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Holy Cross Lutheran Church

“Sharing the Ointment for Jesus’ Feet, Giving God our Very Best”

Cf. John 12:3

Our mission statement:

Celebrating God’s love by worshipping God, caring for each other,

and serving in community.

Vol. 25

No. 8

August 2019

I wander around the Early Learning Center playground and gradual-ly trim low-hanging branches. It should be much safer when school starts in the autumn. Hopefully it will be cooler, too. The Bradford Pear looks thirsty. Even the crape myrtles are getting irritated. In these dog days of ex-treme heat, when tempers flare and sober judgment takes a vacation along with the rest of the city, a few garden tips can keep your territory lush and green. First there is the question of weeds. I once had the privilege of haul-ing a bunch of soil for an elderly gentleman who had recently retired to Houston from Chicago. He was so delighted to be in Houston that he fairly sparkled. And he had set himself to the task of learning all about the grow-ing seasons here and the names and habits of the Houston flora. He did miss his magnificent garden that he had left behind in Chicago.

He didn’t know any of the names of the plants here so I walked with him through his yard and over his whole property, telling him things about the southern flora and its needs for sun or shade, water or dry, (water the cactus every time it rains in Phoenix,) annual or perennial. He would ask, “What’s that? A weed or a shrub?”

I’d reply, “A weed sir, would you like me to pull it up.” “Oh, no” he’d say, “Leave it there. It’s a pretty plant.”

Reminded me of that parable where the punch line is “Let them grow together until harvest.” (Matthew 13.)

BERGY’S BABBLE:

“LET THEM GROW TOGETHER UNTIL HARVEST ”

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A weed as we all know is a plant that is in a location that you don’t particularly appreciate. I know many farmers in Kansas who are still incensed at the naming of the sunflower as the state flower, because its apparent mission in life is to mess up a wheat field. You know yourself that the St. Augustine grass goes from being lawn to being a weed exactly at the outer edge of the landscape timbers. That is where it is deciding to take advantage of how tasty the soil and mulch in your manicured bed looks. In some cases, I have even arbitrarily named upstanding and stately trees as weeds, because they shed profusely or are too brittle to climb and have safe fun in. So you see, it is a matter of personal taste and opinion. Let them grow together until the harvest.

I have a garden. You have a garden. We share a garden in the church into which we transplant beautiful flora from our personal gardens. We probably also have a work garden, a hobby garden, a family garden. A great deal of gardens according to our interests and our activities. Any arena of your life could be rightly called a garden.

Sometimes, because of a particular bad experience that I might have had with a certain variety of plant, my first impulse may be to uproot and throw out a “weed” in some shared communal garden. Then, upon further investigation, I discover that you spent many decades cultivating that “weed” and transplanted it lovingly and with ultimate care and attention into Our Garden, proud of its growth and confident that the community could be trusted to care gently for it. How could I have ever been so insensitive to have ever called it a “weed?” Let them grow together until the harvest.

Then, there are some personal gardens which can get very dry out there, because the gardeners have consumed so much effort in other gardens. The message is to go to your garden first and water it, before it dies or uproots and goes to where the water is fine.

I know in my gardens, I collect exotic and rare flora, all of it valua-ble and unique in my eyes, some of it strange and bizarre and hard to take care of for the average gardener. I suspect that your gardens are very much the same. Once we teach other gardeners how to care for our special flora, we can safely transplant them into our shared garden.

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… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “Let Them Grow Together Until Harvest”

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The best way is by example. Weed your own garden first. You know what you like in your garden. And then add a little dialogue: Ask the other gardeners about their floral offerings, but don’t tell them what they should do about what you think is a weed. It could be their most prized offering. You are the judge of no other garden but your own. Let them grow together until the harvest. The pathway to the shared community garden is the pathway of listening, conversation, meekness, realism, helpfulness, bearing burdens and humility. See you in the worship garden.

