Oxford Presbyterian Church

November 7, 2020

I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; that person must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he or she must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He or she must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he or she may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. (Titus 1:5-9)

One of the things I most admire about our Presbyterian polity is that leadership emerges from the congregation. As pastor of our church, I am not the pope or archbishop of Oxford Presbyterian Church. We are lead by a board of elders that we call the Session, and the elders that constitute the session are chosen by the congregation. In this process of choosing our leadership, this year we have once again organized a Nominating Committee (whose members were approved by vote of the congregation). That committee then prayerfully considered who they would approach to ask to stand as candidate for elder. Having finished their work, we are now prepared for the congregation to vote on its leadership.

Thus, there will be a Called Congregational Meeting for the election of elders for class of 2023 that will begin in worship tomorrow morning and conclude at the end of our service on November 15. Our candidates are Margaret Harris and Kathy Webb. Our polity allows for nominations for candidacy to be made from the floor. We only ask that if you intend to nominate someone that you get their permission beforehand! Thank you.

Our live-streamed worship will be broadcast from the sanctuary 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.

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 in the morning for the next posting of Faith 4 Five, the five-minute weekly video that is specially produced for you. I encouraged you to tune in each week and watch. It is five minutes of fun! The video will be posted at 9:00 a.m. and 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.

Here is our schedule for the week:

23^rd Sunday after Pentecost, November 8, 2020:

Scripture readings: Psalm 121

Sermon title: “Staying on the path”

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 November mission emphasis will be donations to Area Congregations in Mission (ACIM). Both monetary and food donations are welcome.

Announcements:

• 11^th – 10:30 a.m. – Morning Scripture and Prayer on our parking patio behind the church
• 12^th – 5:30 p.m. – Book Club discussion of Marilynne Robinson’s Jack via Zoom

On Wednesday mornings, we are gathering for a brief time to read scripture and to pray. If you would like to join your brothers and sisters, we ask that we each bring a chair if possible (if not you can use a folding chair from the church), that we observe our distance (6ft from each other), and that we mask. Please come and take the opportunity to safely fellowship, and to lift up one another and our world to God in prayer.

The book club is meeting Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. We are reading Marilynne Robinson’s latest novel in her Gilead series, Jack. Please let Alan know if you are interested in joining the group.

The OPC Missions Committee will sponsor the traditional Angel Tree ministry this December. Because of restraints brought on by Covid-19, the process will be simplified greatly. Those wishing to may support this ministry which provides Christmas gifts and needed items to selected children and senior adults. To facilitate the Angel Tree this year, church family members are asked to make monetary donations through the regular tithes and offerings. Funds will be allocated to purchase Wal-Mart gift cards for the ”Angels.”  If you have questions, please contact Angie Arnold or Ellen Gould.

As customary, we will decorate the chancel with poinsettias for Christmas. If you would like to purchase one in memory or honor of a loved one, please let Carol Barnes know by December 10th. You can text her, call her, email her or leave a message in her box at the church. Her contact information is in the church directory.  The poinsettias will be purchased from Fishing Creek Nursery for $12.00 each. We want to support our small local businesses as much as we can. The flowers will be in church on 12/13 and 12/20. After those Sundays you can pick them up to take home for Christmas.

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.

Happy Birthday to: Randall Hightower – 10th.

Prayers for: Frank Anderson, Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, Michael Boyd, Cynthia Broaddrick, Ann Currin, Larry Delfs, Linda and Mike Diamond, Charlene Dickey, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Marlene Grenier, Fred Heath, Hannah Hobgood, Marie Hobgood, Terry Hobgood, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Carlis Laws, Sherry West Lanham, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Will Newcomb, Jacob Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Lynn Stone, Kathy Webb, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,
Alan

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