OLCC,P E-Blast
January 15, 2021
From the Desk of Pastor Linda
Greetings Friends,
How are you? Are you doing well? As a church community your friends in Christ are concerned how each of us are faring? We know that for many of us “the struggle is real” as they say. We know some of us are not able to or find it best to not get out in the much at this point. We know there have been lose of loved ones or at least lose of being with loved ones. So, I sincerely ask, “How are you?
If you are able, I challenge each of you who read this news letter to drop me an email or give me a call! If not me, call someone else on the staff or email them! Perhaps, we can put together all the responses and share those in an up-coming E-blast! Let’s find a way to check in on each other and see if we can assist one another during these difficult times?
We also will have a chance to check-in with each other on January 24th at our Annual Congregational Meeting! The information to join in our “Zoom Meeting” is found below! We have much to talk about and be excited about as we begin our adventure into 2021!
This Sunday we continue with Week 2 of our Sermon series on Courage! The focus this week is on Philippians 1 and the courage to give and receive Gods grace! Join us!
Peace,
Pastor Linda
Annual Meeting
Notice is hereby given of the 2021 Annual Congregation/Corporation meeting of OLCC,P to be held on Sunday, January 24, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. The purpose of this meeting is to receive the 2020 Annual Reports including the 2021 budget approved by the Session. All members of the congregation are encouraged to attend this important meeting. Copies of the 2020 Annual Report will be available online Wednesday, January 20 and the report will also be sent out via email.
Topic: Annual Congregational Meeting 2021
Time: Jan 24, 2021 11:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82185456190
Meeting ID: 821 8545 6190
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Meeting ID: 821 8545 6190
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcvlAc0jem
Our New Interim Pastor
After an intensive search process, Session is pleased to announce we have hired a new Interim Head Pastor. Rev. Dr. Judi McMillan will be starting as our Head Pastor on Monday, January 25, 2021. Pastor Linda will continue as Interim Associate Pastor and will be leading our staff until Rev. Judi arrives. As you may know, we will soon be embarking on a journey of self-evaluation and charting the course for the future leadership of OLCC,P. Rev. Judi's extensive experience as a Head Pastor and Interim Head Pastor with multiple congregations in the Detroit area will be a great asset as we navigate this process.
Rev. Dr. McMillan was ordained in 1998 after completing her Master of Divinity at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Most recently she earned her Doctor of Ministry at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2018. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from James Madison University. Rev. Judi comes to us from New Life Presbyterian Church in Sterling Heights where she has been the Head Pastor since 2019. Prior to that she held Interim Pastor positions at St. Thomas Community Presbyterian Church in Shelby Twp. and First Presbyterian in Howell. For eight years she led First Presbyterian in Troy as their Pastor.
Judi lives in Troy across from the new dog park. Her daughter and son graduated from Troy High. McKayla is now a Junior at Western and Caleb is working in Kalamazoo. Judi’s parents and grandma live near Little Rock and she loves to visit and work in their wood shop on vacation. Most recently, she and her Dad made a keepsake box and last summer Judi and McKayla made cutting boards. She enjoys photography, drawing, hiking and is an avid cyclist. If you know of some excellent trails, please let her know. She is thrilled to be joining us to engage in God’s work together. Please join us in welcoming Rev. Judi to the OLCC,P family
Video Worship
Each Sunday we will be recording the service to post on our YouTube channel in time for Sunday morning worship in the comfort of your own homes. Due to the current COVID-19 conditions we anticipate doing this for the foreseeable future, as disappointing as that is for all of us. You can access the video services via our website, www.olccp.com, and clicking on the Video worship box, or by going directly to YouTube and entering our church name in the search box. We will continue to assess conditions and various health and government guidelines as the weeks go by.
