Dean's Message - August 27, 2026

Author:
August 27, 2026

Beloveds,

This Sunday, we will gather for one of the days that has become especially meaningful in the life of St. Paul’s: our annual observance of Oakerhater Sunday.

When we remember the saints of the Church, it can be tempting to place them at a comfortable distance from ourselves—as extraordinary people who lived extraordinary lives in another time. But the saints were people who, like us, had to discover what it meant to follow Christ in the circumstances of their own lives.

David Pendleton Oakerhater knew tremendous change, suffering, conflict, and uncertainty. His journey eventually led him to Christian faith, ordination as the first Native American deacon in the Episcopal Church, and decades of ministry among the Cheyenne people. His faith was not simply something he professed. It became a life he practiced.

That distinction has been on my mind as we prepare for the year ahead at St. Paul’s.

You’ll be hearing more soon, and our guiding focus for this program year will be Living a Faithful Life: Ancient Practices. Everyday Discipleship. Together, we will explore six dimensions of Christian life—Worship, Prayer, Care, Service, Learning, and Rest—not as another collection of things to accomplish, but as practices through which we make room for God to shape us.

The Christian life is rarely formed through one dramatic moment. More often, it is formed through the accumulated choices of ordinary days: gathering for worship, making time for prayer, learning something new, caring for another person, offering ourselves in service, and trusting God enough to rest.

Oakerhater’s life reminds us that faithfulness is lived this way—over time, in a particular place, among particular people, through whatever circumstances God places before us.

This Sunday, as we remember his witness and give thanks for the enduring relationship between St. Paul’s and the Cheyenne people, perhaps we might also ask a question of ourselves:

What would it look like for me to live a faithful life, right here and right now?

It is a question I hope we will explore together in the months ahead.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday!

Grace and peace,

The Very Reverend Katie Churchwell +
15th Dean, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

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