Faith in Action Archives - Christian Church in Oklahoma

Looking Back: 2023 Reconciliation Grants

Over the past two years, the Commission for Faith and Action has funded $20,00.00 of Reconciliation grant requests. This has helped congregations expand their reconciliation reach and imagination through educational and service trips, support for Caminante, leadership development, multi-church VBS, musicals, meals, relationships with first responders, and integration of neurotypical and non-neurotypical persons, and Careportal ministry. The grants have been so successful that the yearly Reconciliation Special Offering has not kept up with demand. The gifts by Oklahoma congregations each September to this special offering are divided 50/50 with the denomination so that Oklahomans are supporting the denomination’s Reconciliation Ministry, and that of congregations in our Region.

This spring, the Comm. for Faith In Action will publish a “Reconciliation Series” on the Region’s podcast. Each episode will focus on one of our 2023 Grant recipients.

Thank you for supporting our Reconciliation Ministries.

2023 Grants

Enid Welcome Table
Caminante Boca Chica
Enid Joint Disciples 5 Church Vacation Bible School
FCC Stillwater Jamaica Mission Trip
Central Christian Church, Christian Church of the Covenant, University Place Christian Church Enid, Hero Fund
FCC Midwest City Careportal
Central Christian Church, Enid, Teen Neurotypical / Non-Neurotypical Integration

2022 Grants

FCC Claremore, First American Museum Trip
In the Spirit Christian Church, Tulsa, Emerging Young Leaders Justice
FCC El Reno, No Justice, No Peace Opera
FCC Midwest City, Christmas for Others
Caminante Boca Chica
Enid Welcome Table
Enid Joint Disciples 5 Church Vacation Bible School
Central Christian Church, Christian Church of the Covenant, University Place Christian Church Enid, Hero Fund

Learn more about what these congregations are doing in their community. You can download the 2023 Grant Reports in PDF format.

Caminante
Careportal: First Christian Church, Midwest City
Joint Hero Support: Central Christian Church, Enid
Teen Neurotypical and non-Neurotypical Integration / Socialization: Central Christian Church, Enid
Enid Welcome Table
5 Church Vacation Bible School, Enid: University Place Christian Church, Iglesia Cristiana El Shaddai, Christian Church of the Covenant, Central Christian Church, First Presbyterian Church

2022 Grant Reports in PDF Format

Michael Davison2024-02-12T11:13:37-06:00Feb 12, 2024|Faith in Action|Comments Off

Reconciliation Special Offering: Sept 24th & Oct 1st

Click for Worship Resources for Reconciliation Sunday Offering

What does it mean to be reconciled?

by Marilynn Knott, Chair: Commission on Faith in Action

The only reference to reconciliation in the Hebrew Bible is in 1 Samuel 29:4, when David was on the outs with King Saul and had joined the Philistines. He had proved himself with the one who had welcomed him to fight for the Philistines, but the Philistine leaders did not trust David and ordered him and his army to be left behind as the Philistines went into battle. The Hebrew word ratsah* translated as reconcile in this scripture, means to be pleased with and accept favorably. The leader of the Philistines could do neither regarding David. As society spread among many cultures, the need for reconciliation grew. For example, the Apocrypha records six instances when reconciliation was addressed.

Reconcile is only used once in the Gospels in Matthew 5:24: leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. The Greek word used here by Jesus is diallassó, which means change enmity for friendship. In this instance, Jesus is addressing believers. We must take that counsel seriously as faith groups living in a worldview of divide and conquer. Our behavior is a witness to the validity of the one we follow.

Paul and the other early Christ-followers had to deal with reconciliation as they entered the many cultures around them in following Jesus’s instruction to go into all the world and teach the good news of Christ. Much of that good news targets building the Kingdom of God, the Beloved Community.

Paul also uses various Greek words now translated as reconcile, like katallassó, which means to decisively change, to the same position, and the word apokatallassó, which means to reconcile completely, to change from one feeling to another. While this was 2000 years ago, and we have in many ways since gone into the whole world, we have not yet attained the beloved community worldwide. Thus, the word Reconciliation, and more importantly, the act of Reconciliation, is more necessary today than ever. The words of Paul regarding this issue still resonate today.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) recognizes the last Sunday in September and the First Sunday in October for Reconciliation emphasis. Yes, we suggest that a special offering be taken on those Sundays with the funds dedicated to reconciliation, which is important. We must, however, take time on these Sundays and always consider the challenge we have in bringing the whole world into a Beloved Community. How is your congregation working toward that goal? What special needs can you identify in your community? How do you plan to address them? How can we decisively change racism, poverty, and violence against one another? How can we change enmity for friendship?

