Dec 19, 2015 Jan 8, 2016 ACORN Oakwood Community Church 11209 Casey Rd Tampa FL 33618-5306 813.969.2303 www.oakwoodfl.org The mission of Oakwood is to... Transform ordinary people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Oakwood is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America. I know that I am not alone when I admit I have a self-focused wish on my mind for this Christmas. By way of dramatic contrast, at the very first Christmas, several people rose above their natural desires. Instead, they made remarkable choices of faith. Like them, this Christmas and beyond, we too can make choices that will delight God, enrich the lives of others, and profoundly alter the focus of our lives and our destiny. ~ Pastor Paul Join us for these special pre-christmas services and use the invitation cards available at the Information Center to invite someone to join you. Inside this issue: Members Vote 2 Dec 20 Dec 24 10:30 AM The Shepherds Remarkable Choice 6:00 PM The Wise Men s Remarkable Choice Christmas Eve Service & Bonfire. Our service will begin in the Worship Center*, followed outdoors by a candle lighting ceremony including singing of Christmas carols and refreshments. Bring a lawn chair if you d like to sit around the fire while visiting and enjoying refreshments. Please bring cookies to share during our refreshment time. You can drop them off in PowerHouse before the service. Metropolitan Ministries 2 Missionary Commissioning 3 Year End Giving 3 Oakwood Mill 4 PowerHouse News 5 Kids Page 6 *We are moving a portion of our Christmas Eve service indoors this year to accommodate some of our church family who have allergy issues and for some who have difficulty with the uneven ground around the bonfire area. Calendar 7 Find us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/occtampa
Page 2 Members vote on December 20 This Sunday, December 20, Oakwood members will vote on the Proposed 2016 Budget as well as recommended elder and deacon candidates. If you have any questions, please contact one of the elders or deacons. If you will not be at Oakwood on December 20 or you prefer to vote in advance, you may vote via the ballot emailed to you by forwarding it to office@oakwoodfl.org by noon on Friday, December 18, with your name clearly identified in the email. Metropolitan Ministries We have been blessed to serve at Metropolitan Ministries at Thanksgiving and Christmas for a number of years. We have the opportunity again to serve on Wednesday, December 23 from 3:30 6:00 PM. We will have a sign-up sheet at the Information Center in the lobby. We need 20 volunteers to serve those who are in need during the holidays. This is a great opportunity for Community Groups or families to serve together. Holiday Office Schedule Due to the holidays and staff vacations, the Church Office hours between Christmas and New Year s are limited. If you need to come to the office, please call before you come to make sure someone will be there. Voice of the Martyrs...Action Packs Currently, Voice of the Martyrs is distributing Action Packs to persecuted believers in Iraq, Pakistan and Sudan. Included in the packs are blankets, towels, soap, sheets, jackets, sweaters, t-shirts, socks, hats, gloves and foam balls. Our goal is to have you, the Oakwood Church Family, help us purchase the 480 items we will need to fill 40 Action Packs. If you want to know more about how you can participate in this outreach ministry stop by the table in the back corner of the Worship Center. You can do the shopping for a specific item(s) or you can donate money and we will do the shopping for you. On January 17 you will have opportunity to help us fill the Action Packs and pack them to be shipped to Voice of the Martyrs. Thanks to those of you who have already shopped for specific items or donated money. We appreciate your support. The Prayer Team, Terri Johnson, Eileen Rexroad and Sandy Wyatt
Page 3 Missionary Commissioning Be sure to mark your calendars so you don t miss our Commissioning Service on January 3 for Jose & Maria Cariaga. Jose & Maria will be serving with ReachGlobal, the missions arm of the Evangelical Free Church of America. Year End Giving Just a reminder To be credited by the IRS for a 2015 tax deduction, all year end gifts must be received or postmarked no later than Dec. 31, 2015. Praise God for our partnership in the ministry of Oakwood! Praise God for gifts given in faith, joy and Love! Prayer Guide Our Prayer Team works each month to provide a guide for specific prayer requests. During December you will have a weekly Prayer Request printed on the Announcement Sheet in your Worship Program. Online Giving Did you know that you can make financial contributions to Oakwood through our website? You can give one time or set up for recurring donations. Visit www.oakwoodfl.org and click Give Online on the right side of the menu on the home page. Opportunity to Serve the Church & World Naomi s Daughters is a ministry for single moms that provides clothing to the moms and their children. The Oakwood family, along with others in the community, provides donations of clothing, food and money to keep this ministry moving forward. Current needs Clothing and shoes for infants to adults; school supplies Pantry needs: cereal, canned goods, rice, pasta, paper goods, personal care items, etc. Donations can be left on the back porch of the gray house at the front of our property. Tax Deductible receipts are available. Please pray that we can continue to reach people in this ministry and show the hands and feet of the Lord to those who come through our doors.
