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Welcome to College Avenue Friends
Church. We are located at the corner of College Avenue and North C
Street.
Our Pastor, Tom Palmer, has
challenged us to be "the friendliest church in Oskaloosa." We welcome
you to worship on Sundays at 9:30. Sunday School resumes September
10th at 10:50. We have classes for all age groups and would love to
see you.
College Avenue Friends
Church is
College Avenue Friends Church
is a unique Christ centered, Biblically based body of believers. We are
a gathering of Friends who seek to be led by God's Spirit.
Our Meeting House
offers a place where people of all ages are welcome to come for
fellowship and worship. Among the many opportunities, we offer
ministries of education, encouragement, missions, and service. We meet
people with tolerance and acceptance, in order to uphold and aid them
in their Christian growth.
Our Heritage. . .
As members of the Society of
Friends (Quakers), we celebrate a rich heritage. The origins of Friends
are found in the seventeenth century in England, a time when many were
questioning the established beliefs of the age. George Fox (1625-1691)
did not find answers to his questions in any of the churches of his
day. Out of his searching came the spiritual message which swept a
large part of the country. The Society of Friends was born.
Pursuing Peter's teaching, Fox
called for a radical, spirit filled Christianity that would not be
oppressive of people on account of race, sex, or class. Fox preached
that every person had free, unmediated access to God for Christ has
come to teach his people himself. Fox did not intend to start a new
sect. He wanted to persuade the church to return to what it had been in
the days of the Apostles.
The first Friends Meeting in
Mahaska County was established in 1843. Oskaloosa Friends Meeting, now
known as College Avenue Friends Church, began on January 1, 1876.
Our Mission. . .
College Avenue Friends
exists to be compassionate examples of Christ as we live out our Quaker
testimonies through the exercise of our individual gifts. We are
committed to live as a Christ centered fellowship which gives freedom
to its members to practice their faith as led by God's Spirit.
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Sermons on
the Web
Click here to listen
to Pastor Tom's Sermons
New Feature:
Local Opportunities to Help
Local
Opportunities (WORD Document)
Contact Our Staff:
Donna Rucinski, Clerk
Tom Palmer, Pastor
Becky Barber, C.E.
CAF Links:
Friends United Meeting
Iowa Yearly Meeting
Camp Quaker Heights
Quakerdale
William Penn University
Other Quaker Links
Spiritual Gifts Analysis
Tom Palmer's Bio....
Tom Palmer and his wife,
Jan, are graduates of William Penn College, now University, and Tom has an
earned Doctor of Ministry Degree from Bethel Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
They have two daughters, Katy, a recent seminary graduate, and Erica, who just
finished college.
Tom and Jan have served
in Iowa Yearly Meeting Friends Churches for 31 years and are just completing a
successful 15-year pastorate in Salem, Iowa. Both have been recognized leaders
in the Meeting and in the community.
Jan has been active in
the Mount Pleasant Community Theater and been a leader as a public school music
teacher. Tom led in the planting of a new Friends Church in Mount Pleasant as
well as serving in a leadership role in the ongoing work of Habitat for Humanity
there. |