*All translations were gleaned from Strong’ Concordance using the NRSV Bible Translation

Michael Davison2023-09-11T11:50:05-05:00Sep 11, 2023|Faith in Action|Comments Off

6 Congregations Receive Reconciliation Grants

Reconciliation-logo_color

Reconcile:
1. to restore, settle, or resolve;
2. to make consistent.(1)

Oklahoma Disciples continue the work of reconciliation through serving our neighbors locally and around the world. The Commission for Faith in Action met in April to review Reconciliation Grant applications for this year. Faith in Action celebrates providing a total of $9150 in grants to these congregations that applied.

Enid, Central Christina Church ($3400)

Enid Welcome Table is a weekly ministry that provides a sit down, served meal on Sunday evenings for food insecure neighbors in Enid.
Community Hero Project supports the police, fire fighters, and student pilots at Vance Air Force Base with snack baskets. The project invites police and fire fighters to interact with congregations and the community outside of emergency situations to build trust.
Teen Neurotypical and non-Neurotypical Integration/Socialization will partner teenagers to help the typical teen grow in understanding and acceptance of the non-typical. The non-typical will gain friendship, socialization, and understanding of their community. With the help of adults this program will raise awareness in the community about the needs of non-Neurotypical youth and that Central Christian Church is a welcoming place for everyone.

Enid, Christian Church of the Covenant, Iglesia Christiana El Shaddai, University Place Christian Church, Central Christian Church ($1000)

VBS is one of the most important projects in the life of the church each year. Many churches are struggling with having enough volunteers to provide a great quality VBS. In 2022, Disciples in Enid hosted a joint VBS that welcomed 60 children and 40 adult volunteers. A reconciliation grant supported this work. This summer, First Presbyterian Church will join the VBS program. The membership and location of the participating churches is very diverse. University Place Christian is in the east side of Enid – a low-income area with a large African American and Hispanic population. First Presbyterian is a typical, affluent “downtown church.” Iglesia Cristiana El Shaddai, is a Hispanic church, Central Christian Church and Christian Church of the Covenant are “middle-American” churches experiencing demographic change. Bringing together children, teenagers and adult volunteers from these diverse churches will promote understanding and acceptance and inclusion.

Midwest City, First Christian Church ($2000)

The congregation participates in careportal.org, a care-sharing portal connecting people with local opportunities to serve vulnerable children and families in their communities. It may be rental assistance, transportation assistance, dollars for diapers, clothing, or formula.

Stillwater, First Christian Church ($2000)

First Christian Church has worked with ACE (American-Caribbean Experience) in Jamaica for many years. This year, they are expanding the trip and hosting other congregations (FCC Chandler, FCC El Reno, Central CC Enid, FCC Luther, and Eagle Heights). and have a group of 50 going on the trip. Groups will work on a variety of projects including tutoring, child sponsorships, VBS, micro-businesses, health and wellness clinics, farming and construction. Last year one of the little girls at VBS told a member of our mission team “I thought white people were all bad, but you are very kind and loving. I hope you’ll come back again.”

Caminante, a minister supported by the Commission on Faith in Action ($750)

Caminante is an ongoing mission priority for the Commission for Faith in Action and the Region. Funding helps support work with local children and adults to learn skills that can help secure jobs in the tourist industry. In the past, the Region helped build “homework rooms” that provided space and leaders to help children with their studies. Covid ceased yearly trips by Oklahoma Disciples, but with as the pandemic ends and an intern from our partners at Global Ministries is in place, yearly trips may begin again.

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1. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “reconcile,” accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconcile.

Michael Davison2023-05-08T10:26:56-05:00May 8, 2023|Congregations, Faith in Action, Uncategorized|Comments Off

2022 Reconciliation Grant Recipients

The Faith in Action Commission of the Christian Church in Oklahoma announces the recipients of the 2022 Reconciliation Grants. These grants are supported by the contributions of Christian Churches (DOC) throughout Oklahoma who long for wholeness in our world. Recognizing that we live in a fragmented world, we work together through Reconciliation to bring harmony to the dissonance surrounding us. FIAC was pleased to see the expansion of programs bringing our churches together but also reaching out to ecumenical partners and growing programs to address systemic racism, discrimination, and poverty.

