Cookson Hills Center:
Bishop cuts ribbon on debt-free property

Cookson Hills Center has a new ministry hub. On the front steps of Cookson Hills’ main building are, from left, Emery Mason, missionary Meri Whitaker, Bishop Hayes, Kathleen Masters of GBGM, Margaret Johnson, and Darrell Cates. Photos by...

Photo contest will catch conference action

Picture this! Your photo of an Annual Conference moment could win you an iPad Mini or other prizes. The Department of Communications is sponsoring an online contest, using the free Instagram photo app. Capture a special moment from the conference, using your smartphone or other digital camera. Enter the contest by uploading the photo to Instagram.com. You must include your name, details about the picture, and the tag...

Cokesbury shuts Oklahoma stores

Steve Stuttman helps load a shelf unit on closing day, April 13, at the Cokesbury store in Tulsa. Photo by Shari Goodwin Diane Doughty, Tulsa Cokesbury store manager, receives a shawl April 13 from Margaret Johnson, left, OIMC Northern...

Widow sees blessings in decision to move

Gwen Popejoy Bonnell enjoys her apartment at Oklahoma Methodist Manor. Special offering set for Mother’s Day On Mother’s Day, May 12, local churches will collect a special offering for Senior Living Ministries in the Oklahoma...

Cokesbury stores to close doors April 13 in Oklahoma

By Holly McCray Both Cokesbury stores in Oklahoma will close on April 13. The date was recently confirmed. Cokesbury reported in November that it would close all 57 U.S. stores. Cokesbury will focus on online and call-center sales, plus a team of customer service representatives. Cokesbury is the retail division of The United Methodist Publishing House. Two representatives will be based in the state, at Tulsa and...

Seminary names Escamilla as Distinguished Alumnus

SMU photo by Hillsman Jackson From left, Suzanne Reedstrom and Dean William Lawrence applaud Roberto Escamilla as he accepts the Distinguished Alumnus award from Perkins School of Theology. Rev. Reedstrom chairs the seminary’s alumni council. ...

'United Methodist of the Year' to speak in OKC

Lemon Lectures on Feb. 28 "Living as a Christian Today" by Adam Hamilton 1 p.m. at the OCU Chapel--Can we agree to disagree? Discussing sexuality in the church 4 p.m. at Church of the Servant--When Christians get it wrong 7 p.m. at Church of the Servant--Why? Making...

Unity amid diversity

At the 75th Anniversary Banquet of the Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry (TMM), Mouzon Biggs received a Lifetime Achievement award. From left are Rev. Dr. Biggs, senior pastor at Tulsa-Boston Avenue; Sister Sylvia Schmidt, former TMM executive director; and Rabbi Charles Sherman, who also received the Lifetime Achievement. TMM’s board chairman is Bill Crowell,...

Record-setting Bishop

For 72 consecutive years, Bishop John Wesley Hardt has attended at least one day of Ministers Week at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. He first participated as an SMU undergraduate in 1941. In 2013, theme for Ministers Week will be "Hope for a Restless Church: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Leaders"; dates are Feb. 4-6. Bishop Hardt led the Oklahoma Conference 1980-88. He is pictured with his wife, Martha,...

Lay leader: Accurate database key to communications

Special dates to update church officers Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, each church must make any changes in its church officer list, in the Conference’s online database. Go to www.okumc.org  and follow these links: Finance--Local Church Officer Update Information--Instructions for Updating Church Information. You will need your...

Cokesbury closings will affect 2 stores in Oklahoma

Wearing Santa hats, Cokesbury staff poured apple cider for guests Nov. 8 at the Oklahoma City bookstore’s holiday open house. Yet earlier that week, the United Methodist Publishing House had announced all Cokesbury stores will close by April 30. The Oklahoma workers may find their Christmas stockings empty, but they didn’t waver in their customer service. In a Nov. 5 press release, the United Methodist Publishing...

On a Mission
Conference Secretaries of Global Ministries

Conference Secretaries of Global Ministries in the South Central Jurisdiction (SCJ) meet Oct. 3 at the United Methodist Ministry Center. From left: Josephine Deere, Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC); Sarah Marsalis-Luginbill and Ann Sutton, Louisiana; Amanda Mountain and Fred Price, General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM); Camille Sutton, Kansas East; David Stephenson, Oklahoma; Governor Mays, SCJ mission interpreter; Karen Distefano,...

Retirement communities' news

Three of Oklahoma’s UM-related care centers are featured here. Clockwise: The Veterans Day program on Nov. 12 draws a crowd in the lobby at Epworth Villa, Oklahoma City. In Enid, a resident displays her cotton-candy treat during the outdoor Oktoberfest at The Commons on Oct. 19. Pre-kindergartners who attend an intergenerational program at The Commons also enjoyed the food and bouncy inflatables. In a separate event, 75 children attended the...

Stewardship stories

For the fourth time, CrossTimbers UMC in Moore is offering Financial Peace University. Pastor Chris Dodson said 80 percent of the participants are not members of the church. Such has been the case each time the free course has been offered, he explained. Also each time, new families from among those participants have joined the CrossTimbers family, he confirmed. The money management class is a ministry by...

Are you connected?

Resources for ministry are just a click away. Networking online is vital to communicate your faith story in strategic ways. Update your church officer list Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, each church must make any changes in its church officer list, in the Conference’s online database. Go to www.okumc.org  and follow these links: Finance—Local Church Officer Update Information—Instructions for...

Retirement center projects under way in 2 cities

Officials break ground on Flag Day, June 14, at Epworth Villa Retirement Community in north Oklahoma City. Among them are: District Superintendent Dan Pulver, right; Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, second from right; and John Harned, Epworth’s president, fifth from right. Epworth Villa...

SCJ volunteers work to stop hunger through mission project

By Kristin E. Van Nort After hours of voting and ministry reports July 20, South Central Jurisdiction delegates and guests traveled across Oklahoma City to UM Church of the Servant to participate in hands-on mission service. More than 200 had registered to work in "Stop Hunger Now," UM Advance Project No. 982795. They assembled and packaged 50,000 nutritious dehydrated meals to be distributed globally. ...

Bishop Hayes returning for 3rd term

  Applauding the news of Bishop Hayes' return to Oklahoma are from right: Aly Shahan, Trey Witzel, Tom Harrison, Guy Ames, and John Hiller. Back row, from right: Debra Davis, D.A. Bennett, and Cara Nicklas. Photo by Holly McCray ...

Book traces 40 years of SCJ history

By Shari Goodwin I received a call from Ted Agnew’s son, Peter, in 2007," recalled David Severe of Oklahoma City, executive director of the denomination’s South Central Jurisdiction (SCJ). "Going through Ted’s things after his death, they came across stacks of his writings. Most went to the jurisdictional archives, but one son remembered his dad saying, ‘Get this manuscript to David Severe and Bishop Hardt.’"...

Delegation's duos ready for downtown

Wade and Nikola Paschal Sharri and John Hiller By Holly McCray ...