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Newsletter>
Pastor Craig's Notes; 2005 in Review;
January 1, 2006
PASTOR CRAIG’S NOTES
Another year has come to an end. As I write this many of us
are now planning our New Year Festivities. A special night
to ring out the old year and ring in the new. My family,
like so many of you, has traditions that we follow for this
one night. We let the kids stay up to watch the ball
descend in Time Square. Then at midnight we drink a toast
to the coming year. We toast that the New Year will be all
that we hope for.
We are a people of hope. We look towards the horizon and
hope that the future will be better. We always hope that we
will be better. This is what keeps us going on. A belief
that someway or the other tomorrow will be better and
brighter than today.
As Christians we are also looking to the future with hope.
During Christmas we hope for the long awaited coming of the
Christ Child. Now we turn our attentions on Jesus* hoped
for return. We take hope that the promise will be
completed. We have hope that when this event does take
place that all the world will be made new again, including
ourselves. That all of creation will be the way that God
intended it to be. The future will be brighter.
I have hope, through Jesus Christ, that this year will be
brighter. I look forward to the many events, many people,
and many challenges that God will allow to come in my life.
I have hope because Jesus stands besides me and points me
in the direction of the future and not in the direction of
the past.
Have a Hopeful New Year.
Praying for you as I hope that you are praying for me.
~Craig
PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH
The Purpose Driven Church study will begin Sunday January
8, 2006.
The class will be taught in the adult morning Sunday School
Class, and at the Sunday evening service. If you miss the
morning session you can catch up at the evening session.
The morning Sunday School class begins at 9:30 am. The
evening session will begin at 7:00 pm..
Book for the class are available for sale or to borrow. If
you need a book see Jerry Cochran.
Everyone in the church is encouraged to attend at one of
the offered times
WORSHIP
The Worship Team has had a successful year in planning
worship services for you and your family. With the
purchase of the projector system, worship has become more
interactive. Each member of the worship team this year has
played an important role in the worship service. Craig has
maintained and changed the paraments each season, as well
as his vital role in the pulpit. Alice has kept communion
bread made for us at all times. Charles and Gwen continue
with their ministry of music. Curtis and Beth run the
sound, lights, and the projector system each Sunday.
Each person on the team plays a vital role to how your
worship service evolves. It has been my pleasure to serve
as Worship Chair this year and I hope that each of you have
a blessed 2006.
~ Carla Hudson, 2005 Worship Chair
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Christian Ed has had a great year! The Adult Sunday School
Class has managed to go through the *Purpose Driven Life*
twice and began an Advent Study. Their first study of 2006
will be *Purpose Driven Church*. The kids Sunday School
class continues to grow with Alice as their dedicated
leader. We had a very well attended VBS this last summer,
as we shared the experience with the Methodist Church.
Thanks to all who have taught or participated in the 2005
programs.
MEMORIAL ~ HISTORICAL
The Memorial/Historical Committee was able to accomplish a
long time goal during 2005. Funds given in memory of
Margaret Rose Marek were designated to be used for our new
projector system. We were able to purchase and install the
system and have it up and running in June. The system
projects our songs and litany during the service on Sunday
morning. We were also able to use it during VBS. We also
plan to incorporate in classes offered by the church. We
cannot think of a more fitting memorial to Margaret Rose.
She was so active in our church as a member of the choir
and Sunday School teacher. We hope we are able to carry on
her good works.
The Memorial committee also received memorial in memory of
Connie Riley this year designated for the memorial garden.
We are working with the property committee to decide what
projects we will take on in the Memorial garden during
2006.
~Beth Willis, 2005 Memorial/Historical chair
DISCIPLES YOUTH (KIDS IN CHRIST)
On the first Wednesday of each month, if you are looking
for excitement, come join us for Kids in Christ! Our
average attendance at each KIC is 20. This includes kids
and adults. This year the youth sponsored the Pie Auction
and wow, what a success that was. We raised $837 for the
youth fund! In early November the kids starting selling
calendars as a fundraiser for the youth fund. This, too,
was very successful. Each time you reach into your pocket
to give money to the KIC group, you are helping to send a
child to church camp. This year, with the generous
donation from the Outreach Committee and some funds from
the Regional Office, we sent 6 kids to Texoma Christian
Camp, 100% paid. When you look into the eyes of a child,
you see God*s grace.
