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One.  This month, our expression of faith gathers for our first online (digital) General Assembly (July 10-11).  If you can stream your favorite show on your TV, computer, phone, or tablet, you can attend General Assembly.  If you want to experience the diversity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), this is an opportunity.  Technology is amazing.  It can also be isolating, and the temptation will be to join from home alone.  A radio show(1) I listen to talks about how little we mingle with people unlike us.  Church, places of worship, is one of the places where people from different social classes, educational levels, political perspectives, and priorities meet to experience the mystery of God together.  I believe that is the strength of our movement for wholeness in our fragmented world.  Bring your congregation together either in your building or have watch parties in homes.  Get together with another congregation to experience General Assembly and be strengthened for the work of being good news.

Six congregations have graciously opened their doors to Oklahoma disciples to come together for digital General Assembly. If you or your congregation goes to one of these sites (hubs), please, please RSVP so they can plan for your presence.

Edmond, First Christian Church
Saturday Only, 9:30 am–6:30 pm.
Lunch on your own.
Website: fccedmond.org / Contact Rev. John Regan.

El Reno, First Christian Church
Friday: 3:30–6:15 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am–5:00 pm.
Lunch on your own.
Website: fccelreno.org / Contact Rev. Susan Payne or the church office.

Enid, Central Christian Church
Friday: 1:30–6:15 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am–5:30 pm.
Snacks and maybe a lunch on Saturday, depending on the number of people.
Website: centralenid.org / Contact Rev. Ronnie Hopkins.

Norman, First Christian Church
Saturday Only, 9:30 am–6:30 pm.
Lunch on your own.
Website: fccnorman.org / Contact Jeff Champeau or the Church office.

Ponca City, First Christian Church
Friday: 3:00–6:00 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am–5:30 pm.
Lunch can be provided, but please RSVP.
Website: fccponcacity.com / Contact Karen at the Church office.

Tulsa, Harvard Ave. Christian Church
Friday: 1:30–6:45 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am–5:30 pm.
Lunch on your own.
Website: hacctulsa.org / Contact Rev. Whitney Waller Garcia or the Church office.

Two. Our church camp season wrapped up on June 26th. The camp curriculum didn’t cover the flood story, but Junior campers and staff must have thought of it as it rained almost every day of camp. Everyone was safe and adapted to the weather conditions. At CYF Conference, one evening during worship, campers and staff recognized two Regional Youth Council members who graduated (Jonah and Tabitha) and installed six new RYC members who, along with the six returning members, began their service at the end of CYF Conference. And, Water Weekend, sponsored by Texoma Camp Board, was a splashing, tubing, prayerful success (June 26-28).  Read Shannon’s post about camp and visit the Families and Youth page to find links to photos from all the camps.

Three. Mission Trips and Vacation Bible School. Many of our congregations offered VBS or Mission Trips in June. Many more congregations are offering VBS, Mission Trips, or other service learning opportunities this month.  With funding from a Silver Chalice grant, East Sixth Street Christian Church took a group to the First Americans museum in June and will visit the Greenwood Rising museum this month.  The work, service, and learning opportunities our congregations offer are an invitation, though we don’t often think of it that way — an invitation to a different way of living in the world.

Oklahoma Disciples are taking the connections of community out into our fragmented world.

Oklahoma Disciples are practicing ways to equip ourselves and our neighbors for the journey of faith.

Oklahoma Disciples are empowering people through our work and witness along life’s meandering path, nurturing and growing a sustainable faith as we follow the ways of Jesus and proclaim the good news of God.

Your turn.  Email me 3 good things about your congregation’s ministry or your journey in faith.  I’ll pray for you.  Please pray for me.

Thank you for being a voice of gospel. Disciples, you are a blessing.

And one more thing.

Our Nation celebrates 250 years this month.

250 years seems like a long time, and it is, but compared with other Nations, the United States of America is at the edge of adolescence. Do you remember the angst of your pre-teen and teenage years?  As you celebrate July 4th, remember, we, the people inhabiting this land, are striving to be a more perfect union.  History tells the stories of exploitation and compassion that are part of the successes and failures in our striving.  We are old enough to know, discuss, and learn from all the stories.  Not just the ones that make us feel good about ourselves.  There will always be work to do expanding freedom, opportunity, and living peaceably, and that begins with me within my three feet of influence.  When I put on the Ichthus I wear, it reminds me that followers of Jesus do Jesus-like things.  That’s how I want to be known as a Christian living in a secular, multi-ethnic, pluralistic culture with the freedom to worship, or not, without government preference of one faith over another, but a government that maintains and expands equality for all in this land, this Nation that is 250 years young.

