First Christian Church, 402 E. Noble Ave, Guthrie, OK 73044
Memorials and Special Gifts
We would like to thank the following
individuals and families for their generous donations.
Capital Campaign
In Memory of Wayne Bennett
By Francie Krittenbrink
Larry & Nancy Stinchcomb
Boyd & Linda Rice
Jimmy & Alma Hopkins
Len & Linda Tontz
In Memory of Betty Foster
By Francie Krittenbrink
In Memory of Clayton Hembree
By Larry & Nancy Stinchcomb
Randy & Linda Cameron
Sunday Worship
364
Sunday School
133
Children-44 Youth-9 Adult-80
Communion to Shut-Ins12
Budget Receipts 2/21/16
$7,204
Amount Budgeted per week
$8,863
Amount Budgeted to date
$70,904
Budget Receipts to date
$59,971
Budget Expenses to date
$67,608
February Giving
$50,000
$45,000
$40,000
$30,000
$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0
Actual Giving
Dear Church Family,
Mom and I want to thank Amy Rogers and Ruth Underwood for visiting mother in the
hospital recently. Also, a shout out to all who have inquired about mom after church on
Youth Sunday, especially Gene Owen, Jamie Johnston and Karen Allen who were there
for her. Thank you also to those who brought food to the house, we appreciate you as
well. We love this church and the people.
Denise Shoun and Winnie Haley
Budgeted Giving
$35,000
Monthly Budgeted Giving
In Honor of Andy Anderson’s Birthday
By Sarah Anderson
The Tie That Binds (USPS 577280) is published weekly except for the last week of December by First
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to First Christian
Church, 402 East Noble Avenue, Guthrie, OK 73044
Periodical Postage Paid at Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044
402 East Noble Avenue
Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044
www.fccguthrie.org
(405) 282-4080
REV. AMY ROGERS, Senior Pastor
KAREN ALLEN, Associate Minister
We are a family of faith
sharing God’s love by
reaching out, touching lives
and building relationships.
February 24, 2016
Volume 52, No. 7
Week 26: Forty Stories
Luke 15:11-32
“The Prodigal”
prod·i·gal [ˈprädəɡəl]
adjective:
•spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant:
"prodigal habits die hard“ synonyms: wasteful · extravagant ·
Of all of the Bible stories I know and love, I would have to say that this one “hits the jugular.” Each time I read
it, I find that I identify with a different character in the story. Sometimes I am the father, worrying about one of
my children. At other times I identify with the prodigal, still wasting my gifts and talents looking for a false sense
of satisfaction in life. Then there are days when I am the older sibling, wanting to make sure I am getting my fair
share. The changing events of our lives seem to influence how we feel about this powerful story.
Please take the time this week to read the story before you come to worship. As you read, I would ask to
reflect on the following questions:
Ministry Opportunities for the week
With which character in the story do you most identify and why?
TUESDAY, February 23
What feelings does this story stir in you?
8:30 a.m. – Mother’s Day Out
Does the situation look different when you view it through the
father’s eyes? How about each of the sons?
4 p.m. – All Staff Meeting
When, in your life, have you “run away from home? Seeking 7 p.m. – Building Planning Team Meeting
fulfillment in places that don’t satisfy?
WEDNESDAY, February 24
What has brought you back to God?
11:30 a.m. – Lenten Lunch @ Community
Thank you for your faithful participation in Sunday School and Church
Worship! These stories are changing our lives, and God isn’t finished 3:45 p.m. – Kidventure “Survivor Camp!”
with us yet!
7 p.m. – Choir
Pastor Amy
THURSDAY, February 25
We Welcome our Newest Member 8:30 a.m. – Mother’s Day Out
We extend a hearty FCC welcome to Nic 6:30 p.m. – MDO Safe Sleep Class
Gilliland who came forward in the 8:30 7 p.m. – Capital Campaign Committee Mtg.
service on Feb. 21 to become a part of our
7 p.m. – “Lament as Worship” Class
church family. Nic is the father of Kaylee
Gilliland, and is the son of Marybeth SUNDAY, February 28
Gilliand. Nic owns his own landscaping 8:30 a.m. – Celebration Service
9:30 a.m. – Sunday School for all ages
business.
