29 Aug OPC Weekly August 29, 2020

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Oxford Presbyterian Church

August 29, 2020

The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall! My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:19-24 NRSV)

The above words come from the prophet Jeremiah, the man tasked with the unhappy responsibility of announcing God’s judgment to the leadership of Jerusalem. As a naysayer he bore not only the burden of uttering unpopular truths, but he also suffered the social isolation of being shunned by his own people. Jeremiah’s response to his sad situation was to (1) acknowledge the reality, and then to (2) look away to God for perspective on his life and his world. Both of these are necessary for the life of faith. We need to look at things the way they really are without ever losing hope.

On Sunday, we will witness this hope in action in our livestream worship when we baptize Myles Douglas Messer and Zoa Dyan Messer, the son and daughter of Logan and Rachelle Messer. These beautiful babies were scheduled to have their baptisms on March 15 of this year, but they were postponed as days before we became aware that we were all amid a pandemic. Please tune in to the livestream if you can. Members of session will be present to take congregational vows on our behalf where we commit to loving Zoa and Myles and supporting Rachelle and Logan in word and in deed as witness to God’s love for them. But you can partake in your vows by tuning in and confessing them yourselves. It has been a long wait for the Messers and for us, but now we get to witness that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

Our live-streamed worship will again be broadcast from the sanctuary on Sunday via Facebook Live. Worship begins at 10:00 a.m. If you have a computer or tablet or smartphone with an internet connection, you should be able to receive the stream. You do not need to have a Facebook account to participate. Our stream appears on the church’s Facebook page which is here à https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/. If you miss the broadcast, the service will remain on our Facebook page for the next several days. If you have prayer requests or announcements, please email them to me (opcpastor@ncrrbiz.com) or text them to me (919-323-7192) and they will be included in the worship.

Our worship is also being broadcast on WCBQ 1340 on the AM radio dial at 3 p.m. on Sundays! If you are not a computer hound, then the radio broadcast of our worship is an easy way to listen in and participate. If you know of someone in our community that does not do computers or finds them frustrating to use, please let them know of this alternative. Thank you. Please note, the baptism of Myles and Zoa Messer will not be a part of the radio broadcast.

The Sunday worship bulletin will appear in your emailbox late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, complete with hymns and sermon so that you may have your own house-church worship. Worship is always critical, but especially at a time like this. Our faithful witness in this difficult time and world is nourished by lifting our hearts to the Lord. As always, you can listen to sermons through our website right here à https://oxfordpres.org/media/#sermons, and at The Oxford Exchange, found here à http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/.

Our website, www.oxfordpres.org, has calendars, newsletters, the OPC WEEKLY, sermons, and even ways to give your offerings (right here à https://oxfordpres.org/give/). It is a great resource in times like these.

Oxford Presbyterian Church also has an offerings drop-box situated next to the door on the back side of the church at the top of the ramp if you want to drop off an offering. Or, you can mail offerings to Oxford Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 652, Oxford, NC 27565. They will be collected and deposited.

Here is our schedule for the week:

13th Sunday after Pentecost, August 30, 2020:

Scripture readings: Romans 12:9-21

Sermon title: “Radical Christianity?”

10:00 a.m. – Worship via Facebook Live with the baptism of Zoa and Myles Messer. The stream can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/

3:00 p.m. – Worship broadcast on WCBQ 1340 AM

Mission of the Month – This month, our emphasis continues to be Backpack Buddies, an ongoing mission that sends food home on weekends with kids who depend on school meals for nourishment. The food is distributed through ACIM, and the ministry will continue to help kids whether school is in person or online.

Announcements:

On Tuesday, there will be a Service of Witness to the Resurrection for Diane Heath that will be livestreamed on Facebook. Please tune in if you are able. It is very difficult to say goodbye to Diane under such circumstances. The family does want to have an in-person memorial service, but they also do not want to delay the opportunity to worship, to thank God for Diane’s life, and to be reminded of the hope we share in the resurrection of the dead. Thus we will have the memorial service livestreamed on Tuesday, and then at a future date we will conduct another service when we can be in one another’s presence. The memorial service stream is broadcast at https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/.

The book club will resume meeting on September 9th at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. We will be reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’s letter to his teenage son, Between the World and Me. Please let Alan know if you are interested in joining the group.

Once again, thanks to all who participated in the “drive-by donations” for ACIM and Pennies for Hunger! We will have another drive-by in September (the 17th at 5 p.m. and the 20th at 9 a.m.) so save your change! Speaking of ACIM, they are in very short supply of canned goods. They will not be receiving any donations this year from the State Fair due to its cancellation which normally helps stock their shelves during the fall. We still have a bin at our back door if you have any canned goods you would like to donate—we will make sure they get to ACIM.

Happy Birthday to: Dottie Price – September 4th; Brad Jackson – September 4th

Prayers for: Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, Michael Boyd, Ann Currin, Larry Delfs, Linda and Mike Diamond, Charlene Dickey, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Marlene Grenier, Fred Heath, Anne Heck, Hannah Hobgood, Sue Huggins, Carole, Jackson, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Carlis Laws, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Adrienne Morton, Will Newcomb, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Kay Rigg, Lynn Stone, Kathy Webb, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me. (Psalms 63:5-8 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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