MenuHearts for the Homeless News:We recently received a check for $175 from our Dashs receipts. Thanks for your continued support and to Judy Carey for tabulating the receipts.
Thank You Bakers!:Thank you to all the Holy Cross Bakers who donated delicious baked goods for the Barbecue Bake Sale! We made a significant amount to put toward our Missions for this event: Clarence Food Pantry, Wear n’ Share, and Family Justice Center.
VBS REGISTRATION IS NOW LIVE!:Our registration site is live! This is for participants AND volunteers. You can go to https://vbspro.events/p/events/holycrossclarenceroar2019 or click the link on the VBS page of Holy Cross’ website. VOLUNTEERS: There are jobs big and small. Check them out in the volunteer registration of our VBS site. If you are going into 6th grade or older, you can help! We need leaders to walk the kids from station to station, snack helpers, station helpers and many more. We also will need help on Friday at noon for our big end of VBS party! So, if you can’t be there the rest of the week, but can be there Friday, we want you. And we will need help on Sunday July 21st setting up and decorating. This is a great way to help if you can’t come during the week. Please sign up today! If you have questions, or are willing to help, please contact Katie Marzano via text at 270-3170 or Ruth Marzano at themarzanos@gmail.com.
Meet our new DCE Intern Harry Grimes:Greetings in the name of Christ! To say that I am overjoyed to now be serving as the Director of Christian Education (DCE) Intern at Holy Cross is an understatement! I would like to first thank you for welcoming me in the Holy Cross family with open arms. Your kindness and joy has been a light of Christ’s love in my life within these first few weeks.
A bit about myself for those I have not met, I have three true loves in life. My hometown teams (Go Caps!), my two cats, and my friend and Savior Jesus Christ. Throughout my life I have heard the voice of Jesus speaking through engaging worship, diving into the Bible (mostly camped in the Gospels), and especially adorable kiddos proclaiming their faith.
I have full faith that our God has phenomenal things planned for the year together. I look forward to discovering them along our journey this year. Please know that the Holy Cross family is daily in my prayers. Stay well and God bless!
Service Project Opportunity: The Tuesday Morning Bible Class summer activity this year will be doing 3 service projects for Lutheran World Relief. LWR tackles global poverty by helping people adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being. We are asking the congregation to help us. We had a wonderful response for supplies to assemble Personal Care Kits and now we are collecting for (2) Fabric Kits and (3) Fleece Blankets which we will assemble and ship to LWR. The items needed the fabric kits are available on fliers in the Narthex and we have collection bins in the Narthex to place the items. We ask that all supplies for the second project Fabric Kits be in by July 21st. Information on our third projects is forthcoming.
Holy Land 2020 Trip: Have you ever considered taking a tour of the Holy Land? Seeing the stories of Scripture come to life as you walk in the footsteps of Jesus? In Israel, you can visit the sites of biblical importance and hear the stories of the Bible you’ve heard for so long. You can experience floating in the Dead Sea, looking out over Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, visiting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Western Wall, Jericho, Masada, worshiping on the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered His Sermon on the Mount, a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, standing on the battlefield where David fought Goliath, and sitting on the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, just to name a few! A potential trip is being planned by Pastor Nickel for June of 2020 and you’re invited. If you are interested or would like to get more information, please contact Pastor Nickel with your contact information. Don’t miss your chance to experience the journey of a lifetime!
Our K-Hall Vision and Purpose: The next phase of our major enhancement at Holy Cross (after the narthex, kitchen, and bathrooms) is Krampitz Hall. These enhancements look to the future growth of our congregation and potentially will include: additional storage space, a larger size nursery, an additional classroom and meeting space. Buildings and Grounds Manager Doug Garlapo has met with four architects. He has requested and received bids from all 4 which include Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) commercial standard. The Church Council has selected an architect from the bids and directed Doug to hire said architect for a fixed fee of $11,500 including fees for a mechanical engineer to design the best heating and air conditioning solution for Krampitz Hall and any planned addition. The architect will also recommend the best insulation solution for Krampitz Hall and any addition. The next steps are to
1.) Review the final architect plans with the congregation for approval.
2.) Bid out the K-Hall renovation and the addition projects to a minimum of three contractors.
3.) Church Council will review the construction bids and make a recommendation to the congregation regarding selection of a contractor and a financing plan for a K-Hall renovation project only and a K-Hall renovation plus an addition project.