Please update your church directory 10:30 a.m. –Worship Service
with the following information:
Noon – Worship Team Meeting
Address: 1900 S. Douglas Blvd. Guthrie; 6 p.m. – Youth
Phone: 388-3070
Our love and sympathy go to: the
family of Cabryn Kyle. Preparing
for Surgery: Denise Shoun. We
pray for our church family: Diane
Biggs, Charlie Evans, Dorothy
Herbert, Bill Webb, Lloyd and
Velma Cox, Gaylee McCoy, Helen
McNeil, Kay Wade, Mike Carey,
Kathy Warner and Carol Allen. Our
Home and Facility Bound: Norma
Duncan, Janie Andrews, Ada Dilley,
Betty Abell, Bob Stanbrough,
Myrna Laughlin, Karen Yancey,
Joan Jones and Joyce CarterEitson. We pray for our friends and
family members: Katelyn Williams,
Herbert Irby, Amanda Mayer, Calvin
Selman, Sue Amaro, Brian Vincent,
Tara Lynn, Castagna Rasmussen,
Jack Brown, Brad Vance, Erin
Meyers, Jim Bray, Emma Lou
Hardin, Sharon Williams, Cole
Gorrell, Greg Cummings, Bruce
Branson,
Julie
Widener,
Christopher Krittenbrink, Gloria
Hayes, Jacob Biggs, The Mike
Davis Family, and Marissa Rhodes.
Our Military all over the world
including: Camden Helm.
Week of Compassion
Special Offering
Feb. 28
This week the kids will all enjoy the Bounce House! This is
always a fun treat for the children. We are also so happy to
see the sun shining more and to enjoy playing outside on the
warmer days.
Reminder for the teachers: we will be having our “Safe
Sleep” class on Thursday evening at 6:30. I hope you all make
a special effort to attend.
Mrs. Michelle
Youth Group Scoop
We were treated to a delicious surprise breakfast for
Sunday School - thanks to Jana Frey!! Had a great time
reviewing the video of Youth Sunday - Thank you to John &
Karen Allen for making the copy for us!
Regular times this week - 9:30 a.m. & 6 p.m.
Winter Jam money is due... $50 (tickets are in so if you
cannot go now we must know ASAP to find a replacement)
Last Wednesday 72 kids, 3 youth, and 11 drivers
headed to Pepper's Ranch for a service
project! Special thank you to Anna Barlow at
Pepper's Ranch for coordinating the volunteer projects for our
group! It was amazing to watch how fast the kids got the projects
done when they all pulled together in service! They picked up
trash around the learning center, helped set up tables and chairs
for a dinner they were hosting the next day, organized donations,
took out trash, moved rugs, and picked up rocks out of the dirt in
the horse arena so the horses wouldn't get hurt running. I cannot
thank our Kidventure volunteers enough for transporting our huge
group!!! What a meaningful experience you each helped make
happen for the kids! This Wednesday Kidventure is all about
overcoming obstacles. We only have 3 weeks of Kidventure left, so
I hope you can join us this Wed. from 3:45-5:15 in the Fellowship
Hall! See you there!
Tyler & Amanda Shipley
Week of Compassion works through a
remarkable network of church partner
organizations and partnerships that
insures
that
our
response
to
humanitarian needs in the world is
efficient, effective and faithful. Through
these partnerships Disciples are able to
join a tapestry of caring that brings help
and hope to hurting people in every
corner of the world.
Keeping Up
With Karen
Monday mornings are usually the worst. Nobody wants to get out of bed.
Everyone is indecisive about breakfast. Finding shoes and getting teeth brushed is
like climbing Mt. Everest. Being in the car on time with both kids, backpacks,
lunchboxes and my workbag is pretty much as close to a miracle as you may ever
see before 8 a.m. on a Monday morning. Unless… you are part of our Parenting
Class. Now, don’t take this wrong – I’m not bragging and it’s only happened once
(this Monday) but I actually walked out to the car, fully loaded and both kids were in
it – waiting on ME. I was pretty sure some Hallelujah chorus was going to
spontaneously ring down from heaven to celebrate the moment.
Okay, so maybe I’m the only parent on earth that struggles with the morning
routine or just a routine in general. I’m sure most parents never use the phrase
“we’re going to be late,” “do you know what time it is?” or “can you please get your
stuff together!” I, however, seem to be a parent who has found great company in a
classroom full of parents who want to mentor their children into better behavior
without so much negative influence and more “expected behaviors” and
“understood discipline.”
