Runoff Primary Election Update

This was released by the Washita County Elections Board.

Tuesday’s Election: All the information you need Voters will go to the polls Tuesday for the August 28, Runoff PrimaryElection, Washita County Election Board Secretary Leah Jones said today. Please keep the following information and tips in mind as the election approaches. - Early voting will be available at the County Election Board office from 8 a.m. to 6p.m. Thursday, August 23rd, 2018, and Friday, August 24th, 2018, and Saturday, August 25, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.. - Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Lines are possible at peak voting times. Wait times will likely be shortest at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Anyone in line to vote at 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot. - Anyone who needs to look up their polling place, verify their registration information, or view a sample ballot can do so online. The Online Voter Tool can be accessed on the Oklahoma State Election Board’s website: www.elections.ok.gov. Those who vote by mail can also check the status of their ballot using the Online Voter Tool. Sample ballots are also available at the County Election Board office. - Oklahoma law requires every voter who votes in person at the precinct polling place or during early voting at the County Election Board to show proof of identity before receiving a ballot. There are three ways for voters to prove their identity under the law (only one proof of identity is required): Show a valid photo ID issued by federal, state, or tribal government; or show the free voter identification card issued to every voter by the County Election Board; or sign an affidavit and vote a provisional ballot. (If the information on the affidavit matches official voter registration records, the ballot will be counted after Election Day.) - Physically disabled voters who cannot enter the polling place, need help marking their ballots, blind or visually disabled voters and illiterate voters may be assisted by a person the voter chooses. In all cases, a person providing such assistance may not be the voter’s employer or an agent of the employer or an officer or agent of the voter’s union. A person providing assistance also must swear or affirm that the voter’s ballots will be marked in accordance with the voter’s wishes. Alternatively, all blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled voters in Washita County may use the audiotactile interface (ATI), a feature offered on all Oklahoma voting devices, to vote privately and independently, either at Washita County Election Board during early voting or at their assigned polling place on election day. - Voters who have moved since the last election, but who have not transferred their voter registration to their new address, may do so on Election Day by going to vote at the polling place where their registration has been in the past. While voting, they may fill out a form instructing the County Election Board to transfer their registration to the new address before the next election. - Those who became physically incapacitated after 5 p.m. Tuesday August 21, 2018, still can request an emergency absentee ballot. Those who might qualify for an emergency absentee ballot should contact the County Election Board office at (580) 832- 3658 as soon as possible for more information. - Any violation of election law will be reported to the proper law enforcement authorities. Electioneering is not allowed within 300 feet of a ballot box. It is also unlawful to remove a ballot from the polling location, possess intoxicating liquors within half a mile of a polling place or to disclose how you voted while within the election enclosure. For additional election-related information, visit: www.elections.ok.gov.

A Belated Thank You...and more to come!

The Burns Flat Cumberland Presbyterian Church sends a belated “Thank You!” to many in our community that supported this year’s Easter Egg Hunt.  A few years ago, the church took over the community event deciding to make it a mission of the church.

What’s hunting Easter Eggs have to do with the real meaning of Easter?  That’s a good question that deserve a straightforward answer.  It’s an ambush!

Yes, the church took on this pagan-like, surely secular ritual as an ambush.  Children and their parents would be lured onto the church grounds with hopes of finding candy and prizes and then they would be ambushed with love.  We just call it Love Ambush #1.

Ministry members just love telling others that God loves them.  That often leads to a conversation about Jesus and how much God loves us. 

Make no mistake about it, the children all received enough candy to keep them in cavities for years to come.  The also received Bibles or Gospels of John or Mark, stickers and pencils that say God loves you or love one another, and other reminders that last longer than the stomach ache which follows the candy.

The church budgets a significant amount to support this event; however, the community donations make this an extraordinary event.  The Businesses and Individuals who have donated this year are:

Rudy’s Superette

L&S Equipment

R-N-R Roofing

Great Plains Bank

Washita State Bank

Crown Geochemisty

Pendleton’s Truck Stop

Gret’s Convenience Store

MODA

Ace Hardware, Cordell

S&T Lawncare

Individual donations were received from Donna Townsend, Carl & Marcee Hose, Kendra Walker, Monica Lovell, Tom & Sharman Spence, Heather Spence, Dean & Angie McConaha, and others who donated anonymously.

Next on the God’s Love in Action agenda is Chewy Tuesdays.

OK, time for one FAQ.  If the Easter Egg Hunt is Love Ambush #1, what’s #2?  That would be Trunk or Treat held in October.

Chewy Tuesdays is gearing up for its 8th season

Chewy Tuesdays kicks off its 8^th summer season in just a month.  Tuesday, 5 June 2018 marks the beginning of another season of love delivered in a paper sack.  What is Chewy Tuesdays?

It is a ministry of the Burns Flat Cumberland Presbyterian Church conducted on every Tuesday in June and July to feed children in Burns Flat.  This year the ministry will include Dill City if there are sufficient volunteers to deliver to that area.  Chewy Tuesdays is more than a food ministry.  It is a chance to tell children that God loves them.  Children do not heart that simple message enough.

Among the kid-friendly lunch, fare are hot dogs, ham and cheese sandwiches, and the longtime favorite—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  There are some simple sides to go with this meal delivered in a decorated paper bag but among them, the most valued is fresh fruit.

Fruit is something that many children simply do not get in the course of the summer.  Prices have precluded many families from purchasing grapes and bananas and even apples.  Regardless of the main course, each meal always includes fruit.

Ministry members have been contacting families that they know have children that might enjoy the Tuesday lunch but so many just don’t know about Chewy Tuesdays.   The only requirement to receive the meals is that the parents contact the church or the ministry leader, Don Foust and report any food allergies for any of the children receiving meals.  It’s just that simple.  Income level does not matter.  Every child needs to be told that God loves them, so it is important that the children are present to receive the meals. 

