September 3, 2021
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

In preparation for worship,
we encourage you to read the Scripture passage
and reflect on what God’s word might be to you.

Scripture: James 2:14-26
Message: "Creative Tension Matters"
Including the Sacrament of Holy Communion

JOIN us for WORSHIP in the SANCTUARY or from HOME.
Click Live-stream to join us for worship
on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

Click Sunday Bulletin to enhance your worship experience

Click Sunday School to connect with teachers
and activities to nurture faith

(Note on image above: photo by Marcia Perry)
Ministry News and Upcoming Events
Return! Reconnect! Rejoice!
We invite everyone to worship. No sign-up or registration is required. Wear a mask inside. Sing joyfully!
 
This week - in accordance with the City of Oxford mask mandate, all individuals inside our church buildings will be required to wear masks, no matter their vaccination status. According to the CDC, those vaccinated are protected from COVID-19 but may still spread the Delta variant.
 
Thank you for your love and care for one another – including children who do not yet have access to the vaccine. We are so grateful!
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord.
Those who believe in me, even though they die,
will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me
will never die. 
- John 11:25-26

A Memorial Service for Gil Siegel will take place Saturday, September 4th at 2:30 p.m. in the Memorial Church sanctuary. Please click here for Gil's obituary.

All are welcome to join us in-person as well as over the livestream at this link.
CROP Walk
In collaboration with Church World Service, the ESP Team of OPC and the Miami University Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are coordinating the Fall 2021 Crop Hunger Walk.
 
This will be both an actual and a virtual event, occurring throughout the month of September, anywhere, anytime.
 
You may register and donate on-line by credit card. Here is the direct link to the Oxford Ohio Team CROP walk registration site. If you prefer to give by check, please contact our church for more information. 
 
All money collected goes to Church World Service. However, one-fourth of the funds collected from the Oxford area are returned to Oxford and go to TOPSS to meet local hunger needs.
 
Share your pictures! We’d love to receive an image of yourself and others walking. Send your pictures to the church
OPC Offices Closed
In Observance of Labor Day OPC offices will be closed Monday, September 6.

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, September 7 at 8:30 a.m.

Stay safe and healthy!
Tuesday Evening Circle

The Tuesday Evening Circle will meet at the home of Sue Wilson, 61 Scarlet Oak Circle on September 7th at 7:30 p.m. Study books for “What My Grandmothers Taught Me” will be available at the meeting. We welcome all interested women in our church for Bible study and fellowship.

Call 524-7446 for information or directions.
Sunday School Volunteer Needed!

Oxford Presbyterian Church is looking for a Sunday School assistant to assist Sarah Miller in the K-1st class. This is a volunteer position. If you would be interested in helping out, please contact our Christian Education co-chair, Jenn Walter, at jenn.walter@miamioh.edu.
Nursery Workers Needed!

Sunday School is back starting September 12th, and Oxford Presbyterian Church is looking for youth to help out as nursery workers!

The nursery worker is a paid position. If you are interested, please contact our Christian Education co-chair, Jenn Walter, at jenn.walter@miamioh.edu.
Campus Ministry: Holy Envy
Food For Thought, our campus ministry small group at OPC, kicks off the fall semester with a 3-week discussion on Interfaith conversations and relationships. We’ll be reading excerpts from the book, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, by Barbara Brown Taylor, and discussing how interfaith relationships and conversations shaped your own spirituality throughout your life.

Food For Thought: Holy Envy meets at Fridge and Pantry on Sunday, September 12, 19, and 26 right after church (approx. 11:00 A.M.). Lunch is covered by the church! Contact Pastor Marc for more information.
Youth Group “Kicks Off” on September 12!


Youth Group is back with a Kickball Kickoff Party at Peffer Park on Sunday, September 12th from 6:30-8:00 p.m.

We will meet at Peffer park at 6:30 p.m. Individual, pre-wrapped dinner snacks and drinks will be provided!
Kids Coalition Against Hunger Food Packing Event
Sunday, October 17, 2021
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
 
Oxford Presbyterian Church
Seminary Community Room
 
All are Welcome to join us!
 
Be part of our diverse mission efforts to Eradicate Systemic Poverty in the Oxford community and around the world. 15,000 meals will be packed and a third of the meals will be used for local food insecurity.

Click here to register.
Prayer Shawls

Knitters are needed to help make more prayer shawls. If you can help, please contact the church office.

Cornelia Browne will supply the yarn.
Hurricane Ida Relief
In addition to the ongoing recovery relief and assistance needed in Haiti as they continue their struggles in the wake of the earthquake on August 14th, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is beginning its efforts to provide help from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast of our nation following the devastation from Hurricane Ida, earlier this week. 
 
If you would like to help with this effort, click here to donate to PDA or send your contributions to OPC with the designation “PDA Hurricane Relief.”
 
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance provides emergency relief and short-term recovery in areas affected by both natural and human-made disasters, through established local partners, and in collaboration with ACT Alliance and its members. The PC(USA), through PDA and together with regional World Mission colleagues, remains active throughout the entire recovery process, accompanying our partners as they determine long-term program needs and providing financial support for rebuilding and resilience.
Your Stewardship Matters
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give.
I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.
In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc.,
 is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own,
 we are probably giving away too little.
If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,
I should say they are too small.
There ought to be things we should like to do
and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.
-  C.S. Lewis

As you worship with us in person, you will find offering plates located in the church narthex into which you may place your weekly offering.
 
While you may travel this summer, remember that you may give online both conveniently and securely from your computer at https://onrealm.org/oxfordpresbychurch/Give.
 
To give via QR code, scan the code in the image below with your phone and follow the brief prompts. View a video tutorial here on giving through QR code.
 
To give via text message, text opc1825 and your designated amount to 73256. For example, text "opc1825 25" to 73256 for an offering of $25 and follow the prompt. View a video tutorial here on giving via text message.
 
Questions? Contact our office - office@oxfordpresbychurch.org.
Living Into Hope

Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others
more important than our own.

-   Henri Nouwen
Oxford Presbyterian Church | 101 N. Main Street, Oxford OH 45056