MenuWelcome to a brand new year! 365 new days to draw closer to God. We offer many ways for people of all ages to grow in their faith, from pre-K Sunday School class to Confirmation Class to High School Youth group to Adult Bible Studies. Join us any time! Start the year off right by scheduling your calendar days with time in the Word. Happy 2017!
January 1st: No Sunday School, Happy New Year! Regular Service times: 8am and 11am.
January 12th: Sunday School Teacher Meeting @6pm
Thank you to all who helped with this year’s Sunday School Program! It was a great service and a fun JUBILEE to praise Jesus!
Crossroads:
Our next Crossroads is January 7th at 5:00pm. Please join us in praising God with some contemporary song, and exploring and meditating on the Word. Holy Cross is hosting a once-a-month Saturday evening devotional experience. We praise God with some contemporary christian songs, meditate on the Word with a short devotion, and connect with others in God’s love and peace. All are welcome! Mark your calendars for January 7th at 5:00 PM, and please join us for this exciting new devotional experience. Please contact Samantha with any questions at samanthabrown.holycross@gmail.com. Please join us!
Hearts for the Homeless Collection
Hearts is in dire need of warm winter hats, scarves, gloves, mittens & socks for adult men & women. Also blankets & backpacks. Items can be gently used or new. Collection box is in narthex now thru Jan. 29th. Please help!
7th and 8th Grade Fun Night
This year’s confirmation class will be having some bonding time with an outing the evening of January 20th! It is a time for us to just get out and have fun together!
High School Youth Group
A new year means new things & this year we are changing up our youth program! We will now be meeting Saturday, January 14th & 28th at 7:00 PM. We will be diving into the Word, asking tough questions like “Is the Bible reliable?” and “Can I be a Christian and believe in evolution?” All High school students are welcome to join us!
High School Afternoon Out!
On Monday, January 16th high school students are invited to join us at 2:00 at the Panera on Transit (just off Maple Rd). Bring a few dollars to grab a bite to eat, or a drink, and join us for a time hang out and talk, before a short devotion.
Wednesday Night Small Group:
Join us for a study entitled “Better Together: Connecting with God & Others”. As we dive into Bible passages for each session, we’ll reflect on how God connects people to Him through His church and through each other. Take this time to reflect and discover together how we can grow in Christ and grow as the Body of Christ. Wednesday evenings January 11th- February 15th at 7pm in the HCCC upstairs. See Samantha Brown for more information.
Criss Cross Deadline:
The Deadline for the January Criss Cross is Tuesday JAN 17th. Please email the secretary at holycrossclarence@gmail.com or leave any materials on her desk in the HCCC.
Cookie Donations:
Thanks to everyone who baked cookies for the Hearts for the Homeless Christmas dinner. We donated 40 dozen cookies!
High School Youth Group:
A new year means new things & this year we are changing up our youth program! We will now be meeting Saturday, January 14th & 28th at 7:00 PM. We will be diving into the Word, asking tough questions like “Is the Bible reliable?” and “Can I be a Christian and believe in evolution?” All High school students are welcome to join us! We meet in the upstairs of the HCCC. Please contact Samantha at samanthabrown.holycross@gmail.com with any questions!
New Member Class:
Pastor Nickel will teach a class on the basics of the Christian faith, as believed and confessed by the Lutheran Church, on Wednesdays at 7:00pm from January 11- February 15th. In commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, the class will focus on the book of Roma and the Augsburg Confession. Everyone is welcome.
Wednesday Night Small Group:
Join us for a study entitled “Better Together: Connecting with God & Others”. As we dive into Bible passages for each session, we’ll reflect on how God connects people to Him through His church and through each other. Take this time to reflect and discover together how we can grow in Christ and grow as the Body of Christ. Wednesday evenings January 11th- February 15th at 7pm in the HCCC upstairs. See Samantha Brown for more information.
SAVE THE DATE:
Holy Cross Work Day with Habitat for Humanity: Saturday, May 6th. More information and sign-up will be available in the weeks ahead.
Gift Card Results!
Once again we have been blessed by the generosity of our members. 23 families participated in our gift card fundraiser. The total gift card order was $9,405 with the sale of 339 individual cards. We raised $622.54 in funds to go toward the 2019 National Youth Gathering. Thank you for your support of this program and our youth! Andrea Wiepert.
