OLCC,P E-Newslink
June 26, 2020
From Pastor Paul
Dear OLCC,P family and friends,
Good news!! The Session has approved our return to in-person worship beginning Sunday July 5th! We will have one worship service at 10 a.m. on that Sunday in our main parking lot under tents we have rented for summer worship. We will continue to worship outdoors through the summer with identical services at 8:30 and 10 a.m. through July and August. Session feels this outdoor setting is the safest – and the most beautiful – for returning to in-person worship given the ongoing Covid-19 situation.
This email blast contains a link to the letter which describes the guidelines we will follow to ensure as safe an experience as possible. Please note – the health screening and worship registration we will do prior to our services will require additional time as you arrive for worship! Please plan accordingly. Tables will be clearly marked and available 30 minutes before each worship service to screen and register worshippers each Sunday. Everyone will need to be screened and register before being seated for worship.
Much prayer and planning have gone into this decision. We know some will prefer to still worship from home, so we will continue to provide a recording of worship to be posted on our website and YouTube channel each week. We will continue to learn and make adjustments as we move forward. But we are excited to be able to offer this return to in person worship for our congregation!
As for this week, we continue to offer a video worship service in our ongoing summer series’ Summerin’ With Jesus. This week – Gone Fishin’ - we read the story of Jesus’ calling the first disciples in Luke 5:1-11. After a fruitless night of plying their trade as fisherman, Peter and James and John encounter Jesus as he teaches the crowds who are seeking him out. Asking Peter to “put out into the deep waters and let down your nets”, Peter at first objects but then says “If you say so, Jesus…” and heads out again. As you know, they haul in a huge catch as Jesus calls them to a journey of catching people as his disciples.
“If you say so, Jesus…” Would we put out into the deep waters in our lives to seek out people with the love and grace and forgiveness and justice and compassion and service and kindness of Jesus? We will have those opportunities over this summer, and Jesus calls us as he called those first disciples, to an adventure of faith and ministry in his name!
Blessings,
Pastor Paul
Summer 2020 Sermon Series
“Summerin’ With Jesus”
June 21: Family Reunion
June 28: Gone Fishin’
July 5: Star Gazin’
July 12: Summer Camp
July 19: Out On The Lake
July 26: In The Garden
August 2: On A Cruise
August 9: At The Hall of Fame
August 16 at Marshbank: On A Picnic
August 23 :Playing In The Rain
August 30: At The Theater
September 6: At The Beach
Pray for one another...
- Continued healing and health for: Fiona Bell, Robert Beauvais, John Brannon, Nancy Burton, Ron Carlson, Rebecca Caufield, Bud Conrad, Tom Conrad, Peter Cooper, Alan Coopland, Galen Hatcher, Irene Guymer, Harold Jacobsen, Herbert Jarvie, Jackie Johnson, Larry Lankford, Nina Linebaugh, Jim Mann, Bill Marvin, Jean Mattinen, Trudy Morse, Bill & Joyce Pitchford, Sarah Robertson Nadeau, Jack Rothley, Greg Sables, Candy Sacharski, Marion Smith, Dara Sperstad, Melanie Telford, Doris Wiegert, Morgen Wright, Robin Wright, Madie Zurkan.
Join Us for Virtual Coffee Hour on Sunday
June 28, 2020 11:30 a.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89376049302?pwd=SDU5U2xLb1BqZWdtdTNHKy9tODJhQT09
Meeting ID: 893 7604 9302
Password: 710994
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbZBCjkCas
Lakeside Coffee House
Enjoy the amazing fingestyle guitar talent of Brooks Robertson, Saturday, June 27, 7:00pm as part of the (virtual) Lakeside Coffee House. Click here to set a reminder. You won't want to miss this!
Fireworks: Rescheduled
OLCC,P Modified Office Hours Resume
Modified Office Hours began on Monday June 15th and will continue through Friday July 2nd, on a modified and experimental basis. As things begin to reopen, we want to gradually move forward with appropriate care and precautions for our staff members and you, our congregation members!
Staff will continue to work both remotely as well as in the office at times based on specific guidelines. Staff members will work on varying schedules. Please read the information below to understand the guidelines we will use over this period of time for anyone wishing to come to the office as we seek to move toward our normal patterns of life together.
The Office Hours from June 15th through July 2nd will be as follows:
Mondays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Stacey)
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Stacey)
Friday, Office Closed
Stacey will be in the office normally on Monday and Thursday to handle any business or financial matters. Other staff members will be covering other office hours as well as keeping their own office hours, some in the building and some remotely. Hopefully, many needs or questions will be able to be addressed via phone calls rather than personal visits to the Office.
