News
We’ve learned a great deal together over the past eight weeks from scripture about the Art of Community: the priority of connecting with God’s transformational presence, how God liberates us from fear to embrace our differences, and how a community of difference empowered by the Spirit acts in genuine caring and loving ways. This is just the kind of community we hope to build at The Oceanside Sanctuary!
On May 2nd, national news media reported a leaked document indicating the Supreme Court of the United States would likely overturn Roe v. Wade. The next Sunday, we announced to the congregation that women at OSC would lead our church through this discussion. On June 24th this leak proved to be true.
There is so much going on I need to share with you! But I don’t want us to miss the spirit of what is happening in our congregation right now, so stick with me. In my sermon last Sunday I argued that Christ’s ascension in Acts Chapter 1 was necessary. Jesus knew that if he remained, his followers would never grow up and learn to be empowered, themselves, by the Spirit of God. Specifically, he said…
Today I have an important and urgent request! One of our OSC families has been matched with a refugee family from Kyiv, Ukraine. They have committed to providing them with a home for the next six months. This young Ukrainian family (husband, wife, and toddler) came to the U.S. with just a suitcase and a stroller. They have received clothing and personal care products already
Easter weekend at OSC was special in more ways than one. It was our first ever hybrid (both online & in-person) Easter gathering, and our first in-person Easter service since 2019! Altogether we estimate roughly 200 people (94 in person & 102 online) worshipped together from at least 4 counties — San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Ventura Counties.
We are excited to return to in-person worship gatherings this Sunday, Feb 13th at 11 AM. As we suspected, Omicron cases are dropping as quickly as they rose. This week, new COVID cases in the country were down to 200,000 from the high of over 1 million just a few weeks ago. As we suspected, that puts us back down to the levels of the third week of December.
I hope your Christmas and New Year holidays were blessed and that you were able to connect with friends, family, and find rest. Even through were are not gathering in person due to the latest COVID surge, there are lots of opportunities for you to connect with others at OSC, worship together, and explore how to lean into our spiritual community together. Check out the opportunities below and get signed up for something today!
