Staff change & Graffiti
Happy Friday Faith! It has been an interesting and crazy week. You may not have heard but a vandal went down 91st street spraying blue paint on several structures including two churches. One of those churches was our very own. The other was Heatheridge Baptist church that is just to our west. The words painted on their brick were full of hate and pain. Our building was tagged with “Trash Act.” I am not sure what that means but it was easily covered with some primer and paint by our dear volunteer handyman, Randy. Channel 2 News came to interview both pastors of the churches that had been damaged. We did not talk to each other before the interviews, but we both spoke about the pain the attacker must have been in and how we will lead with love and grace through it. If this person was hoping for anger and outrage, they did not get the result that they had hoped. Instead both churches responded with love. This doesn’t encourage a video going viral or lots of comments on social media but it was a beautiful witness to a Christian response. It is sad to think of the pain this person must be carrying to have acted out this way. I ask you to pray for them and for someone to see this pain and invite them into a loving community. You can watch the clip here.
I also need to make you aware of a staff change that will begin on October 1st. Our office manager, Patty Cogles, has decided to step away and focus on her family. As you know, Patty has a new baby girl who is only 6 months old and a four year old. Patty has also recently graduated from seminary and has papers to write for the Board of Ordained ministry. She will be assigned a mentor and begin meeting with them. Her family will not be leaving the church, she will just shift away from being on the staff. We always support focus on family. We are sad to lose Patty from the staff team but we are happy for the call on her life that leads her into ministry and her beautiful family that needs her full attention in this season. We have not posted this position yet and will be discussing how to move forward.
Lastly, I want to say thank you for the kind expressions of love that you have shown me these last few weeks. I feel like I have aged ten years, this year. I am so glad that I entered this season of personal life stress with the firm foundation of my faith to lean on and this church to have my back. I received what I have been calling an “emotional support cake”, a sweet stuffy, cards, emails, and hugs from so many of you. I give thanks for your prayers and your patience as I have been running behind and trying to catch up. In addition to my normal responsibilities, I am focused on our work day in Bixby and launching our new location. I hope that you have October 11th on your calendar! We are also gearing up for Fall Fest which is one of the most fun days of the year. Let’s find joy in every day that we have left.
God loves you and I love you,