Thanks to everyone who has supported KIC.
DISCIPLES WOMEN
The Disciples Women Fellowship (DWF) meets on the second
Sunday at 5:00 p.m. during the months of September through
May. We have a time of worship, lead by Alice Cochran, and
a time of fellowship and food. This year we are studying
Kenya.
We continue to support the Women's Shelter in Ardmore as
our service project. We sponsored a train trip to Fort
Worth in October that was very well attended. We also
helped purchase tables and chairs for Texoma Christian Camp
to be used during our annual women's retreat weekend in
September.
All women of the church are invited and encouraged to
attend our meetings. For more information see Carla
Hudson, Beth Willis, or Alice Cochran.
GIFT COMMITTEE
The Gift Committee is responsible for gifts given to the
Church. This year the gift committee was able to bring a
new addition to our fellowship hall. With money given by
the Jewell Williams family for use in the maintenance of
the fellowship hall, kitchen and parlor areas of the
church, we purchased new padded chairs for the round tables
in the fellowship hall. We are very proud of our new
chairs and encourage everyone to help take care of them and
keep them in good shape for years to come.
The gift committee also has plans for the purchase of an
ice maker for the kitchen new table cloths for the round
tables in the fellowship hall.
~ Curtis Cochran, 2005 Gift Committee Chair
2006 OFFICERS
The following people were elected as officers, elders and
deacons for the they 2006 year at the annual congregational
meeting
Board Chair Curtis Cochran
Vice-Chair Jerry Dutsch
Secretary Alice Cochran
Financial Secretary Curtis Cochran
Treasurer Beth Willis
Elders Jerry Dutsch
Jerry Cochran
Deacons
Ann Drennan
Skye Ward
Carol Baird
Liz Weldon
Trustees
Darlene Beardsley
Phil McGinnis
Beth Willis
Elders and deacons are elected to three year terms. The
deacons and elders elected this year will serve until the
end of 2008. All other officers are elected for one year.
2006 DIRECTORY
The Membership Committee is putting together a pictorial
church directory for 2006. Pictures are now being taken of
each member and member family to put in the directory. If
you have not had your picture taken for the directory see
Alice Cochran. Also, if any of your information has
changed since our last directory let the committee know.
More information will be available soon.
A CAROLING WE WENT
Sunday December 18, eleven children and fourteen adults
gathered at the church to go caroling. We all loaded up in
our cars, and the kids in they sleigh, also known as the
back of Charles Hudson's pickup and made our way through
town caroling.
We visited Jesse Barr, the hospital, the nursing home and
Florine Hill before making our way out of town to the
Drennan's. When we returned to the church we were greeted
with hot chocolate and delicious homemade pizza thanks to
Bob and Karen Frank-Plumlee.
Everyone in attendance had a wonderful time, and we were
able to bring a little joy to those that heard us sing.
TOWARD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISCIPLES - PART III
(The following short explanation of church history in the
United States may help us understand our history as a
Disciples church.)
Mr. Thomas Campbell continued to preach in private homes
until August 17, 1809 when the *Christian Association of
Washington* (Pennsylvania) was formed to make the movement
more definite. It was agreed that a proper motto would be:
*Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures
are silent, we are silent.* To express more fully the
motives and purposes of the association Campbell drew up
what he called the *Declaration and Address* (one of the
most important documents in the history of the Disciples of
Christ.)
It was at this point that Alexander, his 21 year old son,
joined him in America. The family had set out for America
only 16 months after Thomas arrived in Pennsylvania, but
the ship had run aground on one of the rocky islands of the
Hebrides, and they had to remain in Scotland another year.
While there, Alexander attended the University of Glasgow
as his father did and came under the same in-fluences. He
had by this time decided to go into the ministry.
