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Thursday Update from OSLC

Announcements and updates about the life and ministry of OSLC

  • The May Newsletter was emailed and printed. It can be found on our website or by clicking this link: 2022 May Newsletter. Items for the June Newsletter are due May 15.

  • New Member Sunday and Luncheon - We joyfully welcomed nine people into membership on Sunday - Janis Brelsford, Toni & Mike Beatty and their kids, Abigail and Isabelle, Louise Schafer, Robert Worrell, Cass & Howard Liberman. Thank you to Council and to Parish Life for organizing the luncheon following worship.

  • Rachel’s Day - Annually on the first Sunday in May (May 1), WELCA marks Rachel’s day, remembering children in our communities and in our lives that have been lost to violence. We marked Rachel’s Day as part of worship this past Sunday. We incorporated a litany lamenting the violence and pointing us toward hope that God is working to make all things new. We thank Becki Wildenberger from House of Mercy for being with us and for talking with us about how House of Mercy is addressing the needs of families in and around Williamsburg. We also donated two large tubs of socks, underwear, blankets and other basic necessities. Thank you to WELCA for marking this day with us. And thank you, OSLC, for your generosity in giving goods and funds to House of Mercy!

  • Adult Forum - We resume Adult Forum this Sunday, May 8 at 9am. We will be discussing the book Fire By Night: Finding God in the Pages of the Old Testament by Melissa Florer-Bixler. I hope it will be a book that helps us re-connect with the Hebrew Scriptures. They are stories that we’ve been grafted into.

    This week, we’ll discuss Chapter 2: God of Neighbors. For a Hebrew Bible text to read alongside the chapter, Leviticus 19 is where Florer-Bixler builds much of her argument. Some questions to guide your reading:
    when you think of “the law” (either in the secular world or in our life of faith) what do you think of? How does the law function? On page 42, she argues that Leviticus “invites us into a discipline for being disturbed by the right things?” What do you think it means to be disturbed by the right things. What does God’s justice look like? Feel like?

  • Beginning the week of May 1, Prayer Services and Text Study will move to 7pm. Prayer services will continue in the hybrid format. Text Study will move to a hybrid format. We’ll meet in person in Classroom 4 (the very last classroom in the education wing - it has ethernet!) and on Zoom. (Text Study will NOT be broadcast to FB, YouTube, etc.)

  • Shift in Pastor’s Day Off - I will be shifting my day off from Fridays to Mondays. The change is two-fold: it gives the ability to share a day off with my partner, AND it will hopefully provide a better work/ life balance by having a quiet office day for writing sermons. As needed, I will adjust to accommodate meetings and other church events that may happen on Mondays. I also fully recognize that it will take some time to be fully switched over, so I will honor commitments already made for Mondays. Story Time will move to Fridays at 10:30am. Please contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns.

  • NEW on our Website: OSLC shop! To help keep costs low, we have chosen NOT to make a profit off of these items. This is not a fundraiser for us. It is just a way for us to show our pride in OSLC and to be more visible in and around our community. The shop is free to us, so the cost of items goes to Spreadshirt (the company hosting the site), the cost of the items, and the cost of printing. We can have an unlimited number of designs - if you have an idea, please let me know! We’ll make it happen! Follow this link to shop or to learn more: Shop | OSLC Norge (Norge, VA)

  • Coffee Hour/ Fellowship - We’re looking for folks who are willing and able to host our Coffee Hour/ Fellowship time after worship. We’re more than happy to teach hosts how to use our coffee maker - it is super easy! Hosts may choose what foods to bring - often folks will bring cheese and crackers, fruit, something sweet like cookies, or other finger foods, and juice for kids and non-coffee/tea drinkers. There is a sign-up sheet in the hallway leading into the big stage room in the hall. Please contact Janette Kline with any questions.

  • Vacation Bible School - We have not had a VBS since I started here. I’m so excited for us to try it. We are using a VBS program from ELCA World Hunger, called “Tree of Healing.” We’ll talk about faith and health and creation. All sorts of good things. We’ll be trying it in a once-per-month format following worship. We’ll begin with lunch and move into the lesson, games, crafts, etc. I will be putting together a list of needed volunteers and resources to help out with it. We need your help to make this a success! Volunteer. Invite friends/ family. Our first gathering will be on June 12 (full schedule is below).

    A few quick volunteer positions I do know we need:

    We need folks to help with lunch. We’d love to have committees sign up to host one of the lunches. It is a shorter commitment. I’m thinking simple lunches - like sandwiches or something along those lines. If you’d like to donate items or funds to purchase lunch items, please let me know!

    We will need small group leaders. I have no idea how many kids to expect. I’m guessing we’ll need at least 3 small group leaders. More specifics will come as we get sign-ups. Small group leaders ideally should commit to all four sessions. If that doesn’t work out, we’ll adjust.

    We will need folks to run the rotations (games, crafts, and simulation station). At least one person for each. You’ll be supported by the small group leaders with the kids. These do not need to be the same person each time.

    We need one adult to be a “special guest.” This person should be able to be there all four weeks. [Again, we’ll make it work, if we can’t get someone to commit to all four weeks]

This Sunday at OSLC

Worship Adjustments by CDC Level

Facility Usage Policy Adjustments by CDC Level

Upcoming Events

Sign Ups are Now Open

To sign-up to participate in VBS, fill out the form, available on our website: https://www.oslcnorge.org/vbs-sign-up. I will have paper copies available (hopefully by Sunday)!

Next Week at a Glance