Author Archives: Oak Chapel UMC

Chances are, you are becoming less and less likely to answer your cell phone when an unfamiliar number comes up on your screen and the audio voice inside proclaims, “unknown caller.” That’s where I was a week ago when a Mount Vernon number appeared. One ring, two rings…O, what the heck, I’ll answer it, andContinue reading “In A Nutshell | January 1, 2021”

A Christmas Eve Paradox: Two Dead Mice, One Bright Light! Twas the night before Christmas and all through the church house, not a creature was stirring, not even a church mouse. That’s because the newly installed security system at Oak Chapel caught them roaming the halls after hours and zapped them. Well, that’s not reallyContinue reading “In A Nutshell | December 25, 2020”

What if He Didn’t Come? As a person of Irish descent, I am proficient in at least two areas: worry and pouting. While I plan to address both flaws in the coming year (as I do every year, with little or no success), I realize that it will be difficult to exorcise either because theyContinue reading “In A Nutshell | December 18, 2020”

Gazing into the Eyes of a Shepherd On Sunday, we will light the third candle of Advent. This candle is unlike theothers. It is pink in color, representing joy instead of repentance, which is symbolized inthe other three candles — typically purple, or, as is the case at Oak Chapel, blue. Thepink candle is alsoContinue reading “In A Nutshell | December 11, 2020”

Oak Chapel Intends to be ‘Open’ on Christmas Eve What will Christmas Eve look like this year at Oak Chapel? Hard to say for sure,but right now, we are committed to being “open” that evening so that you and yourfamily can worship with us in a safe and secure environment. Because of the spike inContinue reading “In A Nutshell | December 4, 2020”

Join Us As We Journey ‘Back to the Future’         In the early days of television, everything was live. No video tape, no digital editing. Oak Chapel is preparing to go “back to the future” in the coming weeks when we begin streaming our worship services live and also archiving them for future viewing.             This,Continue reading “In A Nutshell | November 27, 2020”

Christ the King Sunday ‘Sets the Table’ for Thanksgiving Celebration             As we prepare for next week’s traditional Thanksgiving celebration, albeit in a much more restricted way because of the Covid crises, let us be reminded that there is another celebration that precedes Thanksgiving and sets the tone for the Christmas season. I had forgotten,Continue reading “In A Nutshell | November 20, 2020”

The More Things Change…             The month of November is not yet two weeks old, but in that short period of time, we have experienced at least two significant developments: the record-breaking ascent of COVID-19 cases and the changing of the guard in our nation’s highest office.             Each of us has been affected inContinue reading “In A Nutshell | November 13, 2020”

Let Youth Be Served (and Serve) If I were to tell you that I had discovered the key to the fountain of youth, would you believe me? Probably not! If I were to tell you that I had discovered the key to the future of the church, would I be any more believable? Maybe? Well,Continue reading “In A Nutshell | November 6, 2020”

Falling Back is Fine; Just be Sure Who’s Behind You             Don’t forget to “fall back” this weekend. Not literally, of course, but rather as a friendly reminder to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night. The good news is that we get an extra hour of sleepContinue reading “In A Nutshell | October 30, 2020”