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Bishop's Schedule | | |
December 9
St. Luke's, Tulsa
December 16
St. Michael's, Norman
Christmas Eve
St. Paul's Cathedral |
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Save the Date | | |
December 9
5 p.m.
Church of the Resurrection
Musica Sacra - Choral Evensong with Canon Musician Scott Raab
April 26 -28
Altered (formerly Vocare)
St. Crispin's
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Upcoming Diocese Events | | |
To register or for more inforamtion please go onto the Dicoesan Web Site below or call the local congregation:
January 19 - 21
Miqra - A Public Reading of Scripture
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Edmond
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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/
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The Next Issue of this Newsletter will be on Friday,
December 7, 2012.
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We Are Epiok.org
November 30, 2012
Issue 47 |
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 News, Events, and Offerings |
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Diocesan Cycle of Prayer Available
The new Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is available on the web site: www.epiok.org below the "We are the Episcopal Church" video. |
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Advent Meditations Available on Website
The Daughters of the King at St John's in Tulsa has compiled an Advent booklet for the Advent and Christmas season. The theme is "Encountering Jesus," and contributors were asked to stand in the shoes of those who encountered Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. As a way to understand the incarnation, they were asked to speak either from the view point of the Biblical characters or to give a personal experience which would help to understand the gospel encounter.
The group partnered with Mary Lord's prison ministry as well and have have expanded to now include contributions from both Jess Dunn and Eddie Warrior. One of the art pieces was also done by an Eddie Warrior resident.
Go to: http://www.epiok.org and scroll down to under the "We are the Episcopal Church" video to find the link. |
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Celebration of Life Service
Dear Friends,
A service celebrating the life of The Rev. Ken Armstrong will be held on Monday, December 3rd at 2:00 p.m. The service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, Ponca City. The address of the church is 109 North 13th Street.
All clergy are invited to vest for the service in cassock and surplice. The stole color is white.
Faithfully,
+ Bishop Ed |
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Ordination Invitation
By the Grace of God
The Right Reverend Dr. Edward J. Konieczny
Bishop of Oklahoma
will ordain
Stewart Douglas Clem
to the Sacred Order of Deacons
in Christ's One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
Friday, the twenty-first of December, 2012
at seven o'clock in the evening
All Souls' Episcopal Church
6400 North Pennsylvania Avenue
Oklahoma City
Your Prayers and Presence are Requested
Clergy: Red Stoles
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St. Paul's Quiet Day with Dean Justin Lindstrom
Finding Holy in the Holidays
Saturday, December 8
9:00 am Continental Breakfast and Reception
9:30 am Contemplative Prayer
10:15 am Walk in the East Garden
10:30 am Teaching
11:00 am Holy Eucharist
11:45 am Lunch to Close
Sponsored by the Women of St. Paul's ECW Board. RSVP to speers2@cox.net. |
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Episcopal Churches of the Tulsa Region
The Tulsa Holiday Parade of Lights will have an Episcopal Float! December 8, 5:30 - 8 p.m. Downtown Tulsa. Come and join in the fun! |
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Circle of Friends to Meet at St. David's, OKC
The December gathering of the Circle of Friends will be on the 2nd Friday of the month, December 14, at St. David's Episcopal Church. They will meet from 12 until 3 p.m. Come join their gathering; visit with friends, old and new; have a light lunch; share your hobbies and interests. Friends and neighbors of all faiths are welcome! |
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Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner
On November 14, a group of about twenty parishioners and guests of St. John's Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City, journeyed to the Raindrop Turkish House, 4444 N. Classen Blvd., in acceptance of an invitation to share in an interfaith Thanksgiving dinner. The 
Raindrop Turkish House, established by the Institute of Interfaith Dialog is a community center for people who have relocated from Turkey who are primarily Muslim and who live and work and study throughout the Oklahoma City area. In their native context, Christians, Muslims and Jews have been at peace with one another... and it is the mission of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog to chisel away at the causes of religious wars and intolerance by promoting mutual understanding. They have recently broken ground at the I.I.D. site in Houston to construct a large campus that will consist of a Church, a Mosque and a Synagogue... and there will be a shared garden and grounds to promote peace.