Ministry members also appreciate a phone call if the children will be out of town on any given Tuesday.  If you would like your children to receive these meals and this wonderful reminder of God’s love, please contact Don Foust:  (580) 660-6666.  If you would like to help support this ministry, you may contact Don or the church at (580) 562-4706.  If you can’t participate directly but would like to donate, please make your check out to CPC and put Chewy Tuesdays in the “for” line. 

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is located at 205 State Highway 44 in Burns Flat, Oklahoma.  The mailing address is PO Box 8, Burns Flat, Oklahoma 73624.  The church motto is God’s Love in Action!

Filing period begins next week for several positions

The following statement was released by Leah Jones, Secretary of the Washita County Election Board.

The statewide candidate filing period begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 11, said Leah Jones, Secretary of the Washita County Election Board.

            Filing will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The deadline for filing as a candidate is 5 p.m. Friday, April 13, no exceptions.

Candidates for state offices file with the Secretary of the State Election Board in Oklahoma City. Candidates for county offices file with the Secretary of the County Election Board.

            Jones said that the following county offices will be filled this year: County Treasurer, County Assessor, County Commissioner District 1 and County Commissioner District 3.

            For more election-related information, call the County Election Board at (580) 832-3658, or visit www.elections.ok.gov.

There is a white bag on my doorstep

If you find a white bag on your doorstep this Saturday, don’t throw it away.  There is something inside for you to keep and a note asking you to put out nonperishable food the following Saturday.

Yes, it is time for the community food drive held annually by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Scout Troop 310, and over the past few years, many student athletes as well.  Your donations help feed hungry people over the next few months.

Much of the food collected goes to fill Thanksgiving baskets for those who came up a little short this year.  Other food doesn’t wait until Thanksgiving to be consumed.  The Cumberland Presbyterian Church gives out food on a year-round basis.

Many are hurting this year.  Many who received before have been blessed this year.  These food drives are part of being a community.  Those who are blessed help those in need.

Please look for your bag this Saturday.  Please fill it with canned food and put it on your doorstep on 18 November 2017 by 9:00 a.m..  As always, please make sure that the food that you donate is not expired.

I would really like to go to Reunion Sunday, but...

Reunion Sunday – 29 October 2017 – For those who are still holding on to their excuses…

Whatever it was that has kept you away, it is in the past.

Didn’t like the preacher?  It’s not about the preacher.  It’s about worshiping God.

Didn’t like the last sermon you heard?  It’s not about edutainment.  It’s about being with other believers and worshiping God.

Didn’t like the food at the fellowship meal.  Hey!  That just didn’t happen.  Throw out that excuse.

Afraid that people will give you funny looks because you have been away so long?  It could happen, but you should understand that smiles and hugs and handshakes and “Welcome” are our language.

Can’t remember why you stopped coming?  You just stopped and one day you got comfortable not worshiping God with other believers.  Ouch!  The world desires to conform you to its ways.

You like the television preachers better?  Who wouldn’t.  They can polish a message and broadcast it to many.  They are a good supplement to hearing God’s word read live and in the presence of other believers.  The television pastor or listening audience probably won’t visit you when you are sick, pray with you, or do your funeral service.  You belong in a flesh and blood family of faith.  Hint:  DVR for the TV messages.

Didn’t get enough recognition for everything you did for the church?  Maybe it’s time for one of those sermons that you don’t want to hear.

Here’s the thing.  Worship is not a buffet.  You don’t come to worship to be fed or entertained or even educated.  You come to worship God.  You come to give your heart fully to God.  In the process, you are fed and sometimes entertained and educated and feel better than you think you have a right to feel.  Welcome to God’s love.

OK, let’s cover a few buts…

But, the Bible doesn’t say you have to come to church.  Correct!  It says don’t stop coming.

But, I can worship God at home or on the lake or even visiting my grandkids.  That’s exactly what the Bible tells us to do.  Our whole lives are an act of worship; however, those things and more are to be done in addition to gathering and worshiping God.  Most of our worship is done outside the church building.

But I grew up Baptist or Catholic or Pentecostal…    There is one church and Jesus is the head.  We worship the same God, follow the same Jesus, and have received the same Spirit.  While the names on the walls and some of the traditions are different, these bodies of believers as well as every believer since Jesus said, “On this rock I build my church,” and the Holy Spirit kicked it into action are all a part of the same church.

We are the church!  We who have professed Jesus as Lord and Savior are the church.  We who follow Jesus are the church.

And…   

The church is called to gather frequently and worship the Lord together.  Worship gets us a long way to living in one accord.

Worship liberates us from what the world seeks to make us.

Worship helps us enjoy fellowship with one another.

Worship helps us love one another.

Worship helps us put aside our petty excuses (I know they seem huge to you right now) and enjoy the abundant life that God desires.

Worship is something wonderful that God designed us to do. 

If you read this far, why not take the next step and worship with us this Sunday.  The Call to Worship is at 10:55 a.m.  We have a meal after the service.

Come and worship the Lord.

Come and enjoy the fellowship of his people.

Come and be blessed.

American Legion seeking new members

Jim Snowberger announced today that anyone interested in joining the American Legion, Post 324, should meet at Rudy’s in Burns Flat on Saturday, 14 October 2017.  The meeting time is 1:00 p.m.

The post was formed in 1946 by World War II veterans and membership has atrophied over the decades; yet there are many honorably discharged veterans in our communities.  If you are interested, please attend this meeting to see what the American Legion is all about.  Bring your DD 214 as proof of honorable service.

For more information, contact Jim Snowberger at 580 562 4302.