December worship calendar

December 13 – Advent 3 – We will have our regular worship at 8 and 9:30 a.m. The youth Christmas program entitled “The Bethlehem Project” will be presented at 10:30 a.m.

The presence of the Lord “in your midst” is cause for singing. The nearness of the Lord in prayer, in every circumstance, is cause for rejoicing. The coming of one “more powerful” than John, even with his winnowing fork in his hand, is good news – cause for exultation – for us who are being saved. Great joy is the tone for the third Sunday of Advent.

December 20 – Advent 4 – Holy Communion

Cradle and cross are inextricably connected on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Between a lovely tribute to the little town of Bethlehem and the blessed virgin Mary’s magnificent song of praise, the letter to the Hebrews reminds us in no uncertain terms that Christ’s advent is for “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” It is the kind of tension in which the church always lives as when in the Holy Communion – with high delight – “we proclaim the Lord’s death.”

CHRISTMAS EVE – THE CELEBRATION OF JESUS’ BIRTH

You and your family and friends are invited to join us on this most holy night as we welcome the long-awaited Savior – Christ the Lord. Our Service schedule is…

4:30 p.m. – Children’s Service (Holy Communion)
7 p.m. – Candlelight and Holy Communion
9 p.m. – Candlelight and Holy Communion
11 p.m. – Candlelight and Holy Communion

December 27 – The first Sunday after Christmas

On the first Sunday of Christmas we find the boy Samuel and the boy Jesus, both in the temple, both growing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and humankind. We too have returned to the house of God “to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God,” who has gifted us with a savior. As the festival continues, “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” It is Christmas, still!

Jesus' birthday party at Cherub's Corner on Dec. 20

Children of ALL ages are invited to join us Sunday, Dec. 20, for a very special birthday party at Cherub's Corner! We will celebrate Jesus’ birth at the 10:30 a.m. service. After a children’s sermon, we’ll gather in the fellowship hall for cake and ice cream, as well as some other surprises! We’d like to know approximately how many to expect, so please sign up in the Narthex.

Lawn tractor for sale

The John Deere diesel tractor that we have used for mowing lawns is for sale. A new zero-turn mower will be arriving in the spring thanks to the gracious memorial gifts of the George Kratzer family!

We will receive sealed bids for all parties desiring to buy the tractor. Please submit your name and your bid to the church by Dec. 31. If you would like more information about the tractor, please contact Don Bostic.

Church secretary needed

We are seeking persons interested in the position of church secretary. It is a four-hour-a-day, five-days-a-week position, with hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The position requires computer proficiency in MS Word and some Excel use; in addition there are other requirements that will be discussed at the time of an interview.

If interested, please submit a resume or a letter of interest c/o the church by e-mailing HolyCr1975@aol.com.

Join us for Christmas caroling

Please join us as we go Christmas caroling on Sunday, Dec. 20. Seeing faces light up with joy as through our humble efforts we “give it our best” in our rendition of favorite carols is an experience that as the television commercial says is, “priceless!” Until you come along you can’t fully know the warm, inner feeling you receive as the night ends and we all head home! Everyone is invited to come along!

We will leave the church at 5 p.m. SHARP! (Note the time change from previous years.) Please bring a flashlight and dress accordingly. And, remember, we will need some persons to help drive. We will be finished by 9 p.m. at the latest. It’s about several hours of serving the Lord that will give you a wonderful memory forever.

If there is a question of our going because of the weather, please call Pastor John (at home or his cell phone) or call the church (610-759-7363). A decision will be made by 4 p.m. at the latest!

Vote on budget, elect council members on Dec. 20

Our annual congregational meeting will be held Sunday, Dec. 20.

• The 2010 Ministry Spending Proposal as approved by the church council will be voted upon that morning.
• Also that day, four new members will be elected to serve three-year terms on church council.

By tradition, voting only on the Ministry Spending Proposal and the election of needed church council members will take place after the 8 and 9:30 a.m. services; voting on these items and the presentation of concerns for discussion at an adjourned date will be received during an open agenda time after the 10:30 a.m. service.

Sept. 8 church council meeting notes

Darlene Garon, Mark Losagio, Julie DeGroot, Shelley Gilbert, Don Bostic, Jeff Heffelfinger, Russ Phillips, Mel Zellner, Kate Grube, Alyssa Young and Pastor John attended. Jan Carlson and Sherri Lutz were absent. Guests included mutual ministry committee members Terry DeGroot and Betty Houck.

Correspondence: Director of Spiritual Formation Christa Browne resigned today with two weeks notice. She will serve as interim Sunday school director until she can be replaced.
Pastor John proposed this motion: In order to determine the most prudent way to proceed, church council empowers the mutual ministry committee to seek the congregation’s guidance in regard to present staffing desires. This having been done, the mutual ministry committee shall report its recommendations for church council’s approval. Then, with a clear direction, the mutual ministry committee shall be empowered to create a job description (to be approved by church council) and then follow through with the employment of said person who meets the needs of the congregation (also to be approved by the church council). The time table for this is three months or less. Council unanimously approved the motion.
Christa Browne and Sally Kunkel will help with Christian education in the interim.