In Enid Central Christian Church, Church of the Covenant, University Place Christian Church, and Iglesia Christiana El Shaddai joined together to provide an inclusive Vacation Bible School for children from varied backgrounds and cultures. They also provide a program to improve the relationship among all people served by the police and fire departments of the city. Lastly, working ecumenically they provide the Enid Welcome Table where all are invited to eat together and informally learn of other services that might be of help to them. Reconciliation grants provide funding for part of these programs as the communities of faith come together with other financial and in-kind donations and hours of direct hands-on service to bring wholeness to a fragmented world.

First Christian Church of Midwest City will use their Reconciliation grant, Christmas for Others working ecumenically with other faith-based groups reaching out to meet the needs of low-wealth people by providing hygiene kits, built according to age, sex, and where known, race. Gifts of toys such as dolls will be offered in different skin tones, and food baskets will be provided appropriate to a family’s culture.

Recognizing the power of music to deliver important messages, a grant is being awarded to First Christian Church, El Reno to help sponsor the premiere production of a one-act opera, No Justice, No Peace written by Oklahomans Chris Prather, Choir Director at First Christian in El Reno, Megan Prather, and Kenneth R. Woods. It deals with a family struggling to come to grips with the death of the mother and the life-changing results of police brutality.

Education is a central part of Reconciliation. To that end, In the Spirit Christian Church of Tulsa, was awarded a grant to help support their Emerging Young Leaders Justice Cohort where the youth of the church learn about social justice and advocacy.

First Christian Church of Claremore received a grant to understand better the history of the USA’s indigenous people by touring and participating in the resources available at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

Yale Avenue Christian church was awarded a grant to provide a tutoring program for refugee children to help them adjust and thrive in school.

Finally, a grant was provided to Caminante, our Global Ministry partner, to help address racism issues that have grown from the masses of Haitians who fled to the Dominican Republic due to the various crisis in their homeland.

Grant Recipients

First Christian Church Claremore
Project: First Americans Museum Learning Trip

First Christian Church El Reno
Project: No Justice, No Peace

Central Christian Church, University Place Christian Church, Iglesia Christiana El Shaddai, and Christian Church of the Covenant
Project: Enid Disciples Joint VBS

First Christian Church Midwest City
Project: Christmas for Others

In the Spirit Christian Church Tulsa
Project: Emerging Young Leaders Justice Cohort

Yale Ave. Christian Church Tulsa
Project: Tutoring Program for Refugee Children

Comm on Faith in Action
Project: Caminante

Michael Davison2022-05-09T13:33:14-05:00May 9, 2022|Faith in Action|Comments Off

2022 Reconciliation Grants

The Faith in Action Commission is calling all participants in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma to make this a year of reconciliation. Our identity Statement is “We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. We welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.”

There are many opportunities to build harmony,

Seek out another congregation to grow reconciliation with yours and plan events that would foster harmony. You could sing together or intercity churches could welcome rural churches and rural churches could introduce inter city residents to farms.
Start a justice book club
Tour the Greenwood district in Tulsa and learn about the Tulsa Riots.
Take a field trip to the First Americans Museum.
Research and experiment with what others have used successfully to build reconciliation.

Many activities can be done at little cost, but if you need financial help with your plan the Reconciliation Grant process opens for applications on March 1.

Marilyn Knott, Chair

Commission for Faith in Action

Download Reconciliation Grant Packet

Kirkpatrick Conference
Visions of Wholeness: Systemic Racism, Antiracism, and “Reconciliation” in Our Shared History and Tradition

March 18-19. 2022

This academic conference, Visions of Wholeness: Systemic Racism, Antiracism, and “Reconciliation” in Our Shared History and Tradition will be held March 18-19, 2022, at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The conference is sponsored through Disciples of Christ Historical Society’s Kirkpatrick Lecture Endowment.

The registration fee for the day and a half event is $70, which includes three meals. Register for in-person or livestream attendance.

Click here to learn more.

The Commission for Faith in Action has set aside reconciliation dollars to scholarship Oklahoma Disciples clergy that need financial support to attend this event. Contact Rev. Pamela Holt or Rev. Michael Davison for more information.

Michael Davison2022-02-07T11:43:49-06:00Feb 7, 2022|Faith in Action|Comments Off

Supporting Caminante During a Pandemic

Thank you for your support in 2021 of our Region’s ministry to Caminante.

Because of your generosity, we sent $9000 for our annual contribution to Caminante and another $3000 to help Caminante with Covid related expenses.

