Lent 2018 -- Gratitude Diary, Day 7

Day 7 of Lent. Today I want to express my appreciation for First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tulsa, Oklahoma fcctulsa.org. My home church, as they say. It's the church where I was baptized. It's the church that sponsored me for ordained ministry. It's the church that gave me scholarship money for the 7 1/2 years I was in college and seminary. It's the church where I preached my first sermon. It's the church that gave me my first church position -- janitor! Yes, my first church job was cleaning toilets and the like. 

I am so grateful for everything FCC Tulsa has done, what it believes, how it lives its faith in the world. It's difficult for me to watch the church dwindle. The people of the church have done so much for me; influenced my theology and thoughts of what a church should be.

The dome inside the church is an engineering and architectural marvel. The stained glass on the inside of the dome raises as a unit to allow air flow, a pre-air conditioning era, air movement system.

When I was a teenager, and that's when I joined the church, the organ had a console downstairs and in the balcony (where the youth group always sat). The magnificent back-lit stained glass window at the center of the chancel with organ pipes on the sides always inspired me.

My home church means the world to me. I am so very grateful for their love and support over the years. I am especially grateful for Rev. Richard Ziglar, Dr. Eugene Brice, Dr. Roy L. Griggs, Rev. Kim Clements Hames, and Rev. Eric Hollard a transplant from Australia who baptized me. The baptistry is just below the stained glass window pictured above.

I do not know what the future holds for FCC Tulsa. The last ten years have been very tough. I pray that God will help them find a way to survive and then thrive. I am deeply grateful to FCC Tulsa, and the people who call it their church home.

Peace and Love,
Jerry