Clarence Food Pantry:
Holy Cross donated 40 lbs of chicken to the Clarence Food Pantry. And every month the HeBrews guys collect a ton of food items for the Clarence Pantry when they meet. Thanks to everyone for your generosity!
Lutheran “3-0” Radio Broadcast Schedule and a call for volunteers:
Holy Cross will sponsor “Lutheran 3-0” on WXRL 1300 AM from 9:00-9:30am on Sundays Dec 25th, Jan 22nd, Feb 19th, and March 19th. “Lutheran 3-0” precedes the Lutheran the Lutheran Hour on WXRL on Sundays. If you would like to help be a part of this ministry as a lay reader, sound or technical person or in any other capacity please see Pastor for more information.
AED’s Arrive at Holy Cross
Per our voters’ meeting, Holy Cross has purchased and received two new AED’s for installation in both the church and in the Holy Cross Christian Center. And in case you are wondering, AED stands for “automated external defibrillator”. Along with the AED’s, about 15 of our members and friends received American Heart Association training in basic lifesaving CPR and AED usage. Many thanks to all who stepped forward to help protect the safety of our congregation, and a special thanks to Council Secretary Courtney West, who spearheaded the project through to completion. We pray that we never need to use these tools, but we also thank our Lord for providing us with these resources and the people willing to serve in this capacity, and trusting in His will for all.
Weather Related Closings
As we enter into the winter season it is good to remember that in the unlikely event of weather related closing, Holy Cross’ closings and delays will be announced on WGRZ, Channel 2, and online at www.wgrz.com/closings
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.
Heritage Home
Our regular visit to the Heritage Home would be right on Christmas Day. Our friends there will have family doings so the plan is to go January 1instead at 10 a.m. The Tichys will accompany us with instruments as we Christmas carol. You are invited to come to add to the chorus of Christmas praise to our Lord that day. What a day of sharing with others the joy of Christmas is as we begin a new year. Christmas cookies are fun that day so bring some along. ~Alfrieda, Ron, Margaret
December 2016 Voters Meeting Overview
The semiannual voters meeting was held on December 11th following the second service, and for those that could not attend, here are the highlights.
-Based on the Financial Secretary’s and Treasurer’s Reports we are pleased to announce that 2016 should be closing out ahead of budget in giving and under budget in operating expenses. (These reports were e-mailed to the congregation and hardcopies are available upon request. The final 2016 report will be sent out in late January or early February.)
–We have completed 7 of 8 Building projects slated for 2016, with realized expenses approximately 50% less than what was budgeted. This included the Narthex Welcome Center, and the training of 15 members in CPR and the installation of Automatic External Defibrillators in both buildings.
–With the help of our Director of Christian Education Intern, Samantha Brown, we have launched two new missions, one directed toward “Discipleship” growth and the other towards community “Outreach”. Look for more information on both groups as we progress through 2017. THESE are excellent opportunities for all members to be more active in putting faith into action.
–The congregation voted to approve three changes to the LCMS constitution. (Details of these changes have been posted ON the bulletin board for several months.)
–Our Risk Management and Youth Protection process continues to be strengthened as more members are completing screening and training. If you work with youth or have a position of responsibility in the church, look for more information from Melinda Wood on how you can help protect others, (and yourself).
–We thanked Linda Ponivas and Ellie Stevenson for their tireless work as our Kitchen Mission Managers, and we welcomed Debby Hamp, who has agreed to manage the Kitchen in 2017, (and hopefully beyond).
–We thanked Paul Donnelly and Sam Gugliuzza for their many years serving on our Church Council. While both gentlemen are stepping down from Council, both plan to continuing serving Holy Cross in different functions in the future.
–The voters approved the 2017 Operating Budget and Building Budget. Copies of these are available upon request.
–And the slate proposed for 2017 Council was accepted by the voters as seen below.
–And we were pleased to point out that on our church’s organization chart, there are 43 different names performing services in our congregation; (but there is always room for more). We encourage everyone to find new and challenging ways that they may be able serve both Holy Cross and the Kingdom of God.
We thank everyone that was able to attend this meeting, and as always, we encourage anyone with questions or concerns to see Pastor, an Elder or Council Member. And we thank you for your support.
In His Service,
Your 2017 Council
Below is our updated Mission Structure Chart:
