APPNA and Oklahoma Conference of Churches are holding a Free Heart Disease Wellness Fair at the Oklahoma Disciples Center located at 301 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City on October 28, 2017 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
For more information about this event see the attached flyer HERE.
Week of Compassion is responding and will continue to reach out to our partners and churches to provide emergency support and assistance in these unprecedented storms, Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana, and Hurricane Irma, which impacted several southeastern states and Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Please continue to keep these millions of people in your prayers, and thank you for your generous support to Week of Compassion.
We also continue to encourage congregations to make Church World Service Clean-Up Buckets and Hygiene Kits. (CLICK HERE for a list of the contents and instructions on assembly.) These will be distributed both in South Texas and in Florida for those impacted by the hurricanes.
Oklahoma Drop Off Points for Clean-Up Buckets & Hygiene Kits
Duncan
First Christian Church Duncan
912 W. Walnut Ave.
Duncan, OK 73533
(580) 255-6116 (Contact Ron Savage)
Drop Buckets Off by Sept. 28th
Enid
Iglesia Christiana El Shaddai
1524 N. Independence St.
Enid, OK 73701
(580) 278-8424 (Contact Francisco Hernadez)
Drop Buckets Off by Sept. 28th
Edmond
First Christian Church Edmond
201 E. 2nd St.
Edmond, OK 73034
(405) 341-3544 (Contact Gwen Shaw)
Drop Buckets Off by Sept. 28th
Oklahoma City
First Christian Church Oklahoma City
3700 N. Walker Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
(405) 525-6551 (Contact John Malget)
Drop Buckets Off by Sept. 28th
Church World Service Drop Site
OK Conference UMC Ministry Center
1501 NW 24th
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Drop Buckets Off by Sept. 29th
Contact:
Email: Rebekah Belase, rbelase@cwsglobal.org
Phone: Tabitha, Welcome and Hospitality Desk, 405-530-2000
Tulsa
Harvard Avenue Christian Church
5502 S. Harvard Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74135
(918) 742-5509 (Contact Courtney Richards)
Drop Buckets Off by Sept. 28th
551st Multi-Role Bridge Company out of El Campo, Texas, scouts the road for water depth as his unit makes there way to a flooded Orange, Texas neighborhood where they use their boats to search for people in need of help, Sept. 3, 2017 as a result of Hurricane Harvey. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Joshua L. DeMotts)
Blackhawk flyover of Railyard in Beaumont, TX on 9-2-17. (Video by 1st lt. Nicholas Caesar, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Southwestern Division)
U.S. Air National Guardsmen follow a U.S. Forrest Service lead plane under a large column of smoke preparing to drop retardant on the Pier Fire southeast of Fresno California. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by: Tech. Sgt. Jeff Allen.)
U.S. Air National Guardsmen Maj. Danny Ariza (left) Capt. Nate Southwick (right) and loadmaster Staff Sgt. Garret Gillette (center) follow a U.S. Forrest Service lead plane under a large column of smoke preparing to drop retardant on the Pier Fire southeast of Fresno California (U.S. Air National Guard photo by: Tech. Sgt. Jeff Allen.)
We are sharing this information to update you about the continued devastation from U.S. Hurricanes and wildfires and other world disasters. Above image credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team Hurricane Irma 9/6/17
Pam Holt, Regional Minister
09.07.17 11:00 am
“Listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most because of the unbalanced ecology.”
Pope Frances
Disasters in South Texas & Louisiana, California, India, Caribbean, Florida
Last week while Hurricane Harvey devastated south Texas and wild fires in California, monsoons paralyzed Mumbai with twelve hundred lives lost and twenty-four million people affected across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
As of today, Hurricane Irma has devastated several Caribbean islands.
Week of Compassion is responding and will continue to reach out to our partners and churches to provide emergency support and assistance in these unprecedented storms.
Please continue to keep these millions of people in your prayers, and thank you for your generous support to Week of Compassion.
We also continue to encourage congregations to make Church World Service Clean-Up Buckets and Hygiene Kits. (CLICK HERE for a list of the contents and instructions on assembly.) These will be distributed both in South Texas and in Florida.