Page 4 Education Classes December 27 Please note that there will be no Oakwood Mill, PowerHouse or TreeHouse classes on Sunday, December 27 at 9:15 AM. Classes will resume on January 3. Winter/Spring 2016 Classes New Class begins on January 10 Oakwood Mill is the Adult Education Ministry of Oakwood Community Church. Three adult education classes are being offered on Sunday mornings at 9:15 AM in the Education Building. Register by filling out the form in the flier that will be in your Worship Program this Sunday or pick up a flier at the Information Center in the lobby. Comparative Religions Leader: Arnie Mejias & David Turner This class will summarize the world religions through the lens of world views, or the perception of the nature of God. Therefore, it will be a blend of religion and philosophy. The class will begin with an evaluation of world views on the nature of God and then discuss the general beliefs of each religion under these views. Where possible we will attempt to demonstrate the ethical implications of each of these systems of belief and how they impact a society s behavior. Some of Classes will discuss: Atheism and Secular Humanism Deism It s history and connection with the Renaissance, Rationalism and some of America s Founding Fathers Theism: Distinctions and similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam Pantheism and the Eastern Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age Religions Process Theology (Panentheism) and Finite Godism Polytheism Cults The study of Daniel and the Connection Class will continue during the Winter/Spring session. The present topic for the Connection Class is How In the World Can I Live the Christian Life? They are now looking at "12 Myths About the Christian Life." Middle School and High School classes will continue to meet at 9:15 AM each Sunday. In consideration of our volunteer staff, we will be happy to provide childcare for nursery age and a class for the 2 Year Olds-4 Year Olds and a class for Kindergarten-5 th Grade if we have three or more committed weekly for each age group during the 9:15 AM hour. This commitment will be for at least three out of four Sundays each month.
Page 5 PowerHouse Schedule Dec 20 Student led Christmas Dec 27 Youth Lock-In 5:00 PM Dec 28, 7:00 AM Questions? Contact Doug or Cam Jan 3 No PowerHouse Meeting Jan 10 Regular Evening Meeting PowerHouse Lock-In
Page 6 Kids Corner
Oakwood Community Church 11209 Casey Rd Tampa FL 33618-5306 813.969.2303 www.oakwoodfl.org Our Vocation & Volunteer Staff Lead Pastor - Dr. Paul B. Phair Director of Ministries & Coordinator of Children s Ministry - Dave Dorsey Director of Worship Arts - Andrew Reilly Director of PowerHouse Ministry Doug Cress Associate Director of PowerHouse Ministry Cam Whipple Office Manager - Martha Dorsey Secretary Melanie Hoglievina Office hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Education Classes : Sundays - 9:15 AM Worship: Sundays 10:30 AM Our Elder Team Mark Beale Edson Bustamante Pete Kluck Paul Phair John Schneider Rob Weyand Our Deacon Team David Conner Larry Giannone Brian Johnson Luke Piazza Gigi Yuen-Reed Mike Wyatt Calendar at a Glance Dec 20 Compassion Offering Dec 24 Christmas Eve Service & Bonfire Dec 25 Christmas Day Church Office closed Dec 27 No Education Classes @ 9:15 Jan 1 New Year s Day Church Office closed Jan 10 Winter Oakwood Mill classes begin Board Meeting following Worship PowerHouse Food Bag Ministry Jan 12 STW Missions Team Meeting The Oakwood ACORN is a bi-weekly E-newsletter from Oakwood Community Church, published to keep our church family and friends informed about events and people at Oakwood. Articles may be submitted via e-mail to Office@oakwoodfl.org. Article deadlines and publication schedule is: Deadline Publication date News for dates including Jan 1 Jan 6 Jan 9 Jan 22 Jan 15 Jan 20 Jan 23 Feb 5 Missed a Sunday message? Listen online @ www.oakwoodfl.org/messages/