I invite you to read the document that set the American experiment in motion.

Declaration of Independence, National Archives, July 4, 1776

Notes

1. Michael Smerconish is on the POTUS channel on SiriusXM and on CNN at 8 am Saturday morning. His, The Mingle Project, is an example of what I think congregational life provides.  Invite someone to church this week and share a pew with them.

Once there was a man who filmed his vacation.
He went flying down the river in his boat
with his video camera to his eye, making
a moving picture of the moving river
upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly
toward the end of his vacation. He showed
his vacation to his camera, which pictured it,
preserving it forever: the river, the trees,
the sky, the light, the bow of his rushing boat
behind which he stood with his camera
preserving his vacation even as he was having it
so that after he had had it he would still
have it. It would be there. With a flick
of a switch there it would be. But he
would not be in it. He would never be in it.

The Vacation
Wendell Berry, New Collected Poems. Counterpoint, 2012.

One of my favorite film philosophers, Ferris Bueller, observed, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”¹   Do you remember a time when the summer felt less scheduled, slower?  Maybe even casual.  The pace of life in our culture has compressed the experience of summer. Congregational life has adapted and sometimes stood against this change.  We, disciples, continue to work the problem of being in the world, but not of the world.  It’s hard to maintain that balance right now.  Maybe it has always been hard.

From Advent to Pentecost, Christians interact with the official story about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.  We get equipped, we retool, are energized, formed, and educated for liturgical “ordinary time” when the story about the good news of God continues through Jesus’ followers, believers in Christ, seekers of the Holy, and the religious institutions that represent us.  The Pentecost story reminds us that the Spirit of God descends on humanity and that the good news of God is multilingual and multisensory.

Our congregations are busy during the summer.

• VBS
• Mission Trips
• Church Camp
• Movie Nights
• Day Trips for Sr. Adults, Children, or Youth
• Fellowship Trips
• Summer Study Series
• Backpack Snacks for Kids or Adults

And so much more.

These additional summer experiences build on the journey and lessons from Advent to Pentecost.  They help us remember and reorient our priorities so we don’t miss life and what a life of faith, following Jesus, can mean in a world currently organized by the antagonist industries’² profit margins.  We can be an example of an alternative way of being, what we give our attention, and how we interact with one another and our neighbors.  For me, my alternative way this summer includes:

Listen more.
Talk less.
Mute the political ads on TV and social media.
Continue to limit my social media consumption.
Get away from device screens for 2 hrs each day.
Spend time outdoors.
Handwrite letters to friends and family.
Finish reading two books I began in the spring.

The Substack, Tell Me 3 Good Things, sends an email each evening reflecting on the day.  The reflection and 3 good things always end with, “Now you?”

Oklahoma Disciples, you are a blessing.

P.S.

This summer, our expression of faith will gather for our first digital (online) General Assembly (July 10-11).  It is easier than ever before to register and connect with our siblings in faith in the United States and Canada.  If you can stream your favorite show on your TV, computer, phone, or tablet, you can attend General Assembly.  If you want to see and experience the diversity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), plan to attend.  Technology is amazing.  It can also be isolating, and the temptation will be to join from home or the car, alone.  A radio show³ I listen to talks about how little we mingle with people unlike us.  Church was one of the places where people from different social classes, educational levels, political perspectives, and priorities met to experience the mystery of God together.  I still believe that is the strength of our movement for wholeness in our fragmented world.  Bring your congregation together either in your building or have watch parties in homes.  Get together with another congregation for General Assembly.  Right now, five congregations are hosting Oklahoma Disciples in their buildings for GA.  We are recruiting more.  Get in touch with one of these congregations, go experience General Assembly together, and be strengthened for the work of being good news in ordinary time.

First Christian Church, El Reno
Central Christian Church, Enid
First Christian Church, Edmond
First Christian Church, Norman
First Christian Church, Ponca City

Notes

1. John Hughes, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Paramount Pictures, 1986.

2. The Apostle Paul called this “powers and principalities.”  In reporting, it is often referred to as the “rage industry,” which profits from meme culture, blogs, and siloed media across political and theological spectrums set on keeping people frightened, divided, and angry.

3. Michael Smerconish is on the POTUS channel on SiriusXM and on CNN at 8 am Saturday morning. His, The Mingle Project, is an example of what I think congregational life provides.

