voices . December 2007
a word from robin At the annual meeting of Mayflower Church, the congregation voted to move forward with a major project to expand the pipe organ, and make appropriate modifications to the chancel area of the sanctuary to expand the choir loft. The total cost is estimated to be $500,000, of which $200,000 will come from a matching grant provided by the Rapp Foundation. No church operating funds will be used to complete the project.
As you might imagine, there is both excitement and dissent over this project, and as it turns out, both groups have the best interests of the church in mind. The Music Board is dreaming of a vastly improved pipe organ and a larger, more comfortable, more functional choir loft. Those who object do so for several reasons. 1) The money could be better spent on other priorities. 2) The current instrument is adequate. 3) This will pull money from other important obligations (like the outstanding mortgage on the new Christian Education wing-- currently approximately $135,000). ::: more
363 News The 363 Group is moving. We have been serving our meals every other Saturday at the Wiley Post Park party house for many years. Starting December 1st, we will be serving our meals at the Homeless Alliance facility located on the NE corner of NW 3rd St. and Virginia . We believe this change of location will be a great opportunity for the 363 Group to serve the poor and homeless of our community. We will continue to provide our meals every other Saturday.
Again this year, the 363 Group will provide Christmas gifts to our clients at our meal on December 15th. You can help us by purchasing a new sweatshirt (sizes below), unisex knit stocking cap, and unisex pair of gloves.
::: more Christian Ed: And they were sore afraid... frightened by the extraordinary appearance, the shepherds minding their flocks, startled village people when wise men arrived by caravan in Bethlehem, the local leader Herod learning of and perceiving the coming king as a threat.
"Perfect love casts out all fear." The baby arriving that evening was to be called the Prince of Peace. Why fear??? The surprise and the unknown of the angels' announcement? ::: more Looking ahead ... | WHIZ KIDS END OF YEAR UPDATE
WHIZ KIDS has begun its fifth year of operation for Mayflower Church and much is the same as in years past.
We meet at the same time - Thursday afternoons after school.
Martha Circle The smell of spiced hot cider greeted the women of Martha's Circle as they arrived for the monthly meeting on November 6th. Hostesses Merry Knowles and Billie Fritch decorated tables with signs of autumn and Thanksgiving. They provided warm apple pie a la mode as the perfect fall finale to a bountiful potluck buffet. It's a busy time of year for the Church and our families at home, but we all enjoyed taking the time to relax and spend a casual evening together. ::: more By Karen Spradlin
We ran out of time at our annual meeting for me to give the following report. This is to update you on the status of the JustFaith class as well as to inform you of the exciting new position I will be filling as the Justice & Witness Organizer for the conference.
I am co-facilitating the JustFaith class with Valerie Love. The board of Christian Education purchased the excellent curriculum and we all believe it's been well worth it. We are in our 6th week of this 30-week transformational class. We lost a few from our original group and now are a strong group of 6. The class is providing us with the opportunity to really grapple with issues of poverty and justice through our readings, videos and immersion experiences with people who live in poverty and face injustice. We meet for 2.5 hours every week -- and so far, we've filled up every minute. It's an incredible class and I hope you'll consider participating in it when it's offered next fall.
I am also very excited about the new position in the conference that I will be filling! Through my work with the Peace with Justice Task Force, we have realized that there is so much justice work to be done, and a lack of people getting paid to do it -- especially in Oklahoma. We don't have many grass roots organizations working for justice. In other UCC conferences across the country, there is a larger staff with some staff able to fill the role of justice organizer. That has not been the case in Oklahoma and Kansas. Our justice work has been done by volunteers, and it lacks organization and continuity. ::: more |
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