Once you've completed your video / photo the BEST, most efficient, way to get your video / photo to our video editor is by way of a Dropbox File Request. We've included specific instructions below that should make this easy.

1. Record your video (or take your photo) on your phone (or tablet) in horizontal mode, or just on your computer. 
   1. Choose whatever setting/background you are comfortable with being shared on the worship video (office / kitchen table / outside, etc.)
2. After you are happy with your recording it should automatically save to your phone, tablet, or computer.
3. Visit the DropBox File Request link from your web browser on the device in which you recorded your video / photo.
   1. This link was sent to OPCC members and friends by email. Please check your email or contact the church office for this information.
4. Click on "Choose Files" and choose the video or photo that you want to send and it will automatically upload it to the church Dropbox.
   1. If you do it this way then you don't even have to have Dropbox and it won't take up space on yours even if you do.
   
   

Email Submissions
If you are unable to figure out the Dropbox File Request, you can try to send your video / photo directly to our video editor by sending him an email.

The deadline to submit is Tuesday 12/22/20 by the end of the workday - though I'm sure our video editor would welcome them to be submitted ASAP!

Here is a similar video - with some obvious differences! - of what the final product will look like. You can see that it can be informal and fun, so don't worry about the background, what you are wearing, or what kind of candle you have. We are excited to see your faces and share the light with you!

Take a look at this example and learn a little from our siblings in faith as they have recently celebrated!

Dearest OPCC Friends and Family:
 
It’s been too long since we’ve communicated by “official” letter from your OPCC leadership. Early in March, April and May we sent several letters, frequently, and have settled into new and alternative formats of connecting with one another.  Yet, this most recent update is important, and we want to make sure everyone is kept up to date. 
 
We will offer an outdoor, in-person Sunday evening prayer service beginning Sunday October 4 at 5:00pm in the OPCC Main Courtyard. Limited attendance and reservations required.
 
Johnson County continues to be in “the red zone,” many of our children continue to school from home, and scientists and health experts are still very concerned about community spread. OPCC’s addition of an in-person option does not change the danger of this virus or your own personal risk factors. Please remember this.
 
We realize that many will not be ready at this time to return to an in-person gathering, and we honor your decision and support you completely.  OPCC will continue to offer a virtual worship option on Sunday mornings at 10:30am. This virtual worship option will be available on our website, on our Facebook page, and over the phone (dial 913-299-9002).  The Sunday morning virtual worship option will continue to be our main worship experience and offer a fuller worship experience. The Sunday evening prayer service is in addition to the Sunday morning experience, with a different format and focus.  Sunday evening will include communion.
 
When any of us begin to participate regularly in a faith community we take on a certain covenant with one another, to respect and love one another the way Christ teaches us. We celebrate this unspoken covenant with one another each and every time we share in communion. Returning to an in-person faith experience in the midst of a global pandemic means we are engaging in an expanded covenant with one another.  Please read this covenant here. This covenant of behavior is designed to extend God’s compassionate care to all who are part of our community.  If you plan to return to OPCC in any capacity, please read the covenant on the reverse side of this letter.  By returning to our building, indoors or outdoors, you are demonstrating your agreement to each of the principals and actions outlined in this covenant.
 
To ensure social distancing, even outside, there will be limited attendance at the outdoor gatherings on Sunday evenings.  If you are interested in attending you will be required to make a reservation each week by contacting the church office (office@opccdoc.org or 913.677.4646) by 3:00pm on the Friday prior to the Sunday.  A new reservation is required each week.  Please be considerate of one another, have grace if the reservations are full, and we will do our best to make sure everyone who wants it has a chance to experience in person. 
 
As I’m missing you, here’s a quote that is resonating with me today:
The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed. – Paul David Tripp
 
I deeply hope that you are doing well physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Six months of uncertain times is taxing and draining, to say the least.  I trust we are all doing the best we can to find our way through this experience together with compassion and grace for one another; I give thanks to God for each of you and the ways you have creatively and compassionately stuck with one another, cared for your neighbors, and supported your church.  We hope you too have felt supported, and God’s love.
 
Blessings and perseverance,
 
Rev. Laura Ann Phillips, and The Leadership of Overland Park Christian Church

As we concluded our series celebrating our 70th year of ministry, we concluded with the movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood about the man and TV Show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian Minister and committed to the neighborhood that he created through his TV program. We too, at OPCC, are committed to the neighborhood and community we have created in these 70 years of ministry, and so we invite you to take this Sunday (or this week) to pray for our neighbors.  

You are asked to walk a route of your choosing, or specifically around the church building, to pray for all the people in the homes and buildings you pass. You are invited to walk prayerfully, only speaking if you need to communicate something important to each other (ie. safety concerns). Feel free to smile or wave at passersby but try to remain present with God in prayer. 

As you walk, picture the Holy Spirit going before you, sweeping through each home you pass. 

Before you go, join the whole church in praying together:

God, you know all the families and people that live in homes we will pass. You know the inside of their homes and the inside of their hearts.
You know what they most need and what they most want.
We pray your complete peace upon them. 
We pray your holy healing into their hearts and homes.
Open their hearts that they might receive your Love and Grace.
Bring to them all they need to be the people you created them to be.
May the peace of Christ live in their hearts, homes, and in this neighborhood. 
Bless each of these your children, hold them in your care, surround them in your love, and lead them to the peace only Christ can bring. AMEN 

Covering our Community in Prayer From Home

If you find yourself unable to physically take a walk we still invite you to cover our community in prayer from your home. Take out a physical map, or pull up a map on your phone and choose a neighborhood; it might be your own neighborhood, or you might choose to pray over the neighborhood directly around the church at 75th & Conser. We have provided a map of a neighborhood right around the church for you if you do not have access to one.
 
Take 15-20 minutes to pray over it. Put your hands over the entire page / screen and pray, breathing in God’s peace after each statement.
 
God, you know all the families and people that live in this area.
You know the inside of their homes and the inside of their hearts
You know what they most need and what they most want.
I pray your complete peace upon them.
I pray your holy healing into their hearts and homes.
Open their hearts that they might receive your Love and Grace.
Bring to them all they need to be the people you created them to be.
May the peace of Christ live in their hearts, homes, and neighborhoods. In Christ’s name I pray. AMEN 
 
Now trace your finger along the roads on the map.

• If you’ve been on these roads, try to imagine the buildings & homes along the way. 
• Pray for the people and places your finger passes.
• Picture the Holy Spirit sweeping through each home, bringing peace as you pray. 

 
Close by praying over the entire map again: God, bless each of these your children, hold them in your care, surround them in your love, and lead them to the peace only Christ can bring. AMEN ​