MenuPlease note: HCLC Fall Worship Hours will begin on Sunday, September 4th.
We will go back to 8:00am and 11:00am services. Christian Education starts at 9:30 on Sept. 11th.
Mark your calendar: Rally Day will be Sunday Sept 11th (details will be out soon)
Young Adult Night at Holy Cross is Friday August 12th – Before setting off for College or a job this fall make time for sitting around a campfire enjoying music, food, and fellowship. For Holy Cross high school grads through 20-somethings and their friends! A fun night to hang out before going back to school or work for Holy Cross high school graduates to 20 somethings and their friends! Friday August 12th at 6:30pm around the campfire. At the Holy Cross Christian Center and surrounding grass area. Join us for a time of music, food, and fellowship. Sodas, snacks, s’mores, and more.
Camp Pioneer Summerfest is Saturday, Aug 13th from 10am–4pm at Camp Pioneer in Angola. Chicken BBQ Waterfront fun, games and more.
The same evening is the Red, White & Blue Bash Benefitting both children & military family camps. This event is for ages 21 and over.
For Tickets contact Camp Pioneer at &16 549-1420 or www.pioneercamp.org
Guest Speaker at Holy Cross August 14th: Dr. Chris Wicher will be preaching at Holy Cross on Sunday August 14. Pastor Nickel will be on vacation.
Sunday School!
Register your child soon for the 2016/17 Sunday School year @ holycrossclarence.com (online registration will soon be available)…
We are excited to share with you our new curriculum: “GROWING in CHRIST”
Throughout the year your child will learn about their Savior, Jesus Christ as we get to the heart of the bible and engage them with age-appropriate discussions. Through crafts, games, and worship music your child will experience a hands-on way to learn and internalize Bible stories!
Mark your calendar for this year’s Rally Day: Sunday September 11th @ 9:30am!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP RACHEL NICKEL AND HER FAMILY IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
RACHEL’S FATHERS NAME IS WILLIAM NIEMI.
THE VISITATION AND FUNERAL WILL BE AT THE STEVENSVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN MICHIGAN ON SATURDAY. THANKS
WE WILL POSTPONE THE CELEBRATION FOR PASTOR AND HIS FAMILY CELEBRATING 1 YEAR AT HOLY CROSS UNTIL THE SERVICE IN THE PARK ON AUGUST 28TH.
VBS WAS A HUGE SUCCESS THIS PAST WEEK. WE HAD OVER 30 KIDS AND ALMOST 30 YOUTH AND ADULT HELPERS THOUGHOUT THE WEEK. THE MISSION WAS TO COLLECT CANS AND BOTTLES AND THEN WE WILL DONATE THE MONEY TO HEARTS FOR THE HOMELESS. WE WILL CONTINUE COLLECTING CANS AND BOTTLES AGAIN THIS WEEK, SO BRING THEM ALONG TO WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY!!!!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED OUR PANERA FUNDRAISER THIS PAST WEDNESDAY. AS SOON AS WE HEAR FROM PANERA, WE WILL UPDATE YOU ON HOW MUCH MONEY WE RAISED.
NEW WORSHIP HOURS for 2017:
Now that we have your attention, and we know we are playing with dynamite here, but forNEXT summer, the church leadership is considering modifying theSunday morning worship hours. To that end we are soliciting feedback. So without doing a formal survey or a congregational vote, the Elders and Council Members would like to know what people think about changing summer worship times from “9:00 AM and 11:00 AM” to “8:00 AM and 10:00 AM”. Please consider this REQUEST FOR YOUR INPUT, we have a lot of time to think about it. Please be assured that no decision has been made and we know that there must be overwhelming support to make a change like this, but we figured if we didn’t at least start asking, we will never know what people think. Please feel free to bend the ear of any Council Member or Elder and we will keep you posted as to what we are hearing Thanks!
2017 BENEVOLENCE UPDATE:
As many of you already know, the Council has been working on a procedure (or policy) for our church’s tithe. In the June Voters Meeting, we went over the rough draft of our Guidelines. Since then, the Council has approved the attached Policy for evaluating the recipients of our giving.
The full policy is in the pdf file sent via email, but the “meat” of the matter is below in the general guidelines…
We tried to include our “rationale” on the front end of each rule, but our overarching guidance was that since you all are donating money to our Lutheran Church, the expectation would be that the donation would go do the work of, and to the Glory of, our Lord and Savior.
So we will be using these guidelines to “vet” our current recipients, and in at the December’s Voters Meeting we expect to be presenting a modified list of benevolences; but it’s not too late. So if someone sees a flaw in our logic, or has questions or concerns, please feel free to see any Elder our Council member. Thanks for your consideration and we look forward to healthy discussions.
