OLCC,P E-Newslink
April 17, 2020
From Pastor Paul
Dear Friends,
It’s been nearly a month now that we have been living under the “stay home, stay safe” regimen necessary due to the Covid-19 outbreak. All of us have been asked to make sacrifices and live a very different existence than we are accustomed to. I received in my email box this week a very thought-provoking letter from Dan McNerny, one of the missionaries we support with our benevolence dollars. It’s entitled “Making A Clean Sweep” and this is the link for you to be able to read this article
(click here for the article). I think you’ll find Dan’s perspective insightful and uplifting.
I also received a call regarding the desperate need for food donations to the Open Door Food Pantry in White Lake. Many of you donate at church on a regular basis, but that option has been suspended for us and many other congregations as well, leaving Open Door in a tough place. See the announcement below about how we can help out during these unusual times and meet the increased need for food support in our community.
On this Second Sunday of Easter – remember, Easter is a season and not just a single Sunday in our liturgical calendar – we pivot to a new series of messages. Once again, God’s wisdom and care for us in very evident in these unusual times – months ago we felt led to a series of messages entitled…are you ready…”Life Rebooted”! We all know when a computer gets slow or bogs down, we reboot it to get it started again. During this Easter season…and this season of soon hopefully “rebooting” some sense of normalcy in our lives…we will be looking at stories of biblical figures who had to begin again…whose lives needed to be rebooted so to speak. And we know that Jesus’ resurrection is the most profound “life reboot” the world has ever seen!
We will be looking at 1 Peter 1:3-9 in our video “virtual worship” this weekend. Look for the service link on the website (www.olccp.com) as well as an order of worship. Peter is another wonderful illustration of a life rebooted – from one who denied Jesus 3 times to the boldest witness to the risen Christ in the early church! In this wonderful passage, he lays the foundation for our hope of lives rebooted through the resurrection power of the risen Lord Jesus. How can we be open to the ways in which Jesus wants to reboot our lives in this Easter season?
Easter blessings,
Pastor Paul
Pray for one another...
Continued healing and health for: Elizabeth Belcher, Fiona Bell, Nancy Burton, Tom Conrad, Peter Cooper, Alan Coopland, Paul Hatcher, Jackie Johnson, Larry Lankford ,Nina Linebaugh, Jim Mann, Bill Marvin, Trudy Morse, Bill & Joyce Pitchford, Sarah Robertson Nadeau, Jack Rothley, Peggy Simon, Dara Sperstad, Melanie Telford, Doris Wiegert, Morgen Wright, Madie Zurkan.
• We are encouraged to pray for ...
- those who are sick and suffering;
- those who are grieving the loss of loved ones;
- medical personnel and others who work to help and heal;
- those who are subjected to racist abuse and discrimination;
- those whose livelihood is threatened by business closures;
- families learning to live, work, and learn together in close quarters;
- those who are not safe in their homes;
- those who are struggling with isolation, loneliness, or addiction;
- those separated from loved ones because of travel and immigration restrictions;
- churches seeking to discern new and faithful forms of ministry;
- and wisdom for leaders as they seek to respond to this crisis.
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
Open Door Pantry Needs
Open Door Food Pantry is in desperate need for donations as churches have suspended in-person gatherings and donations. Food donations of the items below can be dropped off at Open Door (in the shopping mall at the corner of Cooley Lake and Hospital Roads) between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Tuesday thru Friday, so when you are out shopping please consider purchasing these items to assist with the need. Monetary donations can also be offered for Open Door to purchase food through Gleaners at a reduced cost to them. Here is the list of needed items:
Pasta Noodles, dry
Chicken Noodle soup
Canned Fruit
Canned Pasta Ravioli
Spaghettios etc.
Pasta Sauce
Jelly
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
Lakeside Coffee House, April 18th
The show will be available at 7:00 p.m. on YouTube page on Saturday night.
From Pastor Linda Cochran
Dear Parents of "littles and bigs"...
This is a helpful article addressing the loss our children or youth may be facing. We continue to pray for you and your families! http://www.youthesource.com/category/doing-ministry/
Peace,
Pastor Linda
From Martha Piesko
Dear OLCC,P Families,
This week, I would like to provide you with a new way you can build faith and pray at home: making a prayer jar.
Prayer Jar
Materials Needed
Multi color Popsicle sticks or craft sticks, or white tag-board
Mason jar or other container
How To Do It
Choose your container. The containers used to hold these prayer sticks can range from simple flower pots and mason jars to highly decorated containers.
Write prayer intention on our craft sticks. To expand your child's understanding of prayer, you may want to start with four types of prayer: adoration, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. You may want to use a different color for each category of prayer:
Red = Adoration (praising God)
Blue = Petition (asking God for our own needs)
Green = Intercession (asking God for the needs of others)
Purple = Thanksgiving (thanking God for our blessings)
Place your prayer sticks inside the container and set it on the kitchen table or other common space in the home.
Using Prayer Sticks at Meals
Place the prayer jar on the kitchen table at mealtime. Before the meal, open the jar and have each person take four different colored sticks. First, give each person a chance to say a prayer of adoration. Listen to each other as you go around the table. Petition, intercession are next and finish with thanksgiving.
While spiritual practices at home should shift with each family's unique dynamic, prayer sticks are a useful tool to have in your repertoire, as they are flexible enough to incorporate into established practices,or newly planted ones.
I hope you find this to be a useful resource as you are building faith at home.
Peace be with you,
Martha Piesko
Thursday Classes
9:30 AM and 7:15 PM – Starting April 16th ONLINE!
“Minor Prophets and the least read Bible Books”.
Here is a list of the BIBLE Books we will be studying and discussing for the Spring of 2020
These are considered the MINOR Prophets:
Amos April 16, 2020
Obadiah April 23, 2020
Jonah April 30, 2020
Esther May 7. 2020
Hosea May 14, 2020
Nahum May 21, 2020
Zepheniah May 28, 2020
Click here to email John Vermeulen for a Zoom Invitation
This page has tutorials in case you have not used Zoom before or need help
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 (Dir. 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/