Oklahoma Drop Off Points for Clean-Up Buckets & Hygiene Kits
Duncan
First Christian Church Duncan
912 W. Walnut Ave.
Duncan, OK 73533
(580) 255-6116
Enid
Iglesia Christiana El Shaddai
1524 N. Independence St.
Enid, OK 73701
(580) 278-8424
Edmond
First Christian Church Edmond
201 E. 2nd St.
Edmond, OK 73034
(405) 341-3544
Oklahoma City
First Christian Church Oklahoma City
3700 N. Walker Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
(405) 525-6551
Tulsa
Harvard Avenue Christian Church
5502 S. Harvard Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74135
(918) 742-5509
9/5/17 From General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens:
“I mourn for the wound that is opened in the hearts of the more than three quarters of a million youth and young adults who, with their families, grieve because of the President’s unwillingness to maintain the work sustaining and education encouraging and community supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA recipients are our neighbors in nearly every community. They are our classmates in nearly every college, university, and seminary. They are our friends in our workplaces–sometimes whether we know it or not. And they are key leaders in our churches; brave and faithful and full of determination to contribute consistently to build up the strength of their families and neighborhoods and congregations. Our relationships with these fine young people and their families help us to fulfill our call to welcome the sojourner and experience unity among the diverse tapestry of communities in our church and nation.
“Therefore, the President’s decision to end the DACA program without certainty of legislative action to protect those who have come forward to receive DACA status seeks to bully the breath from their life hope, and to browbeat our efforts to follow scripture’s command for hospitality.
“Likewise, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients are our church pastors, leaders, and strength from Haitian, Salvadorans, and other backgrounds. Therefore, threats from the administration to eliminate TPS for vulnerable populations are unmerciful. They harm our faith family directly and seek to replace the economic healing and health offered through TPS with danger and even potential death if recipients are deported to disastrous conditions in their homeland.
“DACA and TPS recipients have followed the calling of God in Jeremiah 27:9 to ‘seek the welfare of the city to where I send you;’ and our faith compels us likewise to support the well being and healing of those who offer their gifts generously to our nation. We therefore urge immediate passage of The DREAM Act of 2017 by Congress which would offer stability to the lives of immigrant leaders, and we are committed to continuing work for compassionate immigration reforms that can support family unity, offer a stable future to hardworking immigrants, and enable them to fully utilize their God-granted gifts without fears of deportation.”
To follow this issue, go to the Disciples Home Missions Refugee and Immigration Ministry page
O God, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home: even as our prayers rise with each morning’s sun for those left battered and bruised, we bow our heads in humble thanksgiving for the generous partnership of Disciples everywhere. Fount of every blessing, pour out your streams of mercy on every heartfelt gift and every inundated home, that all might know you as our help in ages past and our hope for years to come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
September 1, 2017
Dear Church,
This past week our hearts and minds have been filled with images of our siblings on the Texas Gulf Coast who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. Our prayers went out for these communities as we watched homes submerged underwater: elders stranded in waterlogged buildings; churches, usually places of refuge and worship, rapidly flooded. We saw rescue workers, neighbors, and strangers risk their own lives to save the lives of others.
Some of us have feelings of dismay, overwhelm, despair, or anger; we cannot comprehend how so many are hurting. Yet, we are also coming together, in prayer and generosity. That is where hope lies. God is in our coming together, as Church, to respond when our family is in need.
Right now it is still too early to know the full scale impact of Hurricane Harvey, and we will not know for weeks, but this is what we know right now:
Among Disciples:
As we have been reminded by many emergency responders, now is not the time to come to Texas. Affected communities are busy enough without having to coordinate logistics for outside volunteers. Housing is also at a premium for evacuees and emergency personnel. The commitment and compassion of outside volunteers will be critical in the coming months and years, mostly long after the headlines have moved on, as we clean up and begin repairs. In the meantime, we – Week of Compassion staff, Vy Nguyen, Caroline Hamilton-Arnold, as well as Interim National Hispanic Ministries Pastor, Lori Tapia, and I, your general minister and president – have been reaching out to pastors and congregations to help assess need, pray and encourage these shepherds in the midst of this storm.
