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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. 24

No. 5

May 2018

The man cut an interesting figure on the slopes of Beaver Creek

where I was desperately trying to work my way up to the Black runs. Frank-

ly he made me jealous with his excellent form, perfect control of his skis

and phenomenal speed. Oh yeah, I’d tried to keep up with him several times

without his knowledge, banging through the moguls that he had just glided

through like a well-oiled tightly coiled spring. I’m windmilling my arms for

balance and just as I recover and look up, I see him tip over the edge of a 50

degree slope and schuss straight down at blazing speed, no turns, no sweat,

no fear.

Unbelievable, and he looked so strange. Sort of an Ichabod Crane

gangly guy with red tights for a ski suit, a Mennonite-style goatee without a

mustache and a slouchy cowboy hat made of leather with a cord cinched

tightly around his neck, his loosely jointed height made a mockery of his

severe countenance. I didn’t really want to meet him. I just wanted to ski as

effortlessly as he did.

The winter passed and there was a brief hiatus of the Mountaintop

Worship Services during the mud season because the ski lifts were closed. I

forgot about Gangly Guy, because the only good skiing was at Arapahoe

Basin, way above the tree line and miles from Beaver Creek on the east side

of Vail Pass. I had my mind set on bagging the Pallavicini Face and walk-

ing away in one piece. In line with my eponym, Rev. Big Air, I was all

about catching big air off of the boulders on the East Wall at 13,050 feet.

BERGY’S BABBLE: “DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND LIVING”

… /// ...

… /// ...

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… /// ...

Then came summer. We resumed the Mountaintop Worship Service

on Sunday afternoon at Spruce Saddle. There were hay bales for pews and I

piled two together for an altar and pulpit combination. The World Cup Ski

Championships were to be held there the next winter and Vail Associates

was laying miles of pipe all over the mountain to supply the snow-making

machines in case the winter weather didn’t cooperate. Consequently, I

warmed up the guitar every worship service by playing “Pipeline”. Besides

being worship leaders, we were informal tour guides, pointing out different

peaks and mountain ranges, relating historical anecdotes about General

Powell who survived the Civil War with one arm and then became an

explorer of the great American West, and explaining the smudges on the

horizon that indicated where the forest fires raged in other Western states.

One Sunday, fast-skiing-gangly-guy showed up for worship.

I barely recognized him in slacks and a sports shirt and jacket. He sat off to

the side and just listened. After services we all milled around like folks do

and he disappeared. I was walking back to the ski lift to ride down when I

saw him sitting on the side of the mountain looking west over the Birds of

Prey ski runs. His shoulder were heaving. He was crying bitterly.

I walked over to him and tossed my guitar, Peter Townshend-style,

at a marmot that was sneaking up on him from its rocky den to steal his

brown bag sandwich. The guitar was already beyond repair. (My friend,

Dewayne, a veteran of Parchman Farm, found the guitar for me in a dump-

ster not long after my Hohner guitar had gotten stolen from Resurrection in

Houston.)

I said, “Hey man, I know you! I chased you for miles on this moun-

tain last winter and never caught you once, but I’ve caught up with you

now.” I asked, “What are you so sad about, friend? It’s a beautiful day!”

He poured out a grim and despairing story about a broken relationship, a

tragic divorce, and alienation from his family and adult children.

… /// … Bergy’s Babble — “Double Black Diamond Living”

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We became good friends, Chester the orthodontist and I. He had a

townhome across the road from the first hole of the Beaver Creek golf

course. He bought airline tickets in bulk a year’s worth at a time so that he

could retreat to the mountains on the weekends and begin to try to heal.

He’d sell me low-cost plane tickets so I could make quick trips to Houston

to see Candy. He was going through big changes. He was doing work with

the Cooper Institute to improve his health and fitness. We skied together

often developing a counseling technique where we chattered incessantly and

sometimes confrontationally on the ski lift riding up the mountain. Then

we’d get off the lift, throw the words away and race down the mountain. He

taught me a lot about skiing. There was something integrative about that

process and rhythm.

Over the months, Chester grew and changed. He was going through

a real metamorphosis. We discovered that we both liked the Myers-Briggs

Type Indicator test. It is a preference inventory that ranks a person in 8 cate-

gories such as extraversion-introversion, sensing-intuitive, thinking-feeling,

and judgment-perception. You get a four-letter score at the end that indi-

cates your usual personality style. Like an ENTP would be an Extravert that

preferred to operate iNtuitively, rely on Thinking over feeling and withhold-

ing judgment to Perceive more data. It doesn’t matter how many times you

take the test, usually you always end up with the same general style score.

