{"id":73,"date":"2020-05-24T14:07:47","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T14:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test2.ocf.org.uk\/?page_id=73"},"modified":"2021-08-31T15:42:57","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T14:42:57","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/?page_id=73","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; text-indent: 0em;\"><strong>Our Mission Statement:<\/strong><b><br \/><\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">&#8216;To be a habitation of God\u2019s presence within the community&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Core Values in OCF<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Intimacy with God in prayer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Delighting in the Bible<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Openness and obedience to the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Worship is an integral part of all we do<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Celebrating creativity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Being bold in demonstrating the good news of God&#8217;s love with the world<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Being honouring, generous and gracious in all of our relationships<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Pursuing wholeness at all times<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1GZvdTPzGymziU28nf_mJkwdai2TEWozU\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Click here for a series of daily devotionals inspired by the mission and values<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Way of Life in OCF<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Way of Life is a framework (or \u2018trellis\u2019) that supports growth, helping us to <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">create space in our busy world for us to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">do what he did<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Way of Life is about living intentionally for Jesus as individuals and as a <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">community of believers<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Way of Life is about individuals taking responsibility to develop daily and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">regular practices that enable us to live as children of our heavenly Father, <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">grow as followers of Jesus, and keep in step with the Spirit appropriate to the <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">seasons, rhythms and relational patterns of our lives<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Way of Life is about exploring together new and fresh ways to connect <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">with and come closer to God, each other and the World around us<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">The following are examples of those daily and regular practices that we would encourage all <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">followers of Jesus who are part of OCF to engage with in order to grow:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><br \/><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Daily Practices<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">spend time in prayer<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">engage with the Bible<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">pause regularly to focus on God<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Regular Practices<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">gather together for worship and communion<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">taking weekly times of Sabbath to stop work and delight in God and each other<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">fasting (in whatever form is appropriate) to focus on God and prioritise Him above <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">everything else<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">spending longer periods of silence and solitude<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Serving and Giving<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">serving in the church (finding ways in which we can offer our skills, resources, gifts of the <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Spirit, time and calling to build up the church community and to share God\u2019s love to the <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">world)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">giving to the church<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">working in our jobs and studies as though working for God<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><br \/><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Loving Relationships<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Prioritising time and attention to the key relationships in our lives:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">in our families and friendships<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">within the community of OCF<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">to the wider community and world\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Health<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">valuing our physical health<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">valuing our emotional and mental health<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">valuing our financial and practical health<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Leadership and Church Governance<br \/><\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">The Senior Leader in OCF is Mike Mitchell.<br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Our Senior Leaders are currently all volunteers and they either work or study full-time, or are <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">retired.<br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">They serve the church out of love and demonstrate that same love in their families, work\/studies <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">and wider communities.<br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">The Senior Leaders are supported by the church Trustees who are the legal body that ensures <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">that we, as a charitable organisation, are meeting our legal and ethical obligations in all our <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">business and charitable dealings.<br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">We believe that every member of OCF has equal value and is able and encouraged to participate <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">in the wider leading and directing of the church as they listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">bring that leading to the Senior Leadership Team.\u00a0 The many ministries in OCF (see separate <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">ministries page) are led by members of the congregation appointed by the Senior Leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><br \/><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Pastoral Care<br \/><\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">We are all called to care for one another and if anyone is struggling in any way, we encourage <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">them to ask for help and support.<br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">We encourage one another to look out for each other.\u00a0 We don\u2019t leave it to one or two people but <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">expect every member to carry each other\u2019s burdens, be a listening ear, pray for one another and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">provide practical support where it is possible to do so.<br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">If anyone needs more professional support, then we will encourage them and support them to seek <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">the right help they need from those with the skills to support them in their time of need.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Mission Statement:&#8216;To be a habitation of God\u2019s presence within the community&#8217; \u00a0 Our Core Values in OCF Intimacy with God in prayer Delighting in the Bible Openness and obedience to the Holy Spirit Worship &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-73","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}