As I was driving through Claremore to survey damage and check on my mother - because you may leave disaster relief but it never leaves you - and seeing what I could do to help, I saw streets blocked, buildings torn apart, and several powerful whooshes from broken gas lines.
On the approach to my mom’s neighborhood, in the middle of the street were two downed trees keeping people from getting out of the neighborhood. I stopped left my motor running for lights, grabbed my chainsaw and chaps - because pajama pants won’t stop a chainsaw - and proceeded to clear the road.
As I walked up, someone must have recognized me because I heard them say, and I quote, “Everything’s OK; the United Methodists are here.”
I stopped, smiled, and spent the next hour with chainsaw and headlamp, clearing the road enough for people to get out.
As I drove away, it brought tears
to my eyes that after everything the United Methodist Church has been through, people still know who we are and depend on us to get them through. I truly believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit is moving in the UMC, and I am even more excited about the future then I ever have been.
Tim McHugh is the pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Claremore. Grace UMC is hosting a disaster relief team from Hope International until Friday.
Iwas raised in a small town located in West Central Alabama known as Carrollton, Alabama. It gained notoriety in 1969 with the publishing of “Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey” by Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Fish.
In the center of the town square is a courthouse. On the north side of the building, there is a window in the attic. A man’s face is imprinted in the glass of the window. According to local historians, a condemned freedman, Henry Wells, was detained in the attic of the courthouse in 1878 for burglary and arson.
The night before he was lynched by a white mob, there was a terrific lightning storm. After his death, the citizens of Carrollton noticed the prisoner’s image peering through the glass from the attic as they passed by. Many residents were quick to declare that it was the prisoner’s spirit haunting the town, just as he declared he would do.
As a child I would often stare at
the image, wondering what the poor man felt like during that long night of waiting to meet God. Was he afraid?
Around Memorial Day, as I contemplate the certainty that all of us will someday meet God one way or another, it makes me think and pray more about what kind of life God wants me to live here on earth.
Of course, the choice is ours. God gave us that freedom of choice when he gave us the gift of free will. We can either live the life God created us to live, or we can choose to strike out on our own and try to leave God out of the equation. Either way, we ultimately will face God, because he is the one who holds life and death in the palm of his hand.
God explains in Isaiah 55: 8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.”
When I was just seven years old, I attended an evening service at Carrollton Methodist Church with my entire family. The preacher that night was a little whitehaired Methodist missionary woman serving in Korea. She shared how the children of Korea were starving for physical and spiritual food. Later that night I knelt beside my bed and prayed for those children, that God would send them food to eat and send
someone to tell them about Jesus. As I cried and prayed with all my heart, I heard God speak to me and say, “This is what I want you to do when you grow up. I want you to be a missionary for me.”
When I rose from my knees, I wrote in my little diary, “God wants me to feed children and tell them about Jesus.”
From that moment forward, when my parents or anyone else would ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I would always answer, “I want to be a missionary.”
Then the question would follow, “What’s a missionary?” I would promptly answer, “A missionary is someone who feeds hungry children and tells them about Jesus.”
The point I am trying to convey is that God has created each of us for a life that only we can live, and it’s a life for his glory and not our own. It’s a life that touches others at their point of need while at the same time seeking a closer and deeper relationship with the One True God.
Thinking back to the man staring out the courthouse window that stormy night so long ago, the clock ran out for him. No one wants to be like him. God loves each of us, and he is drawing us to seek him above all other endeavors. Returning to Isaiah 55:6, we find these words of direction: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”
In my own personal spiritual journey of ministry, I served as a United Methodist missionary under the General Board of Global Ministries for 20 years in the Red Bird Missionary
Conference and 10 years in Africa, serving in Mozambique, Angola - as Vice Dean of the Quessua School of Theology - and Zimbabwe - as a professor in the School of Theology at Africa University. I have served as a United Methodist pastor for around 24 years, including 8 years in the OIMC and five years in Oklahoma conference.
The call of God I received as a young child has always stayed with me, affirming that God has a plan for my life even now in the twilight of my ministry.
Rev. Dr. Carol Txipama is the pastor at Mooreland First United Methodist Church.
On Wednesday, May 29, the Oklahoma Conference of the UMC offered a Day of Learning focusing on reducing poverty through the Bridges Out of Poverty program. Treasure McKenzie, executive director of Muskogee Bridges, introduced the concepts to a group of clergy and laity during a sixhour training at Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University.
Each seat made available at the Day of Learning was filled, and many more wanted to be a part but could not, due to space limitations. The sought-after training was collaborative, interactive, and inspiring. Each participant also got a copy of the book “Bridges Out of Poverty” by Ruby Payne.
Although many in the room have participated in ministries that serve people in poverty, the information presented was eye opening. Many were challenged anew or for the first time to find meaningful ways
to work to empower people in poverty to learn skills and behaviors that will reduce generational poverty.
The Bridges model depends on collaboration - and the United Methodist Church’s collaborative system is uniquely situated to utilize the material.
“I had the honor of serving at St Paul UMC in Muskogee when I first came into the Oklahoma conference. I was able to see firsthand how this impacts people in such a transformative way that helps them to break out of poverty and actually achieve big dreams,” said Rev. Jinx Barber, pastor at Piedmont UMC.
He continued, “I think this is the kind of work we need to dig into
and more and more families face economic hardships outside of their control. I believe it’s important to educate ourselves and our congregations now so we can be ready to welcome all of God’s creation in the coming era of the church.”