One day, Chester showed me his score sheet from several years

earlier. It just didn’t read right to me. It wasn’t the same guy that I knew

and skied with. I asked him if he’d mind doing the Inventory again, and he

was glad to. The way it works, sometimes his new scores were close to the

old ones, but still, they had changed in every category. It was a conversion;

A metanoia in action. I couldn’t believe that really happened.

… /// ...

… /// … Bergy’s Babble — “Double Black Diamond Living”

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… /// ...

But there it was. He had been working really hard at his recovery

and regaining his joy. It had to have been the work of the Holy Spirit and

faith that brought him through to an Easter Rising, after a really long stretch

of Good Fridays.

Easter morning sunrise at Spruce Saddle in 1990 was a great service.

Vail Associates opened the lifts at 4:00 A.M., and people started streaming

up the mountain. 1200 people jammed into the lodge for worship, and I was

jacked up because I had drawn the lucky straw to preach at that service. It

was a beautiful clear morning. I was especially thrilled because I had the

truck packed with my dog Cleo, sleeping cozily in a blanket, all ready to

make the trip to Houston to see Candy.

During the last part of the sunrise worship, we all trooped out onto a

huge snowfield at 11,000 feet. Our fiery red star was peeking over the Gore

Range and Vail Pass. The workout ball full moon looked like it was going to

bed in Glenwood Springs. I looked at Chester and we smiled a greeting.

“Christ is risen, and so are you!” The cosmos was balanced.

Over the years we kept in touch by newsletters and cards. We got

together for lunch when he was here in Houston for business. We were both

doing great, having survived our dark hours and celebrating our risen lives.

One day Chester’s newsletter came back with a change of address.

We made a note of the new address in the office. I figured that he finally

got around to retiring early. I jotted a quick note of greeting to Chester and

re-posted his newsletter by 1st class. I thought about that amazing Easter

morning.

A few weeks later I received a letter. It was from Chester’s daughter

in Austin. I was eager for a celebration of great news. It sort of felt like be-

ing on a gentle Green Run, chatting leisurely, swooping on the glistening

groomed snow in the bright sunlight, saying, “let’s try a different trail,” and

finding oneself on a Double Black Diamond stunned at the imperious view.

… /// … Bergy’s Babble — “Double Black Diamond Living”

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APRIL 2018

Altar flowers were donated by:

08 Betty Mooney to the Glory of God

15 Warren & Penny Schick

Al & LaVerne Pivonka

22 Ann Larson

29 The Lambeth family

Her note said, “Dad has gone on to be with the Lord. Thank you for

your cherished friendship with him!” She had included the note I sent to

Chester. It fell out on my desk, open, and I read what I had

said….”Congratulations on your new digs! Hope the move went well for

you! Hope to see you on the slopes, soon.”

Oh my goodness! Weird stuff like this doesn’t normally happen in

real life. Who can possibly understand the twists, ironies and amazing coin-

cidences of Easter Living?

So, dedicated to Chester, sing these words I penned, to the tune of

“For the Beauty of the Earth.”

God of mountains, God of trees, winter gales and summer breeze.

God of snowshoes and of skis, spruce’s cones and aspen’s leaves.

God of snowfield blinding white. All the world proclaims

your might.

God of life that’s steep and deep. Give us grace to keep our feet.

Guide us through the fearful turns. Fill our hearts with love’s

concerns.

God of Joy beyond all hopes, help us fly the steepest slopes.

See you in worship …………………….. BERGY

… /// … Bergy’s Babble — “Double Black Diamond Living”

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… /// ...

MINUTES FOR COUNCIL MEETING

MARCH 14, 2018

The March 2018 Church Council meeting was called to order by President

Warren Schick on March 14, 2018, at 2:04 p.m. Pastor Berggren opened

the meeting with a prayer.

In attendance were: Pastor Jim Berggren, Pastor Jhon Jairo Arroyave,

Warren Schick, Bettie Baring, Jay Byerly, Deacon Karen Davidson, David

Garwick, Julie Kilkenny, Wendy Lambeth, Bettye Raschke, Wayne

Schaper, and Fredda Yurk.

The minutes from the February Council meeting were submitted by Julie

Kilkenny and unanimously approved by Council. They will be submitted

for publication in Crossties and on the website.

The Treasurer’s report was presented by Wayne Schaper. Offerings for the

month of February were $25,684, which was up $3,014 from February

2017. Expenses for the month of February 2018 were $42,218, an increase

of $4,522 over the previous month. The checking account balance at

2/28/18 was $220,283, not including restricted funds. The Endowment

Committee has $100 interest available for disbursement. The Treasurer’s

report was unanimously approved as presented.

