June 10 update

Greetings Oak Hill Church,
 
            There is immense benefit to repetition. Think about anything you have done or tried before for the first time. Perhaps many of you cannot remember some of these early times, but at some point you learned how to walk, to tie your shoelaces, to ride a bike, to drive a car, to write your name, to make a meal. How? Probably through repetition. The sheer number of attempts, tries, and experiences all paved a way to familiarity, comfort, and confidence in those tasks that you were learning to do.
            Now, as true as this can be, the opposite is also true. As a former basketball player and coach, I know that repetition is key to developing a consistent jump shot. A basketball player must shoot hundreds upon thousands of shots to build the muscle memory necessary to help give them success in any game or contest. For those of you who have been away from the game for a while, there should be no surprise that when you pick up a basketball after not shooting one for several years, the results won’t necessarily be pretty. We benefit from doing things that are good for us often.
            All of us have felt the reality of this during these past months. So many of the activities we used to do, be involved in, and have a part of our repetitive routine have really changed and been altered. The things that we used to do more often maybe now happen less often and we feel the effects of it. Whether it is getting a haircut, going to the gym to work out, or even going to dinner with a friend, we feel the gap and the hole that exists when we don’t do those things relatively often or in the way we are used to having them done.
            Much of these same feelings can be shared as the Church; as a body of believers. So much of our faith journey has been tied into attending a worship service with fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Many people attend weekly Bible studies or small groups, we socialize with one another, we collectively gather to build relationships and encourage one another. We repeatedly come together to connect our lives with one another and with our Savior. We do this often because it is both good and beneficial for us.
All of us have felt this time apart in various ways. Many of you have shared about the isolation and loneliness that can creep in or think about the close friends and our collective church family that you are missing dearly. And it is in this that we are met with this reminder once again: God never intended us to live this life on our own. He never designed the Christian walk or faith journey to be done by ourselves.
            It is out of this reality that we live and share life together as best we can during these unique times. On Sunday, June 14, from 6:00-7:00 pm, we will have the opportunity to share in something that we are invited to partake in often: The Lord’s Supper. Jesus instructed His followers to partake in this meal often. And as often as they did this, they were to remember Him; they were to remember His love for them, His sacrifice for them, and the hope that is found only in Him. We get that opportunity to share and remember that as well.
Each of you are invited to a Drive-up Communion service this Sunday evening from 6:00-7:00 pm. Some of our elders and I will be hanging out in the church parking lot and we will be ready and available to serve you this special and significant meal. The idea would be to drive your vehicle into the church parking lot where we will have several designated spots for you to park. Once you park, we ask that you remain in your vehicle and one of us will come and share in communion with you. This will be a great opportunity for us to connect a bit with you, encourage you, pray with you, and share in this Sacrament as fellow believers in the Lord.
A few things to note:

• You can arrive at any time during the 6:00 hour to partake in communion
• Elders will be wearing gloves and masks when serving the elements
• We will supply the elements for the Lord’s Supper
• Each element will be individual packaged and be unwrapped by each participant

We hope that this will be an encouraging time for you to share in this opportunity with us. May the Lord use this as another chance to strengthen us in our faith, sustain us in our trust, and give us hope and assurance for the days ahead.
 
Connecting Lives in Grace and Truth
 
Drive-Up Communion

• Sunday, June 14 from 6:00-7:00 pm in the Oak Hill Church parking lot
• Pull into a designated parking space any time during the 6:00 hour and receive the Lord’s Supper. Pastor Ben and some of our elders will be onsite ready and willing to serve you.

 
Resuming In-Person Gatherings

• Thank you to those that participated in our online survey from last week regarding our plans to resume in-person gatherings. Your feedback and input were a great resource in our planning and decision-making for the future
• After prayer and consideration, the joint leadership teams of the Elder Board and Property and Finance Committee have decided to move forward with resuming live, in-person worship services on Sunday, June 21. Stay tuned for more detailed information and next steps in the days ahead.

 
Online Services

• Join us for our Sunday services which stream online at 10:30 am on our YouTube channel or our website.
• Check us out on YouTube or on our website to see the latest sermon or go back and watch some from our archives under the “Messages” tab on our main webpage.

 
Media Team Volunteers

• As we continue to utilize the potential of technology in our online services, we need your help to continue making this a reality. If you have interest, gifts, or skills in sound production, visual media, or helping film/record our worship services, please contact the church office so we can get you plugged in to continue making these videos and service recordings accessible to our congregation and effective for broader ministry.

 
Oak Hill Spring Clean Up

• Are you looking to get out of the house, do something active, and help out at church? As we prepare to walk through the process of reopening our facility for future gatherings and events, we need your help as we prepare our facility and our grounds for this to happen.
• If you would like to be involved in both indoor and outdoor projects around Oak Hill, please use the following link to sign up for a date/time to come and help out: https://myoakhillchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/134594.
• You can also call the church office to sign up for a day, time, or project.
• We ask that you call ahead or use the form so we can be taking necessary precautions to coordinate when people are here relative to group size. We also ask that you bring your own equipment (work gloves, rakes, etc. for outdoor projects.)

 
RightNow Media

• Sign up to join our subscription for the largest online Christian digital library in the world.

 
Giving

• We thank you for your continued giving and generosity even in these unique days of not being able to gather in-person. Your support goes to further ministry in building God’s Kingdom at Oak Hill and around the world.
• Checks can be mailed to the church office at 8901 France Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55431
• Check out the link for our online giving on our main webpage. Just a few simple clicks and you’re supporting God’s ministry at and through Oak Hill. (Hint: If possible, we encourage you to set up your giving through your bank account (ACH transfer) as this involves a lesser fee per transaction compared to a credit/debit card.)

 
Connection Groups

• Are you looking to join a small group or a Bible study? We have several options of groups that are continuing to meet during this time. Contact the church office for a list of people to contact to join one of these groups.

 
Prayer Chain

• Do you have a prayer request or something you would like us to pray for as a church? Email the church office with your prayer request and we will send it out to everyone to cover your request in prayer.

 
In Christ,
Pastor Ben and the Oak Hill Elder Board