PARISH LIFE OF OUR LORD S LUTHERAN CHURCH S haring the joy of C hrist s love and prom ise of salvation w ith all people.

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1 PARISH LIFE OF OUR LORD S LUTHERAN CHURCH S haring the joy of C hrist s love and prom ise of salvation w ith all people. March 2015 VOL. XV, ISSUE III From the desk of Pastor Esping Remember our Lenten prayer? I love mightily. I hold lightly. Christ, Our Lord s is holy because of your presence. Your love is mightier than anything I could ever know, and your gentleness is strong enough to hold us no matter what. Send in your Spirit, make room in us for your love and your people, and resurrect us in your light! Amen. How is it going? How has God worked through those people, events, and objects you have lifted up? Have you used this prayer for people/things outside of the church? What s it like to entrust those things you hold so dear to Jesus? Is it easy or hard to lean into the resurrection, to trust that those things which die will find new life in Christ, on the level of the particulars and details of your life? Why? As of when you receive your newsletter, we will be 10 days into Lent. Ten days into our journey to make space for resurrection to happen within ourselves and our world. Lent always brings this tension into focus. Christ has died for our sins once, for all period. We are saved by grace. It is a gift for us and we can do nothing to earn it. Yes. This is all true! So, why then, do we join with the saints throughout the ages to make space to accept this, to do spring cleaning for our souls, and to make amends for our sins? How do those fit together? Well, in some ways, they just don t, especially if we think about the work of Lent as something we have to do. If we are working for it, then it isn t a gift. I have been challenged over the years about what would happen if we just dropped Lent altogether. My answer not much would happen. Jesus would still love us, and all the gifts of this love would still be ours. Lent is an act of the church, passed down to us through many generations, to help us accept the love of Christ. Imagine the 15 year old who suddenly inherited his grandmother s car. Even though he missed his grandmother dearly, he was so excited to have the car! Yet, it didn t do him one bit of good to have the car until he learned how to drive. He made every attempt to learn how to drive as quickly as possible, so that he could use this gift! Lent is along those same lines. We know we have this gift. We know we will see it in full on the last day, but we know we see it coming into our lives even now. And, we know we want to see more of it. We want to be able to trust in Jesus more. We want to be able to take our faith for a ride and see the amazing things God has in store for us. It s not that God gives us more, but that we are better able to see, understand, and use the gifts we have been given when we focus on clearing other things out and living our faith. Throughout the millennia, people have found prayer, giving, and fasting (from food, behaviors, or attitudes) in order to have more to give, effective practices to help them make space for God s love in their lives and the world around them. Some people have found other practices to be helpful, such as paying attention to a certain issue, studying, or using reminder cues (ex. When I want chocolate and I deny myself, I remember Christ has not denied love to me, even though I am a sinner.) WEST HEFNER ROAD OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (405) ourlordsokc@gmail.com

2 S upport B reast C ancer R esearch Please save all pink Yoplait lids and place them in the pink sack on the counter in the Narthex. They raise money for breast cancer research. Carolyn Zachritz will make sure they are sent in for you. First Tuesday C oncert Tuesday, M arch 4, N oon at First Lutheran C hurch 1300 N. R obinson, O K C This month s featured performers are Ryan Sharp and Clint Rohr, trumpeters. The concert is free with an optional lunch for $8 following the concert. Ryan Sharp is the Assistant Professor Trumpet at the University of Central Oklahoma. Artistic Director of the Frontier Brass Band of Oklahoma, Principal Trumpet of the Edmond Chamber Orchestra and Lead Trumpet for the Edmond Jazz Orchestra. Dr. Sharp has shared the stage with various groups across the United States including the Kansas City Symphony, Count Basie Orchestra, Brass Band of Battle Creek, and Mahlerfest Orchestra. Clint Rohr began his rich history with UCO in 2001, serving as a graduate assistant for the College of Fine Arts and Design. When the college recognized a need for a Jazz History course, Clint was selected as the first Jazz History professor. He is currently the manager of the UCO Jazz Lab and serves the greater Oklahoma Community as a performer. W ednesdays in Lent Because I AM March 4, 11, 18, 25 5:45pm Lenten Meal 6:30pm Vespers 7:15pm Choir Rehearsal Join us on Wednesday evenings for time to gather together around the great I AM statements of Jesus. As the identity of Jesus is revealed in these statements, we also learn of our identity and what it means for us to live in Christ. We learn how Jesus is bread for us, light for our way, life in the midst of decay and death, a shepherd to each of us, and the vine which nourishes us each day. See you there! Each Wednesday through Lent, a supper will be provided at 5:45pm. Free-will offerings will defray the cost of food and/or be set aside for a charity. Please come and enjoy a simple meal and fellowship prior to the Lenten service. If you or a church group would like to provide a meal, please sign up at the Information Counter. Lenten Supper sponsors and menus will be listed in the weekly announcements. Questions? Contact Jenny Myers. S aturday, M arch 21 The Resource, has designated March 21 as Spring Clean-Up Day. More information will be coming, but in the meantime, save the date! Guests and Seekers Night Coming in March! Watch the bulletin for more information. Financial Picture January General Fund Information: Current Monthly Budget:....$15467 Jan. Receipts:.... $12536 Jan. Expenses:... $13115 (A complete Treasurer s Report is posted on the bulletin board in the West hall.) January Attendance

