Please keep all those in need (within and outside our community of faith) in your prayers. I ask for special prayers for the Ruling Elders of our church. Our Annual Session Retreat is on January 13. It will include a reflective time of "measuring" (that's the meaning of "ruling" in Ruling Elder) to discern where we stand as a healthy and spiritual congregation. We will have an Ordination & Installation Service on Sunday, January 21.

For ALL visitors who are interested in joining with our community of faith, there will be a Called Session Meeting following worship on Sunday, January 21, for the purpose of receiving new members!

Blessings, Rev. Todd 

p.s. Our Annual Congregational Meeting & Potluck Luncheon (reviewing the 2023 Annual Report and voting on the Pastor’s Terms of Call) will be on Sunday, January 28.

that will take people to the Donation page of our church website. Studies show how important this method of donating has become, especially for younger generations.

The code can be used for "Pledges or General Donations" to our operating budget, or for "Special Donations" which can be designated to occasional special collections taken throughout the year.

Church member Matt Gallagher presented a fascinating look into his three trips to Ukraine, as an advisor, and a journalist for Esquire magazine.

Special thanks to Betsy Guyer, moderator of our Christian Education ministry team, for organizing this special event!

Each chili was presented anonymously, votes were tabulated for favorite, and congratulations to the 1st Place winners, Norman Gainey and son Spencer Livingston-Gainey!

Rev. Freeman was invited to Vivian Zerger's Girl Scout Troop meeting (Crystal Zerger is a troop leader) to talk about how their Scout Oath and Scout Law relates to an understanding of God and Country, and how that includes the need for an Interfaith perspective.

Dr. Kim J. Childs, Director of Music

Mike Gibson, Organist

The Chancel Choir of College Hill Presbyterian Church rehearses Wednesdays at 7:00 pm in the second story choral room (next to the church office) for singing, fellowship and fun!

BELLissimo Handbell Ensemble of College Hill Presbyterian Church rehearses Wednesdays at 6:00 pm in the third floor (Sunflower Room)

If you would like to sing with the Chancel Choir, or are interested in joining our Handbell Choir, (permanent member or substitute), we always welcome new members!

Please (click name to) contact our

Director of Music, Kim Childs,

.......................

JAN 7 ~ Steven Law, Clarinet

JAN 14 ~ Be Thou My Vision - Robert Hunter

JAN 21 ~ Come Follow Me - John Leavitt

JAN 28 ~ There Is a Balm in Gilead - arr. Howard Helvey

Our First Sunday Food Collection for the Kendall Whittier Food Pantry is in need of breakfast cereal (Cheerios, Corn Flakes, or other less sweet cereals) and 1-2 lb. bags of rice.

Canned fruit and boxed cereal are immediate needs for the Food Pantry, so feel free to bring donations to the church at any time, and we will distribute.

The upcoming Day Center meal is January 27. We we will be delivering Braum’s hamburgers, slaw, oranges, okra salad and homemade cookies. If you can help bake cookies, text Caroline Johnson@ 918-629-2887.

Please note that the number of dinners has gone up this year, from 75 to 90 clients served, resulting in meal cost averages to increase from $290 to $315. Your donations are much appreciated!

Beautifully handcrafted and painted by David & Susan West, this Blessing Box is now a permanent fixture in the church's

Half of the funds that College Hill received from a $1,000 Grant from Matthew 25 Ministry PC(USA) was used for the box building materials.

Your contributions can be an ongoing lifeline to those in our community that need a hand up. Please contact Susan West for more information.

If you would like to bring flowers to decorate the sanctuary for an upcoming worship service, please sign up on the Flower Chart on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.

A meaningful way to celebrate this year's Birthday, is to donate an amount equal to your age to the Endowment Fund.

This donation is also a wonderful way to honor others such as children, grandchildren and friends and allows the church to have funds available for special projects.

1 - Paulino Allande   

   Remember the 

Our Newest Member

·        Joyce was raised in California. She began working as a dental assistant after high school, starting what would become a satisfying 37-year career. “I loved my work, my employers, and most of the patients.”

·        Raising her 3 children was both a pleasure and a challenge. Bobby lives in Colorado, and Rhonda lives in California. Janet (now deceased), became paralyzed at age 16. Joyce marvels that Janet attended college out of state, and led a happy, independent life. Clearly a mother’s patience and inspiration played a big part in Janet’s success. 

·        When Joyce married Lee in 1988, she was more than ready to help parent the 4 teenagers that came with him. A move to Tulsa followed. It was a demanding time, but Lee and Joyce laughed their way through the years of swinging hormones. The payoff: 4 loving, responsible adults.   