The funny thing about the review of each week’s lesson is, it turns out that it’s as
much about my behavior as it is about my child’s behavior. As I have made
intentional efforts to speak more clearly, to take more action and even speak less,
my children are beginning to respond more.
I’m sure this isn’t rocket science and it’s probably so easy to see from the outside
looking in but as I’ve stepped back and evaluated these teachings from perspectives
farther reaching than just parent-child relationships it’s easy to see how we get what
we put into relationships. Just as I can always want my child to act differently and to
respond to me differently, as long as I keep giving them the same responses, it’s
doubtful I will get different responses from them. The same is true for relationships
and I would even stretch it to say in your day-to-day level of personal growth and
fulfillment.
If you find yourself feeling scattered or wanting something more concrete in life,
then the answer isn’t to keep doing the same things you are doing. You have to act
differently to get different results. It’s fair to say that I could keep telling my kids
every single day that we will be late if we don’t leave at 7:40 a.m. but until I actually
pulled the car out of the drive without them one day, did they begin to realize that I
was no longer choosing to be late.
Personally, this has been a season of challenging questions for me in asking what
should I be doing differently – with my children, with my friendships, in my work,
home and health. It’s fair to say that tackling them all at once is overwhelming but
picking one thing and doing it differently and making a positive change frees up time
to make the next positive change.
During this season of Lent, what is God calling you to DO differently and most
importantly how will you ACT on it?
God Bless, Karen
Stepping over our problems and not right on them… wouldn’t it be nice if solving all our
parenting dilemmas were that easy! We learned a lot about “Why Kid’s Misbehave” and some
funny stories about how Dr. Leman has handled some parenting woes in the grocery store, on
phone calls and in the morning rush out the door. We learned a few practical tips for parenting
and focused on using actions and not words to get the best results. We also talked about how
to help our children learn from their mistakes and how to provide balance and boundaries.
This week we will move to a new topic: Caution: Danger Ahead! This week’s topic focuses
on the scripture from James 1:19 that says “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak
and slow to become angry for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God
desires.”
Our motto in the class is: “It’s never too late to become a better parent.” We hope to have
you join us at 9:30 a.m. in the parlor. We have a video, discussion and breakfast foods.
Sunday, February 28
CANDLELIGHTERS
Jarrett McNulty and Jake Carey
CHILDREN’S MOMENT
Staci Carey
KID’S WORSHIP
Tyler and Amanda Shipley
KID’S WORSHIP HELPER
Alexis Severson
SCRIPTURE READER
Kacie Carey
JR. DIACONATE
Brendan Hanna and Jacob Friese
ELDERS
8:30 a.m. – Linda Holtz
10:30 – Philip Moseley
and Jana Frey
COMMUNION TO SHUT-INS
Jerry Ball and Linda Holtz
WORSHIP LEADER
Jana Frey
COMMUNION PREPARATION
AND CLEAN-UP
Rod and Courtney Poplin
DIACONATE
(Please wear nametags when serving)
Nick and Shana* Bench
Lindsey Mays, Charity McPeek,
Rod and Courtney Poplin,
Tammy Severson, Kara Walters,
Mike and Kelly Simpson,
Ron and Linda Wrede
* Denotes team captain
USHERS
Hank Hubbard, Bobby Davison
and Doyle Webb
GREETERS
Karen Bock, Frances Macrory,
Kathy Warner, Cindy Reynolds
BREAD MINISTRY
Sherry Canning and Carol Allen
NURSERY HELPERS
Carol Doles, Kegan Payne and Addie Gill
SOUND
John Allen
VIDEO
Darl Doles
VIDEO DELIVERY
Sharon Johnston
SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION
IS UNDERWAY!
Registration can be done online at
www.okdisciples.org/connect/families-and-youth/
Join us in the Sanctuary for
FCC MOVIE NIGHT!
Friday
March 4
@ 6:30 p.m.
*Childcare will be available.
*Lenten Lunches begin at 11:30 a.m.
Feb. 24 – Lenten Lunch– Community Church
Speaker – Greg Gibson-Bailey (Pastor/Chaplain)
Feb. 25 – Lament as Worship Reflection Group @ 7 p.m.