This local Turkish group was truly hospitable to all of us.They prepared the main course, delicious meatballs, and the main dessert, baklava, and we brought a few side dishes and desserts to share. Before the meal, a representative  from their community and I shared about how we observe Thanksgiving within the contexts of Islam and Christianity respectively.Throughout the meal we got to know each other, and shared and asked questions about each other's religious traditions. We discovered again, as if for the first time, in the course of our conversation and praying together that we worshipped the same God: a theme that Bishop Ed shared with us in his sermon at his visitation on Oct. 28, inspired by his recent travels to Turkey with other leaders from the three sibling Abrahamic faiths.
They also presented to us a wonderful gift, seemingly straight from the Sistine Chapel: The Hand of God touching Adam at the moment of Creation. In the meeting of our two communities, we experienced something like the hand of God molding us into something new, and we hope to have shared activities in the future.
The Rev. David R. Stock |
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Pawhuska Blessing of Animals
Yes, you are seeing this correctly. It is a zebra at the Blessing of the Animals! For two weeks the parish blanketed Pawhuska with posters bidding everyone to come and partake of "People and Friends" refreshments afterwards. Mother Andrea Jones filled her pocket with "friend" treats and got excellent response. Lee Sellers brought his working companion "Sally" (a horse) to be blessed saying, "She needs a blessing because sometimes she's good and sometimes she's not." Present were 37 people (mostly non-Thomasine) and 27 friends including the zebra, burro, pony, chickens, Sally the horse, and 20 dogs (no cats attended.) |
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Ropes Course Work Continues at St. Crispin's
With all this nice weather we have been having, progress is going well with the new ropes course at St. Crispin's! |
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Christ The King Sunday
Members of St. Augustine of Canterbury all received crowns as part of the Feast of Christ the King Sunday. This young lady, Riley Current, and her sister were baptized during the service. |
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Summer Camp 2013 Applications Posted
A job description for St. Crispin's Summer staff and application are now on-line at http://www.epiok.org/camps/stcrispins.html.
This includes summer staff, CIT's, deans, volunteers, nurses, and chaplains! We will conduct staff interviews only for those applying for Summer Staff on January 4, 2013, at the Diocesan Offices. |
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 Safeguarding God's Children
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Safeguarding God's People - Train the Trainer Event
We have just begun offering training for Safeguarding God's People, the 2nd in the Safeguarding Series. God's People training is divided into two types of training: Sexual Harassment and Sexual Exploitation. Training has 2 videos for each section, and has discussion questions at the end of each set of videos, much like Safeguarding God's Children.
 Sexual Harassment training is required for those in a supervisory position, such as:
Clergy
Finance Committee
Heads of Schools, congregations, and institutions
Vestries
Supervisors of employees and volunteers
Standing Committee members
Diocesan Council members
The following individuals must receive a copy of the Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment and return the acknowledgement form for their personnel file:
Employees
Designated volunteers (to include volunteer staff)
Sexual Exploitation training is required for those involved in pastoral relationships, such as:
Clergy
Youth Ministers
Members of Vestries and Bishop Committees
Stephens Ministers
Community of Hope
Spiritual Directors (those trained by FIND or any other licensing group)
Ministers of any sacrament outside of public worship
Lay Eucharistic visitors
Hospital visitors (authorized by your church)
Life leadership/peer coaches
Leaders/facilitators of
a. Bible studies
b. Cursillo (serving on teams)
c. Christian Formation (EFM mentors, catechumenate sponsors)
d. Small group/ministries (New Member ministry, prayer ministry)
Licensed Worship leaders
Licensed preachers
Licensed catechists
Lay Congregational Leaders
Lay Chaplains
Interns
Persons who do field work
In order to get these individuals trained, we need to have trainers. If you are currently working with Safeguarding God's Children, you are a logical candidate for serving as a trainer for Safeguarding God's People. If you are not currently a trainer for Safeguarding God's Children but would like to be for Safeguarding God's People, you are also invited to be a part.
