July 7, 2020

First Connect

www.fbcokc.org 405- 232-4255

FBCOKC – A family of faith, growing in God’s love, striving to be faithful.

“My soul finds rest in God alone, my rock and my salvation. My fortress strong against my foes, and I will not be shaken.”

On Sunday we listened as these words were sung over us. (Hear Psalm 62: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSp-3kvKQZs). Listen to it again and let the words of God wash over you. Are you weary? I pray for you often. I know the heavy loads you are carrying. Today, I want to remind you of the words found in Psalm 62. Our souls are only at

rest in God alone. He is our rock and our salvation. God alone remains unchanging and everlasting. What an encouragement that is in a time when everything in changing and temporary. The last verse of that song says “I’ll set my gaze on God alone, and trust in Him completely; with every day pour out my soul, and He will prove his mercy.” Friends, each morning set your gaze on God alone. Begin your day with a deep breath and acknowledge to God that you need him for today. God continually reminds me throughout the day that I cannot do anything without him. Center your heart on God and trust that he is in control, no matter what. I pray you find your joy and your strength each day from God. Listen to worship music, read your Bible, and reach out to your friends. We can do hard things….but not on our own. We need God and we need each other. Sarah It is a difficult time to know what to do as the Covid 19 cases rise. I continue to seek the guidance of the leadership of our church and listen to our Mayor and scientists. There are no right answers that everyone will agree on. The only right answer is to pray and look to God. Here is our latest update on reopening: Phase 2: Bible Study resumed this past Sunday. Our numbers were low and we were able to space out

appropriately. Hand sanitizer is available throughout the building and masks are available at the Welcome

Center. At Mayor Holt’s request, we will require everyone to space out by skipping a row and keeping

several seats between families. We strongly recommend w earing a m ask. We know how this virus is transmitted. It is

through simple conversation, coughing, sneezing and singing. When you wear a mask, you are protecting others from you.

I want to ask that anyone who has been exposed to Covid-19 please stay home for 2 weeks or until you have a negative test. It is also important to let us know if you have been at church and have potentially exposed others.

Phase 3 is being pushed back to July 15th at least. That means, we will not begin meeting in the building on Wednesday nights until then. Meals will not be provided until at least September.

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

Love FBCOKC: We are so blessed to have this wonderful and enormous facility as a church. For the past year we have had a book in the Commons available for you to use as a way to let us know when something needs attention. It is now located just outside the office. If you see a light out or something non-urgent that needs repair, please put it in the book. Lonnie Stearns, our Facilities Manager, checks the book daily and will update the book with notes as he and his crew work hard to maintain this beautiful church. Thank you for helping us!

Sunday’s scripture is taken from John 4

FBCOKC—Come be YOU with US!

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

Loving Our Community This Summer

During recent months, many people have been asking how we can help to serve our community. One of the ways has been the continued service of food distribution through CareForOKC.

Blood Drive

On August 16th, we will be hosting the American Red Cross for a community-wide blood drive. It will be from 9a-3p in our Dining Hall. If you’d like to donate blood, we would love it if you would make plans to donate on the 16th.

School Supply Drive

This month, we are collecting school supplies for 2 local schools: Thelma Parks Elementary in East OKC and Positive Tomorrows! We want to help ensure that each classroom is equipped with enough school supplies to start the school year. We are partnering with Restore Schools in this effort. You can find a generalized list of supplies that you can buy and bring to the church. Or, you can buy from a specified Amazon list and they’ll be shipped directly to Restore Schools, who will ensure that they are delivered to the schools before the first day of school. You can find that list here: https://amzn.to/3fk6ftO

Feel free to drop off your school supplies at the church before August 2nd, and we’ll make sure they’re to the schools before the first day of class on August 10th. Thank you for helping love our community so well!

Gratitude Works

Did you know that practicing gratitude has a neurobiological effect on our general disposition toward life? There have been countless studies done to show that regularly practicing gratitude can lead to things such as: increased energy, better coping with stress, greater generosity and helpfulness, improved cardiac health, and a greater sense of purpose (Robert Emmons, Gratitude Works, p. 10).

