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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.

BERGY’S BABBLE:

SUMMERTIME SNIPPETS

Vol. 17 No. 09 September

2011

I used to annoy my philosophy professor, Dr. David Dumas. An

ex-Presbyterian pastor, he would puff on his pipe with aromatic tobacco

smoke curling around his head, and he‘d say, ―Today we will start a sec-

tion on the epistemology of the Oriental philosophy of Taoism. The yin

and the yang. There is no here without a there. There is no day without

night, no right without wrong. We define our experience through con-

trast.‖ So I‘d raise my hand. ―Yes, Jim?‖ I‘d say, ―I understand, and yet

I don‘t.‖

In the interest of accurate language, I always flinch when I hear

someone use the word, ‗decimate‘ to mean a total wipe out, as in ―The

Sioux decimated Custer‘s troops.‖ The word actually comes from the

Latin and the action from the Roman legions. When someone in an

occupied province defied the governor or killed a soldier, they would

hold a lottery and kill every tenth person and so decimate the local popu-

lation as an object lesson. The Jews in World War II Europe, weren‘t

decimated. They should have been so lucky. They were all but wiped

out. We‘re not being decimated by cancer. The odds are worse than that,

like one in five or so. Actually decimation is a pretty kind practice when

compared to current standards of our inhumanity to humankind.

The anniversary of the death of Elvis recently passed, and we were chat-

ting about where we were when Elvis died.

…///...

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In the process of the conversation, my rural upbringing kind of slipped

out and I said, ―I‘d really like a velvet picture of Elvis‘s Last Supper for

our breakfast nook.‖ A good Lutheran lady was there who indignantly

retorted, ―You can make fun of Jesus, but leave the King out of it.‖

A spot announcement here: Next month‘s meetings of The Clair-

voyant‘s Society have been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

When they were much younger we went shopping with our boys.

They wanted some Jurassic Park action figures. So naturally we went to

the bookstore, and I took them to the reference section. I told them,

―This is exactly what you need,‖ as I pointed out a very nice Thesaurus to

them. ―This is a prehistoric tiny creature, who often used flowery lan-

guage to extricate himself from potentially life-threatening situations.‖

―Hey, you rancorous behemoth up there! Your Brobdingnagian incisors

are vainglorious!!‖ Apparently that wasn‘t exactly what they had in

mind.

I think that we need a Dictionary of Euphemisms. Some of them

could be pretty creative, in the way that they smooth over the harsh reali-

ties of life. Having a list of them for certain events in life would be help-

ful. For instance, how else could we handle the nasty old 8-letter R-

word, ‗recession‘? Well, it‘s ―a great time to try 99 Cent store generic

cola‖, ―our little national problem‖, ―a wonderful new lifestyle down-

scaling opportunity‖, and ―a little something for you ‗30s nostalgia

buffs.‖

Western societies have been on a decentralizing bender for 500

years, concluding that the earth is not the center of the universe and hu-

mankind are not the beloved of God. We have moved ourselves out of

favor toward the edge of a backwater galaxy on an infinitesimal mote of

a planet, when a real primary fact is that the most richly organized mate-

rial in the known universe is the human cerebral cortex, and the densest

and richest experience in the universe is the experience that you are hav-

ing right now.

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Every once in a while, global warming and the ozone

layer briefly take center stage as a news topic. I think that we fail to take

into consideration the impact of the natural world on weather fluctuations

and ozone layer variations. When Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines

erupted it spewed out more than a 1000 times the amount of ozone-

depleting chemicals in one eruption than all the fluorocarbons manufac-

tured by all of the wicked, diabolical, and insensitive corporations in his-

tory. What is neat is that volcanoes have been doing this dastardly stuff

for over 4 billion years and we still have a fairly healthy ozone layer. It

amazes me and makes me feel very privileged to know that God‘s cosmic

repair system works just fine.

Finally, we are precisely as big as what we love, and precisely as

small as what we allow to annoy us.

See you in worship……………….Bergy

HOLY CROSS will need to complete TWO MAJOR MAINTENANCE

PROJECTS within the next 2 years: a new roof for the FLC and repaving

the parking lot. The necessity of the new roof will most likely happen

first and will cost approximately $100,000. We did this before to patch

the roofs and it worked and we would like to try it again! You will see

several clear collection containers around the Atrium and FLC with a

"FLC Roof Collection". When your prayers and finances allow, please

contribute to this collection. In this economy, we need to have the

money, or most of it, saved BEFORE we spend it!

