Alleluia Fund

 

The Alleluia Fund in Oklahoma is celebrated during the fifty days of Easter. In this holy season we proclaim the good news of our risen Lord. We celebrate our Christian assurance of God's love as St. Paul declares in his letter to the Romans: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

We have the opportunity to respond by sharing from our blessed and abundantly filled lives and making an offering for the common mission of our Church.

 

The Alleluia Fund is an annual offering for the Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Mt 28:19-20)

 

Jesus gave this command to the Apostles shortly before He ascended into Heaven. It is what Jesus expected of the Apostles, and it is what Jesus expects of us. The mission of our Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.

 

In the Diocese of Oklahoma, the Alleluia Fund will give us the ability to make bold and powerful moves toward the building of Christ's Church. More importantly, it will unite us all in one body, one offering, and one celebration for the love of our Church as we fulfill the Great Commission.

 

We will present our offerings to the Alleluia Fund on Ascension Sunday. 

Episcopal Relief and Development Resources

 

The deadline is nearing for the Episcopal Relief & Development Making a Difference Video and Essay Contests for students in grade 5-12.  Youth are invited to write a 650 word essay that explains what malaria is, who it affects, and how you can help to end the disease OR create a 60-second video that shows us how you can make a differencein the fight against malaria. Cash prizes available. Please pass on!

 

Special Webinar for World Malaria Day 2012. On April 17, Relief & Development invites you to join them for a webinar to share the work and accomplishments of NetsforLife® at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/showReg?udc=axo3h56rzyb3. Learn about NetsforLife®'s innovative approach, the significant impacts in the field, and the gains made in malaria control. 

 

Inspiration Fund Matching Gift Challenge Double your impact! From now through May 25, donors have the opportunity to make their dollars go even further toward fighting malaria in Africa. A group of generous donors will match every gift we receive for the NetsforLife® Inspiration Fund, dollar-for-dollar, up to $430,000.   Any size gift to NetsforLife® or the NetsforLife® Inspiration Fund - online, by mail or by phone - will be matched in full until May 25, or as long as matching funds are available. 

The website is www.inspirationfund.org.

 

• Maximizing technology
• Video projectors and hardware
• Presentation software
• Media design, fonts, and layouts
• Enhancing worship with media
• Video recordings and streaming
• Video camera systems
• Implementing Facebook and YouTube
• Environmental Projection
• and much more.

Christ Church, Tulsa Holy Smoker's Meat Sale

 

Members of the Men's Group will smoke meats on Thursday to raise money for our youth mission experience. 

St. Christopher's, MWC Outreach Golf Event
          

St. David's OKC Book Study

 

Any and all folks interested in reading and discussing Diana Butler Bass' new book Christianity After Religion are encouraged to gather at St. David's Episcopal Church in Okla. City (3333 N. Meridian) beginning Monday, April 16th, at 6:30 pm. Come ready to discuss through Chapter One! You are assured of a lively, engaging discussion about the past, present, and future of our understanding of church. Please contact Pastor Tammy at tammywooliver@gmail.com for questions.

Men's Retreat Recap

 

The fourth annual revived series of the Men's Retreat was held at St. Crispin's Conference Center, March 8-10 with the Reverend Bill Holly serving as our facilitator. As available meeting time slots had filled up well in advance, our usual May get together was moved forward by two months, yet the weather cooperated giving us all the sense of an early spring just the same. 

 

Father Bill began Thurs. evening by introducing us to a film entitled I Am, which he had first seen at the Circle Theater.  The film is produced by Tom Shadyac, a noted film maker who got his first big break producing some of the Jim Carey movies including Ace Ventura Pet Detective and one of Father Georges' favorites, Bruce Almighty.  Shadyac's father had been a physician, who was an instrumental part of St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis from its beginning.  Tom, with a few early successes and accomplishments soon became acclimated to the Hollywood lifestyle with all its trappings.  With his film career in full stride, Tom was involved in a cycling accident which side-lined him for many months requiring an extended combined physical as well as emotional recovery.  During this period, Tom began to rethink values, purpose, and priorities in his life and how various inhabitants in the world interact and fit together as an integrated system.  In his film Tom explores the meaning and fulfillment in his own life as it relates to group behavior and dynamics in nature. This is an intense film chock full of concepts and inspiring commentary by such luminaries as our own beloved Desmond Tutu.  We all came away from the film challenged to engage in more quiet time in taking a deeper introspective look at ourselves and to come out of that huddle becoming a more active and responsible servant in God's kingdom. 

 

Part of our Friday session was focused on how to live "in the present". Although the past offers us an abundant heritage of immeasurable resources - the wisdom of the ages - and the future holds the promise of unlimited potential, we often dwell on and in the negative baggage of the past and or try to catapult ourselves forward into the future without adequately planning or preparing for it. Father Bill reminded us that everything that has ever been or will ever happen to us or around us has and will take place in the present. We need to embrace and savor those moments.  We should be deliberate about developing and practicing our way to be present in the moment. Bill carefully selected lectionary passages that complimented and enforced the teaching themes of the weekend.  We had a total of 13 men in attendance at this year's retreat, 8 of whom had attended in previous years.  Our numbers represented 5 parishes and 3 cities within the diocese.  It was a special treat to get to know Fr. Papini from St. Peter's.  It was wonderful seeing and visiting with St. Crispin's administrators, Mike and Joanne Roberts again and noting how much their children had grown in only 10 months.  Several of the kitchen staff members as well are becoming old friends.  We thanked them all for being such superb hosts. As these retreats offer such a special forum for men to pray and fellowship together, we strongly recommend this time of spiritual refreshment and renewal to all men throughout the diocese.  Thank you Father Bill and our fellow brothers.           

