Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
In preparation for worship,
we encourage you to read the Scripture passage
and reflect on what God’s word might be to you.
Scripture: Mark 1:29-39
Message: "Everyday Heroes"
This joyful time of worship will also include the Sacrament of Holy Communion,
so you are invited to prepare elements of your own at home.
JOIN us for WORSHIP from HOME.
on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
and activities to nurture faith
(Note on above image: "Christ Healing Peter’s Mother-in-law" by Rembrandt)
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Ministry News and Upcoming Events |
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Hello parents! OPC Christian Education Committee is interested in hearing from you. We want to know how we can best meet the educational and spiritual needs of our youth during this time of virtual gathering. Please take a minute to complete a survey by clicking on this link. Thank you!
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Lent is a time to reflect, to grow, to pray, and to prepare for Easter. This year’s Lenten devotional Again and Again invites us to return to the practices that transform and renew. This wonderful resource for your family includes art, reflections, and poetry that can help deepen your spiritual life as we walk through the season of Lent together.
Please let us know if you would like a Lenten devotional by contacting the church office and requesting your copy. It can be mailed to you or you can pick it up.
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Introducing a Lenten Podcast Series on Creation Care |
CE invites you to journey on a new path of Lenten study this year ~ A Lenten podcast series on Creation Care. You can listen to the weekly podcasts as you take a walk or as you sit in the comfort of your home.
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Fellowship in the Virtual Molyneaux Lounge |
Our life together as the Body of Christ is more important than ever as we overcome this pandemic with resilient faith, hope and love. Gather online with your brothers and sisters in our faith community for connection, conversation, as well as spontaneous moments of hope and encouragement.
Join us this week after worship at this link on Zoom as we explore deeper bonds of fellowship. As time permits, we will reflect together on the worship themes. Who are the everyday heroes in your life? How does the accumulation of small, daily choices shape the life and legacy of those we claim and name as everyday heroes? How do these small, daily choices shape your life of faith?
Meeting ID: 836 5120 3672
Passcode: 916856
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Worldchanging 101 at Youth Group |
Youth Group will be meeting in the Seminary Building this Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. Masks and/or facial coverings are required, and there will be temperature checks at the door. Our 6-week book study of "Worldchanging 101" by David LaMotte continues. This week, we will be focusing on Chapter 9, "Community." The book is available in both paperback and Kindle form.
If you would like for the church to provide you with a physical copy of the book, please contact Pastor Marc.
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The continuing OPW Zoom Bible Study with Pastor Marc will meet on Monday, February 8, at 1:30 pm. We will be discussing Lesson 5 from the Horizons "Into the Light, Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament."
Meeting ID: 861 2745 1953
Passcode: 435554
Dial by phone: 929.205.6099
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Eradicating Systemic Poverty (ESP Team)
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The Eradicating Systemic Poverty Team has been meeting on a monthly basis via zoom with conversation focusing on our assistance primarily to TOPSS and FRC as well as indirect help for the Oxford/Talawanda Schools. At our next meeting, Feb. 9, Amy Macechko, Health and Wellness Coordinator, will join us to present a report on a poverty assessment of the local school district. Information on this will be shared at a later date.
Nancy Parkinson, member of the ESP Team and Miami nutrition professor and her students continue to provide valuable food and nutrition education for youth and adults, both virtually and in hard copy form. In addition, in case you missed the first announcement, Nancy and her students will be presenting a live virtual cooking class on Thursday, February 11, 6:00 p.m. For more information, see article below.
Future goals of the ESP Team include continuing to assist FRC in its efforts to secure affordable housing and jobs for the clients it serves. This will be done by contacting potential residences and employment options. Also, we hope to establish some sort of "watchdog" sub-committee to monitor legislation at all levels of government that may have an impact on disadvantaged individuals or groups.
One of the many things we have discovered in recent months is the lack of affordable housing for those with low or very low income. Recently a comprehensive study of Oxford's housing situation was conducted, providing information that gives a clear picture of our housing situation--not so bad for those who are secure financially--much less so for those who are not.
Click here for the Housing Needs Assessment of Oxford
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Please join us for a fun and creative time on Thursday, February 11, at 6:00 p.m.! Nancy Parkinson and her Miami Nutrition students will be hosting a live virtual cooking class. We will be making a delicious chicken chili to enjoy on a cozy winter evening. This class will be offered to Oxford community residents and part of the greater work of our call to "Eradicate Systemic Poverty." Make a reservation with Nancy Parkinson by completing the order form for your Chili Kit. Reservations need to be made by Monday, February 8. The chili kit will include the food supplies to make your own pot of chili, as Nancy’s students share nutritional benefits of this classic comfort food. If you have questions, please contact Nancy Parkinson
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"Oxford Sustainability" Newsletter |
OPC's "Caring for Creation" or C4C team produces a monthly newsletter roundup of sustainability-related events going on in the Oxford Ohio area. You can view and subscribe to the newsletter online here.
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Creating a Healthy Community |
Convalescent Plasma Drive (CCP)
We are excited to inform you that Community Blood Center will be collecting antibody-rich plasma from recovered COVID-19 survivors at the Oxford Presbyterian Church on Saturday, February 13 in the Seminary Building from 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. There are only FIVE appointment times left, so please sign up soon. You can be a hero to critically ill COVID-19 patients. Donate CCP and help make more survivors just like you.