·        After retirement, Joyce took on one more job at the behest of Beverly Clark (a long-time friend who attends worship here weekly). Joyce became a nanny for a doctor’s 3-year-old and 5-month-old sons. Now adults, they keep in touch with Joyce.

·        An active member of St. Andrews Presbyterian for 9 years, Joyce feels especially close to pastor Ann Lamar, who led the congregation and performed the memorial service for Joyce’s daughter-in-law.

·        Joyce finds College Hill to be not that different from her former church. She appreciates our strong spirit of mission, our welcoming congregants, and the “powerful” message our pastor delivers each week. 

by Bart Ehrman, 2023

The group meets at the home of Sue Haskins. If you are interested in learning more about this fun group, please contact Sue.

The Chancel Choir presented a beautiful music program "Three Nativity Carols" by Stephen Paulus, accompanied with harp and oboe, during worship on December 10.

The BELLissimo Handbell Ringers presented wonderful and engaging music during worship on December 17.

A very special thanks to our talented and gifted Director of Music Ministry, Dr. Kim Childs!

And in gratitude for the magnificent organ music throughout Advent and Christmas from Mike Gibson!

Rev. Jack Robertson (David's father) - doing his awesome Santa Claus impression - joins us every week online in our Adult Church School Class from the Dallas area. Jack and Rev. Todd have known each other for over 25 years.

Members and friends of College Hill are to be congratulated for their response to our recent Stewardship Pledge drive to fulfill the proposed 2024 Budget. For the first time in a number of years, the Finance & Stewardship Team was able to recommend to Session the approval, which it did, of the proposed 2024 Budget to Session at its December meeting. In previous years it was necessary that we had to ask Ministry Teams to make cuts in what they had proposed, have a supplemental pledge drive, like we did last year, and/or recommend a 10-20% deficit budget. 

Pledges to date are about 98.5% of the approved 2024 Budget. This should allow us to meet all of our internal expenses and carry out all of our Mission projects. If you haven't already done so - it's not too late to make your pledge for 2024.

Christmas Eve Offering for

Outreach & Mission Ministry team 2023

The College Hill Afghan Family Support Team is selling Afghan flat bread and Bolani bread (vegetable stuffed Afghan flat bread) in the Fellowship Hall after worship.

The flat bread is $5 and the Bolani is $7. 

Proceeds from sales are designated to help the Momand Family of eight, in which the father is the sole income provider. The mother makes the bread fresh every Sunday. One hundred percent of the proceeds (and any donations) go back to this family. Please contact Jennifer Campbell at 918.277.9956 for more information.

Supporting Afghan Support Family  

With the sad departure of our own Gretchen Hrachovec, the Sakhizada Family tutoring team needs help mainly on Thursday afternoons, but secondarily on Saturday afternoons to keep their

1 and 3 year olds entertained while parents and older children learn reading, writing and arithmetic with other tutors. 

If you are willing and able to help with this, please contact Debbie Chase, dachase26@gmail.com, or Tally Ferguson at tallyferguson@gmail.com.

Volunteers can give as little as one hour a week (flexible weekday schedules) helping Kendall Whittier Elementary students gain lifelong literacy skills that will empower their learning, by following a highly effective, easy-to-use curriculum, with no prior experience needed.

Click here for more information and/or to sign up.

Joy/Concern Prayer Requests: 

Please submit your requests for prayers of joy or concern in the bowl in the Narthex.  

Prayer requests are now being shared during Sunday Worship!

Also, please reach out to Jan Swafford, Congregational Care Ministry Team Moderator, any team member, or Rev. Todd with needs and concerns.

To help us better serve and care for our College Hill Family, we would like to have two more members on our team. We work as a team to be there for members who need assistance. We also engage other members of the congregation for additional help. 

If you believe this is your spiritual calling, please let Jan Swafford, or any CC Team member, know.

Ministry Team

We are all called to minister to one another.

The purpose of our Survey is to include more members of our community of faith in sharing love and support to our College Hill Family when needed. First and foremost, the individual’s wishes, including confidentiality and privacy, are always sought and respected. Participation based on the survey, will provide a means for all of us to serve the needs of our community by offering hospital visits, meals or snacks, transportation, sending cards, phone calls, running errands, etc.  

Additional Surveys are available on the Narthex table, and you may also click the button below to download and print the form.

Completed Surveys can be placed in the bowl on the resource table in the Narthex, or given to any Congregational Care Team Member or Jan Swafford, Moderator. 

Then and Now

Hard copies of the flyer are also available on the information table in the Narthex. For questions, see Rev. Gordon Edwards, OPN Contact.