MenuSaturday Fellowship Breakfast: Our next Saturday Fellowship Breakfast will be on March 9th and we will study (Discipleship) Pastor Britt Merrick, The Loving Presence of God , Apr 13 – (Your Gifts) THE BEAT by Allen Parr, Spiritual , and May 11 – (God Filled Heart) Pastor Steven Furtick, 3 Habits of a Healthy Heart. All breakfasts are at 9am and it is a great time to invite a friend. For more information contact Scott Brooks.
LCMS Eastern District Lenten Schedule
This Year’s theme is “Thy Will Be Done”
-March 6 (Ash Wednesday) Imposition of Ashes at Noon Service at 7pm at Holy Cross
-March 13 St Luke Lutheran Church 900 Maryvale Drive Cheektowaga, NY 14225
-March 20 Our Savior Lutheran 26 Brunswick Blvd Buffalo, NY 14208
-March 27 Holy Cross 8900 Sheridan Drive Clarence, NY 14031
-April 3 St John’s 67 Litchfield Ave Depew, New York 14043
-April 10 St John’s 4536 S Buffalo St. Orchard Park, NY 14127
Daylight Savings Time: Remember to “spring ahead” and set your clocks. Daylight savings time begins at 2:00am on Sunday March 10th.S
Concert Opportunity:The Singing Saints of Saint Paul Lutheran High School, of Concordia, Missouri, will be performing a concert on Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 7:00pm at St. John Lutheran Church, 6950 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, NY. The choir is on their annual domestic tour, singing this year in the Northeastern part of the United States. The touring choir is made up of 46 students from the 60-voiced concert choir and they will be performing a varied program that included classic works by J. S. Bach, Hassler, Mendelssohn and Handel, as well as some traditional spirituals, hymns and anthems. The award-winning choir is under the direction of Dr. Jerrode Baker Marsh. The concert is free, but donations are kindly requested to help cover expenses for their tour. For more information, please contact St. John Lutheran Church at 716-693-9677.
Get Ready for the Summer! Warmer weather will be here before we know it! Get shorts ready by joining us in Krampitz Hall on Tuesday nights at 5:30. This class is for everyone. There is no commitment; you can pay as you go or save money by paying for a session. Come join our group and have fun as you get fit! (FYI—if Clarence cancels after school activities due to weather, class will be cancelled.) For more information, contact Ruth Marzano at themarzanos@gmail.com or 741-3382.
Taste of Pioneer:Join us to taste some of Pioneer’s most loved dishes on Sunday March 10th at 1:30pm. You can bring your favorite dish to be entered in a friendly competition or if you are not the cooking type just come out and join us for a truly delicious day! All ages are welcome! Tickets for tasting dishes will be available at the door. 10 tickets for $5. For more information call (716) 430-8236 or email info@pioneercamp.org
Holy Cross Directory: Holy Cross 2019 Directory needs updated pictures. If you take a family picture this holiday season please send a copy to Wendy Shelton at wendy0208@yahoo.com or ask her to take the photo for you. Also, please inform her of any address/email/phone number changes. There is a draft copy to make changes to in the Narthex. We are hoping to distribute the directory in early 2019. Thank you.
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.
Adult Bible Study: On Sundays during our Christian Education time between the 2 services Holy Cross hosts adult Bible Study. All adults are welcome and encouraged to join us!
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 2019 Weekends are: * April 5-7, 2019 at the lovely, warm and inviting Country Inn and Suites just off of Highway 99 in a very quiet area of State College, PA * April 26-28, 2019 at Heritage Hotel Lancaster, a newly-renovated hotel, home of the unique, treehouse-inspired restaurant, “Loxley’s” in Lancaster, PA * 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.
April Criss Cross Deadline: Please submit any items for the Criss Cross no later than March 18th. Items may be left on the desk in the HCCC or emailed to holycrossclarence@gmail.com Thank you!
Lutheran “3-0” Radio: 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. Be sure to tune in to WXRL on Sunday March 17th at 9:00am to listen.
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! The Women’s Bible Study meets on Tuesdays, at 9:30am in the Holy Cross Christian Center (HCCC). We have adopted Rev. Micah Glenn and his family, missionaries to Ferguson, MO. as our service project. We begin our social time at 9:30am with a study begin time of 9:45- to conclude about 11am. We do not meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. We are lay led, participants volunteer each week to facilitate a particular lesson. 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 March 21st 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!
Holy Cross Sunday School: Pre-school through high school ages meet in our Holy Cross Christian Center building from 9:30-10:30 during the school year. Our Adult Bible Study, conducted in the church hall, as well as our Pastor-led Confirmation class are held during the same hour, so parents can study God’s Word at the same time as their children. Our theme for 2018-2019 is “The Holy Spirit comes through the Word to everyone who hears and believes.” Each of our Sunday School students will be learning all about our Savior, Jesus Christ and growing in their faith as they learn to apply God’s Truth to their daily lives. We will delve into the heart of God’s Word each week through age appropriate discussions, crafts, games, music and small group worship time. Special events to look forward to during the coming year: Christmas Caroling, Children’s Christmas Program, Easter Egg Hunt with more information to come. There is still time to sign-up. Registration forms will be available in The Narthex or the Christian Center. MaryAnn Schettler Holy Cross Sunday School Superintendent.
2018-2019 Sunday School Mission Project: School for Pastors in South SudanSince the Lutheran Church was established in South Sudan/Sudan 25 years ago, more than 200 congregations have been formed. But there are only 66 pastors to serve these churches. Some churches have to wait weeks or months for a pastor to come baptize their babies and new Christian believers. In Yambio, South Sudan is the Concordia Lutheran Institute for the Holy Ministry. During their 4 years of seminary studies the men leave their wives and children behind to work the family farms. The seminarians need help covering the costs of their travel to the seminary, their books, supplies, food and housing. With our Sunday School offerings we can help the seminarians complete their studies and become ordained pastors so they can serve the ever-growing number of Christian believers in South Sudan/Sudan.
Weather Related Closings: In the unlikely event of a weather related closing, Holy Cross’ closing and delays will be announced on WGRZ, Channel 2, and online at www.wgrz.com/closings
National Youth Gathering July 10-15 in Minneapolis: All Holy Cross youth are strongly encouraged to participate in this fun fellowship event to grow in faith, service and worship with thousands of others their same age from across the country. On October 17th we registered 11 youth and 4 adults but If you want to go please contact Pastor ASAP as we have room for a couple more. For more information on the National Youth Gathering, see www.lcmsgathering.org or talk to Pastor Nickel or Rachel Nickel.
Get Ready for the Summer!:Warmer weather will be here before we know it! Get shorts ready by joining us in Krampitz Hall on Tuesday nights at 5:30. This class is for everyone. There is no commitment; you can pay as you go or save money by paying for a session. Come join our group and have fun as you get fit! (FYI—if Clarence cancels after school activities due to weather, class will be cancelled.) For more information, contact Ruth Marzano at themarzanos@gmail.com or 741-3382.