We will offer our first training session for trainers on February 7, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. here at the Diocesan Offices. If you are interested in becoming a trainer, please contact Sabrina Evans (sevans@epiok.org) or call 405 232 4820. |
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Whole Creation Community
Be a Beacon for Change
Story submitted by Kathryn Kirt, St. Paul's Cathedra l Parishioner
Once in awhile creative ideas just come to me. Usually I write songs, but one day last winter I envisioned a collaborative art piece made out of recycled materials. It was the state of Oklahoma with a recycling symbol and the quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Before long I ran into someone I knew at a park who reminded me about the Nichols Hills Earth Day Birthday celebration. I told her about my mural idea, and she said I should make it a project for the children's art tent. So, that is what I did. The mural is made out of a flattened cardboard box, cereal boxes, magazine pages, tin foil, and old homework assignments. Children of all ages as well as adults helped glue the pieces on. There was more work to be done after Earth Day, so I brought the mural to my three year old son's preschool class, and all of his classmates helped finish it. This mural is one of fifty art pieces made of recycled materials currently featured in the A.R.T. exhibition at the Science Museum. The Science Museum partnered with OKC Beautiful to host the show which will be up until February 15th. http://tiny.cc/nxkjow.
 Last spring I also wrote the words to a song called, "I'm Gonna Save the Earth," which the campers at Camp Cathedral learned and performed last summer. I especially like the line, "You never know who you'll inspire with your words and your ways." This line made me decide to do something at my daughter's elementary school which has no formal recycling program. Since we are on a waiting list for a large paper recycling bin, we've decided to try something different. A few 1st grade moms have given recycling bins to the 1st grade teachers, and we empty the bins once a week. We're hoping to inspire more parents throughout the school to follow our lead. I felt inspired by the fact that the Whole Creation Community had been started at St. Pauls. I'm grateful to be a part of this community now, and I feel grateful that our church is taking stewardship of the earth seriously. I believe we will continue to inspire each other to make changes big and small in our own lives, homes, and communities. -Kathryn Kirt
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Oklahoma Episcopal Youth Events
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MIQRA
MIQRA MEETING: DECEMBER 15TH 12 NOON DIOCESAN OFFICES. If you want to be in on the planning for this event, come join us. THIS IS OPEN FOR YOUTH (6TH - 12TH GRADE) AND ADULTS.
You have been seeing the word and some information but here's more! A Miqra (meek rah) is a public reading of Scripture.
Our Miqra is to be offered January 19 - 21, at St. Mary's Episcopal Church,  Edmond. We actually begin on Friday (the 18th) morning, with the help of volunteers - college students, youth ministers, and other volunteers - and the reading begins.
A small group of youth who have been working on the planning will get together on Friday after school and do the prep work to ready for everyone. We will share a meal together and worship together. The reading continues.
The event officially begins on Saturday (the 19st) at noon. Everyone who comes will have an opportunity to sign up to read scripture, but it is not mandatory that you read. Reading slots are 1 hour in length and a maximum of three can sign up for a particular hour.
Periodically throughout the weekend, we will pause in our various program activities to listen to the reading. Participants are also given free time where they can choose to sit in the nave and listen to the reading. Reading continues around the clock from the time we start until finished. These readings are usually covered by parents and adult volunteers.
Now, while the reading is going on in the nave, we are offering all types of workshops for the participants. They will have "tribe time" in which they will engage in discussions or activities. We will have games, movies, crafts, and of course, food.
We will end on Monday morning at 9:30 with a closing worship service. We will read the final chapter of Revelation together as a group at our closing worship.
So what are we asking of you? Hopefully, you will want to attend and participate. Maybe you play a musical instrument and would like to be a part of that offering. Talk it up with the youth in your congregation. Get them excited about this 1st Miqra. Get people registered!
Adults - we need lots of help for this. You don't have to be involved in Youth Ministry to participate. Volunteer to be a tribe leader, reader, provide snacks, or even lead a workshop!
This promises to be one of the best events we have ever offered! |
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Important Dates for Youth - Diocese of OK
Miqra - January 19 - 21 - St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Edmond. Send in your registrations now!
New Beginnings - 6th - 9th graders - February 2 - 3, 2013, at St. Crispin's - Registrations have been mailed out but you can find the brochure on the web at:
Mission Camp - March 18 - 22, 2013.
Summer Camp Spring Training, March 22nd-24th, at St. Crispin's. For anyone who is chosen as Summer Staff or Counselors in Training, this is a mandatory training event.
Happening - 10th - 12th graders - August 2 - 4, All Souls' Episcopal Church, OKC. |
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Christian Formation Resources |
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1st Sunday of Advent
Our liturgical New Year begins with the 1st Sunday of Advent. It is the Episco-spiral. The calendar is not a static one, but always moving - which is why I like spiral as opposed to a round calendar.
Sunday, we begin with Lectionary Year C and Daily Office Lectionary Year One. 
