March 8, 2019
First Sunday in Lent
  Scripture - Luke 4:1-13
Message: Just Stones? Just Bread? Just Eating?
 
(Note on image: Artwork for the First Sunday of Lent by John Stuart, a Scottish pastor serving Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN)
Ministry News and Upcoming Events
Welcoming a Mission Partner Into Worship This Sunday
The Oxford Community Choice (OCCP) pantry is evolving into something bigger, better, and more visionary now called the Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services (TOPSS)! Join us for worship this Sunday, March 10 to learn more about the TOPSS vision to address local food insecurity.  In the sanctuary after worship, the president of the Board, Lara Osborne, will present the new mission, the new name, and proposed new building of TOPSS.  TOPSS is about surviving and thriving in the community. Everybody eats!
Spirit of Scotland 2020
Informational Meeting: This Sunday - March 10 , after worship in the Molyneaux Lounge.

Registration is open for our eight-day guided tour exploring our sacred heritage, sponsored by the Oxford Presbyterian Church, from May 25 to June 2, 2020. The Spirit of Scotland leader is Pastor Lawrence Bartel in coordination with Rev. James Wallace (Church of Scotland). Ecumenical and welcoming, interested friends and neighboring congregations are invited to join us for this exciting spiritual journey.

A brochure, with the dates, itinerary, costs, booking form, and credit card payment information, is available on the OPC homepage:   https://oxfordpresbychurch.org .  Click on “Spirit of Scotland” under News, Events, and Calendar.  Early Bird Deposits (with discount) are due March 31, 2019 . Printed information will be available at the Information Meeting on Sunday.

Inquiries can be addressed to the following:
Pastor Lawrence Bartel, pastorlawrence@oxfordpresbychurch.org , (315) 369-5225; Ellen Buerk, ebuerk@hotmail.com , or Will Hazleton, hazletwa@miamioh.edu , (513) 461-1812. We are available to meet with interested participants, answer questions, or supply additional information. Please join us for this incredible journey of the heart, mind, and spirit in exploring our sacred heritage.
Spiritual Practices for Lent 2019
What is a Spiritual Practice?
  • A spiritual practice is any regular and intentional activity that establishes, develops, and nourishes a personal relationship with the Divine in which we allow ourselves to be transformed (www. http://spiritualpractice.ca/what/what-2/) A Daily Spiritual Practice establishes and provides us with a foundation upon which we can build a new perspective of life and our role in the experiences of life. A Daily Spiritual Practice deepens and expands the awareness of your connection to your Source https://innervisionsworldwide.com/daily-spiritual-practice/

Sundays, 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m. ~ Seminary (104 E. Church St). Brown bag lunch encouraged, beverages provided. Childcare provided at the Memorial.
 
This Sunday ~ March 10 – Allyship and Activism as Spiritual Practice
  • Exploring the practice of empathy and action in allyship/activist roles as a spiritual connection to people, and as a form of worship. 
  • Advocacy means holding onto hope. Even when times are difficult and change seems impossible, to advocate requires a belief that things can be different. To speak out means looking beyond a current situation and imagining a different future.
  • Advocacy is a rich space for contemplation and spiritual renewal. Through advocacy, one may find a life-giving discipline, based on choosing to believe in the possibility of change, listening deeply out of a place of connection, and then working together. To work as an advocate one must ask questions about situations of injustice and open oneself up to a new way of seeing God’s work in the world—that is spiritual practice (http://dojustice.crcna.org)
Creating a Healthy Oxford Community
Students will explore the disciplines of science, technology, engineering,
art and mathematics and learn how each of these areas relates to nutrition.

Talawanda 2nd - 8th graders and their parents are invited to attend for FREE on:
Sunday, March 10, 2019 ~ 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
in Phillips Hall @ Miami University
Church Services at The Knolls
If you are unable to attend some of our church services on Sunday mornings, we have another option for you. Join Becky Quay for the next recent church service on DVD, March 12 at 10:00 in the Activity Room of the Healthcare wing. Pastor Lawrence will be joining us and will serve communion. All are invited!
Lenten Food Drive
As is our annual tradition, the Deacon's Lenten Food Drive will stretch from Sunday, March 10th until Sunday April 14th. This year, our request will be a little different. As you may know, the Oxford Choice Pantry will be relocating their facility to Merry Day Park and rebranding as Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services (TOPSS); they have charged congregations around the community to meet or exceed our previous monetary donations in an effort to meet building and maintenance costs for their new facility. 

