Oak Life Updates ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Oak Life Church - Oakland, CA

The Creation Story

This past Sunday we revisited the Creation Story: Adam & Eve, in the context of rest & responsibility as co-exisiting creations with the earth. It was incredible to hear the many interpretations of the sacred scripture from you all. Hope that you’ve taken time to rest in love with creation this week.

This coming Sunday, we are hearing from our very own, Leslie Rayno, on the story of Elisha. Come with supportive energy, whether that’s shouting an AMEN or simply being present and open to receive. We are looking forward to experiencing the Holy Spirit with you - in person or online!

 

Click above to watch past Sunday’s livestreamed services! You can also join us remotely any Sunday morning -watch and engage in live time through our Youtube channel.

Looking for quotes, passages, or resources from past Sundays? Especially Sundays at the Lake?! You can find them on our website:

 Take me to Sunday’s text! 

Save The Dates!

🎂 Oak Life Birthday Potluck 10.04
Can you believe it has been 12 years since Oak Life Sprouted?! Let’s celebrate with an after service potluck! Sign up to bring something to share at this link. We’ll have 6 chafing dishes to keep all entrees nice and warm. Can’t wait to share this meal together and remember all the years of building community together!

🪷 Cohort for Grown A** Women 09.22
Well-known to our community, Erna Kim Hackett, is facilitating a 6 month cohort for women and folks who are done just critiquing and ready to explore and experiment new ways forward. A curated community built around stories, connection, and liberative practices. Together, we will explore new ways to tell our stories, reclaim the Bible, reconnect with ancestral roots, and bring our ethnicity, our value for justice, and our longing for liberative spirituality into one place. If you're a woman of color, non-binary or trans POC over 30 this community is for you. Read more about the co-hort and how to apply up for it at this link.

🎻 Tabitha Presents: Sweeney Todd 09.12
I am playing violin for the musical, Sweeney Todd, with Missouri Street Theatre. Would love to see my fellow Oak Lifers' beautiful faces. It’ll be every weekend between September 12th-27th and various weekdays in between at various times in Fairfield, CA. Find out more about showtimes at this link! A discount code people can use if they are interested is DAE. (the name of the director)

If you’d like to submit a (community) event announcement to the newsletter, let us know here.

 

Community Board! (Needs & Resources)

Care Basket FYI
One of the ways we’re seeking to care for one another is through our Sunday Community Care Basket. This is a space to share cash or gift cards as you’re able OR receive as needed. This money does not go to the Oak Life budget, but is a sort of give-and-take space for the community. Consider bringing some cash, clipper cards, etc. to Sundays!

Community Needs Resources/Request
From time to time all of us need support from our community.  Members of our community have put together this Community Resource List.  If you would like to request support from our care team, please use this form.  You can also email our care team here: care@oaklifechurch.com

 

Church Life

Oak Life Finance Update
We are so grateful for the way this community shows up for one another. We’ve put together a report on Oak Life’s recent finances and last year’s fundraising, which you can find [at this link]. Thank you for your generosity; you are truly what makes this place. If you have any questions email leadership@oaklifechurch.com

⭐ Transition
Recently, we announced that Pastor Chris Scott has left his role as Co-Pastor at the end of June 2026. While changes brings up lots of feels, we believe that God is doing something new at Oak Life amidst these shifts and we are grateful to be able to celebrate a healthy transition. Click here to read a letter from Chris and read an FAQ about the process. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Leadership Team: leadership@oaklifechurch.com

Life Groups Open
Life Groups are a great way to keep the community going beyond Sundays. Click here for a list of current running Life Groups. If you’re interested in starting a life group email pastors@oaklifechurch.com

Update from Palestine Action Team (PAT)
Oak Life Church has joined the worldwide campaign to save the life of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian pediatrician detained by the Israeli military without charge. He has been severely tortured and may die in detention this week. You can help by adding your name to the Petition to Free Dr. Abu Safiya and by writing directly using this template to Israeli Military Advocate General Itai Ofi (cc: Secretary Rubio), to demand the release of Dr. Abu Safiya. See more actions you can take here.

About Third Sunday GenerosityOak Life is dedicated to serving people and organizations doing good work in the community and the world. We dedicate our Third Sunday offering and a portion of our outreach budget, to an organization we highlight on that

About Third Sunday Generosity
Oak Life is dedicated to serving people and organizations doing good work in the community and the world. We dedicate our Third Sunday offering and a portion of our outreach budget, to an organization we highlight on that Sunday. We’re proud to share that in 2025 our community donated  $19,500 to groups doing good work in the world! Thanks for being a part of this with us! Click here to learn more about past organizations we’ve supported. If you know of an organization or person working toward justice, compassion, advocacy or service to the community, The Third Sunday Committee would love to hear from you! You can send your referrals to thirdsunday@oaklifechurch.com.