Craig Walsh (with editing by Bob Baker)

Safeguarding God's Children Training

 

A Safeguarding God's Children Training opportunity will be held on April 22 at St. Thomas, Pawhuska. Please contact Mother Andrea if you would like to attend - bnaokies@cox.net

St. Mary's Church Bake Sale

 

Vital, Healthy, and Growing Congregations

Applying the Five Keys

 

A Workshop for Clergy and Lay Leaders of the Diocese of Oklahoma

Lead by The Very Reverend Kevin Martin

Author, Speaker and Dean of St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas

 

At a time when many Episcopal Churches are in decline, is it possible to create vital, healthy and growing congregations? Yes it is, and Dean Kevin Martin will be with us to help our congregational leaders improve insight and skills in leading congregations for the New Millennium. Dean Martin has taught church leaders and consulted with congregations for over 15 years, and he is the author of two books and numerous articles on leadership and congregational development. Participants will learn:

 

* Why doing church the way we have always done it does not work today.

 

* How the culture is changing and demanding new missionary efforts from our congregations.

 

* What you can do as a leader to help your congregation respond to the challenges of a Post-denominational and Post-modern world.

 

Drawing applications from his book 5 Keys for Church Leaders, Dean Martin will give practical information on steps all leaders can take in becoming more effective leaders for today's Church.

 

Location of Workshops

The two day work shop will be offered both in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

 

May 18-19, St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, OKC

Friday, May 18th, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for Clergy and Program Staff

Saturday, May 19th, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for Vestry and Lay Leaders

 

June 1-2, St. John's, Tulsa

Friday, June 1st , 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for Clergy and Program Staff

Saturday, June 2nd, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for Vestry and Lay Leaders

 

Registration information

To register, please visit the diocesan website www.epiok.org and click on the "events tab" and scroll down to "Healthy and Growing Congregations" and click "register now."

 

You can also email the Assistant to the Canon to the Ordinary, Diane Ellsworth at dellsworth@epiok.org. Questions, call Diane at 405-232-4820 or 800-584-0823.

The Hope of Our Calling

The National workshop on Christian Unity will be held in Oklahoma City, April 16 - 19. This event will offer seminars and presentations on critical ecumenical issues, meetings of denominational networks, a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II, a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, and ecumenical worship services. Bishop Ed will be a part of this event serving as a joint celebrant in accordance with the interim agreement between the Methodist and Episcopal churches on Tuesday, the 17th, at St. Paul's Cathedral, OKC.

New Hope Sunday - May 6
 

May 6 will be New Hope Sunday for the Diocese of Oklahoma. New Hope began as a ministry of the Diocese in 1992, providing a summer camp experience for children who had a parent in prison. Today, New Hope, as a non-profit corporation, continues to provide services to Oklahoma children with incarcerated parents, and while those services have expanded, summer camps remain a primary focus. For the last 20 years, New Hope's success has been closely tied to the support we have received from Episcopal churches and individuals, who have donated money and time generously.

 

The New Hope residential camp for children aged 8-11 will again be located at St. Crispin's, July 22-27. Two other residential camps for children aged 12-13 and 14-15 will be located at a camp facility near Guthrie, June 10-15 and July 8-13. Day camps for children in the Tulsa area will be held June 18-22 and June 24-29. New Hope, with your help, will serve about 200 children this summer from around the state. Your support of New Hope is much appreciated.

 

If you would like to coordinate New Hope Sunday for your church, contact Judy Gann, judy@newhopeoklahoma.org or 918-361-3903. To donate, please visit New Hope's web site. http://www.newhopeoklahoma.org. To volunteer, contact Phillip Bowman for a volunteer application by e-mailing phillip@newhopeoklahoma.org. If you know children in your area who qualify for one of New Hope's camps please contact Lindsay Fry-Geier, Lindsay@newhopeoklahoma.org for applications.

 

 

Weaving God's Promises is pleased to announce that Year 3: Weaving God's Beloved Community is now available! You can begin this 3-year Episcopal curriculum for children in Pre/K thru Grade 5 in any of the three years. Year 1 uses the Gospel of Matthew to emphasize the Kingdom of God, Year 2 is the Gospel of John with its stories of individuals' transformations and Year 3 focuses on the Gospel of Luke with its stories of community and care. Downloadable lessons are available for all three years, as well as a chart to see where the lessons fall in the Lectionary cycle.

 

Weaving God's Promises for Youth will soon be available! We heard your request for age-appropriate and Episcopal resources for Middle Schoolers (Grades 6, 7, 8) and you'll be excited to see what we now have! View a sample lesson here and stay tuned for more info.

 

Living the Good News will be totally online beginning with the Fall 2012 season. The same excellent lectionary-based curriculum you've known for years will be totally linked and interactive so that you can have all that you need in one place without extra papers and books. And you'll be able to send all those take-home papers to parents via e-mail! Learn more about the changes here. You can also download samples of a High School session and a Primary session (Gr. 1, 2, 3).

 

Lastly, All Things New and Let the Children Come are "retiring." The materials for these programs will be available while supplies last. So if you've been using either of these curricula for children, learn how you can stock up on materials at a discount.

christianformation@epiok.org

(405) 232-4820