Thank you! — Council

ROOF DONATIONS

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COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

AUGUST 14, 2011

Present were: President Calvin Remmert, Treasurer Wayne Schaper, Pas-

tor Jim Berggren, Pastor Jhon Arroyave, AIM Karen Davidson, Alma

Laubenberg, John Stokes, Sharon Wagner, Sandra Williams, James de

Leon, Observer, Pat Curran, Chairperson of Nominating Committee, and

Raymond Aronoff. Minutes were approved and Treasurer's Report accepted. PASTOR JIM - Thanks Calvin and Tillie Remmert for the work they

have done on the Pictorial Directory. Healing Service went well. Vaca-

tion days will be September 6th -12th, 2011. AIM Karen - Thanked all for prayers during her recovery. Is back in the

Office. Resumed Apartment Ministry at Spring Shadows Place. PASTOR JHON - began an Adult Class for Baptism and Confirmation. Matt Coffey will serve as Interim Choir Director. An area of the Parking Lot between the Family Life Center and Food

Pantry will be marked for Pedestrian Crossing with signs and stripes on

the pavement. Rally Day will be August 28th. Tables will be set up in the FLC for

service opportunities. Consecration Sunday will be November 13th.

Sharon Wagner

Secretary

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The women of the ELCA will also be holding the 2011 Convention this

year September 16—18, 2011, at Columbia Lakes Resort and Conven-

tion Center in West Columbia, Texas. They will be having a physical

offering collecting new and gently used teddy bears in mint condition.

These will be given to local police and fire departments to be given to

small children in times of crisis.

There will be a monetary offering which will benefit military moms and

wives of Brazoria County. If you would like to attend the convention or

donate to either of these offerings please contact Jodi Byerly at (713) 870

-1297 or ajbyerly@yahoo.com

On Saturday, September 3, 2011 Holy Cross WELCA will be having a

general meeting from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. At the meeting we will be

voting on some changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. Dorcas circle

will be providing food for the meeting.

We will also be having a very special speaker, Annika Graham. She is

the granddaughter of Tillie and Calvin Remmert and spent the last two

years with the Peace Corps in Moldova. She is excited to share her ex-

perience with us and to teach us a Moldovan dance!

WELCA CONVENTION 2011

WELCA GENERAL MEETING

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REFORMATION MONTH

We have an exciting October coming up with events leading up to and including

Reformation Sunday (October 30, 2011). In order to best implement and final-

ize these 4 Sundays of events, we need a committee. If you would like to help

design and carry out this set of programs, please let me know.

Ideally, it would be perfect to have someone from the choir and/or Worship

Committee, someone from the Drama Ministry, someone from the Sunday

School, someone from the Adult Forum, someone who knows how to organize

and run the kitchen for the Oct. 30 pot luck, members with ideas for the

Sundays and many volunteers to help with publicizing and carrying out each

Sundays events. Please do not hesitate to volunteer!

You can contact me at (713) 984-8009, sandra.k.williams@sbcglobal.net or in

church on Sundays! Thank you.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE NOTICE

The Nominating Committee has begun work on the slate of officers for

next year‘s election. If you are interested in the future of Holy Cross and

feel that you have something to offer, please consider being a part of

making a difference in the progress of our church. If you are asked to

run for an office, please give prayerful consideration to that request. The

work of Holy Cross goes on and we need you to be involved in its future.

Pat Curran

Holy Cross Nominating Committee

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FOOD PANTRY

Everything you wanted to know about the pantry,

but did not know who to ask.......

How much food does a family of 5 receive.....We would like to give a

family of 5 cereal, fruit, veggies, pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter & jelly,

tuna, tissue, detergent, soap, etc., as well as produce & meat. What we

give depends on availability. Sometimes more and sometimes, sadly,

less.

Food Stamp Applications are going very well...The Provider likes

coming to our pantry so much that she has requested that she be perma-

nently assigned to us...she says the response is good!

In June we served 480 families. That is up from other months and

years. In June we served 125 senior citizens.

Bread, where do you get the bread? Three nights a week volunteers

go to the Panera at Memorial City and collect the bread that did not sell

that day. Some days it is a lot and other days it is not a lot but everyone

gets at least a little bread.

Baylor College of Medicine is conducting a survey regarding obesity.

