The mission of Oakwood is to...

Transform ordinary people

into fully devoted followers

of Jesus Christ.

Oakwood is a member of

the Evangelical Free

Church of America.

Oakwood Community Church

11209 Casey Rd

Tampa FL 33618-5306

813.969.2303

www.oakwoodfl.org

Inside this issue:

Members Vote 2

Metropolitan Ministries 2

Missionary Commissioning 3

Year End Giving 3

Oakwood Mill 4

PowerHouse News 5

Kids Page 6

Calendar 7

Dec 19, 2015—Jan 8, 2016 Volume 10, Issue 25

ACORNACORNACORNACORN

Find us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/OCCTampa

I know that I am not alone when I admit I have a self-focused wish on my mind for

this Christmas. By way of dramatic contrast, at the very first Christmas, several

people rose above their natural desires. Instead, they made remarkable choices of

faith. Like them, this Christmas and beyond, we too can make choices that will

delight God, enrich the lives of others, and profoundly alter the focus of our lives

and our destiny. ~ Pastor Paul

Join us for these special pre-Christmas services and use the invitation cards avail-

able at the Information Center to invite someone to join you.

Dec 20 10:30 AM—The Shepherds’ Remarkable Choice

Dec 24 6:00 PM—The Wise Men’s Remarkable Choice

Christmas Eve Service & Bonfire. Our service will begin

in the Worship Center*, followed outdoors by a candle

lighting ceremony including singing of Christmas carols

and refreshments. Bring a lawn chair if you’d like to sit

around the fire while visiting and enjoying refreshments.

Please bring cookies to share during our refreshment time.

You can drop them off in PowerHouse before the service.

*We are moving a portion of our Christmas Eve service indoors this year to ac-

commodate some of our church family who have allergy issues and for some who

have difficulty with the uneven ground around the bonfire area.

Volume 10, Issue 25 Page 2

Voice of the Martyrs.. .Action Packs Currently, Voice of the Martyrs is distributing Action Packs to persecuted believers in

Iraq, Pakistan and Sudan. Included in the packs are blankets, towels, soap, sheets, jackets,

sweaters, t-shirts, socks, hats, gloves and foam balls. Our goal is to have you, the Oak-

wood Church Family, help us purchase the 480 items we will need to fill 40 Action Packs.

If you want to know more about how you can participate in this outreach ministry stop by

the table in the back corner of the Worship Center. You can do the shopping for a specific

item(s) or you can donate money and we will do the shopping for you. On January 17 you

will have opportunity to help us fill the Action Packs and pack them to be shipped to

Voice of the Martyrs.

Thanks to those of you who have already shopped for specific items or donated money.

We appreciate your support.

The Prayer Team,

Terri Johnson, Eileen Rexroad and Sandy Wyatt

Metropolitan Ministries We have been blessed to serve at Metropolitan Ministries at Thanksgiving and Christmas

for a number of years. We have the opportunity again to serve on Wednesday, December

23 from 3:30—6:00 PM. We will have a sign-up sheet at the Information Center in the

lobby. We need 20 volunteers to serve those who are in need during the holidays.

This is a great opportunity for Community Groups or families to serve together.

Members vote on December 20 This Sunday, December 20, Oakwood members will vote on the Proposed 2016 Budget as

well as recommended elder and deacon candidates. If you have any questions, please con-

tact one of the elders or deacons.

If you will not be at Oakwood on December 20 or you prefer to vote in advance, you may

vote via the ballot emailed to you by forwarding it to office@oakwoodfl.org by noon on

Friday, December 18, with your name clearly identified in the email.

Holiday Office Schedule

Due to the holidays and staff vacations, the Church Office hours between Christmas and

New Year’s are limited. If you need to come to the office, please call before you come to

make sure someone will be there.

Volume 10, Issue 25 Page 3

Year End Giving Just a reminder…

To be credited by the IRS for a 2015 tax deduction, all year end gifts must be received or

postmarked no later than Dec. 31, 2015. Praise God for our partnership in the ministry of

Oakwood! Praise God for gifts given in faith, joy and Love!

Online Giving Did you know that you can make financial contributions to Oakwood through our web-

site? You can give one time or set up for recurring donations. Visit www.oakwoodfl.org

and click “Give Online” on the right side of the menu on the home page.

Opportunity to Serve the Church & World

Naomi’s Daughters is a ministry for single moms that provides clothing to the moms and their

children. The Oakwood family, along with others in the community, provides donations of cloth-

ing, food and money to keep this ministry moving forward.

Current needs –Clothing and shoes for infants to adults; school supplies

Pantry needs: cereal, canned goods, rice, pasta, paper goods, personal care items, etc.

Donations can be left on the back porch of the gray house at the front of our property. Tax Deductible re-

ceipts are available.

