School of Mission: New dorm at OCU becomes home base

School of Mission participants will occupy new space in July on the Oklahoma City University campus.

Dates are July 16-18 for the weekend session, and July 18-19 for the overnight event.

The Centennial Hall dormitory becomes home base for the school this year. This building opened in 2007. For decades, School of Mission operations—registration, housing, classes, and more—were centered at Walker Hall.

Dean Ann Marie Boyce of Tulsa declared, "You will love the spacious and private accommodations" in Centennial Hall. Each participant will have a private bedroom, and each bathroom will be shared by only two people.

The three adult studies and their leaders will be:

• "For the Love of God: John’s Letters." Study of these New Testament books will be facilitated by Rodney Newman, chaplain at OCU’s Angie Smith Chapel; Patricia Hoerth, spiritual director and co-owner of Turtle Rock retreat center in northern Oklahoma; Derrek Belase, pastor at Highland Park UMC in Stillwater; and Tino Espinoza, who will teach a Spanish-language class. Rev. Espinoza is pastor at OKC-Hillcrest Fuente de Vida.

• "Joy to the World: Mission in the Age of Global Christianity." This study will explore proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ in the 21st century. What are the biblical mandates for mission? Does Christ call each of us to be his evangelist? Leaders will be Jeremy Basset, director of Volunteers In Mission for Oklahoma Conference, and deaconess Nancy Van Antwerp, who ministers at Reaching Our City health center in Oklahoma City.

• "The Beauty and Courage of Sudan." Retired Oklahoma State University professor Earl Mitchell Jr. of Stillwater will present this geographic focus. The country of Sudan has been plagued with severe drought, food shortages, climate change, and wars. What are ways people of faith can embrace and affirm the Sudanese people? This class will explore the history, ethnicities, possible causes for the wars, and the way the Sudanese women are contributing to the peace process.

Youth mission

Youths will study "Embracing the World: Faith, Hope Love in Action" on the weekend only. Leader will be Lindee DeRoin, who is a Certified Lay Minister assigned to the Fairfax church and an educator at Hominy Elementary School. Short-term mission trips are often the entry point into mission for youths today, and those trips may provide cross-cultural encounters. Students will participate in hands-on mission during the weekend.

Children’s class

Also during the weekend event, children will study "Hugging the World: Faith, Hope, Love in Action," with teacher Rebekah Belase of Stillwater. She is the associate campus minister for the Wesley Foundation at Oklahoma State University.

Special delivery

The School of Mission is collecting items for UMCOR Birthing Kits: hotel-size bars of soap, latex gloves, 12-inch pieces of clean string, single-use razor blades, flannel receiving blankets (each 1 square yard in size), and clear plastic sheeting (4 mil thickness, also 1 square yard). Items must be new. These gifts will be packed into kits according to UMCOR specifications.

How to sign up

More details and registration forms are on the Oklahoma UMW website: www.gbgm-umc.org/OK-UMW.

To contact the dean: boycean@tulsaschools.org, 918-438-1622.

The School of Mission is open to all and is a cooperative effort between Oklahoma Conference United Methodist Women and the Mission & Service Ministry Team.