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The Chalice

A publication of First Christian Church of Edmond, OK

CONNECTIONVol. 5 No. 3 January 24, 2013

A Grand PilgrimageBy Rev. Dr. Jerry Black, Associate Minister

In the book,From Nomads toPilgrims, DianaButler Bass, one

of the editors,writes: Beinga tourist means

experiencing something new; being apilgrim means becoming someone new.Pilgrimages go somewhere Knowingthe people of this congregation, we longto be on the pilgrimage God has for us.So, what does it look like?

Thanks to two years of patientdiscovery and several months of spiritualdiscernment, we are about to find out; fora future story, based on your input from

RE:new 2011 and the prayer triads of2012, is taking shape. Then, the organi-zational design and structure necessaryfor telling that story will begin to emerge.So, it is an exciting time for us.

And yet, the unexpected, unwanted,departure of three invaluable partners inministryGreg and Julie Bunton, andShelley Reganso overwhelm us that we

have difficulty seeing this time as exciting.But the truth is, their departure makesembracing this new storythis new pil-grimageall that much more important.We must remind ourselves that we areGods people and that just as God hasmoved in their lives with a divine call, soGod moves in ours.

While we transition then from whowe are today and that which we dowell, to someone and something evenmore grand, we who are staff need yourpatience. For a significant period of

time, probably through the summer, weare going to being very short handed.So, please make every effort to planand schedule aheadmeetings, gather-ings, celebrations, program support,

etc., etc. Use the hub, the new churchmanagement software you heard aboutlast Sunday. It is a wonderful tool andwill facilitate greatly your requests whilereducing staff workload.

While Chris and I both have a pas-sion for pastoral care, please know thatour time is often going to be very limite

Much of what we like to do, just wont bpossible. But thankfully, we have a wonderful core of elders.They too have a cafrom God and a passion for caring andserving. So they will join with us in thisnew pilgrimage and in meeting as manyof your compassion needs as possible.

Thanks to the work of your Person-nel Committee, several other arrange-ments have been made to help sustainour ministries until that future story istold, embraced, and affirmed by you.Then, the strategy that emerges from thstory will help determine organizationaland staff needs for the next 5-7 years.So, please be patient. Pray. And lookforward to a grand, new pilgrimage withour Lord. Amen.

Lent, as you may recall, is the 40 dayperiod before Easter. In the historyof the church it has been a time ofreflection, penitence and self-denial. Apreparation for the miracle of Easter. Totruly celebrate Easter, it is important to

experience Good Fridayand the difficulties we

have in our lives. Lentacknowledges those time inour lives.

Our Lenten journeyis about to begin. Thisyear Easter comes early,on March 31. So thefirst Sunday of Lent is

Feb. 17, which is also the Sunday thatDisciples worldwide hold their annualWeek of Compassion offering. Weekof Compassion is the outreach arm ofthe Disciples church that responds to

disasters, emergencies and providesrelief for ravaged areas of our planet.

For instance, after Hurricane Sandydevastated the East Coast, yourcontribution to WOC was already atwork. We didnt have to take up a specioffering to respond in a timely fashion, ihad already been done.

This year we are expanding ourWeek of Compassion into 40 Daysof Compassion. Beginning on AshWednesday, Feb. 13 (and the startof Lent) we will highlight an outreachministry of our church each day for the40 days of Lent. Week of Compassion

Sharing Compassion - A 40 Day JourneyBy Rev. Chris Shorow, Senior Minister

continued on page tw

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View and Update

your personal records

Stay Connected

with others in your groups,

see your groups calendar,

and more

Send Messagesextend class conversaons be-

yond Sunday! communicate with

groups! through email, texts, to

other members ofthe Hub

Sign up and pay

for events and classes

Give

automate recurring gis,

make one me gis, and view

and download your nancial

statements

Making it easier

to communicate

and connect with

one another.

will be a part of our journey, but wewill also lift up many other meaningfulministries in which our church isinvolved. We are developing a calendarhighlighting the outreach effort of the day

and then providing an opportunity forall in our church to participate in theseprojects. Projects will include Habitat forHumanity, Breakfast on Boulevard, Whiz

Kids, Refuge Fellowship, Hope Center,Peppers Ranch and volunteering forour Child Care Center and working at

Bradford Village. Well also have someeducational nights, with movies, books,and a coffee tasting. Well learn tomake rain barrels and how we can helpdevelop safe water systems for manywho dont have access to safe water.

