Oxford Presbyterian Church

March 26, 2020

Greetings everyone,

As each day goes by and I do not see any of you in the flesh, my yearning for each of you grows. And as each day goes by, I find myself understanding the apostle Paul’s sentiments for the Philippians with deeper, heart-felt insight: God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:8-11)

Each day, my adaptation to being your pastor in absentia grows of necessity. I am grateful for the grace that is sufficient for everyone of us, grateful for the Holy Spirit of Christ that always binds us together, and grateful for every last one of you.

Our civic and medical authorities, both locally and nationally, continue to advise us to keep our social distancing. As much as we might desire to resume the lives that we once knew and took for granted, without universally available testing we have no way of definitively knowing who among us carries this virus. Therefore, we could unknowingly endanger one another. I do not say this as an alarmist. I do say this as one who is beginning to become aware of friends who are now in ICUs and friends who are confronted with COVID-19 overrunning their communities. Let us continue to minister social distancing to and for one another.

Our session gathered last night via teleconferencing. At that meeting the session once again voted unanimously to extend the discontinuance all activities in the church through May 15. This date is not arbitrary, but rather corresponds with the directive of the Governor of North Carolina that has closed all schools through that very day. As your elders, we keep abreast of all policy updates that have material impact upon our life as a community. As your elders, we act in all humility under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the leading of his Holy Spirit. We endeavor to be faithful for your sake.

This means that OPC will celebrate Holy Week without gathering in each other’s presence. This for me as a follower of Jesus Christ is simply gutting. The parade of branches on Palm Sunday, the bread and the cup given to us on Maundy Thursday, the odd silence that no words can describe as we stand at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, and the stupendous and glorious sight of the empty tomb on Easter morning are bedrock for everything I understand about God, about me, and about the world and everyone in it. I need the worship that witnesses to these things more than ever right now and I cannot have it. We share and celebrate all these services with our brothers and sisters from nearby Presbyterian churches—supremely Timothy Darling—and we do not get to be with them. As I type these words I want to say out loud, “I hate this virus!”

Yet, even now and as always before and ever will be, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). A dreaded and life-threatening virus cannot impede what God has done once and for all for this world in Christ Jesus. Therefore, next week we will be mailing out to everyone in our community a packet of worship and devotional materials as resources and daily bread throughout Holy Week. I urge you to receive them and to utilize them with the knowledge that your sisters and brothers in Christ at OPC are sharing in the same worship and the same devotions—that we all share in one another because we share in the same Lord. Like I said before, even though we are absent from one another in body, we are truly together in Spirit. Jesus Christ is always in our midst.

Let us continue to be in prayer for one another and for this world. Apart from God we are no match for the forces arrayed against us. Apart from one another, we easily grow lonely and can quickly get down. So in addition to praying, let us continue to be calling and texting and emailing one another—keeping tabs on each other. This is critical that we do this for one another.

Do remember that our website, www.oxfordpres.org, is always there. It has calendars, newsletters, the OPC WEEKLY, sermons, and even ways to give your offerings (right here à https://oxfordpres.org/give/).

Regarding offerings, several of you who do things the old-fashioned way (meaning dropping an offering envelope in the plate in Sunday worship) have asked me if the church was open so that offerings could be dropped off. We are in the process of getting an offerings drop-box that will eventually sit next to the door on the back side of the church at the top of the ramp. Until then, please mail offerings to Oxford Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 652, Oxford, NC 27565. They will be collected and deposited.

Remember that sermons can be listened to through our website right here à https://oxfordpres.org/media/#sermons, and at The Oxford Exchange, found here à http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/.

Also, the latest lesson in our Annual Lenten Bible Study, Soft Hearts in a Hard World: A Study of 1 Thessalonians, is attached to this email as a PDF file. Personally, I found our passage for this week to be apropos for our lives amid the world right now.

Our worship bulleting for this coming Sunday will be emailed to you Saturday evening.

Here is our schedule for the week:

Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 29, 2020:

Scripture reading: John 17:1-26

Sermon Title: “Know? Know What?”

Mission of the Month – Our monthly mission emphasis for March continues to be 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. Online gives can be made here à https://www.childrenshopealliance.org/donate/.

Announcements:

• None

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: Michelle Koeneke – 3^rd

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.” (Psalm 126 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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