Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma
Contents
New Beginnings
Thunder Basketball Tickets
Acolyte Festival
Safeguarding God's Children
Clergy Spouse Retreat
Presiding Bishop's Message
Church of the Redeemer Participates in MLK Parade
Prayers & Squares
Parish Sewers Clothe 12th Night Players
Stewardship
Cursillo Scheduled
Men's Retreat
Parish Resources
Youth News
Position Open
Young Adult Information
Second Half of Life
Closing Prayer
 

Upcoming 
Bishop's
Events

 

 

2/3-4

Deacon's Retreat

St. Crispin's 

 

2/5

St. Luke's

Bartlesville

 

2/12

St. Luke's

Ada

 

2/26

St. Peter's

Colgate

 

Upcoming   Diocese  Events

 

 

To register or for more inforamtion please go onto the Dicoesan Web Site  below:

 

   

February 10 - 11

Bread for the Journey

Women's Retreat

St. Crispin's

 

February 12

Safeguarding God's Children

St. Augustine of Canterbury

9:15 - 1:30

  

February 12

Celebrate Summer Camp

St. John's OKC

10:30 a.m.

 

February 17 - 19

Vocare

St. Crispin's

 

February 19

Celebrate Summer Camp

St. Patrick's, Broken Arrow

10:30 a.m.

 

March 8 - 10

Men's Retreat

St. Crispin's

   

March 10, 2012

Godly Play Learning and Sharing Event

Christ Church, Tulsa  9 until noon

 

April 26-29

Co-Ed English Speaking Cursillo

St. Crispin's

 

September 27-30

Co-Ed Spanish Speaking Cursillo

St. Crispin's


The Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma

          

 Link to Our Web Site

 

                            

Companion Diocese Uruguay


Uruguay

     two bishops

 

 

Holy God, source of healing and of peace, bless with your grace the companion dioceses of  Oklahoma and Uruguay. Through our partnership one with another may we grow in mutual affection and communion, seek a more profound experience of truth, build up the Church in unity and give glory to Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

 

 

New Web site:

 

 http://uruguay.anglican.org/

 


 
The Next Issue of this Newsletter will be on Friday, February 10, 2012.
 

We Are Epiok.org

February 3, 2012

Issue 5

 

New Beginnings

 

The Rev. Jeff Huston, Chaplain for NB #37, charged the 23 NBer's to go forward and share what they experienced this past weekend. He told them .."it is not called enders but Beginners" and this would be their change to go forth an make disciples. NB banner 

  

New Beginnings is a program for 6th - 9th graders and is designed to help young people grow in the love of themselves, others, and Jesus Christ.

 

Using a Harry Potter theme, the groups were sorted into houses, and the theme continued all weekend long. This weekend was led by Philip Newcomer, Rector; Caity Miller, Dean; and Emma Hutchison, Director's Assistant.

 

 

altar     NB receiving heart
                                              Receiving Heart Necklace

 

NBers

 

Thunder Basketball Tickets 

 

There are still a few basketball tickets available for the March 16th game against the San Antonio Spurs. These are $10 tickets but we will have over 120 Episcopalians in the area for this event! Contact the Diocesan Office if you are interested in purchasing a ticket.


If you have previously ordered and received your tickets please be sure and remit your payment for them!

Acolyte Festival 

 

The event is scheduled for March 24 at St. Paul's Cathedral, with a Festival Eucharist to be held at 2 p.m. The registration for is on the Diocesan web site at:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/dfc_attachme
nts/public/documents/3150407/acoltye_flyer_and_registration_sheet.pdf

Safeguarding God's Children 

 

There are two training events being offered for Safeguarding in February:

 

 12th - St. Augustine of Canterbury, OKC, 9:15 a.m. 1st video and discussion; 2nd video and discussion after 10:30 a.m. service.

 

23rd - St. Philip's Ardmore, 5 p.m.

 

You can register for training at:  http://www.epiok.org/resources/safeguarding_god_s_children.html

Clergy Spouse Retreatsmores

  

2012 Clergy Spouses head off to

Grown-Up Camp

April 20th - April 22 at St. Crispin's

 

We will campout in our comfortable rooms offered by St. Crispins' but the activities led by Mike and Joann Roberts will take us back to the fun of our youth.

 

Campfires, s'mores, walks under the stars, and maybe even some fishin' at the pond.

