Nonprofit Organization US POSTAGE PAID Stillwater, OK Permit No.

280

Facts & Figures for June 3, 2012 Attendance (100 and 121)...........................221 Sunday School........111 General Fund Receipts.........$11,486.00 Capital Fund Receipts.......................$1,930.00 Loose Offering/Sunday School..$107.00 Non-Budget Funds Receipts......$1,914.72 Preliminary Facts & Figures as of April 30, 2012 YTD Budget Receipts.........$152,596.82 YTD Budget Expenses....$154,304.61 Net Receipts over Expenses....($1,707.99) Presented by Kay Smith, Treasurer, dkwsmith@suddenlink.net

The Stillwater Christian

Volume 2012 In This Issue
Announcements Care and Feeding of a Candle Children & Youth Birthdays & Anniversaries Facts & Figures 1 2 3 3 4

June 5 You may pick up a directory for your family from the church office during the week from 8-5, or on Sunday in the narthex. Please limit one per household.

New Church Directories Available!

FCC Road Crew is scheduled to clean up our mile of road on June 9th at 9am. Supplies are provided, just wear old clothes. Questions? Contact Judith Elliott

FCC Road Crew, June 9th

Central Area Churches Praying for Churches This week we are praying for: Community Christian in Ponca City

CWF wishes to honor all teachers - public school, college, pre-school, etc. to be our guests at our salad luncheon on Wednesday, June 6 at 12:00 noon in the Small Fellowship Hall. We want to say thank you to them for their service. Our program in the Lytton Lounge is at 1:00, and our speaker is a representative from MPWR (The Sheltered Workshop). All are invited to hear our guest speaker. Thank You Work Day Volunteers A very hearty thank you is expressed to the wonderful workers who performed yeoman tasks at the FCC work day on May 26. A great deal was accomplished both inside and outside, thanks to the time and effort of: Jim Baker, John Leonard, Ron Elliott, Sonny Apman, Rob Snead, Bill Arrington, Sandy and Tim Ireland, Mark and Linda Thomas, Laura Sharp, Sondra Ladd, Tracy Freeman, and Cara and Ron Beer. BLESSED ARE THE SAINTS OF PAST First Christian Church has been blessed by those who came before us providing financial support, spiritual leadership, our building, and our history. Once a month in this newsletter, we will highlight an endowment fund that provides regular income to benefit many of our ministries. Today we honor the Ola Bilyeu Endowment, a restricted endowment fund. Ola Bilyeu designated a portion of her estate as an endowment to provide the Ham-Bilyeu scholarship. It assists students pursuing higher education as a religious vocation. Over the past three years, this endowment has generated nearly $1322 for religious studies. Additionally, FCC receives periodic oil and gas lease payments from the Ola Bilyeu Estate which have funded $1500 in ministerial education expenses during the past year. Please keep the FCC managed endowment trust in mind as you make plans for your future financial gifts and asset allocations.
Join us this Sunday for Owen Caytons Message, Valued Families based on Psalm 138 and Mark 3:20-35 Traditional 9:00am Sunday School 10:10 Contemporary 11:10

CWF Luncheon Invites Educators to Luncheon June 6th

Mark Your Calendar!

June 4-9 Camp Dry Gulch June 9 CMF Breakfast FCC Road Crew June 10 FCC Life Celebrations Swim@Colvin June 17 Red Cross Blood Drive June 20-24 Global Challenge: Heifer Ranch June 21 Official Board Meeting June 30-July 8 Costa Rica Mission Trip
The Stillwater Christian is a weekly publication of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The deadline for articles each week is 1pm Monday. Tracy Freeman, Editor editor@fcc-stillwater.org Church Office Phone: 405.372.7722 Fax: 405.372.7726 Find The Stillwater Christian and more information at www.fcc-stillwater.org

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Of Stillwater, OK, Inc. 411 W. Mathews Ave. Stillwater, OK 74075-7517

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Send prayer requests and general email to office@fcc-stillwater.org

Owen Cayton, Senior Minister

The Care and Feeding of A Candle

CHILDREN & YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS

Sondra Ladd, Children/Youth Ministry Director youth@fcc-stillwater.org

pastor@fcc-stillwater.org

It is no secret that our political climate is a source of great frustration to many people. On May 24th congresss approval rating was at 14%. There are certainly a number of very difficult issues that we are confronting as a nation. Of course, this is an election year, so there is no shortage of film and sound bites of politicians and pundits alike laying blame clearly on members of the other party. It is clear that things need to change. People are crying for change. Anyone running for national office will talk about fixing Washington with cheers from their audience. The problem is that there is significant disagreement about what kind of change is needed. Further, there seems to be a lot of drawing lines in the sand on the part of, well, just about everyone involved. There is a lot of arguing and not a whole lot of listening, a lot of protecting territory and not a lot of compromise, no give and take. As a result, there seems to be a whole lot of nothing getting done and the change so desperately called for by so many of us is not happening. I may be pointing out the obvious when I say that we have decided to choose up teams and compete rather than become one team with multiple perspectives trying to tackle significant problems. This provides a negative example for us; a warning, if you will, about what happens when lines get drawn in the sand. I have spoken before about the many changes we have and are experiencing as a congregation, and the changes that are inevitable. The caution, or the lesson we can learn from our friends there in congress, is that we need to be ready to be less tied to our own territories and more open to the work of the Spirit. This requires, as I said on Sunday, a willingness to become aware of and honest about our own desires and pulls and in some sense be able to put them aside so that the Spirit has room to work. We all, including me, have our territories when it comes to things we love, like the church, some things that are difficult to give up for something else. However, in becoming open to the movement of the Spirit, we have to believe and understand that the Spirit resides in each of us, and therefore each of us has a bit of Gods wisdom that should be listened to and respected. We need to become artists when it comes to drawing lines in the sand and do so creatively as the old poem Outwitted written by Edwin Markham directs: He drew a circle that shut me out Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in. Shalom, Pastor Owen

Dry Gulch Updates PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR OUR DRY GULCH CAMPERS, AND SPONSORS RICK AND SONDRA LADD! Check out Sondras facebook page for pictures and updates from camp. The group will return Saturday afternoon. FCC Life Celebration: June 10 Colvin Pool (6-8pm) Make sure and join us for our second Life Celebration! This week we are celebrating Family, Friends and Fun with a night swim at the Colvin Pool on Sunday, June 10th at 6-8pm. Snacks and drinks will be provided. This event is free of charge and open to all ages. JOIN US FOR A GREAT TIME! Summer Commissioning June 17th On Sunday June 17th we will be commissioning Central Christian Camp, Heifer Project Global Challenge, and Costa Rica. All participants are asked to attend a morning worship service if possible. Costa Rica Mission Meeting June 17th Costa Rica mission participants are asked to meet Sunday, June 17th during the Sunday School hour in the youth room to help pack treat packs for children. Each participant is asked to bring a bag of candy.

Happy Birthday to: 6/8 Sydney Bailey, Carolyn Baird; 6/9 John Jobe, June King, Matt Nance; 6/12 Lyle Sallee, LeAnn Sapp Happy Anniversary to: 6/9 Bill and Leona Herald; 6/10 Bill and Jane Defee, Matt and Shannon Hiner, Merl and Betty Miller; 6/11 Michael and Janet Varnum