Congregations

Family Fun at Metro Church

FCC Moore Family Fun Fest – Saturday June 11th

FCC Moore Fun FestMusic takes over First Christian Church in Moore starting at noon June 11, with a free live music festival, food trucks, and fun activities for all ages. This outdoor event will feature performances by The Red Dirt Road Band, Annie Oakley, The 3, and Kyle Reid. Bring your own blankets and chairs to enjoy the family fun festival.

Food trucks appearing include: Mutts Famous Hot Dogs & Burgers 12-2:30 pm, Taste of Soul Chicken & Waffles 3:30-6 pm, and Kona Ice 12-6pm.

Fun Fest runs noon-6 pm at First Christian Church in Moore, 629 NW 12 St. Moore, OK. For more information call (405) 794-6166.

 

2017-01-08T11:03:04-06:00Jun 6, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on Family Fun at Metro Church

Disciples Women Join for Encounter 2016

Preparations are underway for the annual Oklahoma Disciples Women Encounter. This year’s theme is “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace Piece”. First Christian Church Moore is hosting the event July 8-9.

Online registration is available now, and you’ll find all the details on the Disciples Women webpage.

“Speak your piece,” and “Hold your peace” are two common idioms in the English language. The spelling is often confused. That is not the case when the theme was chosen for Encounter 2016. There is logic in the difference.

“Hold your peace,” generally means to keep silent or not to say anything about something. It is often in traditional marriage vows, and usually in wedding ceremony scenes in old movies. Generally it means hold your peace and accept the changes. If someone is “at peace” with the situation, he/she is then obligated to speak of it no more, to keep silent. That is to hold your peace. In those movie wedding scenes it is always a dramatic moment after the person performing the ceremony speaks the words, “If any of you has reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace.” In the movies this may be the time when the ex-lover runs forward and declares his or her love or some other shocking information that stops the ceremony.

The word chosen for Encounter 2016 theme is Piece; as in, your oration. Hold your piece. If you were at peace with the situation it would not need to be held. Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece implies that you have something to say on the matter, but if you do not share it at that time, you must hold it forever.

Speak your piece literally means to “speak aloud a piece of writing”. The understanding is we are encouraged to express our ideas, to make a statement.

To Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece also points us to scripture as the writing and wisdom on a situation, but if it is not shared, it must be held forever, perhaps lost to the situation. If scripture with God’s wisdom is held and not shared, we as disciples are not following God’s directive to share His word with the world.

Encounter 2016 is designed as your opportunity to be encouraged by the worship services, the keynote speakers, the workshops and your own reflective moments to be empowered to speak His word to the world.

The visual theme is PUZZLES. Why puzzles? Because living life as a Christian and striving to follow God’s plan for each of us, we encounter mysteries, enigmas, riddles, conundrums, posers, problems, dilemmas, and brain teasers; all puzzling. Each of us is a part of the bigger puzzle of society. We are all called to speak our piece with others and clarify our piece of God’s Kingdom here on earth.

Women’s status and freedoms were severely limited by Jewish law and custom in ancient Israel, as they were in essentially all other cultures at the time.

Christ overthrew many centuries of Jewish law and custom. He consistently treated women and men as equals. He violated numerous Old Testament regulations, which specified gender inequality. He refused to follow the behavioral rules established by the three main Jewish religious groups of the day: the Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees. He ignored ritual impurity laws: Mark 5:25-34 He talked to foreign women: John 4:7 to 5:30 and in Matthew 15:22-28. He taught women students: In Luke 10:38-42, He taught Mary, sister of Martha.

Luke 13:16 describes how He cured a woman from an indwelling Satanic spirit. He called her a daughter of Abraham, thus implying that she had equal status with sons of Abraham. “The expression ‘son of Abraham’ was commonly used to respectfully refer to a Jew, but ‘daughter of Abraham’, was an unknown parallel phrase…It occurs nowhere else in the Bible.” It seems to be a designation created by Jesus.

He accepted women into his inner circle: Luke 8:1-3 describes the inner circle of Jesus’ followers: twelve male disciples and an unspecified number of female supporters (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and “many others.”) It would appear that about half of His closest followers were women.

He appeared first to one or more women after His resurrection: Matthew 28:9-10 describes how Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” were the first followers of Jesus to meet Him after His resurrection.  Women were present at Jesus’ execution: Matthew 27:55-56 and Mark 15:40-41 describe many women who followed Jesus from Galilee and were present at His crucifixion.

Jesus called women to be an integral part of His ministry then and He continues to call us today.

Now more than ever before, it is time for us to speak our piece. The puzzles of the world are challenging us each and every day.

The stated Christian Women’s Fellowship Purpose calls us to be proactive in our ministries. The CWF Scripture, 1John 1:3, calls us to “declare” to others what we have seen and heard. The CWF Opening Prayer we recite at every meeting and event calls us to service. Our CWF Benediction sends us into the world to “Speak our Piece!”

It is the hope of all who worked to plan, implement and present this Encounter 2016 that you experience an encounter with Christ that inspires you to be a speaker of His word to the world.