Week of Compassion staff have received phone calls and e-mails from so many of you asking what you can do to help as the disaster has unfolded, and we thank you! Disciples from across the U.S. and Canada have offered to come down and provide relief, because sitting still is difficult for us. It is in our DNA to help.
Please know that through your prayers and gifts to Week of Compassion, you are already present in Texas, where we are supporting the relief efforts led by our congregations. Responses include providing shelter, distributing food and cleaning materials, offering emotional and spiritual care, and helping those who have been able to return to their homes begin the process of mucking them out.
The whole Church is committed to the long-term recovery. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us that the Samaritan not only rescued the man on the Jericho road he suffered attack, but he provided funds to ensure the man was supported in his on-going recovery. (Luke 10:33-35) In the next few weeks, Week of Compassion will work closely with local churches, area ministries, regional staff, Disciples Volunteering, and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), as well as Disciples Church Extension Fund, National Benevolent Association and Pension Fund, to rebuild these communities in the years to come. It is who we are and how we have done it, together, as a church family, after other disasters — Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Joplin tornado, smaller flooding events, and now Hurricane Harvey.
Please continue to keep the people affected by the storms in your prayers. And please continue to donate to Week of Compassion as 100% of your gifts will be used in the weeks and months to rebuild. Whenever we serve sisters and brothers in need, we are the presence of Christ. Together, we are there in Christ’s name.
Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President
Vy Nguyen, Executive Director, Week of Compassion
Beaumont, TX area 8/30/17 The Coast Guard responds to search and rescue requests in response to Hurricane Harvey.
(U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Giles. Used with permission.)
Port Arthur, TX 8/30/17 Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Davis, assigned to Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team New Orleans, rescues a child in support of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
(U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy by Maritime Safety and Security Team New Orleans/Released. Used with permission.)
We are sharing this information to update you about the continued devastation from Hurricane Harvey.
Pam Holt, Regional Minister
08.31.17 11:50 am
Things are quite grim in far SE Texas today after three days of extreme rains.
The list is endless. Income and banking are now moving to the top of the list. Jobs and services are lost. I am so appreciative of all your donations and efforts to encourage Week of Compassion and Church World Service giving.
Texas is resilient but this is going to be a very long haul. Please continue prayers for us.
Grace and peace,
Zena McAdams
Interim Regional Minister
Christian Church of the Southwest
Video Transcript – Please feel free to use excerpts of Regional Minister Pam Holt’s message
How to Assemble Hygiene Kits & Clean Up Buckets – Instructions and contents for assembly
Week of Compassion Logo – Use this logo in your outreach
Mail Checks To:
Week of Compassion
PO Box 1986
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Make Payable to Week of Compassion
Imagine what you might see inside this sanctuary. It is Cypress Creek Christian Church in Spring, Texas.
There are many of our brothers and sisters suffering in south Texas from Hurricane Harvey. We all know someone in this area – they are either family or friends who are impacted by this unbelievable storm.
Oklahoma folks know what devastation is, and we also know what it is like to be on the receiving end of grace and acts of kindness. Because we are compassionate and generous disciples of Christ, we are anxious to help our brothers and sisters in great need in south Texas. And we are all asking “What can we do?” Right now, the waters are still very high, and while the clouds have parted to reveal blue sky, people are still being rescued from danger.
While there are many needs and many pleas on FaceBook, in consultation with Rev. Mary Hughes Gaudreau, Oklahoma Conference of Church’s expert on Disaster Spiritual and Emotional Care Ministries, Vy Nguyen from Week of Compassion, Josh Baird from Disciples Volunteering, Rebekah Belase local representative for Church World Service, and Zena McAdams, the Interim Regional Minister of the Christian Church in the Southwest, we are recommending the following:
PRAY. Keep the millions of victims of this storm in your prayers. Pray for all the rescuers, the first responders who are working on the ground and who are exhausted yet determined. Pray for the Red Cross and the Salvation Army who are in urgent mode. Pray for city officials who are already thinking about the long-term clean up. Pray for all the livestock and pets who were abandoned.
