So many things...and a special offering for the Boy's Ranch
Happy Friday Friends!
As we head into the weekend, I am looking at my very full calendar. I will be hiking with anyone who wants to join me on Friday morning and then finishing the premarital work with Elizabeth Gwartney and Kamren Lambdin on Saturday morning. Hopefully I will make it to the Family Promise picnic at Chandler Park, in west Tulsa, on Saturday for lunch. PLEASE join me to bless the families that we have hosted this week and get a free lunch.
This Sunday we begin our new series about the Risen Christ with some of my very favorite gospel stories. I could literally preach on each one for an entire month! I promise to watch my time. : ) After the last worship service, I will be flying to Denver for the Festival of Homeletics. What is that you ask? Preaching, preaching and more preaching. Which may not sound like fun to you, but I am looking forward to learning from some of the best preachers in the country and being in worship that I am not leading. My spiritual cup should be overflowing by Thursday.
I will miss hiking with you on Friday, May 20th, but Mike Miller has kindly agreed to lead while I am away. The weather should be perfect. I will be back at the church on that day for wedding duties. I love that we are having a wedding in our beautiful sanctuary. It seems like everyone wants to get married in a barn these days. Pastor Charla tells me that there will be about 20 ministers from the area attending. What! I was not nervous at all until I realized that the room would be full of my colleagues. I am very blessed that I do as many weddings as I do funerals each year. Most of my friends rarely are given the opportunity to officiate a wedding ceremony but do lots of funerals. This will be my first wedding where the couple has chosen to offer Communion to the witnesses. It should be beautiful.
It’s a busy time in the Oklahoma Methodist church as delegates from across the state plan to travel May 23-26th to Oklahoma City University for the first “in person annual conference” since the pandemic. One of my favorite parts of Annual Conference is getting to see all the people from across the state that I have served with at church camp. I also reconnect with people that I went to seminary with, see old friends from my home church and celebrate the newest ministers who are ordained. There are special worship services for ordination, retirement and those who have died since the last year. We have been asked to take up a special offering for the Boy’s Ranch and bring the funds to Annual Conference. They are expanding and have asked us to help these kids in need of a safe place to live. You can donate to this special offering by indicating “boys ranch” on the memo.
Annual conference has delegates that are both clergy and lay members who vote on the business of the church. It is very important that our vote counts and we show up for these four days of meetings. Representing your congregation is myself, Pastor Seungrok Kim and Mike Miller. We will be voting in additional delegates at a Zoom meeting on May 18th at 7 pm. Kurt Lampi and Mark Fowler have agreed to attend and need to be voted in. I have asked the Administrative Council to be in attendance but the whole church has been invited from the pulpit. Email me for a copy of the link to the meeting at hscherer@faithtulsa.org
I pray that as the days get longer and the air is warmer that you will find time for spiritual nurture as well. And I will pray for myself to find time to pack!
Love,
