Oxford Presbyterian Church

March 19, 2020

Greetings everyone,

I hope that you are all hanging in there. I miss all of you, especially the simple gift of your presence—a gift by whose absence I now discover how incredibly powerful and wonderful it is. I am beginning to understand in a new way the thoughts and the affections the Apostle Paul had for the Thessalonian congregation when he wrote to them, “As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you—in person, not in heart—we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face.”

I must confess that adaptation to life as your pastor during a season of social distancing has been quite a struggle for me. I am used to a routine governed by the weekly habits and activities of our congregation, and now that routine is suspended. Several times during the day I find myself exclaiming “Now what!” in a cry to God to be led to do what is needful—whatever that is—and hope I get an answer written in the sky.

Our “now what?” as a church has not changed. We are engaging in social distancing as our act of faithful ministry to each other and to our world. We must continue to be steadfast in this and take this seriously. That powerful gift of presence is the very thing that endangers us with one another. In an ideal world, we would know whom among us is a carrier of the coronavirus and take the necessary actions for containment. But we simply do not know this information and therefore that strategy is not available to any community on earth.

But the true reality that unites the people of God is not our physical presence with each other. Rather, it is our Lord Jesus Christ that holds us all together as a church. It is his Holy Spirit that makes us brothers and sisters in one family, his Holy Spirit that knits us together in one body. Jesus Christ mediates every relationship that we have with one another, and that is why even though we are absent from one another in body, we truly are together in Spirit. It’s not just words. It is the truth.

Our world needs people praying for it right now. This is the calling for everyone who bears the name Jesus Christ. You are priests on behalf of one another and your neighbor and the world, and you have been gifted with everything you need for your office. Our communities need people paying attention to one another while respecting distancing. What was becoming a nuisance in the telephone dominating our lives is now an incredible gift. Of those I have had the chance to talk with so far this week, I have been so blessed by just simply hearing your voices. Let us continue to do this simple ministry with and for one another and for our neighbors.

Other forms of spiritual sustenance for this season of absence will be delivered by alternative media. One of the great resources we have is our website, www.oxfordpres.org. If you just click on the address I just typed, your computer should automatically take you there. There you will find calendars, newsletters, the OPC WEEKLY, sermons, and even ways to give your offerings (right here à https://oxfordpres.org/give/) . Another website that houses every sermon and lecture that has been given at OPC over the last few years is The Oxford Exchange, found at http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/. To listen to this past Sunday’s sermon which was preached in St.-Francis-of-Assisi-style to the birds of my neighborhood, please click here à https://oxfordpres.org/unless-i-wash-you/ or here à http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/2020/03/15/unless-i-wash-you/.

If you have been attending our Annual Lenten Bible Study, Soft Hearts in a Hard World: A Study of 1 Thessalonians, I have put together a lesson that can be accessed by the PDF file that is attached to this email. It has slides just like PowerPoint and hopefully will keep us in Paul’s letter as we continue our way through Lent.

Each week I will be emailing a bulletin for us to use for worship on Sunday. Please be on the lookout each week for it, and do make use of it each Sunday. This is one of the critical ways we unite during our distancing—by sharing in music, prayers, word, and proclamation.

Here is our schedule for the week:

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 22, 2020:

Scripture reading: John 15:18-16:4

Sermon Title: “Hate and Truth”

Mission of the Month – Our monthly mission emphasis for March is the Children’s Hope Alliance. The Alliance is the ministry of the Barium Springs Home for Children and the Grandfather Home for Children, two residences that provide hope and healing for at-risk and hurting children and families.

Announcements:

• · 25th – 6:30 p.m. – Stated Session Meeting via Zoom

Prayers for: Becky and Isabella Baird, Michael Boyd, Ann Currin, Linda and Mike Diamond, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Diane and Fred Heath, Hannah Hobgood, Sue Huggins, Barbara Laurent, Carlis Laws, Will Newcomb,  Greg and Kellie Price,  Kathy Webb

Happy Birthday to: Ed Potter – 24th; Dudley Barnes – 25th; Wesley Harrell – 25th; Happy Belated Birthday to: Markus Koeneke – 15th; Brienna Downey – 16th; Ronda McCarty – 18th

“O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

Remember to utilize our website! – www.oxfordpres.org.

Also, if you are on Facebook, please friend us here:

And if you are on Twitter, please follow us here: