

Schedule of Activities

Friday, June 17
Noon: Private clergy lunch. Area ministers from all churches are invited.
7:00 pm: Speaker at a public event in the East Side CC sanctuary. This is the BIG event.

Saturday, June 18
7:00 pm: Speaker at Oklahomans for Equality, open to the public. 621 East 4th St., Tulsa, OK

Sunday, June 19
10:45 am: Preaching at East Side Christian Church
2:00 pm: Dessert social – all area Disciples of Christ invited

There will be no charge for any event, and books will be available for purchase as well as book signing at every event. For more information on the event contact East Side Christian Church, (918) 744-1377, 1438 South Indianapolis Tulsa, OK at the church website  Or Oklahomans for Equality (918) 743-4297.

2017-01-08T11:03:04-06:00Jun 6, 2016|Congregations|1 Comment
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