At the end of our journey well havean all-church celebration, lifting up allof these wonderful outreach events.

At this celebration we want to raisemoney for the Week of CompassionsCircle of Compassion. This is a programto endow the WOC so that all of their

administrative costs are covered bythe endowment, allowing 100% of alldonations to go directly to helping thosein need. What a blessing! Our goal is

to raise $10,000 for this worthy cause.The challenge has gone out to Disciplechurches nationwide and WOC needs

only 100 churches to participate toraise this goal. Three other Oklahomachurches are raising funds, so we want be a part of this drive.

We will have more details availableon the various projects beginning nextweek. On Sunday, February 3 we will bsign-ups for the 40 Days projects.

So be on the lookout for moreinformation and be sure to be hereon Sunday, Feb. 17 as Johnny Wray,former director of WOC and currently itdevelopment head, comes to speak at a

of our services. And be ready to lend ahand during our 40 days!

continued from page one

Are you in the hub yet? In an effort to improve church communication, last SundayFirst Christian invited all members to join the hub, our new online tool which allowsyou to securely connect, encourage and communicate.

One of the features within the hub is secure access to your giving records, anytime

- anywhere. the hub offers controlled access to your personal giving statement, insteadof emailed PDFs as attachments.

You can access your giving statement by logging in to your profile. Once loggedin, follow these steps to view and print your giving statement for 2012: n Click Giving Statement nChoose Last Year from the Quick Date Range pulldown nSelect Deductible Only nClick create

If you have any questions about your giving statement, please contact KarlaMahan at kmahan@fccedmond.orgor 341-3544.

If you have not yet signed up to join the hub, you will need to login first in orderto have access to view and print your giving statement. If you need to sign up, followthese steps to join:

n Click the hub logo from the church website, www.fccedmond.org n At the login screen, click Sign Up n Complete your name and email fields n Click submit

You will receive a login activation email with your new username and a link where

you can login. If you have any questions about using the hub, please email us athub@fccedmond.org

So, we encourage you to join your FCC friends today - get in the hub!

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Spring Womens

Connections BibleStudy

Studying Nehemiah: A HearThat God Can Break

by Kelly MinterClasses offered Monday eveningsat 7 pm beginning February 11

and Thursday mornings at 9:30 ambeginning February 14. Books are $1and available in the Pastoral Office o

at the introductory classes. For moreinformation, please contact JennyWiechmann at 340-3816 or Tana

Stufflebean at 341-4742.

Last Weekend to Order Subs for the Super Bowl!Are you having a Superbowl Party? Just watching the game at home alone? Either way,the youth of FCC can provide a tasty meal to enjoy during the game! From now untilFebruary 3, students will be taking orders for 6-inch submarine sandwiches for $6 apiece, available for pick up the morning of the BIG Game.

Stop by the rotunda on Sunday morning to place your order and sandwichpreference. Choose from ham, turkey, roast beef,cheese and all the fixings! Included with your sub- a bag of chips, a canned soda, and a delicious

homemade brownie! Proceeds from the sale willsupport ongoing youth mission trips and activities.You can also order online at www.fccedmond.org/subsales or stop by the church during the week day.

Since 2004 our church has participated in anationwide effort to end hunger in the UnitedStates - the SOUPer Bowl of Caring. That firstyear we collected $156. In 2010, we collected$1,429. Most of this in $1 donations. Our nineyear total is $7,260. The best part is 100% ofmoney collected is for our own food ministry,Breakfast on Boulevard. So look for the souppots on Super Bowl Sunday, February 3, andgive generously to help tackle hunger!

Hosted by Cornerstone Sunday School Class.Questions? Contact Kelly VanOsdol 341-0922.

