 |
Upcoming
Bishop's
Events | | |
April 30 - May 10
Ecumenical Trip to Turkey
May 13
St. Dunstan's, Tulsa
May 20
All Souls', OKC
|
|
Upcoming Diocese Events | | |
To register or for more inforamtion please go onto the Dicoesan Web Site below or call the local congregation:
May 18 - 19
Vital, Healthy, and Growing Congregations
St. Augustine of Canterbury, OKC
May 20
Ingathering of Alleluia Fund
June 1- 2
Vital, Healthy, and Growing Congregations
St. John's, Tulsa
June 16
Diocesan Christian Formation Training Event
Celebremos la Fiesta
Let us Celebrate the Feast!
9:30 - 3
Santa Maria Virgen Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City
July 27
Episcopal Night at the Red Hawks Game
7:05
September 27-30
Co-Ed Spanish Speaking Cursillo
St. Crispin's
|
| | | |
The Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma
|
| | | |
Companion Diocese Uruguay
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,
May 11, 2012.
|
|
|
|
We Are Epiok.org
May 4, 2012
Issue 18 |
|
|
|
|
News, Events, and Offerings |
|
Education for Ministry (EfM) Celebrated in Diocese
Education for Ministry is a four-year distance learning theological education program of the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Participants commit one year at a time to meet regularly in seminars led by trained mentors. During the four years, participants study the Bible, church history, and theology, while learning to engage in theological reflection.
EfM was designed for the laity of the church. Every Christian receives the call to Christ's ministry at baptism. EfM provides the basic theological education in order to develop knowledge and confidence about the ministry we share. Since its beginning in 1975, thousands throughout the United States and overseas have participated in EfM.
We congratulate the individuals listed below in completion of this program and look forward to hearing how their ministries are being used in the church!
Ada
Joel Ray Dickinson, Ph.D
Ruth F. Dickinson
Christopher Louis Kenney
Ardmore
Basil Bigbie
Norma Forbes
Bonnie Watson
Grove
Susie Hickam
Muskogee
Pam Lipscomb
William S. Hirsch
Ms. Judy Kellogg
OKC
Clare Twitchell
Cathy Roberts
Stillwater
Martha Miller
Leslie Baker
Tulsa
Sharon Kelso of Sand Springs
Terri Hunt-Fisher of Tulsa
Tulsa
Charles McComas
Ken Muratet
Tulsa
Jay Williams
Donna Nichols |
|
Update from Woodward
Hi everyone,
I want to thank you for your care and concern for the people of Woodward. The response of the rescue and relief groups/organizations have been a blessing. People and businesses are now making repairs, some major, some minor; rebuilding from the ground, or waiting to make any decisions. The landscape is changed forever. It will be made anew.
I am part of a long-term recovery team, Woodward VOAD (volunteer organizations active in disaster). This group consists of pastors, business leaders, counselors, service organizations and others who want to assist with the long-term recovery. The Red Cross and Salvation Army assisted the victims of the tornado with immediate needs. VOAD will identify the unmet needs of the tornado victims, verify the needs, coordinate the assets and resources needed to meet the needs and avoid duplication of resources. Mr. Richard Norman of OKC VOAD spoke of the 'rule of ten'. In Woodward the rescue effort took 2 days, the relief effort took about 20 days and the recovery will take about 200 days.
Some of you have asked about monetary support. If you are wanting to contribute to this long-term effort, please make your check out to St. John's and identify tornado relief in the memo. We have set up a separate fund at St. John's to keep track of money coming in and going out.
I am grateful for your prayers and support. They have made a difference.
Mary Davis+ |
|
St. John's Eagles Participate in Memorial Marathon
Members from St. John's Episcopal Church-Oklahoma City, formed a five-person relay team to participate in the Memorial Marathon which was held Sunday, April 29th. The marathon is held to remember the events of April 19, 1995. The team from St. John's included The Rev. David Stock (10k), Stuart Chai (5k), Victor Jackson (12k), Julian Thomason (5k), and Kyle Chai (10k). The team placed 18th out of 163 in their division. |
St. Mary's, Edmond, Celebrates 75th Anniversary
On April 22, St. Mary's celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a vintage worship Sunday and ended with an old-fashioned pot luck dinner. They asked their parishioners to come in their Sunday best which in the late 30's would have included suits, ties, heels, a hat or head covering and gloves. Using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the congregation traveled back in time to where the priest stood in front of the altar with his back to the congregation during the liturgy. A wonderful article is the Edmond Life & Leisure and can be found here. |
St. Paul's, Claremore, Prayers & Squares
St. Paul Episcopal Church Women in 2007 joined an interfaith outreach organization called "Prayers & Squares". The purpose of this group is to combine prayer and a hand tied quilt. The motto is "It's not about the quilt, it's about the prayers". Prayers & Squares began in 1992 at Hope United Methodist Church in Rancho Bernardo, California. St Paul's was number 588 and there are now 1024 members from around the U.S., Canada and other countries. The first quilt at Hope was for a 2 year old boy who was in a coma. The doctors said that he was touching and fingering the knots on his quilt before he was fully conscious. He kept the quilt with him until his death at age 14. St Paul's first quilt was pieced and tied with heavy thread. Our Priest then blessed it and members of the congregation tied knots and said prayers. The quilt was given to a member of our congregation who had terminal cancer. Upon his death his wife told us that he requested to be buried with his quilt. A request is made for a quilt in writing with the type of prayer needed, then the quilt is blessed and thread tied with prayers. Since forming our group, we have pieced and given 186 quilts all with knots tied with prayers. Some quilts have been made in Red, White and Blue and have gone to service members stationed overseas. The response we have received from those who have received quilts has been heartwarming and emotional. We have received hugs, cards, etc., but the greatest thing we can receive is knowing that our work and the prayers that go with the quilts mean so much to those that receive them. |
St. Augustine's of Canterbury Celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday with Guest
An unnamed two week old lamb was the main attraction at Sunday's 10:30 a.m. Eucharist. The lamb was housed in a dog pen up until the Children's Moment and came to the forefront of the Nave where everyone could see him. Fr.
