MenuThank you note from Pastor Randy:
Dear Holy Cross,
Thank you so much for the very emotional goodbye. The band, the choir, the singing, the road sign! To God be the glory! Our parents were deeply moved too. The memory scrapbook was so thoughtful of you; thank you for taking the time to put that together for us. It will remain a treasured possession of our ministry together for many years to come. Thank you also for the BBQ and potluck reception. I know that many helping hands made that possible, and we are grateful for them all. As you face this transition between pastors, be strong and be bold! Hold fast to God’s Word! The LORD is with Holy Cross as you follow an even Greater Joshua (Jesus) into the Promised Land. There we will all worship and serve the LORD together forever!
Our deepest love in Christ,
Pastor Randy, Angie, Kayla, Ethan, and Adam
VBS is coming!
August 3 – 7th / 9am until high noon
Kids: make sure that you are inviting your friends and having your parents register you for fast check-in on the first day! Registration forms can be found on the HCLC website (https://holycrossclarence.com/vbs.html) or in the Narthex at church. Fill them out ‘lickety-split’ and email them to wildwestvbs@gmail.com OR put the completed forms in the box on the smaller information table at church. Don’t miss out!
And for adult and teenage volunteers — WE NEED YOU! We are still looking for a MUSIC LEADER, adult or older group leaders, a snack coordinator, etc.
PLEASE help Cory and Courtney have a hugely successful VBS this year and let our new Pastor Nickel see how great Holy Cross can reach out to our community!!
If you can’t donate your specific time that week, maybe you can help donate to our snacks!
We need: cases of water bottles, juice boxes, healthy snack bars, cookies, etc. — see the list near the VBS sign at the entry of the church.
Contact Cory Shelton or Courtney Stefanik to be a part of the tremendous volunteers that make this all happen!
Email them at the wildwestvbs@gmail.com email address or see them directly.
~ THANK YA’LL !!
Pastor Jeff Update:
We look forward to what God has in store for us with our new pastor. We will officially welcome Pastor Jeffrey Nickel with an Ordination and Installation service at 4pm on Sunday, July 26, followed by a light supper. Please join us! (There will also be a 10am service that day so you can attend both.)
In the meantime (if you haven’t already seen it) here is an abridged biography and a picture of Jeffrey & his wife, Rachel. We welcome the Nickels to our Holy Cross family with love and friendship!
Biographical Data:
Mr. Jeffrey (Jeff) Nickel is 52 years of age, is married, and is from Alpena, MI. His mother lives in Lancaster, PA, and his father is deceased. Jeff is a lifelong LCMS Lutheran. His wife is Rachel, nee Niemi, 52 years of age. Her parents live in Stevensville, MI. Rachel was United Methodist before she became an LCMS Lutheran in 1994. This is the first marriage for both Jeff and Rachel. They have been married for 20 years and have two children, Natalie (18) and Laura (14). Jeff and Rachel prefer that their children attend Lutheran school. Jeff enjoys sports, travel, and languages. Rachel enjoys flute, piano, vocal music, cooking, and travel.
Educational Background and Job Experience:
Jeff received a BA in Government from Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, in 1985 and a JD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, in 1988. Rachel received a BS in Music Education in 1985 and an MA in Music Education in 1992, both from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. Jeff has worked as an associate attorney in a large law firm and as a senior attorney and senior vice president/general counsel/corporate secretary for two large corporations. In college he spent one summer as a congressional intern. Rachel has worked as a music teacher and as a choir and hand bell director. She currently works as a first grade teacher.
Holy Cross Announces a New Kitchen Manager
Holy Cross is pleased and blessed that Linda Ponivas has taken on the role as Kitchen Manager. Linda, and her trusty deputy Ellie Stevenson, and a posse of volunteers are now managing the kitchen and our kitchen supplies. Specifically, the Kitchen Committee are our first responders when there is a need for an event that would involve the preparation or eating of food. They are not necessarily the people that would run every function, but that’s where we should start when we want to check on the availability of the kitchen, and or the committee’s availability to help. More important is what they are not responsible for. They are not responsible to clean the mess of others, they are not responsible for the set-up of Krampitz Hall, and they are not responsible for the weekly Coffee Hour setup and cleanup. But, if you need the kitchen, or need help to run a function, or noticed that we are running low on a kitchen supply, please see Linda or one of the posse and they can help you get your request fulfilled. Again, we are blessed to have these volunteers and more are always appreciated. Please see Linda if you have any questions or are interested in serving.
FYI – Linda P. and Ellie have been doing this for some time, but now that the new kitchen is open we wanted to be sure everyone knew about this.
Holy Cross Announces New Position: Volunteer Coordinator
We are pleased to announce that Nancy Coté has accepted the position of “Volunteer Coordinator”. This is a new position and we aren’t sure exactly where it will go, but the idea is to have a single point of contact between people looking to help serve, and our “mission managers” looking for helpers. This could be as simple as helping for a single event, or as dedicated as people looking to take on an elected position, or anything in-between. One of the other goals for this position is to prevent double booking by having a master scheduler. So if you are in charge of an area or event and you need help, see Nancy. And if you are moved to help in a certain “mission”, please feel free to either see the “mission manager”, (as found on the “Mission Structure” below), or see Nancy. And if you are moved to offer help in anyway, see her. And if you can’t offer to help from time to time, no problem — just don’t let Nancy see you! Thanks!
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
Summertime is outdoor time! So our visits with our friends at the Heritage Home in July and August will feature God’s creation story in Genesis 1 and 2. The residents and staff welcome us with open arms and hears along with a big smile. We sing, pray, and do a simple craft along with much talk about birthdays, activities, the weather, etc.
Holy Cross Organization Chart
In an attempt to communicate all the different “missions” that Holy Cross is involved in, please take some time to review the Organization Chart below. The Council knows that this looks more like chaos, then organization, but that is intentional. It is important to note that none of us are more important than others. That we are all equally supporting our church’s mission, the great commission; that is sharing the Good News of Jesus, with each other, our friends, our community, and anyone else that might listen. Whether our “mission” is Acolyting or chairing an Evangelism team (which is open), we are all using our gifts to reflect Gods love to our community through our service. It is also important that we all know the work that our brothers and sisters are doing, much of it goes ‘unsung’. And lastly we hope this will serve us by directing us to the right person, either with our need, or to offer our help. Since this is the first draft, there will undoubtedly be errors of omission and commission. Please see anyone on Council and we can get the record set straight. Thanks!
