Music Ministry

by George Massey

 Lenten Music Series

The Chancel Choir is proud to present John Rutter's REQUIEM on Palm Sunday, April 9. This superb composition outlines the Requiem Mass and will be a lovely prelude to the Holy Week observances. We will be accompanied by an ensemble of seven musicians. On Easter Sunday, April 16, we will include additional instrumentalists and two extended Anthems.

Chancel Choir

Please mark these dates in your calendars: Dress Rehearsal for the Rutter REQUIEM, is Saturday, April 8, from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., call in the Sanctuary for April 9 is our usual 10:15 a.m. warm-up. Please mark both services for our joyous Easter celebration. The Folk-Blues Sunday will be June 11.

This Month in Worship

Our sermons this month will address our emphasis on hospitality. In addition to our pastor, we welcome two speakers who for whom welcoming others has been central to their ministry. Dr. David Severe, recently retired from overseeing the ministries of our Oklahoma Conference, will bring an inspirational word. We conclude the month with Marilyn Oden delivering our Holland Lectures.

Sermon Titles & Texts

Feb 5     Gracious Hosts

               Luke 7:36-50

              Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

 

                     Feb 12  David Severe, Guest Preacher

              Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

 

   Feb 19  Feeling at Home

              Mark 1:35-45

              Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

 

Feb 26  Marilyn Brown Oden, Holland Lectures

              Transfiguration Sunday

 

Children’s Ministry

by Jenifer Thompson

Children’s Sunday School

 

Our Sunday School classes have begun our new curriculum series, Jesus and the Children. Bible verse: Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. – Mark 10:14

With the change in curriculum also comes the change in teachers. A big thanks goes out to Susie Wallace in the 3-4 year old room, Melissa and Sean Milburn, as always, in the 5-7 year old room, and Christy Harris and Shelly Giese in our 8-10 year old room.

 

Children’s Choir

 

 We will be singing February 5 during the 11:00 a.m. service.

 

 

Valentines Date Night

Saturday, February 11

The youth will team up with the children’s program to offer a special night out for moms and dads for Valentines Day. You can drop off your children at the church at 6:30 p.m. and pick them up no later than 11:00 p.m. The night will include food, fun, and games. Bring your sleeping bag in case you get tired.

The event is “reservation only” in order for us to get an accurate head count. A small charge of $5 per child or $10 per family will go to the youth group. The youth will be in charge of games and fun. Mike, Jenifer, and Lindy are the adult supervisors. Contact Stacy at the church or email Jenifer directly to make reservations at children@crownheightsumc.org. All reservations need to be in no later than Tuesday, February 7.

 

 Youth Ministry

by Mike Slack 

·       Our annual Super Bowl watch party will once again be at the home of the Funks on Sunday night, February 5.

·       Then we join with the Children’s ministry in sponsoring a Parents Night Out on February 11.

·       We begin our study of religions at our Sunday nights meetings with a look at Hinduism.

 Youth & Parent Meeting

Look for the designated table during the Souper Bowl lunch on February 5 after church. I would like to meet with all the youth and parents to discuss our youth program and last minute changes to our ski trip plans.

Missions

 Whiz Kids

Last week Paige Selby walked into a room of 24 kids and 28 adults but all she could see was the smile beaming across the room from Zoe, her Whiz Kid. Zoe had been waiting for Paige since she began eating her Spaghetti-Os and orange snack that Julie Armstrong had prepared for her. It wasn't long before Paige and Zoe were giving each other a hug and catching up on what had happened with each of them during the last week. At Bible story time, Zoe learned about Eli and Samuel's special relationship with God, then Greg Jorgensen took Zoe and the other Whiz Kids outside to play a game to help them remember that God calls each of us to be God's people. Later Paige and Zoe were seen engrossed in a “chapter book” that Zoe was reading. They were laughing together about parts of it and telling Janet Kingsolver how much they had read and how proud they were of the accomplishment.

Whiz Kids happens each Thursday at our church. The scene described above is seen over and over with each of the Whiz Kids and their tutors. Lives are

impacted and changed each week. The children and tutors have grown to love each other and to love reading. God is at work on the corner of 37th and Western.

Rio Bravo Mission Trip

Leaving early in the morning on the 27th of December, 26 Crown Heights members slept or chatted quietly until we reached Texas. We soon got to know each other very well. Before returning to Oklahoma City on January 1st, we had become a family with lots of shared memories. Some of those memories include learning from each other how much sand and muscle it takes to make mortar on the ground and working together to get a block to be straight and balanced. Jamie Snellings became a brick-cutting expert, quickly fitting into the team. Stanley Kitchens stepped up the work with an unbelievable array of talents from painting and sawing to throwing around bricks.

We shared homemade meals prepared by the families who would live in the homes we would build. We laughed at each other's jokes while sweating on a hot tin roof. We helped each other cut wood with power saws and bought paint brushes in a store very similar to our Home Depot, only much smaller. Jeanene Carver, overcoming illness most of the time, shared her art with neighborhood kids, helping them present their own art gallery.

We bounced in vans to the work sites on roads that hardly merit the name, even in town. We ate things that had to be explained or would normally be served at dinner, not breakfast. We laughed and covered our ears as our younger missioners became high-power business people in the most outrageous games of Monopoly ever played. We were amazed by the generosity of neighbors on New Year's Eve who brought barbeque to share at midnight. The Krone family led the construction tasks while Bruce Pitts’ leadership kept us focused on our mission ministry.

Our normal worlds were rocked when we saw people living in abject poverty laughing, loving, and living life to the fullest. Our view of what is important in life was changed forever.

We had tears in our eyes as we witnessed the blessings of the homes we had built. As the families prayed for us, and we prayed for them, and we all touched the home and prayed together, we realized that we were partners in God's great plan to unite people in love. We came home truly blessed.

Hear more about our trip on Sunday, February 5, at 9:45 a.m. in the Youth Activities Room.