 

If you have not received your invitation or have questions, Call Debbie Konieczny 405 990 9923

 

Mark your calendars and R.S.V.P. today to: [email protected]

 

Presiding Bishop's Message on General Convention 

 

"I want to challenge this church to look forwPBard and outward, rather than focusing inward and backward," she says in her communiqu�.

 

Citing the five Marks of Anglican Mission, the presiding bishop states, "The church doesn't have a mission; God's mission has a church."

 

The video message is the initial message that the presiding bishop will offer leading up to General Convention.

 

Church of the Redeemer Participates in the Martin Luther King Day Parade

 

MLK parade1
The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer was a participant in the festive Martin Luther King (MLK) Day Parade on the holiday, January 16, 2012.  Our lead car, driven by Junior Warden Todd Parrish with son Michael, was followed by our young people who carried the Church Banner and handed out informational fliers about the church to hundreds of spectators along the parade route.  For approximately 2� hours, our head cheerleader, Vestry member Marquetta Dean, further encouraged excitement and enthusiasm among the spectators as we wound through downtown Oklahoma City streets to the endpoint in Bricktown. 

 MLK 2

According to Parade Coordinators, this year's parade was the largest yet for Oklahoma City and remains one of the largest MLK parades in the country.  The 134 parade entrants represented many diverse organizations and supporters from throughout the Oklahoma City area and included literally hundreds of marchers, four marching bands as well as motorcycles, cars, vans and floats.  Redeemer's entry, "The Floating Sanctuary", was designed by members Stanley and Phyllis Williams and decorated primarily by our youngsters.  The mobile sanctuary was filled with parishioners from each of the church's auxiliaries.  We're all looking forward to next year's celebration because making the float was just as exciting as actually riding in the parade.

Prayers & Squares
  
This idea was shared this ministry team at St. Andrew's, Grove in their recent Prayers & Squaresnewsletter! Prayers and Squares.  If you would like more information contact St. Andrew's and they will get you to Jo Anne Dennis who is leading this group.
  
Prayers & Squares is an interfaith outreach organization that combines the gift of prayer with the gift of a hand-tied quilt. Unlike many other groups that make quilts for charitable causes, the purpose of Prayers & Squares is not to make and distribute quilts, but to promote prayer through the use of quilts. Our motto is: "It's not about the quilt; it's all about the prayers."

Each Knot Represents a Prayer - The idea behind these prayer quilts is simple. A heavy thread is used to take stitches through the quilt layers, and the ends are left free to be tied with square knot. As each knot is tied, a silent prayer is said for someone in special need, who then receives the finished quilt.

Through Prayers & Squares many quilts have been distributed, each a special gift of love. They have been made for sick babies, for cancer and AIDS patients, for adults and children facing surgery or personal crisis; for many reasons, but each for someone in special need of prayer.
 
You can also check http://www.prayerquilt.org/ for information and resources.
Parish Sewers Clothe 12th Night Players
 
St. John's parishioners gathered this past fall to sew costumes for the royal court and other 12th Night Feast players. The group included sewers of all ages and skill levels, including three young people interested in learning to sew. In previous years most costumes for the 12th Night Feast have been rented from other sources, but thanks to our sewers, St. John's now has a substantial costume base for the future. 
 

12th Night Sewers
 

So, how was the Feast? At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, the parish hall of St. John's church in Norman was transformed into a scene from medieval England. There were knights, pages, a royal court, a jester and, of course, the king and queen. Entertainment was provided by the renaissance music group "Waytes and Measures," playing from the balcony. A town crier called the festivities to order and with a trumpet fanfare the royal court entered the hall. The jester interacted with a number of people, much to the amusement of the audience. 

 

We heard to story of the old knight, Sir Oliphaunt, and his adventure with a flea bitten rug, a.k.a. the Golden Fleece. The King's scribe gave a rather favorable interpretation of a number of Gospel passages that could have made the Royal court uncomfortable. 

 

The choir, led by Linda Kelly, sang a number of seasonally appropriate pieces. This year, Danyel and Jonathan Siler volunteered their time and expertise with stage work to make sure we had the best possible performance. Chris Brown and his kitchen staff prepared a wonderful meal. About 85 people attended.  

