MenuVBS Success!: Thank you for all of you who volunteered, served, donated, decorated, and helped make our VBS a Roaring success! We had a record number of children from outside Holy Cross. We had 47 children registered and averaged about 36 children per day. Thank you from Katie Marzano and Ruth Marzano!
Young Adult Bowling: Are you a young adult who graduated from high school and still feels under 35? Are you an amazing bowler? No worries if the answer to the second question doesn’t quite fit! All young adults are welcome to join us at Transit Lanes in Williamsville. We will be meeting on Thursday, August 8 at 7:30pm. If you or a young adult you know would like to attend please talk with Harry Grimes or email him at dcegrimes.holycross@gmail.com.
Buffalo Bisons Game:Calling all Bisons fans! Holy Cross is inviting families of all ages to join us for a day at the park. We will be attending a game on Wednesday, August 14 at 7:05pm. You could be a family with preschoolers, middle schoolers, young adults, or even be retired! Family means all of God’s children. If you would like to learn more talk with Harry Grimes after service or email him atdcegrimes.holycross@gmail.com.
Hearts for the Homeless August Collection: Hearts is always in need of bottles of water for their clients. For the month of August we will be collecting individual bottles of water. Hearts also has a fabulous recycling program in place. They accept, ripped, torn, stained clothes, sheets, fabric as well as old shoes. So please help by bringing these articles to the box in the parking lot. Thank you so much for all of your faithful support for Hearts for the Homeless as well as the Dashs’ receipts. any questions–see Jill Carl
Lutheran Church of Our Savior BBQ: Lutheran Church of Our Savior 26 Brunswick Blvd Buffalo 14208 is hosting a Chiavetta’s BBQ on August 9th from 11am-6pm. Tickets will be $10 in advance and $12 the day of the event.
Grace Klier Memorial Service: A memorial service for Grace Klier will be on August 24th at 11:00am at Holy Cross.
LUTHERAN MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKENDS SCHEDULED IN CRANBERRY/PITTSBURGH, PA AND LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS THIS FALL
Have you signed up for a fall Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekend? Don’t miss your opportunity to take advantage of the half price registration fee being offered this year as we celebrate 50 years of Marriage Encounter–$50 instead of $100. Learn how to make your marriage a more intimate and joyful relationship by attending a Weekend! The 2019 fall Weekends are:
* October 11-13, 2019 at the spacious, modern decor rooms at the Hyatt Place Pittsburgh/Cranberry in Cranberry Township, PA
* November 1-3, 2019 at the award-winning Hampton Inn Berkshires beautifully situated on the edge of a nature preserve in Lenox, Massachusetts
Please go to the website: www.GodLovesMarriage.org to see the cost for the Weekend of your choice. Two nights lodging, 5 meals for each of you, and all supplies are included. Financial assistance is available for those in need. Fill out and submit the form, and complete your registration with a credit card, or you may choose the option to mail a check. For questions, please contact Northeast US Directors of Lutheran Marriage Encounter, Fred & Julie Schamber, at 724-325-3166 or fjschamber@comcast.net.