Happy Birthday!1/27 Jon Puryear, Lauren Neundorf,

Sid Groom

1/28 Paula Bailey, Charles Stout1/29 Emily Marsh, Sam Roberts1/30 Tracy Hastings, Patsy Corrigan1/31 Kyle Polk, Doyle OHagan, Dian

Sill, Carl Hutton2/1 Jennifer Schmitz, Tom Noles,

Channing Crull2/2 Callie Schmitz, Dylan Cummings2/3 Luke Wilkinson, Larry Grin,

Hayden Fuller, Lucas Peterson,Avery Hendricks, Kingsley Sutch

Prayers of the PeopleOUR PRAYERS FOR THOSE IN THE HOSPITAL

Gayle Jones (Jennifer Cains mom), Mercy

THOSE IN NEED OF PRAYER Ed Berry, Dale Wehr (ConnieLaRues brother), Jean Troutman (Carol Sterlings mom), Justin Bilbrey (Kaci Taylorsbrother), Dr. Henry Pearce, Loree Rice, Tom Cowling, Samantha Branscum (Michelle Fritzssister), Joan Grant, Larry Hays (Dyke Moffatts brother-in-law), Lori Snider (Loretta Parksdaughter), Virginia ONiel, Cynthia David (Winnie Halls daughter), Bill & Mary Lou Womble

OUR SYMPATHY AND PRAYERS TO Phyllis Jarrett in the death of her daughter, Carol Jarrett,on January 16. Services were held January 21 in Tulsa AND TO Larry & Loretta Dodd in thedeath of Larrys mother, Betty Jo Gardiner, on January 15. Service were held January 19 at theFirst Christian Church in Stinnett, TX AND TO Gladys Dronberger in the death of her uncle,Ray Barrett on January 14. Services were held January 19 in Tulsa AND TO Mack & SandyMitchell on the death of Macks dad, Dwight McCree, Jr., on January 19. Services were held

on January 22 in Maryland.

Leadership Training School 2013 Set for Feb. 2ndThis annual ministry of your Regional Church will be held at First Christian Church in Oklahoma City on Saturday, February 2ndfrom 8:30am-12:45 pm. Two 1 hour sessions of classes will be offered on a wide variety of topics. Dr. Richard F. Ward, FredB. Craddock Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship at Phillips Theological Seminary will speak during opening worshipand teach two classes. For more information and a complete listing of classes and class leaders, visit the Regional Church websitewww.okdisciples.org/lts or call 405.528.3577.

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The Chalice CONNECTION

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Pastoral Relations CommitteesWhat and Who Are They?For several years now we have had Pastoral Relations Committees (PRCs) functioning foeach member of our pastoral staff. The number of committees has grown to four currensupporting our Sr. Minister, Associate Minister, Youth Minister and Director of ChildrensMinistry (see below). Each committee provides feedback on such things as the worship perience and communications regarding programs of all our ministries, but the main focuis to meet monthly to provide support for Chris Shorow, Jerry Black, Greg Bunton, and

Michelle Fritz as they provide leadership for our church. Each committee meets monthlyto share joys, short-term and long-term visions, issues and concerns. Please feel free tovisit with any of the members of the committees (listed below) to share any affirmationsor concerns related to the ministry of any of these leaders. And we ask for your prayersas these committees continue to provide support to our ministers and their families. Anyrelated questions may be directed to Greg Hall (388-7344) or Robbi Kinnaird (590-8852

Sr. Minister PRC Youth Minister PRC

Jenny Wiechmann (Moderator) Jennifer Cain (Moderator)Greg Hall Clint StoneKay Sullins Tim ClarkCraig Adkins Sue ArcherJanet Helms Jack SmithFrank Gresh Brenda Wood

Associate Minister PRC Childrens Ministry Director PRCMarcy Williams (Moderator) Kelly VanOsdol (Moderator)Billy Harrison Desi StoutShirley Brown Bill MedleyDon DeSpain Suzann AllisonLinda Hall James LarrisonBrian Cavanaugh Mady Cummins

Worshipat First Christian8:15, 9 & 11am

January 27, 2013Message: Rev. Dr. Jerry Black

Rev. Greg BuntonScripture: Luke 4:14-21

February 3, 2013Message: Rev. Greg Bunton

Rev. Chris ShorowScripture: Luke 4:21-30