4.) Hold a VAM meeting for the congregation to vote on which building project and financing plan to proceed with. 5.) Once approved by the congregation, a construction contract will be signed and construction will commence. With this renovation and build out, we hope to achieve the following: 1. Improve the largest open space on our church property to be more versatile and flexible so it can be leveraged for additional purposes.
a. The space will be appealing, inviting, and conducive to social gatherings with comfortable furniture, carpet, standing tables, etc.
b. An attractive space for the community to use for retreats, blood drives, flu vaccinations, and other events
c. A “home” for the choir and praise band for their weekly practice & occasional praise band services
d. Relocate and/or improve the storage space for current items to include a secure place for praise band equipment
e. Sunday services on occasions when the weather is too hot and to provide alternate service space when and if future improvements are made to the Church sanctuary
f. A stage to facilitate praise band setup and audio visual presentations
g. A place to host youth activities such as movie nights, pizza parties, game nights, etc.
h. A room for Adult Bible study, which allows for video presentations with a good sound barrier when other activities are occurring in the space at the same time.
i. A space to facilitate Advent dinners, Lenten dinners, Seder meals, Palm Sunday ham dinners, Soup contests, Spaghetti dinners, Chiavetta’s dinners, funeral luncheons, etc.
j. Nursery (cry room) that allows parents to participate in worship, audibly and possibly visually
k. A comfortable space with presentation/movie screen for congregational and large group meetings (with sound)
l. A practice facility and performance space for our choir which is warm in the winter
m. A functional facility for Boy Scouts and other outside groups to use
n. A space for VBS & Sunday School events (pumpkin carving, Easter egg hunts, rehearsals for Christmas pageant)
o. A group work space: e.g., repairing banners, assembling flood buckets, book sales, etc.
p. A collection space for the Clarence Food Pantry, Hearts for the Homeless, Operation Shoebox, etc. 2. Better climate controlled space that would provide AC in the summer and improve heating efficiency in the winter. This would also include adding energy efficient insulation and replacing the windows with new energy efficient windows.
Our current system has an inefficient design and the age (55 years old) of the current heating system is a large concern (service life and ability to repair). Installing a new system will alleviate getting into a situation where we have to replace the failed system on an emergency basis.
a. Improve the heating efficiency of the space by replacing the heating system.
b. Insulating and lowering the ceiling of the hall to add air conditioning for hot summer months Modern, energy efficient LED lighting with dimmers and new energy efficient windows that function While we know that we can worship and praise in any setting, our primary location for services will remain the sanctuary. Members have expressed an interest in remodeling the Sanctuary to improve situations such as how the praise brand is set up for the service and eliminating the need for walking up and down steps as we commune at the rail. These ideas will be held until we first complete a key outcomes of the visioning process which identified K-Hall renovation as the focus for bringing more of our friends and neighbors closer to Christ. We are still a long way from completion but with our Lord’s blessing, this project will be something to be proud of for the growth of God’s Kingdom. It is important to keep our K-Hall’s project improvements constantly in our prayers.
Save the Date:The Christian Airmen Educational Foundation is proud to announce that we will be having a chicken barbeque dinner fundraiser for aviation scholarships / missionary pilots at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Clarence on Saturday, September 14th 2019. The time and other details for the coming event will be announced soon. We are expecting a display of custom cars from the Christian group “Rods for God” and music from our own Donnelly Band.
LAMP Mission Trip: Rev. Jeff Swords and St. John Lutheran Church in Angola have invited Holy Cross members to join their mission trip to Kingfisher Lake in northern Ontario, July 26-August 3. LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots) will be flying the group from Toronto to Kingfisher Lake. Participants will interact with a First Nation fishing village, worship in Oji-Cree and English, help teach Sunday School and VBS for children, and help teach on Christian marriage and family for adults. The main focus is to let the people know that Christ cares about them by praying with them, praying for each other, meeting with the community council, being present in the community, and showing a caring attitude toward the people of Kingfisher Lake. Cost will depend on the number who go, but will be very reasonable due to a grant from the Lutheran Church Extension Society of Buffalo. For details please email j.swords@hotmail.com or speak to Rev. Nickel, Jeff Allan, Tom Marzano or Rachel Nickel.