Humusly yours, Bergy

… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “Let Them Grow Together Until Harvest”

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR DIRECTORY

FIRTH, Betty

Elmcroft of Cy-Fair

11246 Fallbrook Dr. #59B

Houston, TX 77065

BARING, Bettie

2819 Teague Road #1633

Houston, TX 77080

GARWICK, David

11900 Barryknoll Ln. Apt. #7108

Houston, TX 77024

GARDNER, Fred & Anna

1185 Scroggins Lane

Waller, TX 77484-9659

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MINUTES FOR COUNCIL MEETING

JUNE 19, 2019

The June 2019 Church Council meeting was called to order by Presi-dent Wendy Lambeth on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. Pastor Berggren opened the meeting with a prayer.

In attendance were: Pastor Jim Berggren, Pastor Jhon Jairo Arroyave, Wendy Lambeth, Bettie Baring, Pat Curran, Deacon Karen Davidson, Francisco Gonzalez, Julie Kilkenny, Bettye Raschke, Wayne Schaper and Kay Vaccaro, as well as special guest Cathy Elijah. Sharon Wagner was not present.

Cathy Elijah asked to update Council on developments with the Music Ministry’s “Spectacular Summer Sundays.” Some of the groups who provided special music in the past are no longer availa-ble on Sundays, and she has had trouble finding replacements. Ms. Elijah wondered if having these special services on a different day and incorporating an outreach activity was a possibility, and she and Council discussed several other ideas. It was determined that having a “favorite hymns” themed service in August would be a nice change.

The minutes from the May Council Meeting were submitted by Julie Kilkenny and unanimously approved by Council. They will be sub-mitted for publication in Crossties and on the website.

The Treasurer’s report was presented by Wayne Schaper. Offerings for the month of May were $25,486, a decrease of $12,509 from the previous month. Expenses for the month were $38,484, an increase of $2,950 over April expenses. Year to date expenses exceeded offerings by $46,480. The checking account balance at 5/31/19 was $216,210, not including restricted funds. The Endow-ment Committee has $687 interest available for disbursement. The Treasurer’s report was unanimously approved as presented.

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Pastoral Staff Reports: Pastor Berggren updated Council on his activities over the past month. The pastoral staff and Council President Lambeth attended the Synod Assembly on May 17 th and 18 th. Bishop Mike Rinehart was reelected for a 3rd term. Holy Cross celebrated one baptism, of David Walter Wilks, on May 26 th. Pastor Berggren also conducted the memorial service for Doris Pannell on June 4 th. He remarked that John Lambeth’s CPR/first aid class on May 26 th was a success. He thanked Alan Lambeth for fixing the water leak in the playground by the pastors’ offices, and Ms. Lambeth added her thanks to Pastor Berggren for his help, noting it took them 5 hours of digging in the mud to remedy the situation! He has also been helping with tree trimming around the ELC playground. Pastor Berggren reported that Stephanie Neumann Walton’s summer art camp in the newly renovat-ed “Arterie” went well. He continues visits with home-bound HCLC members, prospective members and visitors to the church. Pastor Arroyave reported that the First Communion celebration on May 26th was a big success, with 25 students participating in the service and festivities afterward. He expressed his thanks to every-one at Holy Cross for their support, love, and friendship over the past 25 years.

Deacon Davidson gave a brief update on her activities for the month. She also attended the Synod Assembly in May, which was shortened to a two-day conference at Kinsman Lutheran Church in Houston. She remarked that she heard good feedback on the WELCA Scavenger Hunt and Tour on June 9 th. She continues visits, phone calls and prayers for HCLC members and friends. She also prepares the PowerPoint presentation for the early worship service.