COVID-19 continues to devastate jobs in the tourist business in the seaside town of Boca Chica where Caminante is located.

In addition to education and social services, Caminante is now also providing food, medical and personal hygiene supplies to families they serve.

COVID has made the work of Caminante more difficult, more expensive and more urgent. And recent hurricanes only increase the problems that Caminante addresses. Because of this, we continue to raise money to help Caminante.

Click here to download the Caminante letter.

Michael Davison2021-09-09T10:27:50-05:00Sep 9, 2021|Faith in Action, Mission|Comments Off

Reconciliation Ministry: Challenging for All of Us

Our special offering will be taken on September 26, 2021, and October 3, 2021. Your advocacy and financial support are much appreciated. 50% of your gift to Reconciliation Ministry returns to the Region to support grants, education, and our reconciling ministry.

Resources

A Parallel Journey
Disciples Peace Interns Launch a “Parallel Journey” Anti-Racism Bible Study Resource in Collaboration with Reconciliation Ministry

21 Days of Prayer

Books Published by Chalice Press

Reconciliation Ministry Website

In 1996, the Reconciliation Ministry’s initiative was conceived based on a vision for the church as a place “where brothers and sisters of all races, languages, and cultures will grow towards God’s glorious realm, where all have a place at the table, and none shall be turned away.”

Yet here we are 25 years later, experiencing the rise of white nationalism where the color of one’s skin defines who one is and how one is to be treated. In addition, we seem to have lost the skill to love our neighbor as ourselves by deeming our right to expose ourselves and others to the COVID virus as more important than life itself.

After hearing such news, I recently found myself thinking back to Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning. It is a short work starting with the description of his personal experience as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The book is well worth the read. Frankl observed that Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. The same truth applies to women. How am I responding to the realities of our world, and what responsibilities am I taking to address the patterns in our society that are taking us down paths that are not in keeping with the one I have chosen following Christ’s teachings and example? What are we doing collectively as Christ’s followers to work toward a world ruled by love?

I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. –Viktor Frankl

The last Sunday in September and the first Sunday in October are designated as dates in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to take a special offering to support the Reconciliation Ministry. I encourage your congregation to follow this practice. More importantly, I challenge each of us individually and all of us within our fellowship of faith to assess our communities for opportunities to meet the vision of the Reconciliation Ministry quoted above. That may call you to share a meal with other communions of diverse backgrounds in your area to increase understanding. Your group may want to tutor children at the local schools who slipped behind when resources were lacking during COVID. You may already be initiating such actions or doing even more creative work to provide reconciliation. We would love for you to share them with us. Send your stories/pictures/videos to [Michael where shall they send them]. We will share them on the Faith in Action web page. In the spring we will open an opportunity for any Disciples congregation interested to apply for grants in support of Reconciliation work provided through the proceeds of the Reconciliation Offering.

Yours in Christ,

Marilynn Knott, Chair
Faith in Action Commission

Michael Davison2021-09-09T09:13:25-05:00Sep 9, 2021|Faith in Action|Comments Off

Third Reconstruction Resolution: Poor People’s Campaign

The Poor People’s Campaign has released a non-partisan resolution urging a Third Reconstruction. Members of the Faith in Action Commission of the Oklahoma Region support the Poor People’s Campaign and share the following information with you to educate and to spur action. Please also note the Oklahoma Fact Sheet that provides statistics on poverty, systemic racism and other important issues in our state.

We invite you to join us in work necessary to attain our goals regarding the well-being of all people. Please see our website at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/oklahoma/ or follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OklahomaPPC for updated information.

Moral Monday

The next Moral Monday event is slated for June 21, 2021. Learn more

Third Reconstruction: Fully Addressing Poverty and Low Wages from the Bottom Up

Drawing on the transformational history of the First Reconstruction following the Civil War and the Second Reconstruction of the civil rights struggles of the 20th century, the Third Reconstruction is a revival of our constitutional commitment to establish justice, provide for the general welfare, end decades of austerity, and recognize that policies that center the 140 million are also good economic policies that can heal and transform the nation.

Emerging from the pain and organizing power of the 140 million people living in poverty or with low wages in this nation, the congressional resolution for a Third Reconstruction reflects an omnibus vision for a fundamental restructuring of society that lifts from the bottom. This newest congressional effort comes as a response to years of movement-building to create the collective resolve necessary to implement real and transformational legislative action.