Pastor Walter Volz visiting July 20th from Food for the Poor for both services: Food for the Poor begun only 37 years ago, is now the largest Christian ecumenical charity in America which provides resources to existing ministries and missionaries in third world countries, primarily in the Caribbean and Central America. One man began this ministry in 1983 with the donation of one bag of rice which he began giving out to the homeless on the streets of Haiti along with a prayer centered in Jesus, the Bread of life. Last year, by God’s grace, we provided over one BILLION dollars of food and resources to the destitute in 17 countries we serve. Our method of distribution is exclusively through Christian Missionaries. We do not work with or through any governmental agencies but only through missionaries. A missionary, of course, may be a farmer, teacher or anyone who is led to serve others in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. That is basically the only way to guarantee that resources actually get to the people
The title of my Sermon will be “Have you seen Jesus Lately?” based on Matthew 25:34-45. If there is a Bible Study hour I have a different, and shorter, DVD which is followed by a Q&A discussion on “The Church and World hunger.” Pastor Walter D. Volz was raised in Faribault and St. Paul, Minnesota where he attended Lutheran elementary schools and graduated from Concordia University in St. Paul. He received his pastoral training, M.Div and STM degrees at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and was ordained at his vicarage church in Omaha in 1961 by his father. Pastor Volz received additional graduate degrees in the field of New Testament Studies at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Lutheran Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC and Duke University School of Theology. He received his Clinical Pastoral Certification at the Metro Hospital -Cleveland. His ministry has involved serving as a mission developer, planting six new churches in the Carolinas, service as a Navy Chaplain and pastorates in Raleigh, N.C. and Plantation – Ft. Lauderdale- Florida.. Since his retirement he has worked as a mission developer and speaker for “Food for the Poor,” traveling extensively throughout the Caribbean and Central America. He is married to Gloria Kuhlmann from St. Louis, Missouri and they have two grown children.
Radio Ministry: Upcoming Radio Ministry Broadcasts: July 7th, and August 4th 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
50% OFF ON 2019 REGISTRATION FEE FOR LUTHERAN MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKENDS: Because we are celebrating 50 years of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, the 2019 registration fee will be $50 instead of $100, so don’t postpone your attendance any longer–take advantage of this opportunity! Also new this year, because couples have told us that they would prefer to know the costs and pay ahead, prices for the lodging for 2 nights and 5 meals for each of you will be posted on the website and payable upon registering. Those fees can be refunded up to approximately a month before the event should conflicts arise, and financial assistance is available for those in need. Some Weekends fill quickly, so don’t delay, SIGN UP TODAY to avoid being on a waiting list.
Your marriage relationship is one of the things in life that provides the greatest potential for happiness. Resolve to make 2019 the year you attend a Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekend to learn how to maximize the joy and intimacy that God intends for your marriage. The reamining 2019 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, MA See the website: www.GodLovesMarriage.org for the pricing for each Weekend, and sign up today using your credit card or by marking the option to mail a check. For questions, or if you would like a brochure mailed to you, please contact Northeast US Directors of Lutheran Marriage Encounter, Fred & Julie Schamber, at 724-325-3166 or fjschamber@comcast.net.
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. Our next meeting will be Wednesday June 26th at 6:30pm.
August Criss Cross Deadline: Please submit any items for the Criss Cross no later than July 16th. 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. Our summer schedule is June 25th, July 30th, and 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.
Call for Young Adult Volunteers: Real. Present. God. is the theme of the 2019 LCMS Youth Gathering in Minneapolis. Thousands of young people and their leaders will gather from July 11-15, 2019 to study God’s Word, worship, and serve others.Not only is the Gathering the largest gathering of LCMS teens, it is also the largest gathering of young adults between the ages of 19-25. Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) can be identified by their orange shirts and extreme enthusiasm at the Gathering. These 19 – 25 year olds play a huge role in making the Gathering a successful and memorable experience. They serve as role models and servant leaders while working in specific areas of the Gathering in the convention center, stadium, hotels and off-site servant events.An integral part of the Gathering is the community developed leading up to and during those five days. Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) have the opportunity to serve, encourage and support adult and youth participants who will be present at the Gathering and the community of Minneapolis. Here are some of the highlights and expectations as you prayerfully consider applying to be a Young Adult Volunteer: A Young Adult Volunteer is a SERVANT LEADER at the Gathering. A Young Adult Volunteer puts in many LONG DAYS including early mornings and late nights.Young Adult Volunteers CONTRIBUTE to many areas of the Gathering including interactive learning centers, session hosts, servant events, mass events, and other areas of the Gathering. There will be LOTS OF WALKING each day! Being a Young Adult Volunteer is a COMMITMENT of mind, body, and spirit!Young Adult Volunteers need to be able to arrive in Minneapolis on July 9, 2019 by 5pm for training and stay until the conclusion of the Gathering July 15, 2019 (be available until 1pm). As a Young Adult Volunteer, expect to grow by connecting with other young adults, understanding God’s calling, and serving others. These are expressed through prayer, Bible study, work, and community building.The National Youth Gathering office is accepting applications NOW through December 31. For details, check out www.lcmsgathering.org/yav/ or talk to Pastor Nickel or Helen Grinstead.
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 July 18th 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!