Couple of Sundays on Zoom

Next Two Sundays: House Church on Zoom

As this latest surge of Covid continues to affect so many in our church family and our community, we are going to hold our service on Zoom the next two Sundays at 10:30 a.m. The building repairs at the church are coming along after the water line breakage, and they should be complete within two weeks. We still hope to be back in person within a few weeks, and we will make plans to gather safely according to the CDC guidelines.

Opportunity for Hospitality

As I mentioned, several of our own have been sick. If you are able to offer support in the form of meals, texts, a snail mail card, etc., please do! Find their information in the directory and check in to see what they need. A little TLC goes a long way for someone isolated or in quarantine. 

Some are well on their way to recovery and some are newly sick, but let’s hold each one in prayer and let them know we are with them (there are others I’m sure I’m missing...I’m sorry!):

Hank & Eve Henningsen
Bonnie Lebak
Bob & Kelli James
Kelly & Olivia Kemp
Jessica Krogmann
Lucas Hall
Vicki Williams
Teresa Tenney 

Hospitality Ministry

Speaking of hospitality, this ministry is hopping! Get on the list of folks who are “in the know” and able to leap into action to serve. Pastor Heid is in charge and makes sure that people get meals, love, prayer, and care when going through surgeries, life changes, sickness, and celebrations! Be on her team to share the love and care that this ministry is all about (Heidi is feeling much better thanks to everyone!). Contact her to be on this team: 918-902-1930.

Final Thoughts

I have found a great deal of comfort this week from everyone’s love and prayers as I have been home sick with Covid (well, Tamara has been here with me, too, but you know what I mean!). The kindness of friends and love in action showing up on my porch, email, or text and the felt energy of prayer have all made a tremendous impact on my mood and health. 

It’s very cold outside in Tulsa, maybe 20 degrees, and while I was writing a hawk flew under our deck to prey on our beloved backyard chickens. It's understandable as everyone is hungry in this cold, and desperate for food. I heard the commotion and ran outside immediately calling for Tamara as I went; thankfully, our quick action urged the hawk to fly away and saved one of our beloved hens from further harm. She suffered only a little and will heal up quickly. We are relieved. 

It’s a lesson in the power of presence and taking quick action on behalf of those we love. Prayer is one way we can take action for others, for those being attacked by sickness, depression, sadness, loneliness, or fear. Let us be swift to take action for people so that we might mitigate unnecessary harm. Our presence in the form of a text or a call, and our prayers when physical closeness is not an option, can make all the difference for someone today. 

This is a House of prayer and healing, and we know how to hold one another in times of trouble and not let go. 

I got a new book of Blessings that I’ve been enjoying, “The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief,” by Jan Richardson. I’ll bless you with one I found yesterday that really touched me: 

Jacob’s Blessing

“Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.” - Genesis 32:24

“If this blessing were easy anyone could claim it, as it is I am here to tell you that it will take some work. 

This is the blessing that visits you in the struggling, in the wrestling, in the striving. 

This is the blessing that comes after you have left everything behind, after you have stepped out, after you have crossed into that realm beyond every landmark you have known.

This is the blessing that takes all night to find. It's not that this blessing is so difficult, as if it were not filled with grace or with the love that lives in every line. 

It's simply that it requires you to want it ...to ask for it… to place yourself in its path. It demands that you stand to meet it when it arrives, that you stretch yourself in ways you didn't know you could move, that you agree to not give up.

So when this blessing comes born in the hands of the difficult angel who has chosen you, do not let go. 

Give yourself into its grip. 

It will wound you, but I tell you there will come a day when what felt to you like limping was something more like dancing as you moved into the cadence of your new and blessed name.” - Jan Richardson

Your name is Beloved. 

House Church is a spiritual hub for many. It's a spiritual homebase. We have been covering you all in prayers of healing, peace, and hope, and I want to encourage you to pray for one another - I can’t emphasize it enough. Our agreement together changes the atmosphere in our homes, our communities, and our cities.

Announcements and Thank Yous

• House Church will be on Zoom the next two Sundays, January 9th and 16th, at 10:30 am.

• Thanks for your generosity to keep the ministry financially healthy! We are able to keep the bills paid and give hospitably to those in need inside and outside our church. Together we bless so many lives. The ministry and message of our church will outlive the pandemic for generations to come! 

• Coffee & Theology (CAT) Wednesdays at 8am. Recordings available on the app afterward. This is a time to get deep with spiritual concepts and ask difficult questions. Video call link: https://meet.google.com/iwe-peof-oex

• Download our church app to access everything (including zoom links for services, which are the same every time) past service recordings including CAT, and you can give from there, too. Be sure to check out the “Audios” and the “Daily Devo” section of the app:https://tithely.app.link/house-church-tulsa

I hope to worship with you on Zoom this Sunday!

Love Insists, 
Pastor Bonnie