Oxford Presbyterian Church

May 15, 2021

Good morning everyone,

We continue to be encouraged by the profound effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19, which has resulted in the recommended easing of restrictions by the CDC (read here) and the latest executive order from our Governor (read here). With each passing day we are closer to the end of the tunnel. As soon as it is both prudent and possible, we will gather together once again as has been the church’s habit and practice as long as we have existed. Our building was already in the midst of being prepared for use again when the Governor originally announced there would be the relaxation of restrictions effective June 1, but now we find ourselves trying to catch up with these surprising yet certainly welcomed latest political and public health announcements. Rest assured we are sprinting for all of our sakes!

Tomorrow morning, we will once again have a short, outdoor worship service that will meet at 8 a.m. on the parking pad behind our church. If you want to come and remain in your automobile, you may park in the office lot next door and turn your FM radio dial to 89.5 and you will be able to listen to the worship service.

We will also continue to broadcast our worship via Facebook Live. The livestream service 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.

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 still 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! Faith 4 Five is again on the way. 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.

7^th Sunday of Easter, May 16, 2021:

Scripture reading: Acts 1:12-26

Sermon title: “Judas…and Us”

Thanks to Franz and Chris Koeneke and Kathy Webb for providing music for our livestream, and to Walter and Ellen Gould for providing music for our radio broadcast

Belated thanks to Lindsay and Judy Miller and Kathy Webb for providing music on Ascension Day

8:00 a.m. –Outdoor Worship Service, behind the church

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 used to help 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 are also receiving offerings to support Area Congregations in Ministry (ACIM), which assists local families with food needs, paying utilities, and other necessities.

Announcements:

• 19^th – 12:30 p.m. – Midday Scripture and Prayer (and coffee!) on our parking patio behind the church
• 20^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
• 20^th – 6:45 p.m. – Presbyterian Women’s Circle meets on parking deck behind church. If there is inclement weather forecast, the meeting will be via Zoom

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, Terry Hobgood, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Abram Liles, Sis McCarty, BK McCloud, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Jeanette Owen, Jason Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Lynn Stone, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

Happy Birthday to: Merritt Taylor – 8^th

¹ Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
² but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
³ They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalms 1 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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