Our church has been asked to contribute as much as $10,000 dollars for the new facility. In lieu of canned goods or boxed pasta, which we will still gladly accept, please consider donating money to this worthy and necessary effort. If you wish, donations can be placed in the plates during offering, with the note "Lenten Food Drive" on the memo line of each check or on the outside of the envelope if the donation is cash. Thank you for your past and future efforts to help those less fortunate have a brighter day and a brighter future.
Miami University - Chamber Singers and Collegiate Chorale
On Tuesday, March 12, the Miami University Chamber Singers, William Bausano, conductor, and the Miami University Collegiate Chorale, Jeremy D. Jones, conductor, will be performing Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, and other sacred works by Brahms, Duruflé, and Mendelssohn. The performance will take place in Kumler Chapel on Miami’s Western Campus at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Miami University H.O.M.E. Office, 513.529.3200.
Tuesday Afternoon Circle
The Tuesday Afternoon Circle will meet on March 19 at 1:30 p.m. in the Country Kitchen with Prue Dana leading the lesson and Pat Gifford in charge of the Mission Yearbook. Karen Shearer will conduct the Least Coin. Reservations for the optional noon lunch in the café at the Knolls are due by Friday the 15 of March to Lynn Cronk. Visitors and guests are always welcome.
Card Shower
Evalou Middaugh will be celebrating her 95th Birthday on Friday, March 15th. If you wish to join in a shower of Christian Love, please send a card to:

Evalou Middaugh
6470 Post Rd., Apt. 228
Dublin OH 43016
Kirkmont Sunday at Oxford Presbyterian Church
Join us on March 17, to learn about the impact Kirkmont has on Youth that attend camp during the summer. Amanda Arks will be giving reflections on the transfiguration of Jesus and how Kirkmont Center shaped her own and others transfigurations. After service we will be having an informational meeting about summer camp 2019, in the 3rd-5th grade Sunday School classroom. All are welcome to the meeting. There are camps for all ages; children, adults, and families. Come join us to learn more about programming, dates, rates, and any other questions you might have! If you are unable to attend and would like more information, contact our Youth Director, Jake Smithers, at  youth@oxfordpresbychurch.org.  
Installation Service for the Rev. Marc van Bulck
The installation of Rev. Marc van Bulck to Oxford Presbyterian Church as the new Associate Pastor for Family and Campus Ministries will be held on the afternoon of Sunday, March 31st in the Memorial Building Sanctuary at 4:00 P.M.

Mark your calendars, and we hope to see you there!
Presbyterian Youth Triennium
We are going to Purdue University to attend Triennium this summer, July 16th - July 20th! This is for incoming freshman to graduated seniors. The price to attend is $100. If you’re interested in going, you can register on the Triennium website . The deadline to register is April 14th. If you have any questions contact our Registrar, Emily Lykins at  e_lykins@yahoo.com . 
Spring Rummage
The Spring Rummage Sale is heating up even as you read this! There will be a team meeting at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday March 20, at the Seminary Building. This is a great time to be present to help with this major fund raiser/community benefit event.  Rummage needs everyone to help.  Many hands make light work.  Come on.  Huddle up. It’s a great team to belong to. Rummage Sale Week: May 6-11.
Spotlight on our Youth
David Kraushar is a senior at Talawanda High School, son of Dave & Amy Kraushar, and an excellent 3 sport student-athlete, with a 4.33 GPA.

David is looking to major in Engineering after graduation this year.

After an outstanding effort in the Fall Cross Country season, David emerged as the best runner in the Southwestern Ohio Conference. Now he's a starter on the Talawanda basketball team.

We're all proud of David, and wish him the best of luck running for the Brave track team this Spring, and in everything he aspires to the rest of his life.
Austin Lake, Congratulations on receiving the rank of Eagle Scout! Austin was awarded the Eagle rank by Boy Scout Troop 956 during a Court of Honor. 

Eagle Scout is the crowning achievement of those in Scouting, marking an accomplishment earned over years of work. Earning Eagle Scout requires amassing a larger number of badges in a variety of areas, taking part in camping experiences and finally, organizing a project in which the scout must oversee volunteers and supervise the work. Austin’s Eagle Scout project involved landscaping and cleaning up the grounds of the Seminary Building. Austin will be attending Miami in the fall to Major in urban planning and development.
Don't forget to set your clocks forward!
Your Stewardship Matters
The measure of a life is not its duration, but its donation.
- Peter Marshall, Scottish Pastor and former U.S. Senate chaplain
Oxford Presbyterian Church | 101 N. Main Street, Oxford OH 45056