Pulpit Points – April 2024

I want to begin my letter to you this month by saying how excited I am to have Kylee Bradley become a part of our church as our new Youth Leader.  She and her husband, Kameron, have already been doing some great things with our youth and I look forward to working with Kylee and Kameron as well as with Clay Johnson who will also be part of a core group of adults who will be working with our youth.  We could always use more Youth Sponsors so if you would like to get involved, you would be welcome.

Upcoming events for the church this month are:

Chalice Youth and Noisy Offering on April 14th. Sonja Morrison & Doris Howard have volunteered to be the hostesses for the meal that day.  Since we now have a youth leader, we are planning to have an extra Chalice Youth Sunday each month.  Tentatively it will be on the 4th Sunday, so we are still in need of those who are willing to help serve a meal to those participating.  If you are willing to help serve a meal on the 4th Sunday OR prepare and serve a meal on the 2nd Sunday of each month, that would be so helpful. Please let me, Judy or Sonja know so it can be added to the calendar.

Wednesday evenings have also become an evening for the Youth to gather to make plans for events that they would like to participate in and to also come together for Bible lessons and discussions about service projects that they can get involved in.  These meeting times for the youth have been at 6:00 p.m. but when T-Ball season gets into full swing (no pun intended) the time will probably be moved to 5:00 p.m. so that Kylee and Kameron can get their sons to practice.  Our Adult Bible Study will continue to meet at 6:00 p.m. each Wednesday as usual.

And speaking of Youth, this month we are having a Youth Sunday on April 21st. This service will be led by the youth and their leaders and I ask for your prayers and support as we continue to make plans for this to be a special service.  Also on the 21st will be our monthly Board meeting immediately following worship. Remember, if you are part of the Diaconate, you are part of the Board.

On April the 28th there will be another installment of Praise & Pie! which is our SE Area meeting opportunity for Disciple churches in the SE Area of Oklahoma.  The meeting place has been moved to the First Christian Church in Durant at 3:00 p.m since Ardmore FCC (the original proposed destination) is still working on getting their new building ready to host special gatherings. I will be attending this meeting and will be glad to have others join me.  My car will leave the parking lot at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon. 

Other activities for April are our usual times to volunteer at the Samaritans and The Willows. Please check the calendar for date reminders.  First Friends will be April the 6th at 11:30 a.m.  As of this writing, we will need a hostess for this month.

There is a Regional Assembly Business Meeting on April 20th in Stroud, OK  at 10:00 a.m..  Anyone interested in attending this meeting with me would be welcome to do so and would be attending as a voting representative of our congregation since this meeting will be handling the business items necessary for the Regional church. IF you are attending I will need to know by the 10th in order to send registration in.  The official 2024 Regional Assembly will be held at sea in July for the cruise to Cozumel.

Some exciting news to announce is that by the time we have our first worship service in April we should have a new set of Prayer Blankets to be shared.  Our prayer blankets are a special way we show each other how much we care for them….or for their loved ones…as we pray over these blankets that are given to those of us participating in worship or to a loved one we may know who is in need of comfort during a difficult time.  As always, if you would like for the congregation to pray over a blanket for a special person who is not an active participant in our congregation we ask for a donation of $20 to cover the cost of the blanket.  For participating members of our congregation, there is no fee. 

And speaking of donations, there is one thing I am particularly excited about.  We have partnered with an online donation group entitled Vanco that will assist us in making it possible for anyone to make a donation to the church via a QR code and their phone.  There will be QR code cards in each pew and anyone who would like to make their donations to the church, and its various ministries, electronically will now be able to do so.  We will also be attaching this QR code to our Facebook page as well as on our church website.  In fact, the QR code will be part of this very newsletter and all future newsletters making it much easier for those inclined to make contributions in this at any time.  There is a 2.65% fee that the church must pay to have these donations processed, but there is also an opportunity for you to add that cost to your donation to absorb that fee.  It is not mandatory that you do this, but if you are able, it is greatly appreciated.

The same young woman who has stitched our logo on the blankets will also be making new T-shirts for us.  It’s been quite awhile since we’ve had a new shirt and as soon as we get everyone’s size that would like a shirt, we will have them made.  Each member of our Youth Group and their Leaders,  will have a shirt provided for them. If you would like a shirt, please let Judy or I know by April the 14th.  Cost will be $20.  The shirt will look similar to the ones we had before, but may be in a different color.

And finally, looking toward May, I would like to have a garage sale on May 4th here at the church.  I have several items that I no longer need and I am sure you have some things laying around the house that you need to get rid of.  There are even some items here on the church grounds that could be disposed of and the proceeds of the garage sale will then be determined by the Board what would be the best way to use them.  Many of you may not be aware of the fact that we recently had to spend over $5000 repairing one of the air conditioning units outside of the building and perhaps the proceeds of the garage sale could be used for that.  Garage Sales are a lot of work, but it is also a great way for us to be together as community…spend time together doing something helpful…and to reap the benefits of getting rid of some nice junk!

In closing, I’d like to share with you one of the beautiful inscriptions that is found in our Chalice Hymnal.  It is on Page 347 & was written by Lin D Cartwright, who is a 20th-century Disciples editor:

“What a sublime moment it is when we stand to confess with all our heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and commit our all to him as Lord and personal Savior. In the light of God’s infinite love as revealed in the life and death of our Lord, the confession becomes a love-binding commitment lasting to the end of our days. Surely, at such a moment heaven stoops to listen, the angels above break into singing, and God in Christ binds us to his heart with an everlasting love.”

My prayer for you is that this April of 2024 be one filled with blessings….with love…with grace and with hope.  Please continue to remember those on our prayer list as well as the joys and concerns we share each Sunday.

Blessings & Grace!   Pastor Elaine