Oxford Presbyterian Church

May 1, 2021

Good morning everyone,

I am very happy to report that we are very close to the return of congregational worship in our sanctuary. Please be on the lookout for a letter from our Committee on Reopening in the next two or three days explaining in detail how we will be resuming life together at Oxford Presbyterian Church over the next month. Absence has been a difficult yet necessary way for us to love one another and our neighbor during this pandemic, and the return of presence will be a long-awaited wonderful gift. Thanks be to God who never leaves us or forsakes us, the one who has upheld us in this trying season of life.

Our worship on this Sunday will be live-streamed, broadcast 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.

In our Worship livestream, communion will be included in the service. You will need to furnish your own elements of bread and cup and then at the appointed time in the liturgy, partake in the elements you have. For the sake of continuity it is recommended that you have bread and wine (or grape juice). If you find yourself without those elements simply use a reasonable substitute.

Please note, in certain web browsers sometimes our livestream does not appear due to bugs on the Facebook side (meaning they have to make repairs). So far, we have found Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari to be the most reliable browsers for our livestream (more than Microsoft Edge or Microsoft Internet Explorer). If our livestream does not appear on Sunday morning, try a different browser and see if that makes the difference. Thanks.

Our worship is also 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.

As always, 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/.

Hey kids! Be on the lookout for another Faith 4 Five. The video will be posted Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. Continue to tune in every week and watch for five minutes of fun and learning about God’s love. The video can be viewed on the church’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/. You do not need to have a Facebook account to watch.

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.

5^th Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2021:

Scripture reading: Acts 8:26-40

Sermon title: “What is to prevent me?”

Thanks to Ellen and Walter Gould and Kathy Webb for providing music

9:00 a.m. – Faith 4 Five video posted at https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/

10:00 a.m. – Worship via Facebook Live. 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 – Our monthly mission emphasis for May is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The offerings are used for communities both near and far that have suffered natural disasters. Some of these funds are already being used to help marginalized communities that have been hard hit by COVID-19 outbreak. Online gifts can be made here à https://pma.pcusa.org/donate/make-a-gift/gift-info/DR000148/.

We will also receive offerings to support Area Congregations in Ministry (ACIM), which assists local families with food needs, paying utilities, and other necessities.

Announcements:

• 3^rd – 12:30 p.m. – Midday Scripture and Prayer (and coffee!) on our parking patio behind the church
• 4^th – 5:30 p.m. – Book Club via Zoom where we will be discussing our latest book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

 Volunteer opportunity: ACIM (Area congregations in ministry) is in need of volunteers who can unpack boxes of food and place food items on shelves. Times to serve are Tuesday and Thursday at 6PM. Saturday mornings are also a possibility. If you would like to serve, please call ACIM at 919-690-0961.

Prayers for: Frank Anderson, Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, Michael Boyd, Cynthia Broaddrick, Linda and Mike Diamond, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Marlene Grenier, Boyce Harvey; Fred Heath, Hannah Hobgood, Marie Hobgood, Terry Hobgood, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Abram Lyles, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Jeanette Owen, Jason Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Lynn Stone, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

Happy Birthday to: B.K. McCloud. – 5^th

²⁵ From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
²⁶ The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
²⁷ All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
²⁸ For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
²⁹ To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
³¹ and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it. (Psalms 22:25-31 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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