So why an Advent Wreath? We mark these next four weeks in a special way - visual - with a wreath. The Advent wreath is a circular garland of evergreen branches representing eternity. On that wreath, five candles are typically arranged. During the season of Advent one candle on the wreath is lit each Sunday as a part of the Advent services. Each candle represents an aspect of the spiritual preparation for the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ. There are different thoughts about candles and their colors. Most congregations use the following:
1st Week Purple
2nd Week Purple
3rd Week Pink
4th Week Purple
The first candle is typically called the "Prophecy Candle" in remembrance of the prophets, primarily Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. This candle represents hope or expectation in anticipation of the coming Messiah.week is HOPE.
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Fun Family Activity
Here's a link to an idea that is a great family activity or gift idea: http://keepinglifecreative.com/freebie/12-days-of-christmas-question-jar/. It is called the Question Jar (questions are included) and is a fun way to begin or end a meal during the Advent season. "A question jar is the perfect way to turn off the TV and inspire good conversation. Plus, it's fun!" |
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Virtual Advent Meditation Guide with Blog Post
For years, the Young Adult and Campus Ministries Office has created Advent Meditation Guides. In the past, these have been printed in booklets and .pdf documents. This year, they are making it virtual with a blog post for each day of Advent. It is their hope that this blog will foster connections, give people the chance to comment, and give Young Audlt and Campus Ministries Office the opportunity to do this ministry in a new way. Their ministry is about connecting young adults and young adult ministries with one another, bridging communities, supporting one another, and sharing our spiritual journeys. They hope this will be one way in which they can connect people around the church as well as invite them to journey through Advent together. The blog can be found at http://episcopalcommons.org/.
The writers are young adults, mentors, and people who work with young adults who already blog or have blogged. If you would like to know more about our bloggers, click on the link for their bio and blog information.
The focusing daily scripture will follow the daily readings for Advent found in Lesser Feasts and Fasts/Holy Women, Holy Men and will vary between Old Testament, Psalm, and Gospel. |
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ERD Has Free Curriculum for Use During Advent
A free 6 module children's chapel series is available from Episcopal Relief & Development for your use during Advent. Each module contains a litany of thanks, a ready-to-read children's homily with photographs that can be shown from your laptop or tablet, discussion questions, prayers, offertory suggestions, song suggestions, and a printable coloring sheet. All materials are free and downloadable at http://www.er-d.org/formation. You will find these modules under the heading "children" - just give us your name and email and the modules will appear.
Also, remember the Episcopal Relief & Development's Gifts for Life catalog, offering alternative gifts of goats, cows, chickens, seeds, and other life-giving gifts to those in need. A catalog and full color Advent poster have been mailed to each congregation in the Episcopal Church. An online catalog is available at:
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Going For Growth
A resource of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany ideas from the Church of England can be found here: http://tiny.cc/3xjjow. |
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Looking Ahead - Epiphany
You may want to think about Growing Together: Volume 1 (Fall and Winter Sacred Celebrations). http://tiny.cc/tvtjow
For Epiphany there are many activities given:
+ Storytelling Round
+ King's Journey
+ Gifts for Jesus Starburst
+ The Blessing of a Home
+ The Twelve Days of Christmas
+ Epiphany Crowns
+ Star Carol Procession
+ Bible Study
+ Baptismal Calendars
+ Mock TV Reports
+ Bulletin Reflections
+ Epiphany Star
+ Epiphany Resolutions
+ Food for the Celebration (recipes for Three King's Cake,
Zimsterne-Cinnamon Star cookies, Pfeffernusse cookies, Lamb's Wool Punch)
Also, Building Faith has several ideas. But "Epiphany" in the search engine.
We encourage folks to bring lanterns, and take home fire from the Christ candle. We've made lanterns out of tin cans. You fill the can with water and freeze it, and then make holes with a hammer & nails.....crosses, initials, favorite constellations, stars make easy designs.
Mary Lee Wile's book Star of Wonder, published by Forward Movement, and its companion web site. |
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Prayer for 1st Sunday of Advent
You were born to set us free:
we pray for the people all around us,
tangled, trapped, and bound by our own sins and fears
and the cumulative sins and fears of humanity, piling ever deeper.
We pray especially for those in special need of care today . . .
Let us find our rest in you. |
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Contact Information
Sabrina Evans
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