A note from Kaycee Daniels of Operation Christmas Child: Dear Fellow Servants, As the Operation Christmas Child Church Coordinator, I would like to thank you for your participation in OCC over the years. Every shoebox collected is an opportunity to share the gospel with children and their families. If there is anything I can do to facilitate your OCC program, please let me kno9w. May your church be blessed as they reach out! In Christ, Kaycee Daniels kayceesue5225@gmail.com
Volunteers and the New York State Fair Booth Ministry:The New York State Fair Booth ministry distributes New Testaments, Scripture Activity Books for Children, Preschool Activity Books, “What Lutherans Believe”, Listing of Central NY Churches, and other religious items. This year, the New York State Fair (Syracuse) begins Wednesday, August 21st and ends Labor Day, September 2nd. The fair is open 10am to 10pm. If you would like to help staff the booth (especially in the evening) please contact Fred Neebe 725 Lee Circle G29 Johnson City, NY 13790 Phone: 607-203-1970 fneebe@stny.rr.com
Lift up Your Digital Voice:My Digital Voice, LHM’s new booklet by Don Everts and Rachel Legoute speaks to the phenomenon of communicating digitally with others. The booklet considers the power of digital voices and how to use them to glorify God and edify others, wherever they may be. As Christians we want our digital voice to be uplifting, gentle in manner, and not harsh in critique or attitude. Most importantly, we want to be sensitive to how we relate to and connect with others who don’t share our faith. Naturally, we want to imitate Jesus in all we do. Words matter and a person can attract or repel others with a few easy keystrokes. Copies of My Digital Voice can be ordered or a free PDF can be downloaded at: https://www.lhmgift.org/storefront
“Building a Vibrant Household” – LHM’s New Learn Online Course: The five-session course explores the spiritual vibrancy of households. It shares three vital characteristics available to any household. By utilizing these simple strategies, households can foster cooperation and a more biblically based perspective among members. “Building a Vibrant Household” includes a personal journal and discussion guide, helpful tips for small group discussion, and a transcript of the course’s videos. The goal of the course for participants is to adopt a plan of action to grow in one of the helpful practices that mark vibrant households: applying spiritual disciplines, extending hospitality, and/or engaging in spiritual conversations. NOTE: All LHM Learn online courses are FREE and only need a person to register to use.
Radio Ministry: Upcoming Radio Ministry Broadcasts: August 4th, September 1st, and September 29th on WXRL 1300AM and 95.5 FM. If you are interested in serving as a reader of God’s Word for a broadcast and/or sponsoring a future broadcast, please see Rev. Nickel.
Wednesday Evening Worship Services: Did you miss hearing God’s Word some Sunday because you were forced to work or out of town? St. Luke Lutheran Church (900 Maryvale, Cheektowaga) now has a Wednesday evening worship service beginning at 7:00 PM. (This replaces their Saturday evening service.) They have cordially invited all members of our Buffalo-North Circuit of congregations. It’s another chance to hear God’s Word and commune with fellow believers in Jesus Christ.
DCE (Director of Christian Education): If you are interested in working to develop a recommendation for a DCE resource, please see Pastor Nickel or Wendy Shelton. As we think about the many ministries we have currently and those we want to explore, the DCE role could be an important resource.
Hearts For the Homeless: As Hearts closes in on three decades of service to the community we look back at all we have to be thankful for. Your faithful support over the years has been instrumental in keeping this ministry in operation. On behalf of our clients, we want to say thank you. Countless lives have been changed, thousands of meals have been served, and immeasurable amounts of clothing, blankets, and personal care items have been distributed. The Mobile Soup Kitchen continues to be our first line of defense against hunger. This year we expanded our offerings by providing fresh items such as apples. More importantly our volunteers continue to build relationships with the chronic homeless and other clients-our fellow brothers and sisters, and those relationships give hope, and lead to lives being altered. New partnerships are building stronger neighborhoods and extending the ministry deeper into the community. God is opening doors and showing us where help is needed. We continue to walk in faith with Him and have announced our expansion in Riverside with the build-out of a food pantry and café, the Hearts Harvest Pantry & Café. This project is underway but we will need your prayers and support more than ever as we work towards our goal of opening this spring. The work we are doing and plans for future programs are made possible because of support from you. You play an important role in this ministry, whether that is giving financially, donating items into one of our red donation bins, or sharing our cause with others. On behalf of our staff, volunteers, and clients thank you.- Jill Carl
Holy Cross Communications: Each week, we send out Holy Cross info via email…this a great reminder of upcoming events and also prayer requests. If you would like to be added to this, please contact Laura Scarantine at scarantine@msn.com
Website and Social Media Volunteers Needed:If you have a desire to help with the vision of Holy Cross and would like to volunteer to help with keeping our website updated please see Pastor Nickel.