When life is difficult, isn’t it hard to find things to be grateful for? And when life is going well, we often take little things for granted. I know that both are true for me, which is why I’m working on actively developing habits of practicing gratitude. Scripture tells us again and again that we are to be grateful people. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians that we are to be “thankful in all circumstances,” and that means even when life is challenging.

Robert Emmons, an author, researcher, and psychology professor at the University of California, Davis, wrote the book Gratitude Works in which he illustrates, from the science, that the discipline of practicing gratitude really works on affecting our daily life. In addition, he highlights how practicing gratitude can also be seen as a spiritual discipline.

Emmons closes his book with a 21-Day Gratitude Challenge. Over the course of 21 days, he offers 7 different practices that will be completed 3 times over the course of the challenge. These includes an awareness of gratefulness for the blessings in our life, for the people in our life, for the things we’re gifted at, for things that are coming to an end, and even for the difficult things that have happened in our life.

If you’re interested, I’d encourage you to get a copy of Gratitude Works and take the challenge to see how a grateful mindset can affect your life. I’m on Day 7 of the challenge and I’m already beginning to see its effect.

Even when life is difficult and you can’t see very far down the road, gratitude works! Andrew

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

Walk Through the Psalms w/Aaron & Grace Ogburn

During the month of July, you have the opportunity to walk through the Psalms and get a glimpse into their work as Bible translators. Grace and her colleagues will be working through the Psalms, translating them into 3 East African languages. They will go through each of the 150 Psalms making sure they’re ready to go to print. You can journey along with them through Grace’s daily reflections on their work. We hope you’ll join in!

To learn more about this project, you can watch a short video at: https://vimeo.com/428483087

To sign up for these daily reflections, you can sign-up here: http://eepurl.com/cmnFQP

***Deacon Nominations to begin July 12. Ballots will be available in the commons

***Quarterly Business Meeting July 29, 6:00pm in the dining hall

We are getting a beautiful new electronic sign for outside the church! This has been a dream for years and we are so happy it is going to happen soon. The sign is only possible because our beloved friend Linda Staples left an incredibly generous gift to the church in her passing. The sign will be done in her honor. If you would like to contribute to the cost of the masonry for the sign, we would be most grateful. Any amount we get beyond our need will go to replenishing the reserve account. Thank you so much to those who have already given. You can give online through our website or mark your offering envelopes to reflect you intention to give to the sign. It is so exciting to see all the ways God is leading us into a bright and hopeful future as the Lighthouse on the Corner.

Sarah

Sarah Stewart, Pastor

Andrew Bowles, Minister of Students and Missions

Brad Stewart, Minister of Discipleship

Steven McConnell, Minister of Music

Don Clothier, Pianist

Ariel Koerner, Praise Leader

Jordan Browne, Children ’s Coordinator

FBCOKC MINISTERS

Re-Opening Plan for Adult Bible Study Groups on Sunday, July 5

Adult Bible Study Groups will begin meeting in-person at FBCOKC on Sunday, July 5th at 9:30am! Check out the details/plan for each group below. Each group will be practicing social distance in their meeting spaces.

Chapel Class – Will be meeting in their regular Sunday School Classroom across from the office . Contact Toni Adams for more information.

Righteous Renegades & Discovery Class – Both groups will be meeting together spaced out in the main coffee shop area. The Coffee Shop is located on the Ground Floor. These groups normally use side rooms in the Coffee Shop but both groups will stay in the large open area. Joey Clifton and Marie Davis will be sharing teaching responsibilities. Contact Joey or Marie for more information.

Good Shepherd Class – Will be meeting in their normal space in CareForOKC. Contact Alan Hicks for more information.

Higher Ground – Will be meeting in the Parlor on the Ground Floor next to the Chapel. Please note this is a change to their normal location on the 3rd floor. Contact Christi McConnell for more information.

30-Somethings – Will be meeting in their normal room on the 3rd floor. Contact Victoria Malony for more information.

20-Somethings – Will be meeting in their normal room on the 3rd floor. Contact Ariel Koerner for more information.

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

Budget Report:

Includes contributions June

Budget Requirements thus far (thru the Month of June)

297,213.00

Budget Receipts Received Thus Far

275,255.56

Budget Requirements-Month

Budget Receipts Received This Period

53,700.00

Received to Date (%) For Cur-rent Month 108%

Received to Date (%) For Year (thru June) 93%