3 Deadline for April newsletter is Sunday, March 15. Articles may be ed to the church or placed in Mike Evans s mailbox. Flower Orders may be placed by filling out the form located below the flower chart at the church office. Please leave completed forms in Mike Evans s mailbox. Bulletin Articles must be submitted before 11am Monday morning to be included in the weekly announcements. Christ in Our Home devotion for January - March are available at the information counter. H A N D S O F M E R C Y Q uilters S aturday, M arch 14 and Thursday, M arch 26, 9am Quilters (and quilter wannabes) are invited to join us for a time of caring and sharing and fellowship. The only talents needed are the ability to thread a needle and to snip thread. We had a great group of eager workers at the Regional Food Bank in February. This time we processed bread - 7,072 pounds of bread to be exact! (We did have some help!) That was the equivalent of 5,893 meals. Our Food Bank group leader commented, you are all a beautiful group of people. Thank you very much for your awesome aid and assistance. Thanks to Larry, Dick, Lloyd, Wayne Karst, Pastor Amanda, Don, Carolyn, John, Sue, Tome, and John, Chuck & Charlie Wende for your loyal service. The next time we work will be Saturday, March 7, at 9am. Because of the Easter weekend, our shift at the Regional Food Bank has been changed to the second Saturday for April only. In May we will return to our regular schedule of the first Saturday of each month. M en s G roup Thursday, March 5, 6:30pm In the Parish Hall. Contact person is Larry Eberhardt Please place items for LWR Health Kits in the green box in the Narthex. A printed list of items needed is provided at the Information Counter. O ffice H ours: Monday 11:30am - 7:30pm Wednesday & Friday 9am - 4pm This year s Chili-Cook Off raised over $400. Proceeds are designated to support Habitat for Humanity. Souper Bowl Sunday was the following week and again you gave over $400 which will go to La Petit Troll, an elementary school in Haiti, to provide meals for children and learning opportunities for children and their parents. One cause is local and the other international. Thank you for your participation and generosity. With a generous contribution from the Collings Memorial Fund, the council has purchased an LCD projector. The projector will have WiFi capabilities and will be used for a variety of presentations. Special thanks go to Jim and Julie Collings for their generosity and to Luke Green for his research and finding the right projector for our needs.

4 C hurch Fam ily in S ervice Sunday Schedule: 9am Christian Education 10:30am Worship Assisting Ministers (D. Gillson) 1 Jenny Myers 8 Dick Morrow 15 Deborah Gillson 22 Wayne Craney 29 Lois Patrick Cantors (Bill Fuller) 1 Lois Carlton 8 Dick Morrow 15 Deborah Gillson 22 Wayne Craney 29 Chris Henkel Acolytes 1 Surry Little or Evie Henson 8 Surry Little or Evie Henson 15 Surry Little or Evie Henson 22 Surry Little or Evie Henson 29 Surry Little or Evie Henson Greeters (Dee Sundholm) 1 Amanda Green 8 Jacob Edingfield 15 Diane Milligan 22 Len & Connie Erikson 29 Judy Spencer Money Counters (Diane Milligan) 1 Dolores Spang, Diane Milligan 8 Wayne & Karen Karst 15 Dick & Gloria O Brien 22 Dick Morrow, John Tassey 29 Tom Ziebell, Debbie Gudgel Flowers ($22.00 per bouquet) 1 / 8 Karst / 15 Tassey / 22 / 29 / Flower Pick Up Tom Ziebell Altar Guild Jenny Myers, Lou Ann Bletsch, Holly Van Remmen Head Usher Diane Milligan 1 Holly Van Remmen 3 Debi Morrow 7 Bill Lockard Sue Lockard 10 Blake Qualls 15 Meredith Tassey 16 Stephanie & Mark Scott 20 Michael Scheidt 24 Joseph Orthwein 29 Pastor Amanda Epsing 30 Lynn LIttle Flower: Jonquil Birthstone: Aquamarine or Bloodstone If your special day is not listed, please let us know. We don t want to leave anybody out! Drop us a line: ourlordsokc@gmail.com or Tuesday E vening C ircle March 10, 7pm We will continue our study of Transforming Life and Faith. This session will focus on the book of Job and Romans 5 to further our understanding of the Christian perspective on suffering and hope. Jenny Myers has the program and Debbie Gudgel is the hostess. All women are invited! W ednesday N oon C ircle March 11, 12pm in the Parish Hall Please bring a sack lunch. Contact persons are Sue Lockard and Dee Sundholm.

5 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Lent II 2 10:30a Alanon 7p Fin. Peace Univ a-4p 5 6:30p Men s Group 6 7 9a Regional Food Bank 8 Lent III 7p Church Council 9 10:30a Alanon 7p Fin. Peace Univ. 10 7p Tues. Evening Circle 11 9a-4p 12p Wednesday Circle a Quilt Work Day 15 Lent IV Newsletter Deadline 16 10:30a Alanon a-4p Spring Clean-Up Details TBA 22 Lent V 23 10:30a Alanon a-4p 26 9a Quilt Work Day Palm Sunday 30 10:30a Alanon a-4p 6:30p Choir 2 Maundy Thursday 7p Worship 3 Good Friday Office Closed 7p Worship 4 5p Easter Vigil