They have been interviewing people that come to the pantry. For agree-

ing to answer their questions the client receives $20. Eventually they

will be wanting to teach nutrition classes in our area…

More later........

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SECOND FAMILY

Thank all of you for coming to honor LaVerne Pivonka for her years of

caring and faithful service as Second Family Leader. It was a wonderful

reception and as a result of it, many had questions about Second Family.

Second Family Care Team Ministry is a partnership between Interfaith

Care Partners and Holy Cross Lutheran Church. We are a congregational

team that provides an in-home secondary support system for our HCLC

family - and even some of our neighbors with special needs - as well as

some much needed respite care and support to the family caregivers.

We act as an extended family to provide:

PRACTICAL SUPPORT

(transportation, shopping, light chores or providing meals);

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

(encouragement, hope and caring); and

SPIRITUAL SUPPORT

(prayers for care partner, our team and our church).

If you need or would like our assistance - for a day or a month or an

undetermined amount of time - please let me know! All of our help is

confidential and done solely to glorify God and because we love you.

Call me! Sandra Williams

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Our purpose is to get to know one another better through fellowship, and

to bond as the senior group that we are. This group was organized in the

mid-to-late 50‘s as the ―Couple‘s Club,‖ soon after the organization of

HCLC … Has continued through the years with a few changes, one being

the changing of the name to the ―Friendship Club‖ so that single seniors

would feel welcome as well as more comfortable.

We meet in our Family Life Center (Gym) the third Saturday of each

month at 4:00 p.m. for games, with a Pot Luck meal being served at 6:30,

exception being December, when we meet at 5:00 p.m. for our Festive

Christmas Gathering.

We play table games (generally dominoes or cards), fix and eat good

foods, take occasional trips (have to be 50+ to ride the county bus), eat

out occasionally, and at times have special entertainment. We welcome

new members at any time! For more information, you are invited to call,

or feel free to speak with anyone in our group. Would be great to see

some new faces among us —so give it some thought.

Hosts for September 17, 2011

Jo Rita Kaltwasser 713-465-8286

Lois & John Massie 713-983-8915

FRIENDSHIP CLUB

Club

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IF YOU DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW

Back in the 1950‘s, staunch Lutheran families of northern-German and Swed-

ish descent moved to Spring Branch. A number of them worked for Cameron

Iron Works on nearby Silber Road – now the site of an Amusement Mall and a

large new WalMart. They founded – or soon joined – Holy Cross Lutheran

Church on Westview and Wirt.

Forwarding to a personal story: In 1984, Calvin and Tillie returned to the USA

a second time, following a combined 20 years abroad. After settling in Spring

Branch, they wanted to visit local Lutheran congregations before selecting a

new church home. But – they had not reckoned with John Stokes‘ parents,

Tom and Bendella. The Remmerts returned home following their first service

at Holy Cross – to the ringing of their door bell. The adopted Lutheran and

super salesman, Tom, was following a ―lead‖. And – he seemed unwilling to

leave until he ―completed the sale‖ and they promised to attend Holy Cross –

again – the following Sunday. Calvin‘s and Tillie‘s search had already ended!

So began a quarter century of discovery – fellow members of Holy Cross who

were Calvin‘s ―Blood Relatives‖. There were family names familiar to some

of you: Frank, Meinecke, Reichle, Thielemann, Winkelmann and, of course,

Remmert. Then – between three years in Russia and five trips to his ―roots‖ in

northern Germany, Calvin learned of other ―cousins‖ at Holy Cross – brothers,

Martin and Ed Spreen; Ed‘s daughter, Janis Vasut; Betty Herzog; Rose Marie

Stork. Additionally, there were Jan (Ellermann) Walker and Lianne Muhl

whose ancestors had also emigrated from Stemwede in Northern Germany. A

bit of explanation: Stemwede is a collection of four small villages, in a line

stretching four miles long, in Westphalia. Most of the aforementioned Holy

Crossers can trace at least some of their ancestry to this small district.

So? You may someday find that you too are one of Calvin‘s cousins. For now

– we‘re already blessed with Brothers and Sisters in Christ from Belize,

California, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, Florida,

Germany, Guatemala, Kansas, Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, New York,

Ohio, Pennsylvania – and other states or countries which we‘ve missed.

…///...

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…///... IF YOU DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW

As a final note – please let us not forget Tom Stokes and his determina-

tion to share his core beliefs and his church with others. Can we match

his zeal?