Amen

Penny Hampton,
Encounter 2016 co-director

2017-01-08T11:03:07-06:00May 10, 2016|Congregations, Disciples Women|Comments Off on Disciples Women Join for Encounter 2016

Disciples Men to Hang Their Hats at Ft. Worth General Conference

General Conference of Disciples Men
Sessions 2016
Hang Your Hat in Fort Worth
At Texas Christian University

July 8-10, 2016

You are a man, active in leadership in a congregation, or you would probably not be reading this far. You may be wondering, “Is it worth the trip?”

We, the General Conference of Disciples Men, know that it is. We all struggle with many of the same problems in our congregations and we know the value of fellowship, exploring our calling as leaders, hands-on mission, and having fun while doing all that.

The Sessions agenda includes hearing about “Being a Man in the Local Church” from Todd Adams and “Three Big Mistakes Churches Make” from Newell Williams.

There will be workshops both introspective and practical, repeated so all can participate. We will learn about “Soul Repair” with Rita Brock and “Fiduciary Responsibility” with Todd Adams. And Bible study with Dr. Warren Carter, Professor of New Testament at TCU.

We will hang our hats out and about with optional activities, a bus tour of Fort Worth, a tour of the TCU athletics department, or a mission project at a local food pantry.

And we will worship Sunday morning with Alvin Jackson leading us in proclamation and hope as we set off for home knowing that we have been called by name and with new experiences to share where we hang our hats.

The program starts with dinner at 6:00 pm, Friday, July 8 and ends after 8:30 am worship on Sunday, July 10. Download a schedule.

Come and see—God is calling!

You can register online now at:

https://docgeneralassembly.webconnex.com/2016DisciplesMen

Or at the Registration link at Sessions2016.org Or by downloading the paper registration form and sending it in with your fees.

2016-04-04T16:02:32-05:00Apr 4, 2016|Congregations, Disciples Men|Comments Off on Disciples Men to Hang Their Hats at Ft. Worth General Conference

Quilt Squares Arriving for Regional Assembly Mission Quilt

We’re excited to see the creatively crafted quilt squares arriving for Regional Assembly. Congregations are asked to submit a quilt square representing their mission activities.

The squares will be assembled into a large quilt and displayed at Regional Assembly on April 29-30 at FCC Tulsa.

Want to be a part of this project? Look for all the details here – and hurry! Deadline for submission is March 15th.

 

2016-03-10T11:09:22-06:00Mar 10, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on Quilt Squares Arriving for Regional Assembly Mission Quilt

Disciples4Water Welcomes Rev. ELIKI Bonanga & Rev. Marco Cable

Come hear Rev. Bonanga and Rev. Cable share their stories of the partnership between the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo (CDCC), Disciples4Water, a ministry of First Christian Church Edmond; Global Ministries, and Oklahoma based Water4.  Together, these organizations have trained and equipped drilling teams in the Congo and have completed over 30 water wells. These wells have changed lives and brought life-giving water to thousands of people.
We invite you to join in the conversation as we find new ways to provide safe, clean drinking water to communities across the world.

Saturday, April 1, 2016  from 11:30am – 1:00pm
First Christian Church Edmond
201 East 1st Street, Edmond, OK
Lunch $5.00
For more information, contact Janet Helms at disciples4water@gmail.com, visit our Facebook page at Disciples4Water, or visit www.disciples4water.org
2017-01-08T11:03:07-06:00Mar 9, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on Disciples4Water Welcomes Rev. ELIKI Bonanga & Rev. Marco Cable

New at Regional Assembly! City Wide Mission Work

This year’s Regional Assembly gets hands on! With 8 different mission sites city-wide there is something for everyone. Find a mission site that matches your passion!

Mission work will take place Saturday morning from 9:30-11:30 after we’ve shared breakfast and completed the short regional assembly business meeting.

Let’s Get to Work!Festival of Missions 4x3 Slide

Green Thumb?

Do you have a green thumb? Do you like to weed or water plants? Then join Harvard Avenue Christian Church to work in their community garden by pulling weeds and watering plants.

Feed the Hungry?

Perhaps you have a passion for feeding ministries! You can help repackage and sort donated food and other grocery items in the Product Recovery Room at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

Help provide fully nutritious food packages for impoverished children through partnerships with humanitarian organizations in the USA and worldwide by working with Stamp Out Starvation.

FCC Tulsa “Snack Packs” feed the hungry in downtown Tulsa. Snack Packs are handed out at FCC Tulsa 3 days a week to help feed hungry people. We need your help in these easy-to-assemble packaging process.

Nature Fan?

Perhaps you are big on nature. You can join the Oxley Nature Center at Mohawk Park to help clean trails and brush for local hikers.

Donate Blood to Save Lives

Consider signing up to be a part of the #BloodDonorChallenge by giving blood on site at First Christian Church Tulsa for the Oklahoma Blood Institute. The Oklahoma Blood Institute is the local non-profit, blood bank that provides blood products to almost 90% of the state of Oklahoma’s hospital facilities.