It’s that time of year.

Be weather aware.  Radar indicated rotation.  Strong inflow or updraft.  Watch or warning?

Sirens warn of storms that can bring wind, hail, and flooding, changing a person’s life or entire communities in minutes. The National Weather Service has documented 56 tornadoes in Oklahoma this year. The first occurred on January 8th in McLain and Cleveland counties. In the moments just after nature’s power, often it is strangers or neighbors who are the first faces and hands people see and grasp as first responders race to the area. Central

It was Saturday, April 27, 2024. Our siblings in faith at First Christian Church in Sulphur experienced one of those awful days when a tornado damaged the church and vacuumed up much of downtown and a neighborhood to the northeast.

After the storm, it’s a different whirlwind.  Tears and gratitude.  Where to begin?  The well-meaning, yet sometimes exhausting, question “What do you need?”

People and donations descend: water, food, clothing, and money, along with cleanup volunteers. The Red Cross, politicians, spiritual leaders, and volunteers arrive. Insurance company adjustors. FEMA. MARC (multi-agency resource center). Roofing and construction companies. The curious, the hucksters, and, as 60 Minutes reported, sometimes racially motivated disaster tourists.

Time on hold.
The emails.
Gratitude and frustration are two sides of a coin.
Neighbors just south of Enid, in Caney, and in communities beyond Oklahoma are living this experience.

It was Sunday.  On April 27, 2026, members and friends at First Christian Church in Sulphur celebrated the church’s restoration during worship.  There were some tears and so much gratitude.  There were stories, images, prayer, song, special music, and a delicious fellowship dinner.   Much of downtown remains flattened. Bare walls or neat piles of rubble are visual reminders of that day two years ago.  The neighborhood is in various states of repair or rebuilding.  Oklahoma disciples and those beyond our borders expanded and mobilized the banquet through local donations, volunteering, and the Week of Compassion.

It’s that time of year.

“How long before summer break?” The student and teacher both knew: 19 days. Graduation ceremonies are almost planned. Exams and grades. Invitations mailed.  Names are being double-checked on diplomas.

Summer jobs.
Mission Trips.
Summer sports.
Family vacation.
Vacation Bible school.
Church camp (registration closes May 15, and the camp banquet has space).

Rev. Shannon Cook began her service as our Associate Regional Minister last month.  She is working with volunteers, visiting churches, and preparing for our church camp season next month.  You may not know or remember that our Region offers camp at three sites: Canyon Camp (near Hinton), Camp Christian (near Chouteau), and Disciples Center at Tawakoni (near Augusta, KS).  Markers and paper, AV equipment, t-shirts, art and craft supplies, and small group boxes are moved to each site for each camp.  Shannon will be at Water Weekend too.

And this year, Pentecost is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.  It’s the time of year when we remember that following Jesus opens us to the Spirit and enables people to hear and experience the good news of God in their native language.  It is a banquet of action and word, symbols of God’s abiding love.

Celebrating.
Welcoming.
Expanding.
Mobilizing.
Creating.
Staying.

Email me your congregation’s stories of the banquets you are hosting so Shannon and I can share them with our siblings in faith around the Region and help build up the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a movement for wholeness in our fragmented world. Thank you for being a part of the story.

Oklahoma Disciples, you are a blessing.

Oklahoma Disciples, may the risen Christ inspire you, transform you, and give you the strength to be a blessing or a miracle for someone who passes through your sphere of influence.

Looking for Jesus of Nazareth

It was odd, the first time I saw it there.  A “Where’s Waldo” poster was visible just above the bright light that the hygienists used to see to clean my teeth.  It was big enough to search and keep your mind occupied while the sounds of dental health echoed.  She changed the poster every six months.  “Has anyone ever found him?” I asked.  “Oh, sure.  Mostly, older children.  It helps them focus and takes their mind off what I’m doing.  It can make my job a little easier.  Sometimes, an adult will, too, especially people with grandkids or teachers and people who spend time with kids.”

Here, midway through Holy Week, I’m thinking about Mary Magdalene, the one person all the gospel writers agree went to the tomb.  She was the first to proclaim a risen Christ.  The first preacher, as it were.   The gospel writers show us different responses to finding and meeting Jesus, to faith in Christ, and to the faith of Jesus in the God he proclaimed. 

With everything happening in the world between religious and non-religious people, and among the diverse expressions of Christianity vying for relevance, power, and authority in our Nation, I’m thinking about clergy colleagues and those who will attend worship on Easter Sunday.  Magdalene’s, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him,” (John 20:13c) echoes in the chaos of our context.   There is no doubt that many feel her distress.  The dissonance is real.