 

Volunteer on Sunday Mornings!

On Sunday mornings church is taking place at Oakstop, but during the week it is a coworking office space. Meaning we have to set up and tear down like new every week. If you would like to help our small staff curate Sunday services that flow smoothly, there are so many ways to serve at Oak Life. If you’re considering volunteering for any of these teams click here to fill out the Volunteer Interest Form!

Oak Life Kid’s Ministry: Sprouts
Sprouts is a friendly, welcoming space where kids from all backgrounds can explore God’s love through play, art, and stories using our Godly Play curriculum. Whether your child is full of energy or prefers some quiet time, there’s a place here for them to feel comfortable and engaged. If you’re not quite ready for your child to join in, no worries — our Sprouts Lounge in the back of the church has interactive activities for kids of all ages. We want every family to feel included and supported. We’re always open to feedback and ideas to make Sprouts better.


Pre-Service Morning Set-Up
Put out chairs. Lay out the welcome and communion table. Refill bathroom supplies.

Afternoon Take-down
Collect and stack chairs onto dollies. Store away the welcome and communion table. Store away coffee mugs & coffee cart supplies. Help put away audio equipment.

Audio Team
Setting up the soundboard, speakers, plugging in microphones/instruments. Throughout service: muting/unmuting, ensuring volume sounds good. Audio and Visual are like peanut butter & jelly, so it will be a collaborative effort with the Visual Team (tell a friend!).

Visual Team
Setting up screen technology (iPad, laptop, etc.) Overlooking slides throughout the service. Starting the livestream and focusing the livestream on what/who is being presented.

Music Team
Don’t be shy now! If music is something that brings you joy and closer to God, consider joining the Worship Team. It is a commitment of 1 midweek rehearsal and a Sunday morning soundcheck. Any musical gift is welcome; currently looking for more folks who play instruments!

Hospitality Team
These tasks are a little different than just setting up because it kind of requires human connection throughout. If you’ve noticed as you walk in, we have a Welcome Table with rotating Oak Life infographics -you’d be welcoming in folks and naturally having conversations with newcomers. You can also connect more with our community through giving the Announcements. Lastly, if you’d like to be a host of social events, you might like doing Coffee Prep: making coffee in the percolator, setting up snacks, tea, and drink toppings.

If any of these ways to serve have peaked your interest, fill out this form!

 

Stay Connected

Rooted at Oak Life
Are you interested in deepening your connection to the Oak Life community? While we don’t have official membership, we do encourage the community to put down roots. Click here for resources to consider how to intentionally be planted at Oak Life.

Social Media Spaces
In this time of being physically separate, we invite you to join in on some of the community happening via social media:

  • Oak Life Facebook Group: This is a space to share events, prayer requests, or updates.

  • Oak Life Instagram (@oaklifechurch): Here you'll find some pics/videos from all that's happening at Oak Life.

  • Oak Life Community on Whats App: Look for the QR code at church on Sundays

Generosity
The Leadership Team voted to invest in our community and the next generation of Oak Life by increasing support for our families/kids ministry (@oaklifesprouts), increasing Jenn’s role as a leader, and also supporting our staff with some admin and ministry needs. In efforts to keep things open and transparent we wanted to share the update with you all and invite you to consider supporting Oak Life as it continues to grow and form. Click here to support Oak Life financially. Click here to watch an update from our current Board Chairperson.

Community Resources
We’ve updated some things on our website including adding a “how we practice” section which names some of the many ways our community/leadership tries to put its values into practice. We also added a “how to be an ally” section which invites us to consider how we can best support one another in a community as a beautiful and diverse as Oak Life. Both these new sections were developed after hearing from our community and desire to communicate more about how we’re seeking to grow and organize Oak Life. Feel free to share feedback on those pages via the form on the bottom.

Contact the Leadership Team
We are committed to supporting our community as best as we are able at this time. If you’d like to access our Harm Policy / Reporting Form click here. If you need anything else, please reach out to the Leadership Team: leadership@oaklifechurch.com.

Ok, that's all for now!

Grace + Peace,

The Oak Life Team <3

 Oak Life Generosity 
 

Oak Life Church
www.oaklifechurch.com
Twitter / Instagram: @oaklifechurch
USA

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