Calvin Remmert

RUMMAGE SALE

Friday, Sep. 30 & Saturday, October 1st

Hallelujah! Amy Schomburg has agreed to be chairperson of the Rum-

mage Sale again! She hopes that all the church members will respond by

helping as they have in years past. This enables HCLC to pass along our

blessings to others in our community. So start cleaning out closets, cabi-

nets, and drawers and get ready to donate your ―treasures‖ to the church

for the Rummage Sale. Also, there will be a need for plants, briskets or

money to buy briskets, and items for the bake sale.

Donations can be brought to HCLC Family Life Center (gym) beginning

Sunday, September 25.

Please call Amy Schomburg at (713)462-5164 to volunteer your help to

set up the Rummage Sale on Sunday, September 25 and during the week

prior to the sale.

Joyce Peden

Rummage Sale Publicity Chairperson

August Altar Flowers

07 Marilyn & Ted Flick

14 Fredda Yurk

21 Barbara & Tommy Neumann

Warren & Betty Larson

28 Sandra Williams

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ALPHA & OMEGA

Neighborhood Circle will meet on Sunday, Septem-

ber 4, 2011, at the home of Calvin & Tillie Remmert

3018 Teague, (713) 690-9596 at 5:00 p.m.

Lucy Candler

I have a devotional book entitled ‖The Woman Within – Daily Devotions

for Women in Recovery.‖ Much of the wisdom within its pages can, of

course, speak not only to women in recovery, but people of either gender

in situations of stress and distress.

For example:

One of the worst things about a crisis is

that awful feeling of being out of control.

But the truth is that most of life is beyond

our control; the crisis simply rubs our

faces in that reality. But while we cannot

really control what happens, we can con-

trol our response to what happens.

And how, we ask, do we control our response to what happens? That

strikes me as another crisis. I have a suggestion. Don‘t face life‘s crises

alone. Let someone share that burden – as Christ would have you come

to Him. Your Stephen Minister is trained in walking with you and help-

ing you shape your response. Call on us. You are not alone.

In Christ‘s service,

Marge Carroll

Stephen Ministry Coordinator

T H E S T E P H E N M I N I S T R Y C O N N E C T I O N

CHRIST CARING THROUGH PEOPLE

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Holy Cross members celebrating birthdays this month:

01 Melissa Storenski

Leslie Appling

02 Sig Ellerman

03 Angelica Rauda

Harrison New

05 Alma Laubenberg

Mike Johnson

Janis Vasut

06 Jo Follis

Bert Hungerford

Jim Berggren

Jocelin Ruiz

07 Jose Gómez

08 Glendeen Roemer

09 Lino Orellana

Claire Appling

10 Mike Appling

Jesse Cabrera

Dylan New

12 Will Byerly

13 Laverne Pivonka

14 Harriet Short

Yolanda Villegas

15 Jay Ford

18 Pat Boessling

Jay Byerly

Ricki Finstad

19 Melina Martinez

20 Sarah Allcorn

22 Carolyn Turnquist

Reyna Rauda

23 Betty Valites

Mitchell Walton

24 Juanita Villegas

Charlotte Jensen

25 Norma Hines

Angie Eckermann

26 Susan Giesecke

Ana Moncada

27 Ken Polzin

28 Sheldon Urwitz

Exie Hemphill

Sandra Williams

Eduardo Escamilla

29 Michael Giesecke

Julio Navarro

PLEASE MAKE THESE CHANGES IN YOUR DIRECTORY:

DITTMAR, Ora Dell VOGT, Sue

Apt. #1738 Winterhaven Health Care

6534 Stuebner Airline Room 120

YURK, Fredda Houston, Texas 77091

5755 West Fuqua (713) 699-3109

Houston, Texas 77085

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READINGS, PSALMS & GOSPEL

SEPTEMBER 2011

DATE 1st READING PSALM 2nd READING GOSPEL

09/04/2011 Ezekiel 33:7-11 119:33-40 Romans 13:8-14 Matt 18:15-20

09/11/2011 Genesis 50:15-21 103:8-13 Romans 14:1-12 Matt 18:21-35

09/18/2011 Jonah 3:10—4:11 145:1-8 Philip 1:21-30 Matt 20:1-16

09/25/2011 Ezekiel 18:1-4,

25-32

25:1-9 Philip 2:1-13 Matt 21:23-32

I’M BACK! (and so happy to be here.)