In Our Prayers
- Continued healing and health for: Fiona Bell, Alexander Bogaerts, Carol Brooks, Nancy Burton, Ron Carlson, Rebecca Caufield, Bud Conrad, Tom Conrad, Peter Cooper, Alan Coopland, Joan Coss, Irene Guymer, Herbert Jarvie, Jackie Johnson, Larry Lankford, Fred Laskos, Gordon Lyon, Bill Marvin, Jean Mattinen, Trudy Morse, Dick Mudge, Joyce Pitchford, Sarah Robertson Nadeau, Sally Russell, Greg Sables, Don Schimmel, Kay Schimmel, Dara Sperstad, Mark Stone, Pam Sturgeon, Charlie VanSwearingen, Linda Vermeulen, Doris Wiegert, Morgen Wright, Madie Zurkan.
- Sympathy to the family and friends of Judy Day on her death.
Sunday's Order of Worship, January 17 and Scriptures
Stewardship 2021
Stewardship Update 2021 – Our “Overflowing Generosity” 2021 Stewardship Campaign is in progress. Please prayerfully consider how you can share in Overflowing Generosity to support and advance our ministries and activities in 2021. You can return your 2021 Faith Promise Card by mail, or go to www.olccp.com and click on the Giving tab where there is a secure link for you to make your 2021 Faith Promise online. Additional stewardship packets are available at the church office if you did not receive one. Thank you in advance for your faithful support for OLCC,P.
New Office Hours
New Office Hours: Our office will be closed on Monday and Friday's. However, the office will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with the following hours being held by each staff member:
- Pastor Linda Cochran: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and contacted outside of those hours at 586-549-8657 (Friday will be her Sabbath)
- Martha Piesko (Director of Christian Education): Tuesday and Wednesday
- Emily Grakul (Parish Nurse): Tuesday and Wednesday
- Stacey Cheff (Business Administrator): Available for business or financial questions on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and always via email.
- Jennifer Taub (Office Administrator) Working from home, is available on her cell phone number 248-854-2124, Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
- Nancy Ratajczak volunteers in the office on Thursday.
Please know your church staff is working outside the posted hours above from home. Do not hesitate to reach out if you have a need to hear our awesome voices! We all care deeply for the ministry we do and for each of you!
As before, with continuing COVID-19 concerns, we ask that you only come to the office personally if absolutely necessary, follow the health screening protocols, and that you call first to make sure someone will be available to help you.
Worship and Building Update
In accordance with our COVID-19 Response Plan approved by the Session calling for us to follow protocols of our County and State health officials, OLCC,P will be limiting all in person activities for the foreseeable future. Worship services will be recorded and made available on Sunday mornings for the duration of this time as well. We will reassess all these plans as conditions warrant.
2021 Offering Envelopes Ready for Pickup
Monthly offering envelopes for 2021 are available in the church entrance lobby for pickup. The office will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for anyone able to pick up their envelopes and help save on mailing costs.
Per Capita
Per capita is a fundamental way in which all Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations support the work of the wider Church.
Each year it costs OLCC,P over $30 for each member. When the full amount is not covered by the congregation, the money comes out of our Mission Budget. If all of the members of OLCC,P would prayerfully consider paying their own family’s per capita, it would allow your Mission Team to have more to give to others in need.
The 2021 Per Capita offering is $30.55 per OLCC,P member. To provide your per capita online, please visit the OLCC,P website, select the “Giving” tab, select “Donate Online” found on the top right side of the page, and follow the instructions.
(If you use offering envelopes, a Per Capita envelope is included.)
Family Mission Activity Bags
Family Mission Activity bags will be available in a box outside the doors of the church, effective January 21. These bags include fun, kid-friendly activities, supplies and instructions to share joy and spread hope to others this winter in active ways. These bags will be available through the end of January. You can be the light of Jesus by sharing homemade cards, sending "thinking of you" notes with cocoa packets or a candy cane hear craft, or shoveling someone's sow or building them a snowman... just a few ways we shoe others they matter.