General Guidelines
1. We believe that money donated to our church is intended for use in “Christian missions”, e.g. missions commanded by Jesus, (works of corporal mercy and works of spiritual mercy).
2. We believe that whenever possible, benevolences should be done with all glory going to God, not to the recipient organization, or man. (e.g. Organization that do their work in the name of Jesus Christ.)
a. Further, whenever possible organizations within the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod should be supported in preference to other Christian based organizations.
3. In order to make our benevolences significant, we should avoid redundancy with overlapping missions/ organizations.
4. We believe that we have a responsibility to support our Synod (as it supplies the resources to maintain our denomination from generation to generation).
5. We believe that there should be consideration to direct our benevolences locally, nationally, and internationally.
6. We believe that when all else is equal, the efficiency of the recipient organization should be used as a discriminating factor.
7. In order to make our benevolence impactful, we believe that we should keep the number of Holy Cross benevolences at 10 or less.
8. There are other ways to support organizations besides tithing from the regular offering; so these should be brought to the Church Council on a case by case basis, and are not subject to the limitations of these guidelines.
b. The ancillary support of other organizations should not be counted against these organizations in determination of benevolence eligibility.
Radio Ministry Update
Holy Cross has received a grant from the Lutheran Church Extension Society of Buffalo to help fund a radio ministry on WXRL AM1300. We will be participating with other local congregations to produce a program called “Lutheran 3-0” which will be broadcast on Sundays at 9:00am. If you are interested in assisting (selecting, playing, recording music, or reading), please contact Pastor Nickel.
Visitation Care
If you are or will be hospitalized or homebound and desire Christian care from the Holy Cross staff, please phone the church office at 634-2332 and/or email holycrossclarence@gmail.com to let us know. Please do not assume that we know your situation because for many reasons we often don’t. We will do our best to visit you, and if homebound, see that you receive communion.
Dash’s receipts
Dash’s receipts are now being donated to Hearts for the Homeless. The van they use to deliver meals 4 to 5 nights a week in downtown Buffalo is dying. This van needs to be replaced. This wonderful mission really needs our support.
Holy Cross collected enough Dash’s receipts to receive a check for $250!! This is the second check that will go to Hearts for the Homeless and their motor home fund. Thanks you and keep those receipts coming!!Thanks to Lorraine Woodman for tallying them up!!! Keep up the good work! Thank you, Jill Carl
Heritage Home
For our summer visits, July 24th and August 21st at 10:15 (between the worship services), our Bible study will be Genesis 1 and 2- the two part story of creation. Part one is “God Creates Land, Water, and Plants” and part two “God Creates Living Creatures”. This is a wonderful summer time effort to celebrate God’s acts of creation then and continuing now. We visit, pray, sing, and enjoy a time of fellowship and a simple craft during our visit which is about 45 minutes long.
Care-Ring Circle
To all the Care-Ringers who provide meals for those in need, Thank you! Until you have experienced the love and generosity from our Holy Cross family, you couldn’t know how much it is appreciated. If you are interested in volunteering to make a meal for those in need please contact Doreen Borschel at 688-8096. I will add you to the list of volunteers in our email group.
Holy Cross Outreach Ideas
We are looking for prayerfully inspired ideas to share with the world OUTSIDE our front door of what is offered INSIDE our front door. As members of the Holy Cross family we are blessed each day by being part of God’s community and the strength it provides us to resist what satan is peddling. Now imagine being just OUTSIDE our front door in need of Love, Salvation, Refuge & Strength and having no idea all that is available just INSIDE that building on Sheridan Drive. We believe to get anyone to step INSIDE the front door and take advantage of what is being offered; we will first have to go OUTSIDE (like removing the basket covering the candle). If you would like to be part of going OUTSIDE the front door to share the light of God’s Holy Cross community story we will be holding an informational lunch meeting in the near future. Please contact Sam Harrison 515-5679 samh@roadrunner.com if you are interested!
HeBrews
HeBrews meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month, usually at 7:30 pm; at a member home or at a local restaurant. The July location will be at Doug Garlapo’s house, watch the weekly announcements. We do not stay out late as most have to work in the morning. A typical gathering starts with fellowship followed by a Christian video presentation (often from Right-Now Media) and discussion. You do not need to drink beer to join us, other beverages both with and without alcohol are often enjoyed. All are welcome – including neighbors and friends, to come and see serious support given to fellow members and a willingness to help others and our church. He-Brews is open to all men, young and old.
AV Team Seeking Volunteers
Anyone in 7th grade or older is welcome to help record Pastor Nickel’s messages, praise band and choir songs and help create and/or run the presentations we use for Praise Band services. It’s easy andtraining will be provided, and it’s a fun way to participate in our church service. The recordings are offered to shut ins too when they cannot attend church service, how cool is that? Please see Scott Brooks for more information.