This non-partisan resolution recognizes that in order to build a true Third Reconstruction we must simultaneously deal with the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation and the denial of health care, militarism and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism that blames the poor instead of the systems that cause poverty. Read the entire Third Construction Resolution.

Oklahoma Poor People’s Campaign Fact Sheet

CCOK3012021-06-16T14:05:54-05:00Jun 16, 2021|Faith in Action|Comments Off

Poor Peoples Campaign Update

Thank you for your support of the Poor Peoples Campaign. While the national PPC was started over three years ago, Oklahoma began exploring the creation of a state unit in August 2020. A small group gathered to discern interest in this venture and has since been striving toward making it a reality. The process has been like jumping on a fast train complicated by a pandemic and two major winter storms that obliterated some of our plans. We have learned many lessons and became more active in the movement, emphasizing its goals during the first 100 days of the new administration. The Poor Peoples Campaign is now moving forward with an aggressive plan for the next 500 days. That plan includes the announcement of a PPC resolution on May 24, 2021, setting forth its priorities for the next 500 days. On June 7, each participating state unit is encouraged to gather at the state capitols to share its support of the resolution. On June 20, 2021, another virtual nationwide event is scheduled to kick off our work toward attaining the vision outlined in the resolution.

We invite you to join us in work necessary to attain our goals regarding the wellbeing of all people. Please see our website at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/oklahoma/ or follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OklahomaPPC for updated information.

If you are interested in getting more involved, we are interested in helping you meet that goal. Our work requires many skills. We need help with digital expertise, art and music, base-building, faith support, identifying allies and partners, policy, media, and organizational skills. If one or more of these caught your eye, let me know, and I will help you find ways to share your skills as we work in oneness toward a more inclusive and loving world.

Marilynn Knott

OPPC Coordinating Committee

Michael Davison2021-06-16T13:32:21-05:00May 7, 2021|Faith in Action|Comments Off

Worshiping with the Other

I enjoy worship and I enjoy worshiping in different settings within different faith traditions; I even enjoy the diverse music genres.

On Sunday, September 27, 2015, I worshiped with St Jerome’s Episcopal Church in the Brady District of Tulsa. Their bishop as well as representatives from several ecumenical faith traditions was present as we celebrated their 20th year of ministry. It was empowering.

When I was in seminary, a small group of friends and I organized a worship service in the chapel at the University of Tulsa. Our goal was to have everybody use his or her five senses during the service. We burned incense, we felt the textured paper of the bulletins, and we heard music galore. Everything went great until we had to exit the chapel because there was too much incense. We were literally smoked out of the chapel.

Needless to say, St. Jerome’s didn’t have the problem of being smoked out of the sanctuary even though the incense filled the air several times during the worship service. The beautiful liturgy was well written and the music was fantastic. The Bishop, the Priest, the Ordained Deacon, and the ecumenical ministers present were dressed in their robes, stoles, and miters. Even their five lay leaders wore robes. We rejoiced, we sang, we recited liturgy including the Nicene Creed, and we prayed kneeling on portable, cushioned kneelers.

Just when I could not imagine anymore “awesomeness,” the Priest gathered us to share communion. He said, “…this is open to all people….” We heard and recited liturgy and then we went up front – to the railing – to partake in communion. We shared the bread (communion wafers), then we had the option to drink from the cup or have the Deacon share with us through intinction. How wonderful it was to share in the bread and the cup with another faith tradition.

CCOK3012021-06-24T13:39:30-05:00Oct 1, 2015|Faith in Action|1 Comment

Faith in Action

Reconcile: 1. to restore, settle, or resolve; 2. to make consistent.(1)

Enid, Central Christina Church ($3400)

Enid, Christian Church of the Covenant, Iglesia Christiana El Shaddai, University Place Christian Church, Central Christian Church ($1000)

Midwest City, First Christian Church ($2000)

Stillwater, First Christian Church ($2000)

Caminante, a minister supported by the Commission on Faith in Action ($750)

Grant Recipients

Kirkpatrick Conference Visions of Wholeness: Systemic Racism, Antiracism, and “Reconciliation” in Our Shared History and Tradition

Resources

Moral Monday

Third Reconstruction: Fully Addressing Poverty and Low Wages from the Bottom Up

Reconcile:
1. to restore, settle, or resolve;
2. to make consistent.(1)

Kirkpatrick Conference
Visions of Wholeness: Systemic Racism, Antiracism, and “Reconciliation” in Our Shared History and Tradition