…///… Council Minutes — June 19, 2019

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Old Business and Committee Reports: Mr. Schaper gave a quick update on Buildings and Grounds. He noted two recent security concerns: 1) Francisco Gonzalez had a blower stolen from his trailer while he was mowing at the church. (Thanks to security camera footage, the equipment was recovered.) 2) There was also an attempted break-in through the playground gate. The thieves cut off one of the bolts on the gate, and repairs are in progress to secure the area. Ms. Lambeth suggested posting signs around the church campus to make people aware of the camera sur-veillance. Bettie Baring updated Council on WELCA activities. Newly elected officers were installed at the June board meeting. Congregants enjoyed the recent Scavenger Hunt and tour of improvement projects, and Laura Nielsen won the grand prize. Pat Curran is working on the new WELCA directory. The Rummage Sale is scheduled for October 4th and 5th. Upcoming general meetings are scheduled for September 7 and December 7, 2019 and May 2, 2020. WELCA representatives would like to present ideas for upcoming plans and events before the Council meeting in August. Previously President Lambeth asked some of the Council members to give thoughtful consideration to various aspects of life in the congre-gation and report back: • Kay Vaccaro distributed her ideas for Outreach, which she out-

lined as Reaching Up to God, Reaching In towards each other and then Reaching Out. In the discussion that followed, Council noted the need for visible outreach. Ms. Vaccaro acknowledged that some outreach ideas can be daunting (“That takes a lot of people/time/money”); but starting small can have a big impact (one person volunteers to organize, then asks another person to help with a given task, and so on…). Deacon Davidson added that sharing rides to worship services is a good example of this.

…///… Council Minutes — June 19, 2019

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…///… Council Minutes — June 19, 2019

• Bettye Raschke reported on the “Sacred Shift” theme of the Synod Assembly, which explores the response of the church to changes in the world, as well as change within the congregation. She noted that the worship service can be a different experience depending even on where one sits, and she posed the questions “What does it take to reach people?” and “How can Holy Cross find ways to meet people where they are?” She noted that adding the Saturday evening service was one such example. She chal-lenged the congregation to “locate the hot spots” (areas in need of improvement) and “see what we can do. We can not be spectators, we must be involved!”

• Julie Kilkenny reported that the summer discussion group of

Thom Rainer’s book Who Moved My Pulpit? will begin June 28 th. • Pastor Berggren reported that he has been working on several

worship and outreach ideas including 1) adding a contemporary service and 2) reaching out to SBNR (spiritual but not religious) people through music with an informal collaborative service, “Teach Me a Song.”

Council discussed details for the Hot Dog Lunch after worship on July 7th. Ms. Lambeth proposed the addition of a bake off to give par-ticipants a chance to share their culinary skills with the congregation. New Business: • Requests for Building Use: Kay Vaccaro reported back that the

Clown School had made other arrangements for their summer programs.

• The Women’s AA Meeting’s request for a room to hold a Cloth-

ing Swap on June 29 was approved.

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…///… Council Minutes — June 19, 2019

• Members of the Spanish congregation submitted their initial plan to use the sanctuary and classrooms on Sundays to continue the Spanish language service after June 30 th. President Lambeth met with Francisco Gonzalez to discuss this, and due to the prelimi-nary nature of the plan, she referred him to the Synod for clarifi-cation and help with this process.

Other New Business: • President Lambeth noted that the defibrillator needs a new battery

and pads. Expenditure approved.

• Council discussed the status of the Power Point presentation after the Spanish worship service ends. Our current technician has agreed to continue after June 30th, and Council approved an in-crease in his wages to $30 per Sunday.

• Holy Cross received a request from Joshua Aduddell to give a

presentation to the congregation about Campus Crusade for Christ. Joshua, who is the grandson of John and Julia Linn, will be traveling to Slovakia to participate in missionary work.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. Upon motion to adjourn, the meeting was closed with the Lord ’s Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Julie Kilkenny

Council Secretary

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COUNCIL MEETING

Next Council Meeting:

Wednesday, August 21, at 2:30 p.m. in the Annex.

Church Council

DATE

1st READING

PSALM

2nd READING

GOSPEL

08/04/2019

Ecclesiastes 1-2, 12-14;

2:18-23

49:1-12

Colossians 3:1-11

Luke 12:13-21

08/11/2019

Genesis 15:1-6

33:12-22

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Luke 12:32-40

08/18/2019

Jeremiah 23:23-29

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Hebrews 11:29—12:2

Luke 12:49-56

08/25/2019

Isaiah 58:9b-14

103:1-8

Hebrews 12:18-29

Luke 13:10-17

READINGS, PSALMS & GOSPEL

AUGUST 2019

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News from the

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

The rooms are cleaned and the halls are quiet at the Early Learning Center, but not for long. The teachers are taking a break, enjoying vacation time with their families and attending conferences to keep themselves updated with the latest information for our children. I have enjoyed numerous trips to see family this summer and am working at school between those times. However, all that will change in a few short weeks. By the end of August, teachers will be back. We have a parent meeting scheduled for Thursday evening, August 29, and an open house for the children the following day. Then, the day after Labor Day, September 3, the children return. We are almost full. We have a couple of toddler spots still left. Hopefully we will be able to fill them in the coming weeks. All of our teachers are returning, with our most senior teacher coming back for her 25th year. We have a wonderful staff of 8 teachers and when we are full, 72 children. We want to express our appreciation of your support. Your generosity with space in your church mean that we can have a preschool that emphasizes God and teaches children to be well-rounded people. We couldn’t do it without you. We will be looking for Prayer Pals again this year, pairing a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church with one of our prekindergarten students for a year-long special relationship. If you are interested, look for information at church coming out in Septem-ber. Enjoy the remainder of your summer!

Margaret Gehman, Director

Holy Cross Early Learning Center

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GUEST ORGANIST/PIANIST

On August 11, there will be a hymn sing with guest organist/pianist Carlo Cotrone.

We’d like to include everyone’s favorite hymns and thank you for giving us this information recently.

We plan to use the ten (10) most requested hymns in the August 11 worship service and we will sing the others during communion in the coming months.

Cathy Elijah

FRIENDSHIP CLUB

The Friendship Club will be meeting Saturday, August 17, at El Gallo Mexican Restaurant located at 2116 Gessner R. (77080).

Plan to meet at 3 p.m. so we can take advantage of their lunch specials.

Pat Curran will be our hostess. Please let her know by August 15, if you plan to attend (832-814-6574)

Nancy Beamesderfer

RUMMAGE SALE

Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5

Set up will begin on Sunday, September 23, and continue during the week prior to the sale.

Donations of clothing, books, plants, household items, collectibles, costume jewelry, toys and bake-sale items can be brought to the HCLC Family Life Center (gym) beginning Sunday, September 29, and ending at 12 noon on Wednesday, October 2.

Also needed are volunteers with trucks to pick up and deliver heavy items to church. Please call Amy Schomburg at (713) 725-2285 to volunteer to help with the rummage sale in any capacity.

Amy Schomburg

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If your name is not listed or if this is incorrect information

please contact the Church Office so that the list can be corrected.

Holy Cross members celebrating birthdays this month:

01 Tommy Roberts

02 Elaine Snell

03 Valeska Orellana

Samuel Flick

04 Barbara Sledge

Reina Gómez

06 Doris Pharries

Horacio Gómez

08 Stan Crick

Chris Lambeth

09 Adriana Samano

10 Ricardo Hernandez

11 Louise McDonnold

15 Fredda Yurk

16 Roberto Pérez

19 Anita Cooper

21 Brenda Villegas

22 Donna Fisher

23 Madelyn Price

24 Dorsey Mae Alexander

25 Marilyn Flick

María Hernández

27 Carol Thielemann

30 John Allcorn Jr.

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R e m e m b e r i n P r a y e r

The homebound, disabled, long-term ill and prolonged recovering.

If you are not receiving HCLC Prayer Request emails and would like to, please contact

Renee Allcorn:

allcornr@swbell.net or call (713) 254-8638

Note that Prayer Request emails are sent out daily, so if you are on the email list and did not receive any email, please contact Renee.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS SUMMER ONLY

Monday—Thursday 9:00 am—4:00 pm

Friday 8:30 am—2:30 pm

You may sign up for Altar Flowers in the Narthex.

Suggested donation is $50.00 and $12.00 for a rose.