Sign up online at www.obi.org to make your appointment

Animal Lover

Maybe you are an animal lover. At the Tulsa SPCA you will be either painting the night kennels for the dogs or walking dogs and socializing (playing with) dogs and helping them to socialize with others dogs.

Hygiene Kits for CWS

Consider assembling hygiene kits for Church World Service or bring items for the kits. This mission project takes place at FCC Tulsa. Click here for a full list of items to donate.

There is something for everyone! Register for Regional Assembly and reserve your space at the mission site of your choice. Be sure to review the mission site descriptions as some sites require special clothing and volunteer applications to participate. It’s easy to serve! Help us spread the word #RAOK16

2017-01-08T11:03:07-06:00Mar 8, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on New at Regional Assembly! City Wide Mission Work

Disciples Men Retreat April 1-2

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jr. will keynote the 2016 Oklahoma Disciples Men Retreat. Rev. Jackson is Senior Pastor of East Sixth Street Christian Church, Oklahoma City, OK

The annual event will be held April 1-2 at Central Christian Camp, Guthrie. The event theme is “Looking Forward” and it will feature great meals, fellowship as well as entertainment by the Praise Band of Southern Hills Christian Church.

Click here to learn more and find registration information.

2016-03-08T11:51:48-06:00Feb 16, 2016|Congregations, Disciples Men|Comments Off on Disciples Men Retreat April 1-2

Sign up Today! Blockbuster Classes at Leadership Training School

Mission Ministry • Spiritual Growth • Practical Ministry

This year’s line up of 44 classes for Leadership Training School is amazing!

If you’re interested in mission ministry, you’ll find 14 classes to learn about local, statewide and international mission activities. Plus, there are two different hands-on mission activities throughout the event.

Concerned about social justice issues, ways to feed your spirituality or learning who we are as Disciples? Check out the 16 classes in the Spiritual Growth track.

Be sure to look over the Practical Ministry classes. 14 – yes 14 classes! From “The Music Wars” to puppet or drama ministry, creative worship, to ways to support your pastor, and tips for elders and deacons serving at the table. You’ll find it here!

We Listened and Added More Classes

We listened to your comments and are providing 3 45-minute classes during our half-day event. Plus you can sign-up for your favorites.

See a schedule and read all the class descriptions at the LTS page, then be sure to click on the Sign Up button to reserve your chair.

It all happens February 6th! Be there!

 

2017-01-08T11:03:08-06:00Jan 26, 2016|Congregations|Comments Off on Sign up Today! Blockbuster Classes at Leadership Training School

Support Your Regional Church With Annual Fund Gift

Dear Faithful Friends in Christ,

When you are hungry for a meal that brings healing and wholeness to your soul, what do you eat? When you are weary from wandering in the wilderness, which way do you turn? When you are seeking forgiveness and in need of someone to remind you that nothing is impossible with God, where do you go?

You eat, you turn, and you gather in community in one of the 151 congregations affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma, where you are welcome at a table of bread and wine, where you hear stories that transform, and where you sing your praises for God’s presence in your life.

The Regional Church is grateful for every congregation in its care and is also grateful for your faithful service and your generosity to your congregation. The Region also needs your gifts. We ask that you continue to make a difference by offering a monetary gift to the Annual Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma. This is a gift that God will bless and multiply to grow our ministry of transformation and excellence in Oklahoma.

To get a glimpse of all that the Region provides for congregations and pastors, please peruse our website, where you will find many of the ways we share resources and information to make Oklahoma a strong and faithful region. Your monetary gift to the Annual Fund will help to support this important work of the Region of Oklahoma. You can safely make a donation on the homepage of our website or by sending your donation to Christian Church in Oklahoma, 301 NW 36th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73118.

Again, thank you for your generous giving so that Christ’s light and love can permeate and transform our broken and fragmented world. Blessings for your journey down Advent Road, where we will soon hear the wonderful story of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, Emmanuel — God with us.

Peace & God’s grace,
Pam-signature

Rev. Pamela Holt
Regional Minister

P.S.   As one of the top 5 regions in the U.S. and Canada, in 2015 Oklahoma credentialed 245 clergy and welcomed 32 new pastors to congregations. We are thriving!

2017-01-08T11:03:08-06:00Dec 8, 2015|Congregations|Comments Off on Support Your Regional Church With Annual Fund Gift

Coming Up! Leadership Training School 2016

Disciples across Oklahoma are engaging in exciting mission! Come and learn what’s possible!

Three Parallel Tracks Offer Loads of Options

Mission • Spiritual Growth • Practical Ministry

The morning will include an inspiring keynote address from Vy Nguyen during worship, a diverse menu of workshops, several on-site mission opportunities, and time to catch up with old friends.

You’ll want to be sure to choose your workshops when you register as popular classes will fill quickly. Watch for Registration Info Coming Soon

Keynoter

Vy Nguyen

Vy Nguyen, Executive Director
Week of Compassion

 

Week_of_Compassion-Logo

Several Mission Opportunities Available
On-Site Throughout the Day!

2017-01-08T11:03:08-06:00Nov 4, 2015|Congregations|Comments Off on Coming Up! Leadership Training School 2016
Go to Top