Pastoral Staff Reports:

Pastor Berggren began his r epor t by saying how pleased he was by the

support for the Wednesday noon Lenten services, in both attendance and

the “great meals” provided. He continues with preparation for Holy Week

and Easter services. He conducted one funeral service (Frances Louise

Schmidt Zombro) at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Deacon Karen Davidson r epor ted that she has been wor king to make

her regular visits and phone calls with her nursing facility and homebound

parishioners before Easter. She also registered the Holy Cross representa-

tives for the Synod Assembly in May (Pastors Berggren and Arroyave,

Deacon Davidson, and Gloria McGarvey). In addition she prepared the

PowerPoint presentation for the early worship services and conducted

Adult Forum classes.

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… /// ...

… /// … HCLC Minutes for Council Meeting —March 14, 2018

Old Business and Committee Reports:

Warren Schick gave an update on Building and Grounds activities.

The icemaker in the FLC kitchen was replaced.

He reported progress on the hot water issue in the FLC kitchen.

The hot water heater was replaced, but during that process an

electrical incompatibility was discovered. The water heater com-

pany is resolving this problem. In the meantime, hot water is

available in the Annex kitchen, so dishwashing can be done there.

Work continues on repair of the Youth Room brick work and win-

dows. Mr. Schick will arrange a meeting between the various

contractors to coordinate their efforts.

Bettie Baring reported on WELCA activities for the month.

Barbara Neumann sent an update on the upcoming Craft Sale

(March 24th). There are 17 vendors signed up, with 5 more pend-

ing. Since there will not be a food truck at the sale this year, she

was checking on the possibility of providing breakfast tacos.

The WELCA Annual Meeting, which includes the election and

installation of officers, will be on May 5 th. The WELCA Board

will assist the Nominating Committee in finding members willing

to serve as officers.

All funds from the 2017 Rummage Sale have been disbursed.

Subject to approval at the Annual Meeting in May, a possible

date for the 2018 Rummage Sale is September 29 th.

There will be a “Spring Basket” fundraiser (in the HCLC narthex)

for Krause Children’s Center on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

WELCA also donated three gifts to the Krause School gala.

Work continues on updating the Holy Cross website, specifically

whether to continue with an updated and more user -friendly version

with the current company at a cost of $300/year or to switch to a free

website service (Weebly).

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… /// ...

… /// … HCLC Minutes for Council Meeting —March 14, 2018

Joe Lambeth and Cesar Majano have offered to help with the

research. Wendy Lambeth stressed the importance of having several

people familiar with and able to make contributions/updates to the

site, in order to ensure the seamless flow of information about Holy

Cross activities.

Mr. Schick presented an update on candidates for the Nominating

Committee. After r esear ching the Const itution and Bylaws, it

was discovered that members of the Nominating Committee serve a 1

year term and cannot serve consecutive terms. Therefore, Kay

Vaccaro withdrew her name from the list of candidates, and Ruby

Schaper agreed to run.

Pastor Arroyave reported that the application of bark mulch for the

flower beds on the church grounds is underway. Some mulching of

the beds in the courtyard was already done, and members of the

Spanish congregation will be mulching the remaining areas.

There were no new updates from the Spanish Ministry Team or the

HCLC Constitution and By-Laws Update Committee.

New Business:

Mr. Schick noted that a Council member should be in attendance for

the tally of the ballots at the Congregational Meeting on March 18 th.

Jay Byerly will serve in this capacity. The installation of new Coun-

cil and Committee members will be on April 1 st (Easter Sunday).

Mr. Schick reported on his preliminary meeting in February with

Mary White (Director of East Spring Branch Food Pantry) r egar d-

ing the request for HCLC’s support for the Pantry to double the size

of the current shed. The expansion would extend the building to the

north along the back of the parking lot and would have its own gar-

age door, so there would still be easy access to equipment stored in

the shed.

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Mr. Schaper noted that with the recent passing of the Spring Branch

I.S.D. $900 million bond issue, Landrum Middle School will be

rebuilt. He wondered whether the school would have a need for

additional gym facilities during this process and whether HCLC

would be interested in offering the use of the gym (for a fee) during

construction. He noted that area schools and other institutions rent

out their facilities for open forums, etc.

President Schick expressed his gratitude to the members of Council

for their service, especially to outgoing members David Garwick,

Bettie Baring and Bettye Raschke.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18,

2018 at 2:00 p.m.

