It Only Takes a Spark

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June 23, 2014 Page 1 It Only Takes a Spark By Daniel U Ren I normally gauge a sermon by the flow of the message, if I feel good about it, and if people seem to stay awake and attentive.

I am not referring to the number of Trekkies that came up after both services to praise hearing a little Star Trek in the sermon.

1 June 23, 2014 Page 1 It Only Takes a Spark By Daniel U Ren I normally gauge a sermon by the flow of the message, if I feel good about it, and if people seem to stay awake and attentive. However, I may need to start measuring in a whole new way after the sermon Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before. I am not referring to the number of Trekkies that came up after both services to praise hearing a little Star Trek in the sermon. (I do have some other sermon ideas that tie into Star Trek and other Sci-Fi). By the way, I loved being told after worship to Live long and prosper. I am a self-proclaimed geek and am glad to know I am not alone in that regard here. What impressed me, instead, was the number of people who responded to my sermon with ideas. People caught me right after the service asking if we can do all kinds of projects and involvement. Could we host a flu shot clinic next fall? Maybe even a back to school health fair and offer immunizations? Could we host the Kids Against Hunger event and pack the meals at our church? Could we turn the anniversary celebration into a community-wide event spread out over multiple days? What about having parenting classes or a parent support group? The answer to these questions is an overwhelming yes you can! Let me shout aloud YES! To hear the excitement that people have about new ways we can reach out to the community around us and do more to get connected is like a breath of fresh air. I would love to hear your ideas as well as see your involvement to bring these ideas to fruition. My goal might be to have a different group plan something different every month. Not that any one person should do it all, but spread it out and share the load. Groups need to plan well and coordinate calendars with Janey. Just think if we had some kind of community activity, at minimum every quarter, how amazing would that be? We could have a WOCC Block Party or a community-wide Easter egg hunt; we can have all kinds of fun! Maybe we can check with Putnam City West down the road, and talk to the football coach to see if they need a sponsor to provide a meal the night before the game. The key to events like these is to make people feel welcome and invited without making them feel preached at, because there are no strings attached coming to these events. I am excited about all the prospects of what we can do here. To kick it off, Stephanie and I talked about doing a U Ren Family Giving Back event in which we invite the church to help us provide free hot dogs to the community on the Fourth of July. However, before I could get this article published, Charles Mohr stopped by my office with this great idea of having a cookout for the neighbors in the apartments around July 4th! Great minds think alike! However, we discovered that Buy-for-Less already

OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 2 does free hot dogs on the Fourth. After meeting with Fellowship committee and the Outreach Team leader, we came up with a community event for July.

Perhaps you would like to come help, or even just come mingle with our neighbors? You are welcome to do so.

2 OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 2 does free hot dogs on the Fourth. After meeting with Fellowship committee and the Outreach Team leader, we came up with a community event for July. We hope to have people bring homemade ice cream. The church will have free hot dogs, a scavenger hunt, and other fun things. Maybe we can reach some people who frequent the park. Perhaps you would like to come help, or even just come mingle with our neighbors? You are welcome to do so. The next event I am going to ask for help working on is the Neighbors Night Out event on Sept. 9 th in conjunction with the Neighborhood Alliance in Central Oklahoma. I need a creative team to help me organize this event. After that, Tom Russell is working on setting up a Kids Against Hunger event right here at our church on September 20 th. Thank you for your enthusiasm and excitement!..... Love in Action By Janey Merry The church had great response to Pastor Daniel s request to bring baby items. The baby stuff will be donated to Infant Crisis Services. This is a nonprofit organization which provides life-sustaining supplies to infants and toddlers. Their mission is to make sure no baby goes hungry. Several individuals admitted they forgot to bring their items, so the donations will continue being accepted through next Sunday, June 29th CARING AND SHARING: A Grief and Support Group By Jean Sladek The Caring and Sharing group meets the third Sunday of each month at Western Oaks Church at 4:00pm. Everyone is welcome to join us. We had three guests at this meeting: Elaine Baty, Rita Norris and Dorothy Ferguson. Margo Thein introduced Rev. Daniel U Ren as the presenter of our program, Good Grief Charlie Brown. Rev. Daniel said While we may not feel like there is good grief, the grieving process can be good for us. He expanded upon the 5 Stages and Methods of Coping by focusing on things that you can control through setting attainable changes in your lifestyle. The next meeting will be July 20 th from 4:00pm to 5:00pm with Margo Thein as the presenter. The EAT OUT EVENING will be 5:00pm, June 25 th at CHELINO S (7000 NW 23rd). The next EAT OUT EVENING will be 5:00pm, July 9 th at CRACKER BARREL (700 Cornell Parkway). The last July EAT OUT EVENING will be at BEVERLY S PANCAKE HOUSE (3315 Northwest Expressway) across from Integris Hospital. See you there at 5:00pm! For any further information about the meetings or meals, feel free to call Margo at or Charlene at Scripture Art By Janey Merry Mrs. Cook s Sunday School Class (4th, 5th, & 6th graders) has been learning about different ways they can help other people. The kids were applying their Scripture lesson from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 which speaks of believers using unique talents to help the church, community, and people in need. Each child cut out a figure and wrote how he or she can help our church. Some of the artwork says: cook food, teach, pray, give our money, sing music, lawn work, etc.