For Doug Wilson’s neighbors, CNN documentary a reminder Moscow is Christian nationalism’s ground zero.
(Religion News Service)

The United States at 250: How the Country Has Changed in the Past 50 Years
(Pew Research)

Where do Americans turn first for information about breaking news?
(Pew Research)

At Pentagon, Hegseth prays ‘every round find its mark’
(Baptist News Global)

White evangelicals remain among Trump’s strongest supporters, but they’re less supportive than a year ago.
(Pew Research)

Urgency Is Not Faithfulness
(Christianity Today)

In the Easter story, women are the first to proclaim the resurrection – but churches today are still divided over female preachers.
(Religion News Service – Religion Hub)

Easter in a brutal world
(The Christian Century)

H. Richard Niebuhr calls it “the enduring problem.”  His Christ and Culture is a challenging conversation partner today, as it was when I first read it as a religion major in 1985, revisited it as a seminarian, and, in the time since graduation.  Niebuhr frames looking for Jesus and the enduring problem for his followers in these chapters:
Christ Against Culture
Christ of Culture
Christ Above Culture
Christ and Culture in Paradox
Christ Transforming Culture.

I’m grateful for the ways our clergy and congregations proclaim the good news of God and follow the ways of Jesus, whom we claim as Christ.  We don’t always get it right.  Jesus never said we would.  In the chaos of our context and the real struggles, I think it is important, maybe more than ever in my lifetime, that followers of Jesus do Jesus-like things.  We know what that looks like.  Where are you finding Jesus?  How are you sharing your faith and Jesus’ faith in God by celebrating, creating, expanding, mobilizing, staying, and welcoming at the banquets in your life and that of your congregation?

Alithos Anesti (Truly, he is risen).

Describe Your Church in 3 Words

Regional Assembly 2026 Business Meeting

State of the Region

Rev. Michael Davison
March 7, 2026
Regional Assembly

Good afternoon, Oklahoma disciples, partners in ministry, guests, and friends, both here in Edmond and in the digital space on YouTube.  Thank you for gathering for fellowship, prayer, study, worship, and service.  In this brief time, we’ve experienced what happens at church camp every day.

Camp registration is open, and camp directors are recruiting counselors.  Children, youth, and adults of all ages are invited to spend a week in the wilderness with other followers of Jesus to build connections, be equipped, and empowered for their journey in faith.  That kind of intentional community can transform places and people into Holy ground and proclaimers of the good news of God.  And, I still believe that can be enough to alter the trajectory of a person’s life.

Oklahoma Disciples have many partners in ministry.  We just heard from three we know well: Phillips Theological Seminary, the Oklahoma Disciples Foundation, and the Convocation of Christian Churches. Thank you, Doug, Eric, and Milton, for giving us a glimpse of the ways your organizations equip people and empower them to proclaim the good news of God.

We share ministry with partners beyond our borders, and we are thankful for those who have traveled to be with us:
Rosario Ibarra, from Disciples Church Extension Fund.
Jose Martinez from New Church Ministry.
Thomas McCracken from the Pension Fund.
Bobby Hawley from the Christian Church Foundation, and
Terri Hord Owens, our General Minister and President.
Thank you for the ministry you offer all Disciples and our neighbors.

From solo State evangelists to a large staff in a centralized location, to the small decentralized staff today, the Region’s strength and vitality are embodied in the volunteerism, collaboration, and covenantal accountability of the laity and clergy.  It’s always been that way.

In 1997, Chalice Press published You Might Be a Disciple If . . . ¹   It’s a little book of tongue-in-cheek sayings that were used to describe our denomination.  I think these four continue to describe who we are pretty well.

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  when you’re asked what Disciples believe you say, “Which ones?”²

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  you’re sure the ‘free church’ tradition doesn’t mean you don’t have to put anything in the offering plate.”³

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  your pastor’s weekend is filled with weddings nobody else in town would do.”⁴

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  the children in your church think the Last Supper must have been a potluck.”⁵

Siblings in faith, this is a time of opportunity and experimentation as we build a bridge to a future of the church we continually imagine, envision, and claim. Rev. Terri Hord Owens encourages us to  “Be the Church we say we are.”  We call ourselves disciples, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world, welcoming as we have been welcomed.  That is lived out in each congregation a little differently, depending on local needs, resources, and leadership.  This is not work and service we will ever finish, though, maybe we can take something off the list for the next generation.

Last fall, I invited the Region to “describe your church in three words.”  One of my responsibilities as Regional Minister is writing a report about our Region for the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  I submitted that report last week, and this is how I described the Region: “In their own ways, our congregations are faithful, effective, and innovative⁶  as they proclaim the good news of God and follow Jesus.”  Let’s take a trip around the Region for a few minutes.

First Christian Church in Luther offers GED classes and what they call “Boots on the Ground ministry.” Members of the congregation pack bags with personal items, toiletries, snacks, and other necessities, then travel to Oklahoma City to deliver them to unhoused (homeless) neighbors in need.

Our hosts here at First Christian Church, Edmond, offer Breakfast on the Boulevard, a hot breakfast and sack lunches weekdays from 6:30-7:15 am for anyone who needs a meal.  That began in 1990.

Central Christian Church in Enid continues to organize and host ‘The Enid Welcome Table.’  Anyone can come on a Sunday evening for a sit-down, plated meal served by volunteers of all ages from organizations around Garfield County.

First Christian Church in El Reno leads its community’s Blessing Baskets, a non-profit that provides food for people in need.  On Thursdays, the Lunch Bunch volunteers serve a free lunch to 100 or more high school students and provide snack bags for them to take home.

First Christian Church in Ponca City continues to host a Friendship Feast every weekday evening for anyone in need of a meal.  And they host a community garden on their property.

In Chickasha, Shepherd Street Christian Church and First Christian Church worship together on World Communion Sunday.  Shepherd St. Christian Church hosts a spring gala, an evening of food and music, to raise money to fund scholarships for high school seniors.  That’s coming up on March 14th.  First Christian Church helped found the Chickasha soup kitchen.  Most of our congregations have an outdoor food pantry or support one in their community.

Tomorrow, the members of East Sixth Street Christian Church, Shepherd Street Christian Church,  and New Vessels Christian Church will worship with Wildewood Christian Church, as they host our General Minister & President, who is preaching.

Harvard Ave. Christian Church is partnering with First Christian Church in Broken Arrow to help the congregation experience renewal and sustainability with leadership, visioning, and funding.

First Christian Church in Stillwater, as they have for many years, led an intergenerational mission trip last summer and invited other congregations to join them.

First Christian Church in Sulphur emphasizes mission and service for its youth group alongside bible and fun.  One way they do that is by creating Valentine’s cards for Veterans and nursing home residents. They deliver the cards each year.

One more, “You Might Be. . .”  “You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  when asked if your congregation is pro or con on any social issue, you answer, “Yes.”⁷

The renewed war in the Near East and our Nation’s role in it is an ongoing lament for me.  I know others disagree.

Rev. Don Heath ministers to persons on death row and represents Disciples with the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Rev. Kelley Becker and Rev. David Wheeler traveled with a group of ecumenical clergy to Minneapolis to mourn and witness one of our government’s policies in practice and its tactics.  They also received training for standing with the stranger among us.

First Christian Church in Norman often hosts lectures to help educate and create conversation about relevant topics of the day.  Last weekend, they hosted an event for the Oklahoma Faith Network’s “No Hate in the Heartland” lectureship series on “How the Holocaust Relates to the Events of Today.”

Reconciliation isn’t easy, but it is possible.

No report to the Region can be complete without some numbers.  Last year, the Region distributed $8,750.00 in Disaster Funds to congregations and members.  The Region gave $1,900 from the Pastoral Care Funds to help clergy in need.

There will be five of us when we welcome Rev. Shannon Cook to the Regional staff next month.  I want to thank our excellent staff, Ellen Spleth, Carrie Cobbs, and Marla Hensley, for all they do that you don’t see and for their work, encouragement, and preparation alongside the planning team and all the volunteers for this Regional Assembly.

Because our congregations give to the Reconciliation special offering, the Commission for Faith and Action provided $9,432.00 in reconciliation grants to 4 congregations: New Covenant Christian Church in Oklahoma City, First Christian Church in Guthrie, Central Christian Church in Enid, and First Christian Church in El Reno.

There were two ordinations. Rev. Patrick McKenzie was ordained at New Vessels Christian Church, OKC, in August of last year.  And, Rev. Richard Bowles was ordained at Simplicity Church in Edmond last month.

