Christian institutions in America are dripping in white supremacy. Our churches and schools, our songs and sacraments, our Euro-centric theologies all bow before the idol of Whiteness.
Moral Monday National Day of Fasting and Focus
On Monday, June 8th, two weeks after the the murder of George Floyd, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is calling for a Moral Monday National Day of Fasting and Focus, which will culminate at 5:00 PM ET when we are asking people to stop where you are for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in silence in honor of the time George Floyd had the literal knee of the state on his neck.
Racism: A Letter To Our Congregation
Survey: Preparing to return to in-person church
As the State of California eases public health lock-down restrictions, OSC leadership is carefully considering when and how we might best meet our congregation's physical and spiritual needs and prepare for a return to in-person gatherings. Your feedback will help us make the best decisions together as a church.
Support A More Just And Generous Christianity Today
As you may know, every fall and spring we conduct a fund drive to keep our church going. So from now until June 14th, we are inviting you to becoming a Supporting Member of OSC. Supporting Members are those who commit to give regularly to support our mission. Why does this matter? Let me answer by telling you about just a few of our newest friends who have joined OSC this year.
Oside Kids Time Capsule Project
Dear OSC Parents,
I am sure it has been a big adjustment to have your school aged kids home. I also know that kids can feel the effects of change differently than adults; Wearing a mask, staying home from school, and in some families, not even being able to hug grandparents. This time is really difficult for all of us and likely taking an emotional toll, including our kids.
One of the teachers in our congregation, Jandy Palmer, shared a fantastic activity for kids to process their feelings called The COVID 19 Time Capsule. You will find it here. I think it is a great way to chat with your kids about their feelings. My favorite part of the project discusses community; I hope you will express that our church family loves them and is praying for them.
- Jenell Coker, Children's Director
Rising Tide Cowork Update
Prior to quarantine, we had several membership inquires for our newly renovated offices here at OSC, which is very exciting! However, in cooperation with the stay at home order, we did not feel comfortable accepting new applications for members at that time.
Now, as we look at the stages for reopening business in California, we are prepared to be allow a limited number of members to join in stage 2 of reopening.
We believe our building is large enough to provide a safe distance for members and will be providing them procedures to ensure that everyone keeps a clean and safe environment.
If you know someone who may have interest in a Rising Tide membership, we are offering 50% off with a 3 month commitment. Direct them to visit our website RisingTideOceanside.com and book a tour!
Sarah’s Hope: The Little Pantry That Could!
The Spirituality of Resilience
I received two bits of news this week that stood in sharp contrast with one another, and yet, both pointed toward a similar theme. First, I heard from two families in our congregation whose jobs have been either eliminated or dramatically cut back. I listened to the anxiety in their voices as they spoke of the uncertainty their families face in the months ahead. The prospect of losing their homes is real. Yet…
The Weakness of Our Faith, Part Two
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Dear OSC friends and family,
Again I write to express our sincere hopes and prayers that you are staying sage and healthy at home during this difficult time.
So much has changed in such a short time! We are all getting more accustomed to connecting across our phones, our laptops, and even television screens. It’s so strange for me to speak into the little camera-eye on my iPad every Sunday morning, rather than look you in the eye from the sanctuary stage.
And yet, I am so grateful for the opportunities we have to connect! Seeing your faces during Zoom and FaceTime calls brings me real joy! Seeing your comments during our Facebook live services and your communion-at-home pictures of sourdough bread, goldfish crackers, and other creative eucharist elements reminds me that despite our relative distance, we are still one body in Christ.
Consider that idea: we are one body, joined together across time and space by the Spirit of God.
Earlier this month I wrote to encourage you that despite our relative isolation, we have all been given the grace to remain connected with God despite our circumstances, despite even our doubts. Today I want to push that idea forward and share another truth with you that has been resonating deeply with me during this COVID pandemic. That truth is this:
We are most deeply connected to God when we remain faithfully connected to each other in love.
In 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 we find the Apostle Paul employing one of his favorite metaphors: The church is the body of Christ. Paul loves this metaphor because of the way it encourages us to accept one another and love one another in spite of our differences.
This, by the way, is a particular problem for the followers of Christ living in ancient Corinth. Like all human communities, the Corinthian Christians has developed classes and hierarchies for categorizing one another, and these divisions were sowing frustration, judgement, and injustices in the community.
Paul’s solution is not to organize them into neatly segregated affinity groups (that’s typically what we do in The Modern American Church). Instead, he exhorts them to embrace a wildly diverse and interdependent community, likening our differences to the different “members” of the human body.
“If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”
- v17-18
Paul goes even further, flatly claiming that this extreme value for differences extends even to those individuals we would rather hide, or set-aside, or forget, saying:
“On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect.”
- v22-23
Finally, Paul dramatically concludes this section with the proclamation that, because of this deep unity in Christ, we have the tremendous advantage of a deep solidarity in difficult times:
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”
- v26
This should sound somewhat familiar, because last week I claimed that when we suffer, God suffers within us. Here Paul is extending that same theodicy from the experience of the individual-in-Christ to the experience of the community-in-Christ.
In other words, our union with God is magnified by our union with each other particularly when that union is based on mutual love, respect, and compassion in the midst of our quibbles, annoyances, and disagreements.
And so, yet again, we find that the strength of God is made present in the midst of our weakness.
During this time of fear and uncertainty, let us not deny our differences or avoid challenging or difficult relationships. Instead, let us embrace each other, encouraging each other, and support each other as best we can, leaning on the Spirit of God to strengthen us as we do.
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Jason Coker is the Lead Pastor of the Oceanside Sanctuary.