Upon motion to adjourn, the meeting was closed with the Lord’s

Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie Kilkenny

Council Secretary

… /// … HCLC Minutes for Council Meeting —March 14, 2018

A SUPER DAY - 07 MARCH –

began with a blue sky, brilliant sunshine and cool temperatures. It contin-

ued with 12 guys and 6 lasses sharing fellowship, food, - and readings by

John Wenger and Charlotte Jaster.

AND – another glorious day on Wednesday, 04 April brought out 13 guys –

the highest number since August 2013 – with only one exception – 14 in

December 2016. The gals maintained their usual “2-table” attendance of 6.

We’ll next meet on Wednesday, 02 May – same place – same time. Hope to

see you even before then – at Sunday service.

Calvin (713-690-9596)

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… /// ...

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

As the leaves of the tree come out and flowers bloom, we realize that once

again the school year is drawing to a close. We have only one month of

school left at the Early Learning Center. It has been an unexpected year for

me, one that I certainly didn’t anticipate. I taught the Toddler Class with

Lynda Voran here at the Early Learning Center for 12 years. I left in 2016

with the intention of taking some time off then going back to do social

work, for which I have a Master’s degree. I was just putting my resume

together and starting to look when Cathy Bankhead called me and told me

she was retiring and asked if I would serve as director. After taking it on as

interim for a few months, I decided to stay on permanently. I am enjoying

my time here. To some extent, everything is new because as a Toddler

teacher, we did things differently than the rest of the school. On the other

hand, I was already familiar with how the school runs so that made a differ-

ence. It feels right, like I am right where I am supposed to be. I am enjoy-

ing being back with the other teachers and all the children.

We have been enjoying the products of our Pre-K teacher, Mrs. Portice’

work. She bought an incubator this spring and a whole bunch of duck eggs.

The whole school waited with her class for those eggs to hatch. To every-

one’s delight, 14 eggs hatched and the ducklings are thriving. The children

love watching them, holding them and talking to them. When they are able

to live on their own, Mrs. Portice has a farm that will take them. What a

wonderful creation God has made for us!

With only a month of school left, we have plenty to do. Our spring party is

scheduled for May 4, and we are planning to cook and perform for that

special event. We will have a pet show and “Puppets and Pizza” later in

May. Finally, school will end for the school year on May 16, 17, and 18, for

the various classes. Pre-K graduation will take place on the 18th. Then the

halls will be empty and quiet until later in August when we start all over

again.

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COUNCIL MEETING

Next Council Meeting:

Wednesday, May 16, at 2:00 p.m. —FLCA

Church Council

Thank you so much for your support of our school. We appreciate all you

do for us and enjoy your participation in our programs. We particularly

enjoy the Prayer Pals. A happy summer to you all!!

Margaret Gehman, Director

Early Learning Center

DATE

1st READING

PSALM

2nd READING

GOSPEL

05/06/2018

Acts

10:44-48

98

1 John

5:1-6

John

15:9-17

05/13/2018

Acts

1:15-17, 21-26

1

1 John

5:9-13

John

17:6-19

05/20/2018

Ezekiel

37:1-14

104:24-34, 35b

Romans

8:22-27

John

15:26-27; 16:4b-15

5/27/2018

Isaiah

6:1-8

29

Romans

8:12-17

John

3:1-17

READINGS, PSALMS & GOSPEL

MAY 2018

…///… Early Learning Center

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WELCA

ANNUAL WELCA MEETING

The Woman of Holy Cross Lutheran Church (WELCA) are having their

annual meeting and luncheon Saturday, May 5th, at 10:00 a.m. All the

women of the church are welcome.

Please come and enjoy the fellowship and good food. We would love to see

YOU.

Penny Schick, Convener

FRIENDSHIP CLUB

The Friendship Club will be meeting on May 19, at the church. We will be

having Movie Night so please bring finger foods. Gloria McGarvey will be

our hostess and she will provide the dessert.

Please begin to gather at 4:00 p.m. so we can begin to eat and watch the

movie at 5:00 p.m. Hope to see you there! Thank you.

Nancy Beamesderfer

BRUNCH BUNCH

Hope you can join us at Fuzzy’s Pizza & Café on Sunday, May 20th, at

11:30 a.m. This was Barbara Bush’s favorite pizza place. Her favorite

color was blue & she loved her pearls so wouldn’t it be fun to wear that at

Fuzzy’s on the 20th. Guys, you don’t have to wear pearls but perhaps you

have a blue shirt or tie.

Lets have some fun honoring a remarkable, caring & down to earth Mrs.

Bush. Invite your friends.

