Dear OSC Family,
Whenever the Santa Ana's begin to blow, I find myself thinking about the winds of change and the movement of life. I can't believe we are already at the beginning of November and moving into our holiday season with Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas upon us. We hope you are enjoying our new series on “Rejecting Burnout Culture” and finding space to rest in this upcoming busy season. If you have missed a Sunday, you can watch the recordings here.
As we move into Thanksgiving and Advent, we look forward to serving food-insecure seniors with a hot meal, hosting a family night of music and advent crafts, and holding our annual Christmas Eve candlelight service. Keep an eye on the calendar for more information.
Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year, and to practice what we preach and not add to the burnout culture, we have decided to forgo the morning service and hold our Sunday Christmas Eve service at 4:30 PM. Our candlelight service is a great way to kick off your evening with music, a homily, and a reminder of the light of Christ coming into the world. We hope you can bring your family and friends and join us.
Finally, many of you have asked where we are in the asylum-seeker crisis in Oceanside. For 45 days, OSC worked with other agencies to help around 1400 migrants make their way to family and friends in the States. OSC hosted up to 17 people per night with an ad-hoc shelter in the basement, provided hot meals, and gave essential love and kindness. We also worked behind the scenes to meet with the governor's staff, city council members, the mayor, and heads of larger NGOs to share our experience and push for just treatment of our brothers and sisters. Many of you posted comments to ask the county to grant funds towards this goal and were met with the successful distribution of $3 million in funds to South Bay Community Services (SBCS) in South County to take over case management. We didn't stop there and worked with their COO to provide a day center while they were working out transportation from the Oceanside Transit Center to South SD County. As of Tuesday, Border Protection is working with SBCS to allow pickups straight from the detention facility, and I am happy to report that, for now, there will be no more street releases.
This past Monday, we hosted city leaders, community volunteers, and non-profit workers who helped with this effort to come together for a night of reflection. It was incredibly powerful. Several who came told me that they no longer believed in the "church," but coming in contact with our congregation and our giving heart has made them wonder if a relationship with God is worth exploring again. Our involvement was not just a message of love to the migrants making their way to a new life but to the North County community, who witnessed the love and kindness of a church willing to roll up their sleeves alongside them to make a better community. I was struck by the idea that it is not that people are leaving the church but that the church is often leaving the people. As our mission calls us, we will continue to keep people in mind and love the marginalized among us and, in turn, signal to others the goodness of God. We will keep an eye on this ever-changing situation and be ready if we are again needed to step in.
I am proud to serve alongside our beautiful congregation and look forward to celebrating a time of thanksgiving and the light of Christ with you these next several months.
Blessings,
Jenell Coker, CSD
Co-Lead Minister