STAY. Out of concern and a desire to be useful, we want to go and help. Now is not the time! The situation is dangerous and is ongoing even though the sun came out on Tuesday afternoon. Volunteers at this time put themselves at risk and create additional challenges for rescue and emergency crews. Volunteer opportunities will come later for clean-up and long term recovery. We will listen for mission opportunities in the days and weeks and months ahead.
DONATE. Give to the Week of Compassion. On Sunday morning, please make an appeal to church members to make an extra donation to Week of Compassion. Remind folks to designate the donation to US Storms where 100% of their gifts will go to help communities rebuild after storms such as Hurricane Harvey. For the days ahead, be creative and host a church yard sale and donate all the proceeds to Week of Compassion.
MAKE.
Hygiene Kits and Clean Up Buckets.
Remember the 120 hygiene kits that we made in April 2016 at Regional Assembly? Church World Service is sending 150,000 hygiene kits to Texas. They need more. Gather your resources and make hygiene kits to be shipped to Texas. Follow this link for instructions or download it at the link above.
In just a few days, Clean Up Buckets will be needed. Church World Service has 1,500 clean up buckets, which is all that they have. CWS is in desperate need of more clean up buckets. We need to make more! In the next few Sundays, organize and make clean-up buckets. CWS will need these buckets by September 30th. Follow this link for instructions or download it at the link above.
Where to take them? We will publish a drop off point for these buckets in the near future. Arrangements are being made right now. Just get started!
GIVE BLOOD. You can always give blood at your local blood donation station and designate it Hurricane Harvey.
These are the first steps to being the hands and feet of Christ in South Texas.
Please know that this is a situation where the needs for help will change, almost daily. We will do our best to keep you informed so that you can continue to be faithful disciples of Christ, and guide your congregation to love and serve like Jesus.
Pam Holt, Regional Minister
Michael Davison, Associate Regional Minister
Leslie Dotson, Associate Regional Minister
You can support Hurricane Harvey disaster relief by making an online donation to Week of Compassion HERE. You may also donate to your congregation by designating your offering as “Week of Compassion for Hurricane Harvey”.
Week of Compassion currently responds to disasters around the world approximately once every one and a half days. Recent major disasters receive much of Week of Compassion’s attention and resources.
Your gifts to the Compassion Response Fund and to ‘Where Most Needed’ enable Week of Compassion to respond immediately to disasters and emergencies – ‘big’ or ‘small’ – as they arise. Designated donations enable continued support through the work of church partners who continue to respond under some of the most difficult and dangerous circumstances imaginable.
You can read more about Week of Compassion HERE.
Mark your calendar and alert your congregation that April 28, 2018 the Oklahoma Region invites everyone to the combined 2018 Regional Assembly and Leadership Training School.
This year we’ve created a single event to host a variety of training workshops with the regional business of Oklahoma’s biennial Regional Assembly. Participants will experience the energy and enthusiasm of one of the nation’s top clergy during worship! Plus we’ll have exceptional workshops for lay leaders and clergy that you’ve come to enjoy.
New Covenant Christian Church is graciously hosting our event and is excited to welcome us to their beautiful facility in north Oklahoma City.
So be sure to reserve Saturday, April 28, 2018! We are also planning special activities for the Friday before and will keep you posted as they develop. (Download the Save the Date slide for use in your worship service)
Stay tuned as our 2018 RA/LTS team moves into action and plans this exciting event for next spring!
Pam Holt, Regional Minister
P.S. Have a workshop idea? Submit it to office@okdisciples.org
Join the Oklahoma Disciples Foundation (ODF) Endowment Challenge!
Phillips University Legacy Foundation (PULF) has launched a match challenge to support PULF’s endowment with the Oklahoma Disciples Foundation (ODF). From now until September 30, 2017, ODF will match 50 cents of every dollar donated to the “Phillips University Legacy Endowment fund.”
This permanent fund provides annual income for the benefit of the “Legacy Scholarship” program through PULF.
Read more about the match program here: http://okdfdn.org/wp-content/u