Thursday Bible Study Classes 9:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Who were the disciples/ apostles? How did they respond to Jesus commandments? And in what type of environment did they start the Churches of Christ and what can we learn from them daily in our lives and can emulate. Next week is Andrew on January 14, and the next few weeks are: James, son of Zebedee on January 21, Thomas on January 28, Matthew on February 4 and Nathanael/Bartholomew on February 11.
E-mail John Vermeulen for the ZOOM link for the class, fc12oneton@gmail.com.
Courageous- Sermon Series
Our world often tells us that being courageous is about strength, bravery, and heroic acts.
As we move into a new year we will explore what courage looks like in the New Testament and expand our understanding of courage. Together, we will learn how courage can help us raise other people up, transform our communities, and face new and challenging situations. Certainly this is a great tool for the world we are living in today!
January 10, Week 1: Courage to be Vulnerable | Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus shows us that there is courage in being vulnerable and calls us to follow his example.
January 17, Week 2: Courage to be Gracious | Scripture: Philippians 1:2-12
In hard situations, God’s grace can give us courage. As we allow God’s grace to shape us,
we can become courageous enough to give others grace too.
January 24. Week 3: Courage to be Last | Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5
Sometimes, we are courageous for our own sake and to achieve our own comfort.
But how can we be courageous for the sake of others and their wellbeing?
January 31, Week 4: Courage to be First | Scripture: Philippians 3:10-16
It takes courage to take the first step forward to face evil, to dare to be extraordinary for God.
E-mail address update
Please make these changes in your e-mail address books.
Diana Tyrrell is now diana.tyrrell22@gmail.com.
The Annex is Coming
We are pleased to announce that we have expanded our Little Free Library! While most of the time our Little Free Library holds books for people of all ages to enjoy, this year it has seen additional responsibilities. We have placed Advent devotional and class materials and have used it as a means of "contactless" distribution. We have also seen others use their Little Free Libraries for food distribution and other things in this time of COVID-19. So we have made an addition to our Library in recognition that it too can play an expanded role in the life of our church family. Special thanks to Christy Forhan for painting the new Annex to match the Library and for Ron Verduin for mounting it. If you stop by the church, it is located right outside the main entrance way. Come see what it might hold for you!
Chancel Flowers for 2021
You can sign up for flower dedications in honor or memory or loved ones. You can sign up online by clicking here.
Open Door Donations
Open Door continues to serve the needs of our community during these times. We will have the collection bins by the tents on Sunday mornings for your donations to help serve others. Items recommended include: Cereal, Peanut Butter / Jelly, toiletries, canned chicken / tuna, pasta sauce and noodles, soups, and the ever popular mac n’ cheese! Thank you in advance for your support!
Online Resources from The Upper Room
Resources for Spiritual Wellness in Anxious Times. For navigating the pandemic, this link makes available to you a robust list of timely practices—for individuals and families as well as your faith leaders. Included are digital devotionals, videos, eCourses, podcasts, etc., all of which can be accessed and distributed free of charge to everyone in your congregation.
A PDF File of the September/October issue of The Upper Room is available to our standing order churches. Because you are a paid subscriber, we want to provide this service to you since we realize many readers are currently reticent or unable to pick up their copy of the devotional guide because of the virus or closed church office. We encourage you to freely share with everyone in your congregation as a gift.
Resources for the Spiritual Work of Overcoming Racism. For addressing the spiritual virus of racism that continues to tear our society apart, we’re compiling and adding more content each week to this list of helpful resources. Included is my blog which sets the context for the formational work of anti-racism—Reaching In, Reaching Up, Reaching Out: The Spiritual Work of Overcoming Racism.
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.
Message from Jennifer Taub, Office Admin
Dear Members of OLCC,P,
I am working from home. I am able to receive phone calls for myself from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. My cell number is 248-854-2124. You also can reach me at jennifer@olccp.com by e-mail.
Contact Us
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/