Joseph Alsay made sure everyone had a good view of the lamb as he was carried during the sermon, draped over Joesph's arm. |
St. Simeon's
|
Alleluia Fund
THE ALLELUIA FUND is a diocesan-wide offering. Its purpose is to empower our diocese to respond to God's call to build the church by creating new resources for mission and ministry, and to encourage every member of our Diocese to live more fully into his/her baptismal covenant. The Alleluia Fund will be celebrated May 20th.
Please note "Alleluia Fund" on your check and send your contribution to:
The Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma
924 North Robinson
Oklahoma City, OK 73102 |
|
What Does Mission Mean to Me and What Does Mission Look Like in the World?
 Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will
conduct a conversation about mission with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a live webcast on Saturday, May 19 at 3:30 pm Eastern Time. The live webcast will be available at no fee on the website of the Episcopal Church www.episcopalchurch.org. Questions to be explored are: "What does Mission mean to me"; and "What does mission look like in the world."
|
|
Church Media U
So, four Episcopalians go to a Holiday Inn Express in Tulsa and spent six hours in a workshop sponsored by Church Media U...sounds like the beginning of a bad joke but on Wednesday, it was a reality. No, none of us were contemplating dropping the huge expense required for setting up the ultimate media system they were eventually offering for sale. We were all looking at what's out there, what the media trends are, and seeing what ideas we can cull for our congregations.
The workshop began with why use media in a church and the one thing that stuck out was that those individuals who are graduating from college now have never been in an educational system without screen teaching. (No blackboards or overhead projectors, showing my age here.) We saw examples of Environmental Projection (EP for the techies in the group) where entire walls are transformed into pieces of art. We were introduced (at least, for me) to the technology out there, software, programs, and companies that are transforming media in congregations today.
There were several ideas ideas I came away with that may be simple and easy to implement today, but I wanted to share one with you.The speaker, Darren McDonald of Shepherd Multimedia, talked about church announcements and how there doesn't seem to be an appropriate place to put them in worship. His suggestion was to put them into a powerpoint presentation, (so far, so good for most of us), put it on a "loop", and then project the announcement on a wall. You could have this running before church actually begins and then again at the end. His comment was you have to connect with adults in the first 8 seconds of an announcement or your lose them. Also, that the announcement made from the clergy should not have the who, what, when, and where as a part of the announcement but the WHY.
Technology is here to stay and in most occasions, the church has been the last one to embrace it. Looks like we should be figuring out the best way to use it and make it our friend as we continue making disciples and proclaiming the Good News. |
Safeguarding God's Children Training
The Diocese will be offering two Safeguarding Trainings the Summer -one for becoming a trainer and one regular training.
July 21 at 10 a.m. at the Diocesan Offices will be the train the trainer event. This is an all day event. Completion of this training will allow you to do training in your congregation and throughout the Diocese.
August 11 at 10 a.m. at the Diocesan Offices, we will host a Safeguarding God's Children training. Safeguarding is required every 4 years for clergy, vestry, treasurers, bishop's committee members, those who work with children - Sunday School teachers, youth ministers, choir directors, and sextons. This would be a great time to get trained before the beginning of your program year.
Registration forms can be found at: http://www.epiok.org/resources/safeguarding_god_s_children.html. |
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. |
|
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Episcopal Youth Leadership Academy (E.Y.L.A.) for the Diocese of Oklahoma. This program is open to youth grades 6 - 10. It will provide opportunities to learn to be a leader not only in your congregation, diocese and beyond but these skills will apply to school and other organizations. Go to:
http://www.epiok.org/Christian%20Formation/e-y-l-a-launches-2012-13-program.html and download a brochure!
EpiscoPosse - Tulsa
A city wide youth group for Episcopalians and their friends 6th-12th grade. This group meets weekly for worship, formation, service, and fun from 4-6pm!
May 6: Program night, Christ Church 4-6
May 13: No Episcoposse/Mother's Day
May 20: Program night, Good Shepherd 4-6
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. |
|
Christian Formation Resources |
|
Christian Formation Training Event Scheduled
We are pleased to offer our Diocesan Christian Formation Training Event, Celebremos la Fiesta (Let us Celebrate the Feast) on June 16 at Santa Maria Virgen Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City, OK. Each of the 12, that's right 12, workshops offered will like at feasts and/or seasons and how to make them special in our congregations. Who should attend? Anyone involved in formation (children, youth, and adult), anyone responsible for Intergenerational activities, and anyone looking for new programs to offer in your own congregations. Three of these workshops will be led by members of the Youth Commission!
Registration forms are on line and can be found by clicking here. |
|
Closing Prayer for May
Loving Father and Creator of all we come to you today deeply grateful for your creation. As we look around us we are amazed at the greatness and majesty of all that you have made. Nature around us speaks of your greatness - the vast expanse of the sky, the mountains, trees, lakes and streams speak of your great design. You have given us such beauty in the colors of the rainbow, the beauty of flowers and fields. Words cannot adequately express the magnificence of all you have created. We join in praise with the writer of the psalms when he says, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." May we show our love and reverence to you, our Lord, by caring for all that you have created. We humbly give you praise and thanks. Amen. |
|
|
Contact Information
Sabrina Evans
|
|
|
