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SAGE green, cream and tan hues bring a warm and inviting appeal to the interior
of Oasis United Church in their new environs in Penticton, on Main Street. The
church was named to reflect its South Okanagan desert-like surroundings and hot
summer climate.
Oasis began just over a year ago in rented quarters on Industrial Avenue. They
moved into their present location at the end of May, with close to 50 families
in the congregation. The congregation is cross-generational; administrator
Marlene Trenholm Pye said there are “a few families with young children, with everything in between.”
She added: “We had a lot of work, cleaning and painting.” Many of the congregation’s members pitched in with physical labour, carpentry, and cleaning and painting
chores in the 2,000 square feet of space.
Rooms were fixed up and revamped, in keeping with the church’s motto of ‘Revive, replenish and renew.’
Just inside the front entry, a freshly painted, spacious and bright narthex
allows for congregants to sit and visit with each other comfortably before and
after Sunday services, which are held in the adjacent main sanctuary.
The church is all on one floor, and completely handicap accessible, with a
kitchen, Sunday school area and room for regular potluck meals, meetings and
coffee time.
Rev. Carol Joy Stokes joined Oasis United in January. “I believe I was called by God to come here,” she said. “I am intrigued by the possibilities.”
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She said the congregation “want a minister who can lead them in meaningful worship and discern God’s guidance as they become an ‘emerging church.’ My training as a spiritual director is seen as helpful in this regard.”
Stokes said she wants to see “all of us respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in being shaped into who we are called to be.” She added, “I trust that God will lead us to become a faith community that is vital,
compassionate and relevant.” – Andrea Dujardin-Flexhaug
September 2009
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