MenuSummer Hours: In June, July, and August Holy Cross will have two Sunday services at 8:00am and 10:00am. We will resume our “regular hours” on Sunday, September 3rd.
________________________________________________________________________________________
On Sunday, September 10th we will be having a church-wide Rally Day Pancake Breakfast in Krampitz Hall to celebrate a new year of learning in Christ! Volunteers will begin cooking and setting up during the first (8:00)service and pancakes will be served during the SundaySchool hour beginning at 9:30! Families can gather, eat and then walk over to HCCC to visit SS classes and get a special gift from teachers. Confirmation students can also pick up curriculum info. etc. We will wrap things up by 10:30 in time for the second service at 11:00! Thank you to all who have graciously offered to help cook, serve and bring items for the breakfast! Any questions please contact:
VBS Registration!: Parents, it’s time to register your kids for VBS! The dates are August 7-11th from 9 AM-Noon. You can register online at https://vbspro.events/p/events/holycrossclarence-victory2017, fill out a paper registration form, available in Krampitz Hall and place it either in the Marzano or Scarantine mailbox, or fill out the fillable .pdf version available at https://holycrossclarence.com/vbs.html. You can print it and give it to Ruth or Katie Marzano or Laura Scarantine or email it themarzanos@gmail.com. Please invite family, friends and neighbors! We want this to be the biggest pep rally for God ever!
________________________________________________________________________________________
All-Church Rally Day Picnic: Mark your calendars for Sunday, August 27th! We will have a time of worship starting at 10:00am at the Clarence Town Park Pavilion, followed by lunch, games, fun, and fellowship. Hot dogs will be provided, please bring your own beverage and a dish to share.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Sunday School News: Please re-register your child for the 2017/18 Sunday School Year on our website: holycrossclarence.com, the electronic registration forms are located under the “Sunday School Tab”. We look forward to another year of Growing together in Christ! Mark your calendars for The Rally Day & Church Picnic on Sunday, August 27, 2017 @ The Clarence Town Park, Pavilion. Please join us for worship @ 10am followed by lunch, fun-games, and fellowship (hot dogs provided, please bring your own beverage & a dish to share). Please click here.
________________________________________________________________________________________
HeBrew Handyman Update: We have about 12 guys currently signed up who to date have rebuilt fencing, painted stairways, garden and yard work, laid vinyl floor and repaired screen door. We’ve not been sued, kicked off the premises or otherwise rejected and the feedback suggests we’re doing something right. It is now time to look for our next projects, so please come forward with your suggestions. It is true that we’ve only helped senior ladies in the congregation thus far but are happy to help anyone out either because you have time constraints or just not sure how to go about a project. Work doesn’t have to be for members of the congregation either but can be for friends and neighbors also. So put your requests in, either to Pastor, Bob Hamp or Bob Corneck and we’ll see what we can do. If you’d like to offer your help, we’d be delighted. Men or Women. Sometimes we’ve found a wife can provide company while the men work. There is absolutely no charge for our services (neither do we accept beer on the job) but you might have to pick up the cost of materials. We’ve not been asked (yet) to do plumbing, electrical work, configuring smart phones or provide general advice all of which we have talented ‘experts’ to call on. If you feel that you’d like to help (you don’t have to be a ‘he-brew’!) then let us know and we’ll add you to our list.
Call the church office (716) 634-2332 or email: holycrossclarence@gmail.com and Lynda the church secretary or the Pastor will contact us. A handyman will then get back to you to determine who may be the best fit for your needs and when they can come help. There are certain jobs that may be beyond our scope but even if that’s the case will be happy to advise you.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Fantasy Football: On Friday August 25 we will host the annual Fantasy Football Night upstairs in the HCCC. We will meet at 6:00 PM, and pizza will be provided. Bring your own beverage, $5 as a donation for Compassion/Godwin if you can, along with any fantasy football list of players you want to (a default sheet will be provided). Please RSVP and/or forward questions to Ken Grek.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
VBS Decoration Help Needed!: We will be decorating for VBS after the late service on August 6th. The more hands, the lighter the work! We will provide a pizza lunch. You don’t have to have a creative eye, just a willingness to help! The more help, the quicker we can transform our buildings for this wonderful outreach opportunity!
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Car Wash: On Sunday, August 20, the youth of Holy Cross will hold a car wash to benefit the Clarence Community Food Pantry from 11-12:30. Please come support the youth and Food Pantry!
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Where Are We Now in the Visioning Process?
Step 1 of our Visioning Process was simply to begin it! The Holy Cross Elders (Peter Olsen, Dave Chalmers, Francis Cote and Scott Brooks) introduced our congregation-wide effort at our worship services on June 4 and in a congregation-wide letter.
We are now in Step 2 – building our foundation this summer and fall to understand God’s purpose for Holy Cross by looking at God’s holy Word. In our worship services (and sermons), so far we have focused on:
- The MISSION of the Church at large (“Make disciples of all nations” – Matthew 28:16-20)
- The NATURE of the Church, in terms of:
- We are called to be “Laborers in His Harvest” (Matthew 9:35-10:8)
- “Accomplishing God’s Purpose” – He does it through His holy Word (Isaiah 55:10-13)
- “Why We Sow” – our motivation to make disciples for their salvation (Matt. 13:24-30)
In August we will begin transitioning from considering the nature of the Church at large to considering how God calls us to make a difference in a “me-first” world. We will focus next on:
- Our “Anguish Over the Lost”
- “Why We Point to Christ”
- How we can be a “House of Prayer for All Nations”
- How we use our “Different Gifts” together
After this, we will continue building our foundation on God’s Word with a series of 8 sermons and worship services focused on our collective “Improving Our Serve: A User’s Guide to a Fulfilled Life.”
In August, while we continue to build our foundation based on God’s Word, we will initiate Step 3, “Understanding Ourselves” in which we will seek, with God’s help, to understand ourselves better. This will include a congregational self-assessment tool (or survey). This will lead into Step 4, congregational meetings. The point of these steps is to identify our congregational strengths.
After identifying our congregational strengths, we will seek to link one or more of these strengths, in step 5, to a dominant need of our mission field – the people God has placed around us. This step of reflection will lead us to defining a mission statement and identifying ministry efforts to strengthen or initiate.
We will then look forward, in our “visioning” phase (step 6), to dream and plan for what Holy Cross will look like in 2025 if we pursue this mission – remember that God’s purpose is to save lost people, not simply build institutions.
Then we will celebrate God’s leadership and go and serve the Lord!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lutheran Emergency Response Team Training: On October 7th the Lutheran Church’s Eastern District will be offering for the first time in the Buffalo area, Emergency Response Team training. Those who complete the one day class of about 5 hours will receive a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) identification card. This allows that person to work with first responders at any disaster, big or small. The Eastern District has an abundance of talented people, who with their myriad of God given skills can prove to be the loving hand of God to a stranger who has been through a disaster or tragic loss. We always pray to be spared any disaster, but being prepared to help locally or outside of upstate New York our help would be a blessing to those who are hurting. The training, which costs $20, will be provided by Pastor Kristian Bjornstad and will be held at Grace Lutheran Church, 736 Cayuga Dr., Niagara Falls, NY 14304. For more information, or to sign up with the Holy Cross contingent, contact Tom Marzano at 741-3382 or by e-mail atthemarzanos@gmail.com. You can also check out the Synod’s website for more information at:https://www.lcms.org/disaster Thanks for considering this new way to serve!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________