Walking in Wisdom
 
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Walking in Wisdom

On Sunday we continued our journey through the Old Testament by reflecting on the life of Solomon.  Biblically, Solomon is described as one of the wisest people of his time, but he was not without his own shortcomings. As Gina led us in our conversation, we looked at both the strengths and weaknesses of this "OG", and aimed to learn some ways to grow in our own wisdom.   Often, we get tripped up in life situations as we look for the "right" answer when maybe we should be looking to walk down the path of wisdom.  Oak Life is fortunate to have so many amazing voices up front and a part of our church!  This Sunday we'll be engaging the subversive and provocative book of Esther, so buckle up!  As we continue to explore the various stories and characters of the Hebrew Bible, our hope is that Oak Life will keep growing and forming into a community that reflects the God of love with deep roots and wide branches.  With that in mind, we hope that wherever you're at on your journey, we'll be able to grow together. 

As always, there are lots of other things going on beyond Sundays, so be sure to read below!
Things Going on In and Through Oak Life:

ROOTS:

Community Discernment Meeting Pushed Back To June 24th:  Every few months we invite everyone from Oak Life to join our Leadership Team for a discussion about where we've been and where we're heading.  Anyone who feels any ownership of Oak Life is welcome and your voice matters!  Our next meeting will be Sunday, June 24th at the Oak Life Office at 1pm. This was originally announced for June 17th, sorry for the mix up!


Oak Life Children's Ministry input needed:  The Oak Life Leadership Team is thinking through how it can best serve families with the resources we have and we need your input!  If you are a part of Oak Life and have kids or are interested in helping to get our children's ministry started, please click here to fill out this survey.

Summer Bible Study: Thursdays at 7pm starting June 28th, we'll be doing a casual Bible Study picnic style at Lake Merritt for the Summer.  Everyone is welcome and we'll be exploring the New Testament book of 1 Timothy.  Bring a chair/blanket, a Bible, and if you want- snacks to share!  We'll be meeting in the grass near the bird sanctuary where Staten meets Bellevue Avenue. Click here for a location/map

Church by the Lake July 15th 11AM:  Since it's the World Cup this year, our awesome hosts at the New Parkway aren't able to rent the space for us on Sunday July 15th.  So instead of trying to find another venue for 1 Sunday, we thought it wold be fun to enjoy the beauty of Oakland by doing church at the Lake!  It will be picnic style, acoustic, and super fun.  Who knows, maybe this will become an annual tradition?

Prayer Team Forming: One thing we've experimented in the past with is post-service prayer.  We're currently looking to restart this idea and form a team of folks who can make themselves available to pray for anyone who might need it after our Sunday gatherings.  If you're interested in being on this team, let us know!

Volunteering at Oak Life:  Pretty much everything that happens in Oak Life is a result of folks from the community participating in making us what we are.  We're currently in need of some more volunteers in areas like music, coffee, set up, and media.  If you're rooted at Oak Life we hope you'll commit to volunteer on one of these teams at least once every other month or so.  If you'd like to volunteer or get more info email Greg: greg.oaklife@gmail.com


Life Groups: Meet at various times throughout the week. Currently our Winter/Spring season is in session but if you're looking for info on a group, email back and we'll do our best to get connected.  Also, if you'd like to start a group, let us know!

Generosity Towards Oak Life: Oak Life's roots and branches depend on the generosity of it's community members.  If you'd like to practice financial generosity towards Oak Life, which pays for our rent, staff, and ministry expenses- you can do so online through our website here.   There are options to give on a one-time, monthly or periodic basis.   If you have any questions regarding financial stuff at Oak Life you can send an email to the team: finance-team@oaklifechurch.com

Baptisms: Baptism is a beautiful way to outwardly show an inward faith in Jesus.  We're working on scheduling a baptism up at Lake Temescal soon, so if you'd like like to learn more about Baptism, just email us back!


Facebook Group:  Got a prayer request or community event you'd like to share?  Join our Facebook Group to keep the conversation going.  Also, most Sunday's we live stream part of the service!


BRANCHES- 

Third Sunday Giving Update:  Once a month we give away our entire offering to a local group or cause and it's been super encouraging to see the ways we've been able to join in good work in our community.  This month Oak Life gave $437 to pay for a booth and supplies at Oakland Pride.  If you'd like to watch a thank you from some of our third Sunday partners click here.

Project Peace Day of Service: Thanks everyone who volunteered on Saturday at Garfield Elementary.  Our next Day of Service is August 25th, mark your calendars!


Homeless Community Support: Oak Life is connected to a local camp community and we're always looking for donations to bring our friends.  Current needs include: bottle waters, clipper/bart cards, packs of socks, cold meds, and gift cards.  If you'd like to donate, just bring something in on a Sunday and we'll deliver it that week.

Social Justice Team:
We‘re steadily building momentum on our first project! (details to come) We‘ve also been developing relationships with other social-minded organizations including, OCO, LavaMae, and The Interfaith Council of Alameda. Our current focus is around how we can work toward impacting the housing crisis in our community. If you'd like more info you can contact Greg who will be helping to facilitate: greg@oaklifechurch.com



Other Stuff?  Got ideas for other ways we can serve our community?  Want to start a new group?  Interested in organizing a hike our outing? Oak Life is a community led church- so let's make it happen.  Just shoot us back an email.




That's all for now!



Grace and Peace, 


Chris Scott


Oak Life Church
www.oaklifechurch.com
Sundays 10AM at The New Parkway Theater
474 24th St, Oakland, 94612
Twitter / Instagram: @oaklifechurch
Practice Generosity to Oak Life
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Sundays 10AM at The New Parkway Theater
472 24th St. Oakland, 94612