Mar. 2 – Lenten Lunch– Noble Ave. Baptist Church
Speaker – Robert Rose (First United Methodist)
Mar. 3 – Lament as Worship Reflection Group @ 7 p.m.
Mar. 9 – Lenten Lunch– First United Methodist Church
Speaker – James Hunt (First Southern Baptist)
Mar. 10 – Lament as Worship Reflection Group @ 7 p.m.
Mar. 16 – Lenten Lunch– First Southern Baptist Church
Speaker – Don Riepe (Guthrie Christian)
Camps are held based on the grade your child
has completed at the end of this school year and
are scheduled as follows:
• Discovery Camp (grades 2 and 3) – June 1719. Cost: $168 (Guthrie)
• Junior Camp (grades 4 and 5) – June 20-24.
Cost: $304 (Guthrie)
• Chi Rho Camp (grades 6-8) – June 27-July 1.
Cost: $330 (Anadarko)
• CYF Conference Camp (grades 9-12) – June
27-July 1. Cost: $304
(Guthrie)
• Mission Camp (grades 6-12) – July 16-20.
Cost: $250 (hosted by our church and students
stay in a hotel.)
The church will be paying $100 toward one
camp for each child who is active in our church.
Deadline for registration is April 16. Once you
register online you will receive a confirmation
email with a health form attached that MUST be
filled out and turned into the church office with
your payment. We will need all forms and
payments by April 15.
Tickets Still
Available!
Faith Night – March 14, 2016
@ 7 p.m.
Tickets - $15 each (no shirt)
Mar. 20 – Palm Sunday Processional @ 9:30 a.m.
Mar. 24 – Maundy Thursday Service @ 6:30 p.m.
Mar. 25 - 24-hour Prayer Vigil - 6 p.m.
thru Mar. 26 @ 6 p.m.
Mar. 27 – Easter Sunday – Worship Services
@ 8:30 & 10:30 a.m.
They were all filled with awe and
praised God… God has come to
help his people.
-Luke 7:16
This event will take our church body working
together to make it into the event worthy of First
Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, Guthrie!
Each month we will be asking for donations of
items we will need to collect before July. Watch
this spot to see how you can help. Thank you
for helping us be the hands and feet of Jesus!
We made a request during Youth Sunday
for donations of work gloves and within 2
DAYS we received a donation of over 200
gloves!! Thank you for the generous
donation!! For more information contact Jeff
Ball, Staci Carey or Jessica Eaves.
Maundy Thursday
Service
Join us the evening of
March 24 at 6:30 for a
unique and special worship
opportunity.
We
will
experience a labyrinth walk
featuring an opportunity to
be guided in a time of
prayer as well as various
stations that will allow you
to prepare for Resurrection
Sunday.
Bluejay/FCC shirts
are still available for
$10 & 2xl/3xl for $12
Mar. 23 – Lenten Lunch– First Christian Church
Speaker – Hersey Hammons (First Baptist
@ Broad & Springer)
Mar. 25 – Community Labyrinth Walk in
Reception Hall from 9a.m. – 3 p.m.
Hosted by
FCC,
Guthrie
Baby Dedication
We had two families participate in the Baby
Dedication on Sunday. Andrew and Natalie Hardin
with their 3 children: Aiden, Bailey and Callen.
Justin and Lindsay Mays with their 3 children:
Taylor, McKenzie and Andi.
24-hour Prayer Vigil
Only 10 time slots left! If you are
looking to celebrate this Easter by
connecting with God, this event is
for you. The prayer vigil is
organized around the clock and
will offer a place for participants to
reflect upon the sacrifice Christ
made for us and prepare our hearts
for the Easter celebration. The vigil
begins on Good Friday (March 25)
at 6 p.m. and ends the following
day at 6 p.m. We provide a quiet
place to pray, meditative music,
devotions and more. You can sign
up for a 30-minute time in the
Narthex or call the church office.
Easter Remembrances:
Lilies or Gifts
If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily to decorate the
sanctuary for Easter Sunday or make a gift to the
Bereavement Ministry in honor or in memory of someone,
please fill out the form below and turn it and your payment in
to the church office or place it in the offering plate by March
20. The cost is $12 each.
YOUR NAME_________________________________________
Number of Lilies __ x $12 = $____
Number of Gifts to the Bereavement Ministry __ x $12 = $____
( ) IN HONOR OF
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
( ) IN MEMORY OF
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________