By the grace of God and through the loving, healing power of our Lord

and Savior, I have been given a second chance at life. Thanks be to God!

Some things occur in life wherein words are just not adequate to convey

the severity of the situation or the depth of feeling engendered. As most

all of you know, I have just passed through such a condition. The depth

of feeling just mentioned refers to the fact that I will never be sufficiently

able to express my thanks to all of you for the many kindnesses showed

to me. These included visits to the hospital (some of which I even

remember through the morphine-induced fog); gifts to lift my spirits;

driving me around, as needed (which was often and I‘m sure tedious);

food to sustain me; and prayers - to keep the spiritual party line to God

intact, when I didn‘t have the strength, inclination or words to pray. The

wonder and might of intercessory prayer is so beautiful!

I want to share with you two of the verses of Psalm 143 which kept me

going through the dark watches of the night. Verse 1 reads: “Hear my

prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer

me in your righteousness.” Verse 8 reads: “Let me hear of your steadfast

love in the morning, for in you I put my trust.” Isn‘t the living word won-

derful? All of you are wonderful, too, and wrapped up with my gratitude,

I hope you know how much you all mean to me.

Peace and love, AiM Karen

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TREASURER’S REPORT

If you have any questions call

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

JULY 2011

Receipts $ 32,936.66

Expenses 33,208.19

Balance < $ 271.53 >

Operational receipts

year to date received ……. $ 252,876.41

Expenditures year to date ……. 264,366.06

Balance …… < $ 11,489.65 >

S U N S H I N E S A I N T S

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

JULY 2011

English Service: 121

Spanish Service: 133

Prayer Chain Telephone and E-mail

Prayer chain requests and anyone who would

like to be added to the telephone

or e-mail Prayer Chain can notify:

Alma Laubenberg 713-996-7479 or email:

CHURCH

OFFICE HOURS

Monday - Thursday

8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Friday

8:30 am - 2:30 pm

Holy Cross

Lutheran Church‘s

E-MAIL address is:

hclc@holycross.us

You may sign up for Altar Flowers in the

Narthex. Suggested donation

is $40.00 and $9.00 for a rose.

Remember in prayer the

homebound, disabled, long-term ill,

and prolonged recovering.

Ella Brezina

Ora Dell Dittmar

Betty Dodson

Doris Anne Drosche

Sig Ellerman

Nancy Mendel

Doris Pannell

Doris Polker

Dorothy Storenski

Sue Vogt

Roselain Larson

albob1948@yahoo.com

Men and women who serve our country

in the military and law enforcement.

Ed Cooper

Carol Kirsch

Laura Ruthstrom

Guadalupe Villarreal

Deborah Jo Majzoub

Eleanor Reinhardt

Vanna Teschner

Ben Baring

Dorsey M. Alexander

Betty Griffin

Elsie Schulze

Fredda Yurk

Liam Bourdo

Charles Pace

R E M E M B E R I N Y O U R P R A Y E R S

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“Holy Cross Lutheran Church is a community of Christians

gathered by God’s grace and reaching out through God’s love.”

TELEPHONE EXTENSIONS

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101

Church Office Sussy Basurto Office Manager & Events Coordinator

103 Rev. Jim Berggren Senior Pastor

104 Rev. Jhon J. Arroyave Hispanic Pastor

105 Karen Davidson Associate In Ministry

107 Financial Office

108 Stephen Ministry Office

109 Family Life Center

110 Nursery

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

Web Site: www.holycross.us

YOUR CHURCH STAFF

† Rev. Jim Berggren — Senior Pastor email : jberggren@holycross.us

† Jhon Jairo Arroyave — Hispanic Pastor email : jojave38@hotmail.com

† Karen Davidson — Associate In Ministry email : aimked@gmail.com

† Sussy Basurto — Office Manager email : hclc@holycross.us

WORSHIP MUSICIANS

Jana Hodgson Organist Jo Ann Meeker Pianist Ann Crick Pianist

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

(713) 461-5535

OFFICERS OF THE CONGREGATION

Calvin Remmert President Mike Appling Vice President Sharon Wagner Secretary Wayne Schaper, Sr. Treasurer

SATURDAY INFORMAL SERVICE

6:00 p.m. — Narthex

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES

English Service : 9:00 a.m.

Sunday School : 10:30—11:15 a.m.

Spanish Service: 10:30 a.m.

Estudio Bíblico y Escuela Dominical

11:30 a.m.—12:15 p.m.