Stewardship

  

blessed company
  

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.  Winston Churchill  (1874-1965)

Cursillo Scheduled 

  

Cursillo Weekend


 

Cursillo (coor-see'-oh) is a Spanish word which means "a short course." Cursillo is a movement within the Church which is intended to help Christians know God's love and grace and to help these same Christians discover and live out their personal vocations in the world. The movement offers small group meetings which help us in our life of Christian Ministry. The movement also includes a three day weekend during which participants listen to talks by clergy and lay persons, and participate in worship, music, fellowship, prayer and other activities. 
  

Dates are: 

 

April 26 - 29   Co-Ed English Speaking

September 27 - 30           Co-Ed Spanish Speaking

 

Go to www.oklahomacursillo.com to download a form and get more information.
 If you are a confirmed Episcopalian 21 years of age or older, speak with your local clergy about attending a Cursillo Weekend.  

Men's Retreat

 

2012 Men's Retreat
Sponsored by The Brotherhood of St. Andrew's

 

with

  bill holley 2 

The Reverend Bill Holly

Retreat Chaplain

 

March 8-10, 2012

Thursday Supper - Saturday Lunch

 St. Crispin's Conference Center  

2 nights/6 meals

$125 double/$160 single

 

Contact: Bob Baker 918-258-5656

[email protected]

 Registration forms are on the Diocesan Web page. Click here

Parish Resources

 

CORRECTION TO CHRISTIAN FORMATION NEWSLETTER - The date of the Diocesan training event is June 16, 2012.

 

Province VII representatives (of which Sabrina Evans is a member) will be a part of the Christian Formation Conference  March 1 - 3 at Camp Allen, Navasota, TX. There will be workshops Thursday night, all day Friday and panel discussions on Saturday morning. It will conclude after lunch on the 3rd. If you are interested in attending, please go to: epicenter.org. If you need financial assistance to attend, please contact Sabrina at the Diocesan offices.

 

The Diocese will offer a Christian Formation Training event June 16, at Santa Maria Virgen Episcopal Church, from 9:30 until 3. Our theme, Celebremos la Fiesta (Let us Celebrate the Feast!) will look at various feasts and liturgical seasons and how to make them special in our congregations.

 

New Resources at the Diocesan Offices

 

Living the Questions - this is a 21 session  DVD program with downloadable and printable session guides with corresponding readings and discussion questions. Flexible usage for large or small groups. Videos are 20 minutes in length.

 

The Newcomer Collection - 6 video sessions, divided into Traditions and Sacraments. Designed to help welcome the newcomer to the Episcopal Church.

 

 I AM - a video from the director of Bruce Almighty, The Nutty Professor, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, (Tom Shadyac) that looks at two questions: What's wrong with our world? and What can we do about it? He visits some of today's greatest minds, including authors, poets, teachers, religious leaders and scientists searching for the fundamental endemic problem causes all of the other problems, while simultaneously reflecting on his own life choices of excess, greed, and eventual healing.

 

 

Silly Shrove Tuesday Skit - http://baba-yaga.org/Shrove-Tuesday-skit.pdf

 

A Box for Holy Week (and before)

 

Holy Week Box
 

Here's an idea you can use in your parish to walk through Holy Week. It uses the following items:

 

a piece of of leather

a piece of grey fur fabric

a piece of white linen

a die

a horseshoe nail

a plastic gold coin

a rock

a wooden "cup" shape

a piece of plastic "thorn"

 

The idea is to put the things in order of the Holy Week Story and to talk about what the item represents. You can also talk about a link between items, such as the white linen used when Jesus died and was buried and the swaddling cloth at his birth.

 

Thinking about VBS?  Looking for something different? How about the Peace Village? The World Peace Village is designed as an intergenerational event, one where children and parents as well as individuals walk together the path toward peace, tolerance and understanding. With its interactive elements, it has been used by churches, universities, schools, museums, conferences and retreats as a way of bringing diverse cultures together in a spirit of peace. The World Peace Village can be the tool to spotlight peace and tolerance in a setting where all generations can have access to its prayerful atmosphere.

 

At each center participants learn through experience and come to respect unfamiliar faith traditions. Each of the six centers is made up of a banner on a stand (3ft by 6ft) depicting a center of worship for each tradition. Displayed in front of the banners are sacred items from the traditions used in worship. Visitors can touch the sacred objects displayed, read about the tradition, say a prayer of peace, learn a word for peace and make a spiritual practice from each tradition.