However, if someone needs to make a visit to the Office in person, please note that all Visitors will be restricted to the following protocols:
- You MUST call the Office first before coming to the Office in person – if you want to come to the office in person, you will be asked on the phone: (1) Do you have any active C-19 symptoms? (2) Have you had close contact with a confirmed/probable C-19 case? And, (3) Have you recently travelled to a C-19 “Hotspot”? Any answers other than No would prevent you from visiting the Office in person at this time. We ask your patience in following this screening procedure
- If you are cleared to come to the office, you will be expected to wear a mask
- You will need to ring the doorbell at the main entrance to gain entrance once you arrive. The person answering will verify that people are wearing a facemask covering mouth and nose areas
- Someone will meet you in the area outside the main office to assist you – no visitors will be permitted in the main office area where staff are working during this period of time
We hope you will understand and abide by these protocols for your safety and the safety of our staff members. After this initial period of modified Office hours and reopening, we will assess our situation and determine future plans. We appreciate in advance your prayers and your patience as we navigate these new and uncharted paths together!
Face Mask Offer
Greetings to all. Hope you are all well and safe. To be safer we are all asked to wear non-surgical masks when in public. I have been making masks and would like to share them with you. I will be putting them on my porch for your pick up. These are made from fabrics out of my closets so the prints are what they are.
If you have a tightly woven, 100% cotton fabric that you would like to donate, there will be a bin for that. Please put your mane on it so if it isn't used, it can be returned.
Please call before you come so I can tell you if there are some available or when they will be. I will leave them on my porch.
Helene King
5255 Greer Rd.
West Bloomfield (directly across from Grectchko school}
248-520-3190
From Martha Piesko, Director of Children's Ministry
Dear OLCCP families,
The following is a prayer for you to share with your children, especially when you are making s’mores around the campfire. It is written by Presbyterian Pastor, Christine V Hides.
Enjoy your s’mores and your family time together!
Love & sunshine,
Martha
First Graham Cracker: Start by greeting God. You might say “Dear God,” “Holy God,” “Loving God,” or “Creator.” Use the name for God that helps you to pray.
Chocolate: God’s love is sweet! Thank God for all the ways you feel God’s love- the warmth of the campfire, delicious food to eat, the beauty of nature around you, and time with your family and friends. Have each person around the fire share what they are thankful for.
Marshmallow: Life can get sticky, so we ask God for help. We make mistakes. Sad and scary things happen. Ask God to help you and other people. You might ask for healing for someone who is sick, forgiveness when you have made a mistake, peace for the world or anything you need! Share what you are praying for with those around the fire.
Final Graham Cracker: End your prayer with a group “Amen!”
What have you got cooking for this summer??
OLCC, P Softball
Women's 2020 Summer Bible Study
The Secret of Contentment by William B. Barcley
Wednesdays, 10 - 11:30 a.m., July 15 - August 19
The temptation to be discontented is everywhere, especially as we've recently been dealing with Covid-19. We are bombarded with advertisements telling us we are incomplete and unfulfilled. And yet the seeds of discontentment are already present in our own sinful hearts.
William Barcley addresses the heart of the matter -- the discontent that lies within. Based in the writings of Jeremiah Burroughs and Thomas Watson, he presents afresh these great Puritans' meditations on contentment for a modern audience. Above all, he seeks the wisdom of Paul, who declared in Philippians that he had found the "mystery" or the "secret" of being content.
Contentment must be learned, and Barcley reveals the secret, calling us to a contentment that comes from knowing God and delighting in his sovereign goodness and fatherly care.
Join us for this six-week study as we read and discuss our need for contentment. Of course, appropriate safety precautions will be taken for your safety.
Please contact Bonnie Horner, 248-880-2327 or bnnhrn@yahoo.com to sign up.
New Wilmington Mission Virtual Conference, July 17-19
The New Wilmington Mission Conference, an intergenerational Presbyterian mission conference that has been meeting in western Pennsylvania for 115 years, will take place July 17-19 this year. Since we are unable to gather in person, the conference will be held online. The mission team encourages you to explore the website, register, and take advantage of this opportunity to attend without leaving home!
Yes, you will miss eating lunch with career missionaries who tell amazing stories, the in-person fellowship, singing together under the stars, and the ice cream -- all highlights of the week -- still, you will be able to get a feeling for what this conference is about and why people return year after year.
