Join us on May 18, 2019 from 11am – 1pm at First Christian Church, Tulsa located at 913 S. Boulder, Tulsa, OK, 74119, as we celebrate the Phillips Theological Seminary graduates. Reception for graduates and their family immediately following the ceremony.
This upcoming week and all its preparations is a week that I really miss in the life of serving as local clergy. It’s an intense week, requiring your full attention to many details and meaningful words that hopefully will be said on the right day! I pray for each one of you as you prepare for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and I give thanks for your faithful walk with Jesus.
This morning in my email, I received the Salt Project’s Holy Week devotion, Theologian’s Almanac. Take a breath, find a moment of refreshment, and carry on.
Peace & God’s Grace,
Pam
photo provided by the Salt Project
The Southwest Area Clergy held their bi-monthly meeting at First Christian Church Chickasha on Monday, April 8th. After a delicious meal and some important fellowship, they previewed the Resolutions which will be presented at General Assembly 2019.
When the clergy walked up to First Christian Church Chickasha, they discovered a red ice chest with PB&J sandwiches in it. They later learned about the PB&J ministry that FCC Chickasha does daily to feed the hungry in their community. The Youth prepare PB&J sandwiches and freeze them, then the church puts a cooler out each day with free sandwiches for those in need. Thank you FCC Chickasha for helping feed the hungry in your community.
Upcoming Area Clergy Meetings:
Join us in congratulating Ron Motley on his recent ordination.
The Service of Ordination to Christian Ministry took place on March 30, 2019 at Crown Heights Christian Church. Regional Minister, Pam Holt officiated the ceremony. Rev. Michael Oberlender represented the Commission on Clergy.
You are invited to join a live presentation for clergy and clinical staff. Clergy will receive 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for this event.
Electronic media has become well integrated into most aspects of our daily lives. Whether we use it to bridge friendships, stay informed, keep in touch with loved ones or express ourselves, electronic media offers a unique way to stay connected with the world around us. Yet we don’t have to look far to experience electronic media’s darker sides. Cyber bullying, cyber stalking and hate groups have found fertile grounds in electronic media. This program will explore how members of clergy can help those caught up in its web of lies and deceit.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center Auditorium
No registration required for this free program.
Presenter Heather Holeman, newscaster, KFOR News Channel 4
Come practice the art of silence at the Pastor’s Pathway Silent Retreat April 22-24. Registration deadline is April 8th.
You are invited to the Remind & Renew Oklahoma Clergy Breakfast. Join us at Phillips Theological Seminary in the Student Commons on Thursday, January 24, 2019 from 8:00 – 9:00 am. No RSVP required.
Click HERE to view details about the Remind & Renew Event.
Remind & Renew “Negotiating Empire: Stories of Accommodation and Resistance from the New Testament” will take place on January 23 & 24, 2019 at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa.
Click HERE to register before January 4th to receive an early registration discount.
Christian churches have a long record of both supporting and resisting the empires they have encountered over the centuries. Two Phillips Theological Seminary faculty members will explore this complicated relationship during the 2019 Remind & Renew conference.
Phillips New Testament scholars, Dr. Arthur Carter and Dr. Warren Carter, will discuss how early Christian communities dealt with the Roman Empire in differing ways.
Arthur Carter will primarily speak from the Acts of the Apostles and bring his focus on diaspora studies as a lens to explore early Christian identity construction within early imperial Rome.
Warren Carter will primarily use the text from the Book of Matthew to examine “interactions between the Jesus movement and the imperial world.”
“Focusing on the varied experiences of early Christians and the empire in which they lived will provide insight for people of faith today who experience their own feelings of unease and lack of belonging in today’s world,” said Dr. Nancy Claire Pittman, interim president of Phillips.
In a special evening event, Dr. Phil Snider will present a talk on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. titled, “Reeling, Resisting, and Regathering: On the Urgency of Being the Church.” Snider is the pastor of Brentwood Christian Church in Springfield, MO and the editor of a new Chalice Press book, Preaching as Resistance: Voices of Hope, Justice, and Solidarity.
“Phil’s book is receiving wonderful reviews,” Pittman said. “We also decided to invite two clergywomen who have sermons included in this new book.”
Preachers for the 2019 Remind & Renew are Dr. Cassandra Gould, executive director of Missouri Faith Voice and a pastor in the AME church, and the Rev. Lori Walke, associate minister of Mayflower United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.
The Rev. Emily Bowen-Marler, associate minister at Brentwood Christian Church, returns to Remind & Renew as this year’s worship leader.
Winter Talk 2019 is February 25-27, 2019 at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, OK. Registration is open HERE.
Rev. Chebon Kernell is the 2019 speaker. The sixth annual Winter Talk is a three day conversation on the Christian Doctrine of Discovery (DOD) and its influence on Christian theology and polity, with an emphasis on the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) relationship with Indigenous tribes and peoples.
Hosted by the Yakama Christian Mission Council, and Phillips Theological Seminary, Winter Talk is dedicated to furthering the conversation on the Christian Doctrine of Discovery and its dismantling.
Winter Talk is an important time for American Indians and non-Indians, to gather and eat, learn, and talk about the impact of the Christian Doctrine of Discovery. This is a space of accountability to American Indians where the Indian voice is the principle voice in an exploration of the past, an understanding of the present, and a visioning of the future.
On Sunday, November 4th, Regional Minister Pamela Holt installed Coy Remer as Pastor of First Christian Church Yukon. Coy responded to this call with gratitude and joy, and he looks forward to leading and caring for the congregation and the neighboring community.
In addition to this call, he and his wife, Jessica, are new parents to James Victor Remer! Congratulations!