All registered plasma donors will receive a $25 Kroger gift card and a special edition “COVID-19 Crisis Warrior” t-shirt.
Donors need to bring a copy of their POSITIVE COVID test results.
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Confirmation Meets on Monday, February 15 |
Our next confirmation class will be meeting on Monday, February 15 at 7:45 p.m. Pastor Marc will be leading a lesson on how our church is governed "decently and in order" as officers, elders, and deacons. Check your e-mail over the next week for updates on meeting location. If you would like to be added to the confirmation class e-mail list, please contact Pastor Marc.
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Virtual Ash Wednesday Service |
Join us for a Virtual Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. We will be distributing home kits prior to the virtual worship service.
Please contact the church office if you would like to pick one up or have one delivered to you.
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Oxford Presbyterian & McCullough-Hyde - Community Blood Drive |
Oxford Presbyterian Seminary - Community Room
104 E. Church St. (Bldg. on the corner of Church & Poplar)
Wednesday, February 17
9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
APPOINTMENTS REQUIRED
Sponsor Code #321
COVID-19 Antibody test will be performed on all blood donors as part of our standard testing.
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Connecting as the Beloved Community |
Cia Beal wonders if anyone else’s waist is expanding due to the pandemic restrictions? The kitchen is so convenient when you are home all day! She and Steve have been going to restaurants occasionally but they are very aware of crowds. This means going early, finding restaurants that are following the distancing guidelines, being sensible. They recently attended the latest Tom Hanks movie at a theater in Richmond. There were only about 15 - 20 people in the seats, all spaced safely. Cia is another puzzle aficionado, listening to books on CDs while piecing together the latest challenge.
Kate Wespiser is not bored at all. She keeps in contact with friends via the telephone, reads a lot, enjoys “linner” with a few friends on Saturday Linner, for those who are thinking this is a typo, it is the meal served at the Oxford Country Club on Saturday afternoons between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. Arthritis is plaguing her, particularly in her hands. This is the perfect excuse to have someone else wash her hair twice a week. A book Kate recommends is “Mama Makes Up Her Mind” by Bailey White, commentator on NPR. “The Memoirs of Kate Wespiser” are in the works. It may be a while until they are published as she is only up to 1953.
Ellen Buerk and her bike are a common sight, both around town and out in the county. She and a friend have a common interest in the mounds of Butler County. Using her 1836 map of mounds, they mount their bicycles to seek them out (though not in frigid weather). Due to these excursions they have also become interested in the remains of ghost towns in the area. When Miami University closed last March, Ellen opened her home to a Chinese student who could not get back to China. This young woman was an excellent cook and they enjoyed not only each others company, but gourmet meals as well. She and Carol Schaber “go to church” each Sunday morning at the Schabers.
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COVID-19 Emergency Outreach Fund |
As COVID cases continue around Oxford, our community faces so many challenges and opportunities as we all care for one another through this pandemic. Our ministry remains in close communication with our community mission partners. Our partners report that the CARES Act funding in 2020 was a great help that enabled them to respond to the pandemic last year. As we enter 2021, that funding is no longer available.
If you know of a neighbor who has been impacted by this pandemic, our ministry is actively prepared to assist. The congregational response to the COVID-19 Emergency Outreach Fund has been generous. Please contact our church office if you know of a family or individual who has been impacted by this pandemic. We stand ready to help.
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Media Content Creators Needed! |
The communications team at Oxford Presbyterian Church is so thrilled with our new audio-visual upgrades to our sanctuary and our facilities...and now it’s time to start dreaming about how to use them! We are looking to put together a new Media Content Team of volunteers to help envision, oversee, and curate the ways that we communicate across all forms of digital, physical, and social media. If this is an area that you might have some interest in, please contact Gene Krebs or Pastor Marc.
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Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of God’s saints
- Psalm 116
A longtime member of Oxford Presbyterian Church, Jean Woodruff, died on Thursday, February 4. Jean and her husband, John, were married by the Rev. Ed Fairman at the Seminary Church. Our heartfelt prayers are with John, the entire family, and Jean's many friends. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.
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Time is a gift. God gives time to us with certain expectations of how we’ll use it. However, our free will allows us to do whatever we want with it - good or bad. We can cherish our time, but we can also neglect it. We can hoard our time, but we can also share it. We can invest our time, but we can also squander it.
Instead of teaching us how to do more (time management), the Bible calls each of us to do less, and consequently, to receive peace and rest with God (time stewardship). Reversing time-warped living is about restoring our relationship with the Time Giver. By doing less, we can have more of God.
- Steve Ganger in Time Warped–First Century Time Stewardship for 21st Century Living
Your time, talent and treasure are truly vital to this ministry. If you are worshipping with us via the livestream, in lieu of a contribution to the physical offering plate, we would encourage you to mail your pledge/tithe to the church office or give through one of these digital avenues. To give online both conveniently and securely, you may access our online giving opportunity 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.
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Living Into Hope
Hope is not prognostication,
it is an orientation of the spirit.
- Vaclav Havel
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Oxford Presbyterian Church | 101 N. Main Street, Oxford OH 45056
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