Registration is free this year! Visit the website at www.nwmcmission.org to learn more and to register. Questions? Contact Betsy Telford (starryskys@comcast.net) or Sandra Crane.
Christmas in July - Toy Drive for Big Family Michigan
DROP-OFF DAY is Saturday, July 18th at OLCC,P east parking lot at OLCC,P from 11am - 2pm.
Big Family Michigan is an agency that supports thousands of foster children, especially those being raised by grandparents, throughout Michigan by providing school supplies, birthday bags and Christmas presents. Due to COVID 19, Big Family's many fundraisers have been cancelled. So, they are conducting a Christmas in July Toy Drive to collect NEW, UNWRAPPED toys, gifts, gift cards and monetary donations while our state is open. They are looking for gifts and toys for boys and girls ages 1-18 yrs. Please consider adding a few toys in your cart over the next few weeks to help a foster child have a merry Christmas! Then drop off at church parking lot on July 18th. For questions call Cindy Yessian at 248-360-9485
OLCCP History book now on website
Good news! Thanks to the dedicated typing of Nancy Rataczak and the photo scanning of Jim Horner, we now have a digital copy of the book, "The Story of Orchard Lake Community Church Presbyterian". This book was produced in 1958 and includes a wonderful history of the church going back to "Indian Days". Nancy and Jim completed their part of this project diligently, and it is my shame that I must admit it has taken me more than A YEAR! to add this to the website. Gordy Steele deserves credit too, He helped Jim find all the hard-copy photos in the archive room so Jim could scan them.
You can read it and see the photos here:
An Armenian Trilogy
An Armenian Trilogy, a documentary currently airing on Amazon Prime, was written and composed by Dan Yessian. It is history, heritage and love of family combined with a personal achievement of using music to communicate. Dan and wife, Kathy worshiped at OLCC,P for several years and brother, Mark and wife Cindy still do.
Mid-Michigan Flood Relief
Important Message from Forgotten Harvest
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up for the pop-up pantries. We have added 5 more sites; 4 in Detroit and 1 in Romeo. We are looking for volunteers to help collect information, direct traffic, and place boxes and groceries into car trunks. Please CLICK HERE to sign up.
The safety and well-being of our community, staff and volunteers are important to Forgotten Harvest. We are monitoring the situation and taking our lead from the Michigan Public Health Department and the CDC. Forgotten Harvest can provide PPE, which will include; gloves, face masks and optional face shields.
We are asking any person considering volunteering to please practice necessary safety precautions:
If this describes you, we are unable to have you as a volunteer:
- If you think you are sick, please DO NOT VOLUNTEER.
- If you have been knowingly exposed to or have been a caregiver for someone that has been diagnosed to COVID 19.
- If you have returned from foreign travel, cruises or traveling from out of state, we ask that you refrain from volunteering for at least 14 days while you monitor your health. This is in accordance with CDC recommendations.
- Groups more vulnerable to a dire outcome if they contract the virus include people 60 years of age or older and those with certain health conditions. We discourage these groups to not volunteer and, therefore, avoid exposure to the virus.
- If you are under the age of 18 years of age.
It is important to stay informed as these types of situations can be dynamic. If a volunteer opportunity is not appropriate for you and if you are interested in other ways that you can help, the latest information will be on our COVID-19 response page. https://www.forgottenharvest.org/COVID19/
As always, thank you for all you do to support our mission!
Nicole Peeples, Volunteer Manager npeeples@forgottenharvest.org
OLCC, P Calendar
Our calendar is available to browse live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at OLCC,P Calendar. You can browse all events coming up. You can also subscribe to the calendar on the same page.
Contact Us
Rev. Dr. Paul H. Thwaite (Sr. Pastor): paul@olccp.com
Rev. Linda Cochran (Temp. Supply Assoc. Pastor) linda@olccp.com
Margaret Bell (Organist): mtbellmusic@gmail.com
Stacey Cheff (Business Administrator): stacey@olccp.com
Emily Grakul (Faith Community Nurse): egrakul@yahoo.com
Martha Piesko (Director of Children’s Ministries) martha@olccp.com
Bruce Snyder (Director of Music Ministries): bruce@olccp.com
Jennifer Taub (Office Administrator): jennifer@olccp.com
Doug Wilson (Sexton)
Email: info@olccp.com
Website: www.olccp.com
Location: 5171 Commerce Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, USA
Phone: 248-682-0730
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLCCP/