Inviting people, June 25

You know our mission statement, right? Inviting people to Christ-centered service. That’s why I’m really excited for Sunday! We’re hosting 23 folks for Faith Welcome. This will be our third time to offer this event to guests and recent members during the pandemic. Each time, we’ve done it a little differently. The first time, we hosted a Zoom call and had Panera delivered to everyone’s homes. The second time, we sat socially distanced and masked except for the time we were eating our lunches delivered from Panera. This time, we’ll be able to be a little closer together in the foyer of the sanctuary. We’ll have box lunches from McAlister’s and provide childcare for families with younger kids.

I hope you will celebrate with me that God is bringing many new faces and friends to our church. As I visit with them, they tell me they appreciate the welcome you gave, the opportunity to serve in hands-on ministry, and a chance to belong in a place that values relationships. Most tell me they checked us out online before they came to the building. They tell me our careful approach to reopening reassured them we valued safety and those most vulnerable. And, they tell me they are really looking forward to connecting with our life together. We’ll take some pictures on Sunday and share them in next week’s blog. We’ll introduce our new members in worship over the coming weeks.

A week from this Sunday, we’ll worship at Turkey Mountain, July 4, 10:00 am. Living Water will be there too. Their worship leader, April Martin, will help lead music, along with Mark Vierthaler. Pastor Heather will preach and we’ll receive Communion together. (Note: we will not worship or have Sunday School classes in our building that Sunday.)

If you have not been to the recreational area known as Turkey Mountain, I’ve included a link to the Google Maps location. It is easy to find. Between Lewis Avenue and Hwy 75 on 71st, you’ll find Elwood Street. Turn north on Elwood. The entrance is less than a mile north on Elwood, located on the east side of the street. The overflow parking lot is just north of the main entrance (up the hill) on the same side of the street (east). We’ll have shuttles running before and after the service. If you can park in the overflow lot, it will allow us to leave space for those who need to be closer for any variety of reasons. We will attempt live-streaming the service on our Facebook page and you are welcome to join us there. Technology in a different location can always be challenging so we ask for your patience.

To those who sent your greetings and appreciation for Hannah Phillips, thank you. You still have time to mail a card to the church, attn: Hannah Phillips. We’ll be delivering those to her right after the July 4th holiday.

We are hiring a Sunday morning live-stream producer. This will be a 4 hour/week commitment on Sundays. If you are interested in this position or know someone who might be, please contact me, cgwartney@faithtulsa.org. Experience in running a video camera is obviously a plus, but the ability to work well on a team and with a variety of people, both staff and volunteers, is essential.

I’m looking forward to Pastor Heather’s return from vacation. She’ll be back in the office on Tuesday, June 29. After she returns, we are hoping to give our Friday email a new look. We’ll be including our fun time of conversation (AKA Pastor Talk) in the Friday email. Look for that soon.

I wish you a lovely summer weekend and hope to see you on Sunday morning, whether in person or online.

Always,