In 2025, First Christian Church in Claremore committed $10,000 from a gift they received and purchased medical debt, relieving $1.74 million in debt for 1,575 beneficiaries.   The Claremore congregation has committed $5,000 this year and is asking their siblings in faith in the Region to join them in raising $20,000, which, through the organization Undue Medical Debt, could relieve up to $3.3 million in medical debt for our neighbors this year.  I will ask the Region’s executive committee and board to commit dollars for this project, and I encourage all our congregations to join FCC Claremore in helping our neighbors in need.

Mr. Rogers often recalled his mother’s advice: “Look for the helpers.”⁸  Oklahoma Disciples, you are the helpers.  And that is no small thing.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) can’t fix the bacterial polarization that has returned to our world, our Nation, some of our congregations, and Christendom, but we might be an antibiotic that can treat it: through our service, through our willful intention to stay at the table when we disagree and the two or more hours of honest conversation about our beliefs, connections, accountability, and covenants, and through our commitment to be a voice of gospel that incarnates grace.  As one of our clergy put it, “It is moving toward people rather than away.”

Oklahoma Disciples, there is ministry to do and gospel to be that only you can do in your communities, and only you can be around your banquet table.

The same is true for this covenant we share as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma: there is ministry to do and gospel to be that only WE can do and only WE can be: celebrating, creating, expanding, mobilizing, staying, and welcoming when we host a banquet.  Beyond the walls of the church is the banquet.

That was a quick trip around the Region and a glimpse of the Jesus-like things congregations are doing.  If I didn’t mention your church, please let me know what you are doing to embody the gospel in your community.

It is my honor to serve alongside you.

Disciples, you are a blessing.

——-

Endnotes

1. David Polk, ed., You Might Be A Disciple If . . . , Chalice Press (St. Louis) 1997.
2. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
3. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
4. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
5. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
6. I first encountered the idea of faithful, effective, and innovative congregations in the mid-2000s while serving on the Kentucky Regional staff.  We spent time in consultation and workshops with George Bullard, who uses this idea to understand the lifecycle of a congregation and its resilience through change.  George Bullard, The Congregational Life Cycle, bullardjournal.org 2021.
7. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
8. Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers Talks With Parents. Berkley Books (New York) 1983.

March 6-7

First Christian Church, Edmond

It’s time to learn more

Describe Your Church in 3 Words

It’s Time for Regional Assembly

I can’t explain it
I couldn’t if i tried
How the only things we carry
Are the things we hold inside
Like a day in the open
Like the love we won’t forget
Like the laughter that we started
And it hasn’t died down yet

Let it go my love my truest
Let it sail on silver wings
Life’s a twinkling that’s for certain
But it’s such a fine thing
There’s a gathering of spirits
There’s a festival of friends
And we’ll take up where we left off
When we all meet again
Carrie Newcomer, A Gathering of Spirits, 2002.

Let’s take up where we left off in 2024.  Some of us gathered at First Christian Church in Stroud for fellowship, worship, and business.  Some of us gathered at sea that summer for worship, study, and fellowship.   Let’s lift our voices in song, fellowship, worship, prayer, and serve together at First Christian Church in Edmond this weekend.

As Oklahoma Disciples, siblings in faith, guests, and friends gather for Regional Assembly this weekend, and for worship each Sunday, we carry the tension of living midway through the second decade of the 21st century.  Polarization is all around: economic, political, and religious.  With many media choices and individualized truths, it can be hard to separate fact from the dominant narrative or your chosen team’s narrative.  Gamification has made everything a win-or-lose proposition, even in congregational life, where we once worked for the best solution or the common good.  Our clergy are committed to a representative ministry that is pastoral, teacher, preacher, and always prophetic.

The 20 and 30-somethings I know often remind me that regional war, economic uncertainty, government dysfunction, and politicized religion are all they’ve known.  Some have taken a side.  Some have checked out.  A few have wondered, “What does patriotism mean? Do we cheer, pray, protest, or look away?”  As a follower of Jesus, I wonder which parable is a teachable moment in this situation?  Who is my neighbor?  What belongs to God?  What belongs to Caesar?  Who do I invite to a banquet, and where do we all sit?

Amidst it all, there are good things happening in our congregations through their service and witness of the good news of God.  We are being faithful in our diverse contexts.  We are tending to our neighbors and members alike.  You will hear about some of it at Regional Assembly this weekend.  You will experience some of what makes our expression of Christian faith unique as we embrace the tension of unity, liberty, and grace around a table with a place set for you.

See you at First Christian Church in Edmond!  Stay centered in God’s shalom.

Disciples, you are a blessing.  Be a blessing.