There will be follow up training later this year. That upcoming training, coupled with the Day of Learning, will qualify churches to apply for grants impacting families experiencing poverty.
Kathryn Witzel contributed to the
“There was a time in my life when I thought seeking help was a sign of weakness. I don’t think that anymore. Anyone can use a little help sometimes.”
—United Methodist clergyperson
Blurred boundaries between work and personal time … personal or family issues … financial worries … feeling stressed and stretched to the limit. Let the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)* lighten your load—with confidential resources available online, on the phone or in person.
Participants covered by HealthFlex—as well as participants’ family and household members, including those not covered by HealthFlex—can use the EAP to address a variety of issues related to work, relationships, family life, finances, time management and personal challenges.
Turn to this program for help with:
• maintaining boundaries between professional life and personal life;
• marital and family satisfaction;
• financial pressures, including household budgeting and paying off educational loans or other debts (one 60-minute phone consultation at no cost);
• settling into a new community and finding child care and other local resources;
• living with a chronic or serious illness or caring for an ailing family member;
• stress, anxiety or depression; and
• legal matters, such as wills and adoption (one 30-minute attorney consultation over the phone or in person at no cost; 25% discount for additional consultations with the same attorney).
Services are completely confidential—your conference or employer will not be informed if you use these resources. Some services are available over the phone or online at no charge. For in-person or telehealth appointments, your first eight visits are provided at no cost to you if you follow steps 1 and 2 for authorization (see EAP: Two Simple Steps). Any additional visits will be covered according to your HealthFlex plan’s behavioral health office visit benefit.
* The HealthFlex EAP is administered by Optum and is included with all HealthFlex plans.
If you’re in HealthFlex, it’s easy to use the EAP.
1
2
Call the dedicated HealthFlex EAP team toll-free at 1-866-881-6800 to find a network provider and access an authorization number that you will need before your appointment. You must give the authorization number to your provider so your visits are billed properly.
Set up an appointment with the network provider of your choice. Give the provider your authorization code so the first eight visits are covered 100% by the EAP.
Learn More About the EAP Log into the Virgin Pulse® website, virginpulse.com/login, or app. Click the “Benefits” tab and search for EAP. Then click “Start Now.” Primary participants also can access the EAP via Benefits Access. Log in at BenefitsAccess.org, select the “Well-Being” tab and then click “EAP.”
Emergency Response Team volunteers work in Bartlesville and Barnsdall after the May 6 tornado there. Submitted photos.
LEFT: TOP (and Oklahoma shape image): Crews from Tahlequah First UMC and Grace UMC in Claremore crews do clean-up in Bartlesville after storms.
BOTTOM: FUMC Marietta MARC members greet survivors with gift cards following that community’s tornado.
May 20
A tornado hit Custer C ity area, d amaging four t o six homes. The c hurch a nd c ommunity d id not n eed additional help.
May 25
A tornado hit Claremore, south of Pryor and Salina. Teams are currently on the ground. Grace UMC in its church to house volunteer teams coming through. going on, but initial reports suggest at least 400 homes those in Claremore. Power is coming back on today the whole city of Claremore.
April 25
tornado hit Sulphur, A rdmore, M arietta, M orris, Holdenville.
Through contributions from Oklahoma churches and U MCOR Solidarity g rant, m oney was given to FUMC Marietta and FUMC Holdenville to purchase cards for survivors in t heir c ommunities. Members o f FUMC M arietta attended a Multi-Agency R esource C enter (MARC) ambassador training, e nabling them t o serve as ambassadors. They were p resent at t he Love C ounty MARC as one of the agencies providing gift cards, in addition to their capacity as ambassadors.
May 1
A tornado hit Cordell. The c hurch a nd community w ere able t o manage t he clean-up on their own.
May 6
A tornado hit Barnsdall and Bartlesville. Oklahoma Early R esponse teams from Grace U MC, Claremore and First U MC T ahlequah traveled t o Bartlesville to do work in Bartlesville and Barnsdall. First U MC B artlesville hosted t hem. The team removed debris a nd d id c hainsaw w ork on d amaged trees. They also purchased l aundry soap a nd h eavy duty totes for Barnsdall residents.
Early Response
Claremore is opening through. Assessment is still homes damaged, half of today, but not yet through
Life at Epworth Villa is all about freedom. Freedom from home maintenance and chores. Freedom from having to drive all over town. Freedom from worrying about future needs. And when you’re free to live your best life, it’s amazing the joy that each day brings. Experience the freedom you deserve and check out our spacious cottages and beautiful apartments at EpworthVilla.org.
Get your pastor to submit a sermon for the 2024 preaching contest! The prizes are $1,000 for first place, $500 for second, and $250 for third.
Youth Force OKC is looking to serve Oklahoma City Neighbors! The urban mission experience for youth returned to operation last summer after a hiatus caused by the pandemic. This year they will return to serving neighbors by repairing homes. Do you know someone in Oklahoma City, someone in your congregation or a neighbor close to your OKC church, that could use some help with home projects? This is especially great for families with disabilities, aging or financial hardship. They do need to own the homes they are living in (or the family system owns).
The design plans to work on three to five homes depending on youth registration. Please submit applications by June 12. Follow the link to fill out the google form, which serves as the application. If you have questions about the process, please reach out by email youthforceokc@gmail.com.
There is still time to sign up your youth group to serve at Youth Force OKC, July 21-26. Interested in bringing a youth group? Registration for youth is open until June 27.
Share your event or job opportunity in the Contact For consideration, email your listing to editor@okumc.org.