 

The Golden Rule, found in the sacred teachings of each tradition, anchors and underscores the shared core values of all the spiritual practices.

  

http://www.worldpeacevillage.org/wpv_main.htm has more information and we have the materials here at the Diocesan Offices.

Youth
 
Youth News- 

 

Episcopal Night at the Thunder is March 16 - Do you have tickets? We have a few here at the offices.

 

Camp Sundays - Celebrate Summer Camp in the middle of Winter - February 12 at St. Johns OKC, and February 19 at St. Patrick's, Broken Arrow. Contact [email protected] to register a count for meals, which will be provided.

 

Vocare - February 17-19 - Designed for 19 - 30 year olds, at St. Crispin's. . Information and registration on Diocesan web site.

 

Mission Camp - This will be March 19 - 23 in Joplin Missouri. It is for 9th - 12th graders and is limited in number to 7 males and 7 females and is on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS.We now only have:  6 spaces for males and 0 spaces for females. Need 2 male staffers and 3 female staffers. Registrations are on the diocesan web site under Camps on the left hand side of the homepage.

 

March 24 - Acolyte Festival at St. Paul's Cathedral. THE REGISTRATION FORM IS ON THE WEB SITE.

 

Youth Leadership Program is Coming! It will be for 6th - 9th graders and provide leadership tools and skills that will be transferrable to your congregational life and life in general.

 

Seeing Yourself Through God's Eyes - a weekend retreat at St. Crispin's for girls grades 6th - Seniors. Watch for more details.

  

The Youth Commission and members will be a part of the Christian Formation training event on June 16 at Santa Maria, OKC. The three workshops include: Small group facilitation, The Abundant Life Project from ERD (Episcopal Resource and Development),  and Camp Crafts (making friendship bracelets and God's eyes/lanyards.) If you would like to be a part of this training event, please contact the dioceses.

 

MIQRA - Save the date. Next January 19-21, as we offer our first MIQRA. What is MIQRA? It is an event to youth and adults who want to participate in reading the Bible from beginning to end! That's right - three days of non-stop Bible reading - but wait! There's more! There will be games, movies, activities, quite time, and much more going on at the same time! This will be held at St. Mary's Church, Edmond.

 

NEXT YOUTH COMMISSION MEETING - May 5. Would you like to join us? We will begin at noon at the Diocesan Offices. Hope to see you here.

Position Open

        

St. Mary's  Episcopal Church , Edmond, seeks Children's Formation Coordinator.  This leadership position includes administration and coordination of all children's church school programs, specifically Vacation Bible School in the summer, Kidzone  (a Wednesday night program during the school year), and Sunday morning formation (which runs concurrently with the school year); volunteer teacher recruitment and training; parental communication and support for coordination of all children's programs; curriculum management; solid administrative and communication gifts are essential, as well as good experience in Christian formation. Church has active outreach ministry to local area apartment complex. 

 

The position requires the person's presence at church on Wednesday nights (approximately 5 p.m. through 8 p.m.) and Sunday mornings (9 a.m. through 11 a.m.).  The position is part-time (< 1000 hrs). Contact

[email protected] for further details.

Young Adult Information 
 
       

Young Adult Festival - 2012

July 5-10 in Indianapolis, IN

 

Love your church? Want to meet other Episcopalians from around the world? Curious about how decisions get made? Passionate about a cause and looking to mobilize others?

 

GET THE BIGGER PICTURE @ GENERAL CONVENTION 2012 - the triennial gathering of the Episcopal Church. You can take part in history as we gather to celebrate ministry, build community, and labor together for the reign of God in and through the Episcopal Church. Go to: https://www.formstack.com/forms/DFMS-yaf_2012 for details.

Second Half of Life - 

  

SAVE THE DATE - The Diocese of Oklahoma and the Commission on Aging is offering its first program offering, Mind, Body. and Spirit in the 2nd Half of Life on April 17, 2012, St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, 14700 North May, OKC, OK. There will be an offering of six different workshops and the opportunity to attend three, a luncheon speaker, tons of resources, and door prizes! Registration and coffee start at 9 a.m. and the first workshop is 9:30. Event ends at 2 p.m. Registration forms will be on the web next week!

Closing - February

Mother Thersa

Contact Information

Sabrina Evans

[email protected]

(405) 232-4820