St. Andrew’s Shield

“...above all taking the Shield of Faith ...”   Ephesians 6:16

Volume 52, Number 10                                                                                    May 23, 2007

From the Pastor’s Heart

“Practice.”  The Mirriam-Webster dictionary says practice is “to perform or work at repeatedly so as to become proficient.”  What do you practice doing?  Piano?  Ballet?  Trumpet?  Patience?

Practice, practice, practice!  “Practice makes perfect,” goes the well-known phrase.  Every Sunday we “practice” paying attention to God, hoping we will become proficient!  I doubt if we’ll ever be perfect, but we can try.  We call it worship.

The second Sundays of June, July and August, we will have additional opportunities to practice paying attention to God.  Only instead of being in our usual location, we’ll be in the Southminster Building – 3500 S. Peoria.  Same time, just a different place.  Sunday School at 9, worship at 10.

To make certain to find us, someone you know will be standing at the entrance to the parking lot to welcome you.  So June 10, July 8 and August 12, we’ll all be together at 3500 S. Peoria.

Practicing together!

Pastor Ann

Remember Sunday’s anthem Wade in the Water………well,

now get ready to Wade into Worship

On the second Sunday of June, July and August, the congregation of St. Andrew’s will meet with the congregations of Southminster and St. Giles for worship services.  Rather than jumping in head first, we’re going to get our feet wet by “practicing” worshipping together.  It will be a very interesting, exciting and fun experience for us all.  This is our rehearsal for the time when we are sharing space on a permanent basis.  The Session and the Exploratory Group hope you will attend and share your thoughts and feelings about the experience with us.

WHEN:     Second Sunday of June, July and August

                        June 10, July 8 and August 12

                        9:00 A.M. Sunday school

                        10:00 A.M. Worship

        WHERE:   Southminster Presbyterian Church

                        3500 South Peoria

                        743-4427

Sounds from the ARK –

In April, our ARK children participated in a study about what things were like in the early church, how the people treated each other and what they did that set them apart and made them “church”, based on the accounts from the book of Acts.  They learned that the people came together to fellowship, pray; learn from the disciples and worship.  They learned that the Greek word for fellowship is transliterated as “koinonia”, a word that means the people had a stake in taking care of each other’s needs, doing so out of genuine love and devotion to one another.

With this in mind, and the possibility of our own new partnership on the horizon, the children were asked in their art lesson to design a lay out for their idea of a church.  They were all given a template that resembled an outline of a human body. Their task was to then depict how their church would be organized within this framework.

Their representations are displayed in Fellowship Hall. You are encouraged to take a look and reflect on what our developing disciples think.  Pay particular attention to what our children believe to be important.  You will see they are especially interested in a place where people can come together to share a meal, the care and nurturance of young children, the church building as a site for health and wholeness, the use of current technology in teaching/learning and worship, and the need for sacred space.

As we contemplate the possibilities of partnership, may we become more like these little children.

A Special St. Andrew’s Service

Sunday, June 3, 3:00

Blessing of the Animals

Everyone is invited

Bring your pets to the East lawn

Southminster, St. Andrew’s and St. Giles

Exploratory Committee Update

May 20, 2007

Present: Gary Griffith, Carol Messer, Ann LaMar, Marilee Story, Bill Webb, Leslie Talbott, Katie Vesely, Ann Gibbs, Lew Sullivan, Jody Flippo, Robin Williams, Anne Spitzmiller, Carol Messer, Diana Henderson and Marianna Vesely.

Ann LaMar opened with a two-minute silent prayer.

Southminster, St. Andrew’s and St. Giles sessions all voted to move ahead with the blending of the churches.

Reports were given from these committees-Christian Education, Worship, Fellowship, and Finance and Administration.  Ann LaMar and Ann Gibbs are going to exchange a list of committees and their responsibilities and the times of the meetings.

The decision was made to combine newsletters and exchange labels for mailing.

Act 16:5 Initiative group composed of representatives from all three churches will create a vision for the combined church.  This is a program sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 3 -- Blessing of the Animals at St. Andrew’s on the east lawn at 3:00 pm

June 10 -- Combined worship service at 10:00 am at Southminster-Bill Webb preaching

June 24 – Vespers at 5:00 followed by ice cream and activities

July 1 -- Dessert Auction at St. Andrew’s at 11:00 am – fund raiser for the Deacons

July 8 -- Combined worship service at 10:00 am at Southminster (Sam Haun or Ann LaMar preaching)

August 12 -- Combined worship service at 10:00 am at Southminster (Ann LaMar or Sam Haun preaching)

There will be concerns, but we are confident that we will be able to work out our differences.

We were all excited about the blending of our churches.

The next meeting will be at SPC on June 10, 2007 at 11:30am.

Bill Webb dismissed us with prayer.

“MARINERS NEWS”

The Mariners decided to try to reschedule their Drillers Baseball Game outing until FRIDAY, JUNE 1^st when the next fireworks are planned.  Diana will be taking a tally of those interested.

Congratulations to our graduates!  Krissie Barnard graduated from Oklahoma State Unviersity, Kendall Griffith graduated Cum Laude from Tulsa University, and Jackie Priestley graduated with multiple honors from The University of Tulsa.  In addition, Kelsey Rodriguez and Elaina Ross both graduated from High School.  Congratulations to you all, and good luck in the future!