Alexander had a teacher, Mr. Greville Ewing, in the
seminary. He took notice of his ideas pertaining to the
church:
1) the independence of the local congregation,
2) weekly observance of the Lord*s Supper,
3) a plurality of Elders,
4) the denial of clerical privileges and dignitaries,
5) the right and duty of laymen to have a part in the
edification and discipline of the church,
6) and a conception of faith as such a believer of
testimony as any man is capable of by the **application of
his rational intelligence to the facts of scripture.
These elements made young Campbell dissatisfied with the
Presbyterianism of Scotland. Thus when father and son met
on the road in western Pennsylvania, October 19, 1809, both
had broken with their former church systems---although an
ocean had been between them. From this point forward it was
simply a matter of their giving their leadership to the
movement (or movements) in America known as *The Christian
Churches*.
(More about our history next month)
PLANTING THE SEED
The victim advocate office on Main St. grew out of the
domestic violence seminar your church held one evening in,
I believe, the spring of 1998. At the dinner, law
enforcement, the courts, and District Attorney were
frustrated and discouraged about treating victims of
domestic abuse. In the time since, we've leaned lots more
about the dynamics of abuse and how to intercede. Your
church became involved in supportive work with the Family
Shelter of Southern Oklahoma. Maintaining this link with
the Family Shelter was important for Love County. In 2004,
the hospital, in consultation with the Family Shelter and
our local coalitions, applied and received a $100,000 grant
for two years to open a satellite office of Family Shelter
in Marietta. The funds are held by the hospital, but Family
Shelter draws on them to pay the victim advocate and
associated expenses. We are now working on a successor
grant. The victim advocate is Lynette Durbin, at 276-2402.
She is located at 318 W. Main.
Systems of Care provides very close coordination between
coalition members in working with families of children or
youth with serious emotional problems. There is a single
treatment plan and services are located for, not by, the
family. The goal is to keep child and family together and
functioning well. The coordinator for Systems of Care is
Roger Loewen. He is with Mental Health Services and has an
office at 108 Main St., 276-9797.
Other initiatives that have been underway in Love County
include the Task Force on Child Abuse Prevention; Coalition
on Substance Abuse Prevention; Turning Point; and Systems
of Care. For convenience we meet together monthly - a
luncheon from noon-1 p.m. at the Love County Library.
Your church dinner meant something!
Regards, Barbara Sessions
WEBSITE
Have you seen our new church website? First Christian
Church, Marietta now has a website. If you go to
fccmariettaok.com you will see our home page complete with
a picture of our church. You will also see a list of
upcoming events. You can click on the links to find out
what is on our calendar, what is in the newsletter and a
variety of other information. We would like to thank Carla
Hudson for designing the website. Carla has also agreed to
update and maintain the website for the upcoming year. If
you have any information you would like to see on the
website let her know.
PROGRESSIVE DINNER
Our first progressive dinner was Tuesday December 13, 2005.
We met at the church at 5:30 pm and began our trip. Our
first stop was at The Knight's for appetizers, next to the
Rutherford's for salad, on to the Hudson's for cheeseburger
chowder and we ended with desert at the McGinnis'. Twenty
three people attended. We hope to plan more of these in
the future.
THERE ARE NEW SIGN UP SHEETS ON THE BULLETIN BOARD FOR LAY
LEADER AND GREETER.
PLEASE SIGN UP!
JANUARY
BIRTHDAYS
1 Ryan Ward
5 Logan Hawes
Ro Hartman
11 Florine Hill
13 Maidee LeForce
17 Craig Rutherford
18 Jerry Cochran
31 Charlie Beardsley
ANNIVERSARIES
20 David & Ro Hartman
JOYS & CONCERNS
Louise Harkey
Verna McCain
Sybile Askew
Jodie Hall
Irene Scrivner
Agnes Anderson
Jesse Barr
Mary Harper
Lou Appleton
Catherine Gollan
THANK YOU!
To everyone who provided cookies or cake for our after
church fellowship during December. Darlene Beardsley, Yvone
& Phil McGinnis, Carrie Rutherford and Sam and Rosa Knight.
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