Blessings,

Jeanette Dukleth

RSVP 832.326.7214

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

please contact Ann Larson so that the list can be corrected.

Ann Larson (713) 957-0972 email: larson.berg@yahoo.com

Holy Cross members celebrating birthdays this month:

02 Elaine Snell

03 Valeska Orellana

Samuel Flick

04 Barbara Sledge

Reina Gómez

06 Doris Pharries

Horacio Gómez

08 Stan Crick

10 Ricardo Hernandez

11 Louise McDonnold

14 Ronald Burns

15 Fredda Yurk

16 Roberto Pérez

17 Candice Roy

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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Haiti to Houston

I would like to share some details with you concerning our work on the ship True

North. this was the first time we had dental clinics from the ship so I was a little

anxious about how things were going to happen. Lots of prayers were said and I did

feel a sense of peace. We met the missionary family who currently serves in this

village. What an inspiration they are to uproot their lives and their three children to

move to a island in Haiti. The village is called Grand Vide and is located 31 miles

from mainland Haiti. I was so glad that we could relieve them from handling medical

needs for the four days we were there. We saw over 700 patients, some of whom

started walking in the middle of the night in order to get a spot in line at our clinic. It

was my birthday that week and the villagers sang happy birthday in Creole and

English and the missionary family baked me a chocolate cake - I felt so loved.

The next week was different in that the members were from a church that has served

many times at MOH. The medical team was so big that we were able to split into two

teams with a group staying at the clinic and have a mobile unit. I led the mobile unit

traveling 1.5 hours on a truck up a mountain, taking a boat to another and another a

25 minute hike. We were really going to the unreached.

It was good to get back to MOH as I really missed all the people and having a normal

routine.

A group of nursing student came the following week and I led the devotionals and

they were very open to what God was teaching them.

I have been pondering what I should do next year. I had in my mind to stop after two

years and resume life in the states. I was excited about where I should live and work.

I brought it to God and prayed a lot and I really did not like what he was telling me.

I let go of my desires and heard Him tell me to stay. I did not like this but have found

peace about it and know that He has some amazing plans for me and I can't wait to

live through it. I ask that you stay with me during the last season of my year 2 and

continue to follow this journey in year 3.

Praises: for the experiences on the True North, for my wonderful staff and for the kids

at the orphanage who love me unconditionally.

Prayers: strength for the busy, crazy summer ahead, boldness in sharing my faith,

endurance.

My love, Lauren

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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

Monday—Thursday

8:30 am—4:30 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

Betty Firth

Betty Morris

Doris Pannell

Elaine Snell

Rosie Stork

TREASURER’S REPORT

If you have any questions call

Wayne Schaper, Sr. at (713) 465-5206.

MARCH 2018

Receipts $ 30,945.00

Expenses 36,035.31

Balance <$ 5,090.31 >

Operational receipts

year to date received …….. $ 118,333.00

Expenditures year to date ..… 115,948.76

Balance $ 2,384.24

Building Rental $ 680.00

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

MARCH SERVICES 2018

Spanish Sunday: 71

Palm Sunday: 74

Good Friday: 32

English

Saturday: 64

Sunday: 23

Palm Sunday: 69

Maundy Thursday: 46

Good Friday: 22

Julie Davidson

Holly Douglas

Norma Hines

Helen Jacob

Nanette Luker

Tommy Neumann

Al Pivonka

Ursula Thurley

Family & friends of

Chris Wignes upon

the completion of his

life’s mission.

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TELEPHONE EXTENSIONS

100 Church Office

101 Sussy Terry

103 Rev. Jim Berggren Senior Pastor

104 Rev. Jhon J. Arroyave Hispanic Pastor

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)

7901 Westview Dr. Houston, Texas 77055

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

E-mail: hclc@holycross.us

Website: www.holycross.us

“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

† Rev. Jhon Jairo Arroyave — Hispanic Pastor Email : jhonyave@holycross.us

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

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

WORSHIP MUSICIANS

Cathy Elijah Music Director / Organist

Jo Ann Meeker Pianist

Ann Crick Pianist

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

ELC (713) 461-5535

OFFICERS OF THE CONGREGATION

Warren Schick President

Bettye Raschke Vice-President

Julie Kilkenny Secretary

Wayne Schaper, Sr. Treasurer

SATURDAY INFORMAL SERVICE

6:00 p.m. — Atrium

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES

English Service : 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School : 11:00 - 11:45 a.m.

Spanish Service: 11:00 a.m.

Estudio Bíblico y Escuela Dominical

12:00 noon

Office Manager & Events Coordinator