Update from MinistryFocus: I just wanted to pass on a brief update on the activities of MinistryFocus, a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod ministry that Holy Cross supports with our tithes. In January, a five-member grants panel convened and recommended awarding educational loan repayment assistance grants to 26 rostered church workers of the LCMS (roughly 50% of the applicants needing help). These workers hail from 16 different LCMS districts across the United States, and include 3 teachers and 23 pastors. This brings the total number of loan assistance grants awarded by MinistryFocus over the past few years to 86. The goal is to help these workers focus on ministry, so that faith is strengthened and more people come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This assistance with the educational debt load of pastors and other church workers is empowering ministers to share the Gospel across our country, thanks to the support of individuals, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, and congregations such as Holy Cross. In 2018 Holy Cross contributed $1,095 to MinistryFocus to help alleviate church workers’ educational debt load, which represented about 0.4% of our total titheable offerings and about 2.6% of our total benevolent tithing to share the Gospel and Christ’s mercy to others. This is almost enough to provide a half-year of loan assistance support for one pastor or church worker. Thank you for all you do to help share the good news of Jesus Christ outside the walls of Holy Cross through this ministry and others. We thank God for His grace and the generosity of His people! “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” – Romans 10:17 -Pastor Nickel
Altar Guild News: Altar Flowers: A flower chart has been placed on an easel near the vestry door in the Narthex. Individuals/families are invited to sign up to provide flowers for placement on the altar. Please indicate if they are for a special occasion. Directions for providing the flowers, located in the green pocket on the flower chart board, walk you through the four easy steps; please take one when you sign up. Altar guild will provide the flowers for special church celebrations as indicated on the chart. If you are not going to take your flowers on Sunday please tell us so your flowers can be shared with one of our shut ins.
September Criss Cross Deadline: Please submit any items for the Criss Cross no later than August 13th. Items may be left on the desk in the HCCC or emailed to holycrossclarence@gmail.com Thank you!
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 Jo Corneck at 741-4311 to be added to the volunteer list or if you are in need of meals.
Wear n’ Share: Wear n’ Share is a volunteer run organization that is 100% funded by donations so Holy Cross’s support means a lot to keep the mission running. Since our inception 9 years ago Wear n’ Share has helped over 9,000 children through clothing donations. Your generosity will help Wear n’ Share to reach more families in need in our local area.
Women’s Bible Study Group:The Women’s Bible Study meets on Tuesdays, at 9:30am in the Holy Cross Christian Center (HCCC). New Members are always welcome! We begin our social time at 9:30am with a study begin time of 9:45- to conclude about 11am. We will next meet on August 20th. We will have 3 summer Bible study sessions, facilitated by our DCE, Harry Grimes, on the Psalms of his choice or if you have a request, see him. We also volunteer to bring “goodies” from our kitchens to go with our coffee. Remember, it is always good to begin the day in God’s word!
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.
LCMS Disaster Response: LCMS Disaster response is walking again alongside the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Southeastern District and local congregations to bring effective relief and human care to those suffering from Hurricane Florence and the extensive flooding. Our congregations in the affected areas again will be focal points of Gospel-centered relief work over the months ahead. You and many others were incredibly compassionate and generous following Harvey, Irma, Maria and other disasters over the past year. If you wish to donate to relief efforts you may do so online at https://lcms.org/give/hurricane, by check to LCMS Southeastern District, 6315 Grovedale Drive, Alexandria VA 22310 or by credit card by calling the Southeastern District at 800-637-5723. (Mon-Fri 8 am – 4:30 pm).
He-Brews Handyman Service: The He-Brew guys are willing to lend you a hand. We would particularly like to help those who are unable to do the work themselves. If you want advice or help around the house or yard ask us. If we can’t help we probably have someone who can point you in the right direction. Call the church office (716) 634-2332 or email holycrossclarence@gmail.com and Lynda or the Pastor will contact us. A handyman will then get back to you to determine 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’sthe case will be happy to advise you.
He-Brews: Our next meeting will be on August 15th at 7:30. We meet at local homes or restaurants and spend time in fellowship as we we continue to define how we can “together sow and grow” Christ’s kingdom. He-Brews is open to all men, young and old.
Mission Trip: Jeff Allan, Rachel Nickel, and Tom Marzano are working on this. Anyone interested in planning, participating or embarking, please see one of them. They met with First Trinity Lutheran Church about their upcoming mission trip to China. Our Palm Sunday dinner at Holy Cross netted $538.96 to purchase 180 Bibles for China. Stay tuned for more information!