Please pray that we can continue to reach people in this ministry and show the hands and feet of the Lord to those

who come through our doors.

Prayer Guide

Our Prayer Team works each month to provide a guide for specific prayer requests. Dur-

ing December you will have a weekly Prayer Request printed on the Announcement Sheet

in your Worship Program.

Missionary Commissioning

Be sure to mark your calendars so you don’t miss our Commissioning Service on January

3 for Jose & Maria Cariaga.

Jose & Maria will be serving with ReachGlobal, the missions arm of the Evangelical Free

Church of America.

Volume 10, Issue 25 Page 4

Education Classes December 27 Please note that there will be no Oakwood Mill, PowerHouse or TreeHouse

classes on Sunday, December 27 at 9:15 AM. Classes will resume on

January 3.

Winter/Spring 2016 Classes New Class begins on January 10

Oakwood Mill is the Adult Education Ministry of Oakwood Community Church. Three adult education

classes are being offered on Sunday mornings at 9:15 AM in the Education Building. Register by filling

out the form in the flier that will be in your Worship Program this Sunday or pick up a flier at the Informa-

tion Center in the lobby.

Comparative Religions Leader: Arnie Mejias & David Turner

This class will summarize the world religions through the lens of world views, or the perception of the na-

ture of God. Therefore, it will be a blend of religion and philosophy. The class will begin with an evalua-

tion of world views on the nature of God and then discuss the general beliefs of each religion under these

views. Where possible we will attempt to demonstrate the ethical implications of each of these systems of

belief and how they impact a society’s behavior.

Some of Classes will discuss:

Atheism and Secular Humanism

Deism – It’s history and connection with the Renaissance, Rationalism and some of America’s Founding

Fathers

Theism: Distinctions and similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Pantheism and the Eastern Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age Religions

Process Theology (Panentheism) and Finite Godism

Polytheism

Cults

The study of Daniel and the Connection Class will continue during the Winter/Spring session. The present

topic for the Connection Class is “How In the World Can I Live the Christian Life?” They are now look-

ing at "12 Myths About the Christian Life."

Middle School and High School classes will continue to meet at 9:15 AM each Sunday.

In consideration of our volunteer staff, we will be happy to provide childcare for nursery age and a class

for the 2 Year Olds-4 Year Olds and a class for Kindergarten-5th Grade if we have three or more committed

weekly for each age group during the 9:15 AM hour. This commitment will be for at least three out of four

Sundays each month.

Volume 10, Issue 25 Page 5

PowerHouse Schedule Dec 20—Student led Christmas

Dec 27—Youth Lock-In—5:00 PM—Dec 28, 7:00 AM

Questions? Contact Doug or Cam

Jan 3—No PowerHouse Meeting

Jan 10—Regular Evening Meeting

PowerHouse Lock-In

Page 6 Volume 10, Issue 25

Kids Corner

Oakwood Community Church

11209 Casey Rd

Tampa FL 33618-5306

813.969.2303

www.oakwoodfl.org

Calendar at a Glance

The Oakwood ACORN is a bi-weekly E-newsletter from Oakwood Community Church, published to keep our church family and

friends informed about events and people at Oakwood. Articles may be submitted via e-mail to Office@oakwoodfl.org. Article

deadlines and publication schedule is:

Deadline Publication date News for dates including…

Jan 1 Jan 6 Jan 9—Jan 22

Jan 15 Jan 20 Jan 23—Feb 5

Our Vocation & Volunteer Staff

Lead Pastor - Dr. Paul B. Phair

Director of Ministries & Coordinator of Children’s

Ministry - Dave Dorsey

Director of Worship Arts - Andrew Reilly

Director of PowerHouse Ministry—Doug Cress

Associate Director of PowerHouse Ministry—Cam

Whipple

Office Manager - Martha Dorsey

Secretary—Melanie Hoglievina

Office hours:

Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Education Classes : Sundays - 9:15 AM

Worship:

Sundays—10:30 AM

Our Elder Team

Mark Beale

Edson Bustamante

Pete Kluck

Paul Phair

John Schneider

Rob Weyand

Our Deacon Team

David Conner

Larry Giannone

Brian Johnson

Luke Piazza

Gigi Yuen-Reed

Mike Wyatt

Missed a Sunday message? Listen online @ www.oakwoodfl .org/messages/

Dec 20—Compassion Offering

Dec 24—Christmas Eve Service & Bonfire

Dec 25—Christmas Day

Church Office closed

Dec 27—No Education Classes @ 9:15

Jan 1—New Year’s Day

Church Office closed

Jan 10—Winter Oakwood Mill classes begin

Board Meeting following Worship

PowerHouse Food Bag Ministry

Jan 12—STW Missions Team Meeting