Advent Sermon Series: PICTURE PERFECT CHRISTMAS

We long for a picture-perfect Christmas, but more often than not some expectations go unmet. Could it be that in the midst of the imperfect, we encounter what really matters? This Advent, join us for a worship series that will draw upon scripture, and scenes from classic holiday films, to explore what makes this time truly meaningful for us as people of faith.

Sundays, November 28 – December 26     9:00am & 10:30am

MUSIC SUNDAY  – Sunday, Dec 19

The sounds of the season lift our worshiping hearts to soaring heights! The Rising Worship Band leads us at 9:00am and our Chamber Singers at 10:30am (with a repeat at 7:00pm). Always a remarkable day and a great moment to celebrate together.

9am Christmas in Tune VIII – Rising Worship                                

10:30am Christ is Born! – Traditional Worship

  7:00pm Christ is Born! – Cantata

CHRISTMAS EVE @ HARVARD AVE

Celebrate the birth of our Savior with all of your favorite music, a message of hope, sharing communion, our special offering, and the traditional Silent Night candlelighting to greet this special evening.

*Children will gather for Children Worship & Wonder to share the Christmas Eve story. Infant & toddler nursery provided.

Friday, December 24            3:30pm  /  5:00pm  /  7:00pm

New Year Sermon Series: BEGINNING AGAIN! (AGAIN!)

Do you need to reset and restart? Could your spiritual life use a recharge? Have you lost track, gotten out of the habit, dropped the ball? Here is a chance to re-examine, re-engage, and reconnect with the One who makes all things new.

Sundays, January 2 – 23                   9:00am & 10:30am

If you believe
Won’t you please raise your hands
Let’s hear your voices
Let us know where you stand
Don’t shout from the shadows
‘Cause it won’t mean a thing 
Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
– John Mellencamp, ‘Now More Than Ever’ (1992©Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC)

NOW MORE THAN EVER

Stress and anxiety and sorrow are impacting people at pandemic levels. Now more than ever the church is being called to love like Jesus. We are stewards of extraordinary good news and unprecedented opportunity. The decisions we make today will determine the stories we tell tomorrow.

October 31 2021
Don’t Give Up (Galatians 6:9-10)

sermon video here

November 7 2021
Share Good News (Romans 10:5-15)

sermon video here

November 14 2021
Love Your City (Hebrews 10:19-25)

sermon video here

November 21 2021
Be Generous (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

sermon video here

A Stewardship Prayer

Eternal God, we pray that by your grace we will make stewardship a way of life.

You are the source of all we have and all that we are.

Help us to place you, our loving God, first in our lives by becoming more prayerful, more focused on loving and caring for our families and our neighbors in need, and by becoming less

preoccupied with material things.

Help us to hear your call to be good stewards, caretakers, and managers of all your gifts by sharing them for your purposes. Help us make your priorities our priorities and to put our faith into action.

Help us to generously share the talents, treasures and time with which we have been blessed.

Help us Lord to serve our church, our community, and our world with the gifts you have given us.

Teach us how to give with a joyful spirit, with love, and with hope. Amen.

— adapted from the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, congregational vitality resources 2020

Held every 6 – 8 weeks, the Find Your Welcome event is a great evening of casual conversation, questions and answers, time with pastors, and meeting others who are also sort-of-new to the Harvard Ave community.

If you’ve wondered about connecting to Harvard Avenue, what it means to be a member, and why that kind of thing even matters, then these membership inquiry events are for you.

This is a wonderful opportunity to explore connections in church life; learn about our programs, practices, and ministries; and consider what it might means to become a member of Harvard Avenue Christian Church.

While we look forward to one day (soon!) gathering again in the inviting living rooms of our Harvard Ave host families, for now we offer parallel events: Join us in person at church (masked, with room to spread out) OR online via Zoom (a link will be sent when you rsvp) – so that all who want to join in can do as they are most comfortable.

: UPCOMING EVENTS : 
All are at 6:00pm. 

November 10 (Wed) – in the Sanctuary

January 11 (Tu) – in person
January 12 (Wd) – online

To RSVP – or with other questions about the people and ministries at Harvard Avenue Christian Church – contact Connections Pastor Courtney Richards.

Receive a short daily prayer, a brief spiritual discipline, a simple quote or thought, to focus your intentions, actions, and words for the day. Prayers arrive via text message at 10:00am CST (8:00am on Sunday).

Text the keyword HarvardAve to 88202 to join.  (Standard message rates apply.)
(If you have previously joined our daily text prayers, you are still included in the list. You can reply STOP at any time to discontinue.)

You are also welcome to email your cell phone # to Community Pastor, Kevin Howe, to be added to the list.

We look forward to praying together, wherever we are.

Over five Wednesdays in Lent, our pastors will be in conversation with friends and colleagues – about the work of the church, personal faith and ministry, what faith looks like in the everyday world, and how to love like Jesus every day.

February 24 2021 :
Community Pastor Rev. Kevin Howe, in conversation with Rev. Caroline Hamilton-Arnold, Associate Director, Week of Compassion

March 3 2021 :
Lead Pastor Rev. David Emery, in conversation with Rev. Ron Nofziger, retired hospital chaplain

March 10 2021 :
Lead Pastor Rev. David Emery, in conversation with Rev. Deron Spoo, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tulsa

March 17 2021 :
Lead Pastor Rev. David Emery, in conversation with Dr. Deborah Gist, Superintendent, Tulsa Public Schools

March 24 2021 :
Lead Pastor Rev. David Emery, in conversation with Rev. Amy Venable, Associate Pastor, Boston Avenue United Methodist Tulsa

HARVARD IN THE BACKYARD

Harvard in the Backyard is a chance for you to invite someone to church without coming to the building. It’s a chance to say ‘This is something that matters to me. I think you might like it too.’ This is your opportunity to grow the church and expand our reach without needing to add a brick or break a sweat. Invite someone to church – by inviting them to your backyard!

The story begins in Philippi where Paul introduces three individuals that were all enslaved by the kind of things that we often choose over the gospel: Lydia, the business executive; the slave girl; and the hard-working jailer. Their lives portray dysfunction and emptiness, but are totally transformed by the Gospel. True joy and Christ’s love begin to live within them, giving them a life of purpose.

‘Philippians is a meantime epistle,’ David Emery said. ‘It’s Paul saying there is joy to be found, always, where we are.’

Joy, No Matter What : a study of Philippians
6-session video & study guide

If you plan to host a group LET US KNOW.
Tell us who’s joining you! (And send us a picture of your group together!)
And if you plan to study on your own, let us know that too!

DISCUSSION GUIDE (complete)
intro, background, getting started, plus six individual session guides

Session 1 : LOVE No Matter What
discussion guide

‘What is the world like on the other side of the glass?’ Alice wondered. Author Lewis Carroll knew that after Wonderland, there was still more story to tell: there was something beyond the glass.

More than just colorful decoration, the colorful faceted glass windows in our Sanctuary (Wells Memorial Windows) and Music Suite (Gilpin Memorial Windows) tell the story of our life together: scripture, history, music, nativity, baptism, communion, resurrection, mission.

What do they say to others about who we are as a church, as people, as God’s beloved?

There’s more to learn on our side, and they call us to remember that there is still a world to explore on the other. Together we go, through the looking glass: Through the Looking Glass – our memorial windows

Your Week at Harvard Ave, our Wednesday email, is a weekly connection to the events, news, ministries and more. (And it comes in a mobile-friendly format!)

Highlight links within items will lead you to more details on the Your Week page.

Email Communications Director Christy Southard to be added to the weekly email list.