Ed Cooper Julie Davidson Betty Firth

Elaine Snell Rosie Stork Doris Wahlberg

TREASURER’S REPORT

If you have any questions call Wayne Schaper, Sr. at (713) 465-5206.

JUNE 2019

Receipts $ 25,544.50

Expenses 34,842.63

Balance < $ 9,298.13 > =================

Operational receipts year to date received …….. $ 169,026.25

Expenditures year to date ..… 224,804.09

Balance < $ 55,777.84 > =================

Building Rental $ 770.00

English

Saturday: 16 Sunday: 67

Spanish

Sunday: 72

average attendance

JUNE SERVICES IN 2019

Dolores Abrego

Nanette Luker

Calvin Remmert

Steven Simmons

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Dominican Republic to Houston It's crazy to think I've been living in D R since February. We had to leave so fast but we did not think we would not be able to return sooner. It's been a season of change and flexibility. Living on three different campuses = currently in Santiago. It's hard to be moving around so much, especially leaving my home in Haiti but I have experienced so many different communities, translators and bring mobile clinics to areas that had never had them before. After much prayer I have reached the decision that this will be my last season with Mission of Hope. This job that I love so much, my life for the past three years. Three years ago I left my amazing job, coworkers, friends, family and home to go to Haiti. The only thing I knew was that God was calling me there. God has been ever present, given me a community of believers that love and care for me. He has given me confidence and boldness in sharing the Gospel. It's been amazing seeing God work in me and give me the knowledge and wisdom that I didn't think I had. God is now asking the same thing of me, to leave my home, family, job, coworkers and friends. I'm excited for this new season and confident in God's plan for my life. Another gift that God has given me is a week in Haiti. Because of the desperate need for medical care a medical team was allowed in and I was able to meet them there. What a week it was! With extra security we were able to visit four different communities and help over 500 pa-tients. We were able to proclaim the message, share Christ's love, give them hope. I was also able to say bye to all my friends and especially the children at the orphanage. I was able to pack up my room and send my things back to the states.

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SUMMER OFFICE HOURS

AT HOLY CROSS

Monday—Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Friday 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Church Council

JULY 2019

Altar flowers were donated:

07 By Wayne & Ruby Schaper

14 To the Glory of God

21 To the Glory of God

28 To the Glory of God

I want to thank you all for being part of my journey. Some have been with me from the beginning, some joined along the way. Whether finan-cially or through tons of prayer and love and encouragement you have been my number one fans and encouragement. I ask that you continue to pray for me as it is going to be hard transitioning back to the states. I will not be doing full time mission work but will continue doing trips through-out the year. Mission will still be a big part of my life, either leading teams or being part of a group.

Thank you again!

My love,

Lauren Raschke

…///… Dominican Republic to Houston

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TELEPHONE EXTENSIONS

100 Church Office

101 Sussy Terry

103 Rev. Jim Berggren Senior Pastor

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105 Karen Davidson Deacon

107 Financial Office

108 Stephen Ministry Office

109 Family Life Center

111 Volunteer Office

Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Spring Branch

A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

“Holy Cross Lutheran Church is a community of Christians gathered by God’s grace and reaching out through God’s love.”

YOUR CHURCH STAFF

† Rev. Jim Berggren — Senior Pastor Email : jlberggren@holycross.us

† Karen Davidson — Deacon Email : aimked@gmail.com

† Sussy Terry — Office Manager Email : hclc@holycross.us

WORSHIP MUSICIAN

Cathy Elijah Music Director / Organist

OFFICERS OF THE CONGREGATION

Wendy Lambeth President

Bettye Raschke Vice-President

Julie Kilkenny Secretary

Wayne Schaper, Sr. Treasurer

SATURDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

Informal Service 6:00 p. m.—AT

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

Traditional Service 9:30 a.m.—WC

Office Manager and Events Coordinator

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

ELC (713) 461-5535

email: holycrosselc4@gmail.com

7901 Westview Dr. Houston, Texas 77055

Tel. (713) 686-8253 Fax (713) 686-9095

E-mail: hclc@holycross.us

Website: www.holycross.us