OCU SERVES | SUMMER OKUMC EVENTS AT OCU
YOUTH FORCE OKC
This summer YouthForce OKC returned to Oklahoma City University! YouthForce is a ministry of the United Methodist Church specifically focused on youth spending a week immersed in mission to their community.
In July, OCU welcomed 28 youth and adults from across Oklahoma as they served partner ministries of the Oklahoma United Methodist Church. These ministries included Skyline Urban Ministry, The Ceili Community, Neighborhood Services Organization, Exodus House, and Wesley OKC UMC. The youth spent time getting back to the roots of their call as Christians, serving with humble hearts, loving mercy, and acting with the justice of God. All of the youth and adults left with a renewed sense of appreciation for serving their neighbors.
The youth were especially excited to have a true college experience by sharing a meal in the cafeteria on campus, spending the nights in Walker Hall, and worshipping in the sanctuary of the chapel.
MISSION U
Mission U is a 3-day immersive mission experience by the United Women in Faith that focuses on motivating, informing, and enriching their commitment to global ministries. This summer, OCU welcomed 69 children, youth, and adults to our campus to be in a faithful community together as they engaged in transformative educational experiences about the importance of missions. Together, they became the hands and feet of God, living out the good news that is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry to the world. Those in attendance at this year’s session of Mission U engaged with a community-based curriculum that focused on the stories throughout Luke 13. This year’s “Living the Kin-dom” theme rang true as each person who attended Mission U took all they learned and served our neighbors around the OKC metro.
OKCONNECTING
Are you curious about how to choose the right college and how to pay for it? Are you interested in learning more about specific scholarships you could qualify for based on your major, being a first-generation college student, or your individuality? Find the answers to all these questions and more at OKConnecting on Friday, Sept. 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event is for 9th-12th graders from OKC and surrounding areas.
_______________________________________________
OCU LEADERS REPRESENTED AT OKUMC CAMPS
OCU had outstanding representation at OKUMC Camps this summer. Faculty and staff from the Offices of Religious Life and Admissions either attend and serve as an adult leader or attend for a day to present information on OCU. Having OCU representation at camps, whether from staff and faculty or alumni, is a significant way for the university community to meet potential OCU students, while also getting to know incoming students and sharing with United Methodist students all that OCU has to offer. It is so helpful when our staff and faculty already have a relationship with incoming students.
This summer OCU was represented at CLUE Camp, Cross Point Youth Camp, Joy Camp, LEAD Camp, and Camp Spark.
_______________________________________________
STAR STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: ALEX PORTER
Alex Porter is an incoming Youth Ministry and Religious Education major from Shawnee, Oklahoma. Growing up in the United Methodist Church, he was coming to OCU throughout his life. OCU has always felt like home to Alex, and it was a natural choice when looking at colleges. Alex will be a member of the Cross Country/Track team.
Alex has several fond memories serving his local community, but his favorite was working on a service project with his youth group. He said, “We would always be joking around and having a good time. And doing that is great because it can lighten the mood for the people you’re helping as well.”
When asked what Alex looks forward to the most while attending OCU, he said: “I look forward to making new friendships that will last a lifetime. I feel like college is the place to do that, and I can’t wait to meet many like-minded individuals that are just as passionate about Christ and their goals in life as I am."
_______________________________________________
STAR EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: KC CURRY
Join us in welcoming KC Curry as the new Assistant Director of Religious Life! KC began her journey with Christ at Owasso FUMC. She felt a call to ministry when she was a part of the youth group in Owasso and set her eyes on Oklahoma City University. KC graduated from the Wimberly School of Religion with a bachelor's in religious education in 2020. While in school, she was a part of student groups such as the Wesley Center and Student Government Association. She worked part-time at the Oklahoma Annual Conference office as an intern for the Office of Mission and as a youth intern at Edmond First UMC. KC now attends Wesley United Methodist Church in OKC and is the SPRC chair and a candidate for ministry through that church.
KC shared that she is excited to be back in the OCU community and to be doing ministry with the students on campus. Welcome home, KC!
_______________________________________________
YOU'RE INVITED | UNIVERSITY WORSHIP
Join us for our first University Worship celebration of the year tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 24th!
A free lunch, provided by Wesley United Methodist Church, will be available in Watson Lounge (lower level of the Chapel) at noon, and University Worship will begin at 1 p.m. in the sanctuary of the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel on campus.
We will be incredibly blessed by the musical talents and offerings of the Freshman Matriculation Choir, Nicholas Hatt on violin, Emily Duncan on harp, Melissa Plamann on organ, and Jan McDaniel on piano. Rev. Aly Shahan will preach on Matthew 16:13-20 challenging us with the question, "Who do you say that Jesus is?"
University Worship is held every Thursday at 1 p.m. in the sanctuary of the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel. With liturgical components, this service includes community partnerships, exceptional music, and dynamic guest preaching. We hope to see you during this sacred time of community and worship at some point during the academic year.
_______________________________________________
SAVE THE DATE - WILLSON LECTURE, OCT. 26
This year, the Wimberly School of Religion’s Willson Lectures and the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Poetry Series are teaming up to bring the Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama.
Ó Tuama’s work centers around themes of language, power, conflict, and religion. Working fluently on the page and with groups of people, he is a skilled speaker, teacher and group worker. His work has won acclaim in circles of poetry, politics, religion, psychotherapy and conflict analysis. Ó Tuama's podcast, Poetry Unbound with On Being Studios takes a deep dive into a single poem. With six million downloads in its first three seasons, the podcast is a powerful example of the appetite for poetry in dispersed and diverse populations.
Ó Tuama will be on campus Oct. 26 to speak in the Chapel at 1 p.m., followed by a public poetry reading, Q&A, and book signing, in Kerr McGee Auditorium at 7 p.m. Full Circle will be selling his books on-site that evening.
Since 1953, OCU's Willson Lecture has brought speakers of international stature from the areas of religion, science, Christian theology and ethics, church history, biblical studies, and liturgical studies to campus.
