Residents are invited to celebrate the sacrifice of the Christian savior Jesus Christ by attending a Community Good Friday Service at Oxford United Methodist Church (21 E. Burdck St.) on Friday, March 29.
Sponsored by the Oxford Orion Ministers Association (OOMA), the service will begin at 12 noon.
Good Friday is the day on which Christians believe Christ was crucified on the cross by the Romans. They believe Christ rose from the dead two days later and ascended to heaven, which is celebrated as Easter.
‘For the Christian, this represents Christ’s greatest sacrifice ? giving his life so that our sins can be forgiven and we can have the gift of everlasting life,? explained Rev. Kevin Miles, who serves as pastor of Oxford UMC. ‘It’s the turning point as far as Christianity and Easter Sunday is the icing on the cake.?
Given Oxford UMC’s sanctuary can ‘comfortably? seat 200 folks, Miles is hoping for a good turnout.
Pastor Don Spencer, from the Community of Christ Church in Lake Orion, will be delivering the message during the community service. It’s entitled, ‘The greatest act of love.?
A special offering will be collected to benefit Oxford-Orion FISH, a nonprofit group that provides free groceries and other services to local families and individuals in need.
OOMA is a loose-knit ministers association formed in the 1990s by pastors who started meeting to get to know each other.
Today, the group consists of 28 churches located in Oxford, Orion, Lakeville, Oakland Township, Ortonville and Auburn Hills.
Over the years, OOMA started conducting community services for holidays such as the National Day of Prayer, Good Friday and Thanksgiving.
Special collections are usually taken for local groups that help others such as the Oxford Pregnancy Center, Love In the Name of Christ and FISH.