3 OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 3 Photo Directory Update By Cathy Routon This project is moving along nicely. I m so thrilled with the number of family photos we took around 145 families. I really appreciate your participation. You should have received your portraits by now, but if not please contact Lifetouch Customer Service at the number on your receipt. We have submitted our first draft and should receive the proof set in early July. We included a front, back, and activity pages, along with a few family pictures taken here at church. Forgive me for my relentlessness as I was bound and determined to have as many families represented as possible. Mission accomplished! Special thanks to so many helpers in the past 2 months! Especially to Fern Melton, Sandra Cook, and Pastor Daniel for helping design the activity pages; to those who helped host the photo sessions (Duane Wood, Joni Burch, Charlene Newkirk, Marilyn Chalk, Linda Cobb, Marlene Word, Judy Walker, Roy Avants, Diane Maier, Dorothy Uhl, Tori Millman, and Dianne Beck); and to Danet Trivette and Janey Merry for trying to keep me sane. You ve all been so willing to help and I sure couldn t have gotten this far without you! Stay tuned it s not over yet and you just may be asked to participate! Please don t run if you see me coming!..... Thankful Notes Western Oaks Christian Church is such a nice part of my life, with the most special people in it. Thank you for all the prayers, visits, cards, food and wonderful telephone calls during my illness. My prayer is that all the happiness you give away will come back to you. Jenna Droke I would like to express my gratitude to Bill Halpain for the donation of a lawn mower and my appreciation to Charlie Conner for tuning it up and bringing it to my house. Stephanie is not sure who is enjoying the tractor more, me or the boys. Now maybe keeping that grass mowed will run away the snakes. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Daniel U Ren..... Aiden Harris 7/1 Nathan Ketola 7/2 Linda Patzack 7/2 Israel Ragel-Tullis 7/3 Ann Catlin 7/5 Jacob Foster 7/5 B.R. Gordon 7/7 Jane Spreier 7/7 Kadan Frank 7/8 Justin Gamble 7/8 Eric Morrison 7/9 Margo Thein 7/9 Katelynn Word 7/9 Mason Sharp 7/10 Bill Parker 7/11 Lisa Sloan 7/11 Jan Sills 7/12 Jim Gervais 7/13 Marlene Word 7/13 Jolene Schwind 7/14 Del Hamm 7/15 Joah Enevoldsen 7/16 Becky Buckley 7/17 Deana Smith 7/18 Erich Wagner 7/20 Cole Harrison 7/22 Lonnie Walker 7/23 Judi McDown 7/26 Kari Simmons 7/28 Ken Whitt 7/28 Jean Amos 7/31

4 OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 4 Scheduled Each Sunday at Western Oaks Monday Tuesday 9:00AM-10:00AM Contemporary Service (111) (CC) 9:15AM-10:00AM Worship & Wonder (103) 10:00AM-11:00AM 11:00AM-12:00PM Sunday School (CC) Traditional Worship (Sanctuary) (CC) 11:15AM-12:00PM Worship & Wonder (103) 2:30PM-4:00PM Rock Sunday Youth Regular Events (see Looking Down the Road for changes) 10:00AM-11:00AM Alanon ( ) 12:00PM 12:00PM 7:15AM-8:15AM Worship bulletin deadline OakBridge articles deadline (every two weeks) Elder s Prayer Breakfast ( ) (every two weeks) 9:30AM-11:30AM CWF ( ) 1:00PM-4:00PM Canasta ( ) Wednesday 9:00AM-11:00AM Mobile Meals (K1) 1:00PM-4:00PM Bridge for Fun (2nd & 4th Wed.) Friday Church office closed Saturday 7:30AM-8:30AM CMF Breakfast at Olde Orchard Restaurant (1st Sat.) Sunday, June 29, 2014 Looking Down the Road Benevolent Sunday 2:00PM-4:30PM Youth Movie Day: How to Train Your Dragon 2 Friday, July 4, :00AM-2:30PM July 6-July 11, 2014 Date (all day) Independence Day Royal Oaks HOA July 4th Party Youth Mission Trip to Houston Happy Birthday Pastor Daniel!! When you see him, wish him a happy birthday next Monday. He was born on June 30th, 19??? ATTENDANCE 6/15/14 9:00 AM 48 11:00 AM 97 6/22/14 9:00 AM 56 11:00 AM 83 Date GIVING 6/15/14 General $4, Capital $3,175 6/22/14 General $5,348 Capital $130 Prayer Requests Joan Proctor (Christine Wagner s cousin) Christine Kilpeck Rocky (Lisa Sloan s son) Bill Parker Sue Halpain Greg Morse (Linda Cobb s nephew) Lou O Brien Those Serving Our Country: Matt Chown (John Lassiter s grandson) Jordan Klein (Charlene Newkirk s nephew) Brian Chester (Carol & Jerry Allen s son-in-law) Tyler Bradley Jacob Johnson, Special Ops (Barbara Johnson's Grandson)..... New Member Judy Steele 6/22/14 Stay tuned for the New Members Special Edition OakBridge! News You Can Use The next OakBridge articles are due, Monday, July 1, at noon. Future Meetings: Admin. July 23 (7:00-8:00) Board July 27 (12:15-1:15) CMF will NOT be meeting for breakfast in July or August. Chain Reaction Ministries Bicycles Needed! Drop off (in any condition) to 36th & Walker or call for pick up (405)

OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 5 The Congregation of Western Oaks Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has called Daniel U Ren to serve as our pastor.

Daniel U Ren has been sent to live among us as a bearer of the Word of God, a minister of the ordinances, and a sustainer of love, order, and discipleship

5 OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 5 The Congregation of Western Oaks Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has called Daniel U Ren to serve as our pastor. We believe that he has been prayerfully led to our congregation. Daniel U Ren has been sent to live among us as a bearer of the Word of God, a minister of the ordinances, and a sustainer of love, order, and discipleship of the people of God. Our congregation invites you to the installation Service of Rev. Daniel U Ren as Senior Minister On Sunday, August 3, 2014 At 8100 Northwest 23rd Street Witness the installation during both the 9:00 and 11:00 worship services.

6 OakBridge June 23, 2014 Page 6 Staff Rev. Daniel U Ren Senior Minister (daniel@woccdoc.org) Israel Ragel-Tullis Director of Children & Youth (israel@woccdoc.org) Janey Merry Administrative Assistant (janey@woccdoc.org) Dr. Ronald Manning Music Director (ronald_manning@att.net) Matt Schinske Pianist Todd Newell Praise Band Leader Darren Heath, Rosanne Rowe, Dale Knowles, Hope Lairson, Tony Pinazza, & Jeff Newell Praise Band Members Tony Pinazza Sound Technician & Youth Intern Lawrence Johnson Janitor Samantha VanOsdol Nursery Supervisor Hope Larison Youth Intern

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