Mutual Ministry Committee: The committee prepared a job description for the director of spiritual formation for council’s review. Pastor recommended seeking feedback from the congregation. Terry suggests an exit review with Christa for more input.
The committee is seeking a replacement for Marie Silfies, a long-time member who is resigning.

Finance Committee: Council discussed the goal of creating a pool of volunteers to count offering who could set a rotating schedule amongst themselves.

Christian Education: Only new Sunday school teachers this year need to complete background checks, since the others were completed just a few months ago.

Property Committee: The specs of the zero-turn mower to be purchased with memorial money were reviewed so Don Bostic can do research.
The committee wants to send a thank-you note to Mark Huffsmith for his plumbing help. Huffsmith and Kunsman will install roof drains.
Don has a plan for getting the day care windows caulked.

Church blog update: Stacy Hageman will contribute choir news.
Responsible youth should be recruited to assist with updating the blog.

Council vacancies: Four members whose terms are expiring will end their service. The mutual ministry committee is pursuing candidates to replace them.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m. The next meeting is 7 p.m. Oct. 13.

Pictures From Vacation Bible School

A Fun and Educational Time Was Had By All!

Quarterly Council Update

Over the past two years, the congregational council has made a conscious effort to be more accountable to you, the members of Holy Cross Lutheran Church. To start, we identified the many committees that comprise our church body. It was our goal to identify/review the mission of each committee and encourage monthly reports about the contributions these committees have offered to our community and Holy Cross Church. We organized several fellowship events in an attempt to introduce council members to fellow members, which offered the opportunity to get to know each other. We developed a property maintenance report log and required all council members to review our constitution on a yearly basis to ensure that our actions were consistent with the synod guidelines. In doing so, we made some difficult requests for change. Unfortunately, in today’s society, we must make every effort to protect ourselves and the members we serve. We reinstated the constitutional guidelines for counting the offering, we require all volunteers who serve our youth to have a background check, and we now require detailed receipts for expenses that are to be reimbursed. We also created a blog to inform our fellow members about church activities and important events and to share information on youth activities.

Council welcomes your prayers, thoughts and suggestions. We encourage you to visit and use the blog at holycrossmoorestown.blogspot.com. This can serve as a means of communicating and a way of getting more members, like you, involved with fulfilling the mission of Holy Cross Lutheran Church.

The Mission of Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church is to respond to the Love of God shown most fully to us in the great gift of his Son Jesus Christ. We engage in five ministry areas - Worship, Witness, Learning, Service, and Support - to boldly confess Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Aug. 11 council meeting notes

Don Bostic, Jan Carlson, Julie DeGroot, Darlene Garon, Shelley Gilbert, Kate Grube, Sherri Lutz, Russ Phillips, Alyssa Young and Mel Zellner attended. Jeff Heffelfinger, Mark Losagio and Pastor John were absent.

Correspondence: Mark Lutz has resigned from his position as Sunday school director.

Treasurer’s Report: Council voted unanimously to approve paying the outstanding bills.

Finance Committee: Council voted unanimously to amend the new bill-approval process adopted last month to allow the treasurer to pay routine utility bills and payroll, in addition to reimbursements to individuals that are accompanied by required documentation, to avoid changing billing cycles and complicating the process. The treasurer will provide copies of both paid and unpaid invoices for each council meeting for review and approval. This process will allow council to become more familiar with the financial situation and notice any "red flags," without requiring too many adjustments.

Mutual Ministry Committee: Council unanimously approved a motion to accept three new committee members: Betty Houck, Terry DeGroot and Judy Parker, bringing the total to five with Gary Moyer and Marie Silfies.

Property Committee: Caulking day care windows has not been done; Don Bostic reported he has not found a volunteer who can do the job.
Paul Grube’s nephew has addressed numerous plumbing issues in the past few weeks as they’ve arisen and has volunteered to do work to install roof drains. Don wants to get his contact information to thank him and acknowledge his contributions. Kunsman submitted a proposal for $1,500 to perform 11 tasks to repair the roof, including installing roof drains. Don plans for the property committee to run the plumbing for the two drains, which will alleviate most of the problems. He doesn’t think all of the work proposed is necessary.
Ceiling tiles are being replaced with a newer style that’s cheaper and easier to get.
Council discussed getting the youth involved in property-related projects whenever possible.

Spirit for Life Committee: Darlene Garon suggested inviting VBS attendees from the community to return for Sunday school.

Youth Ministry Committee: Darlene suggested considering seeking sponsors to cover the cost of printing the confirmation bulletin.
The youth retreat cost the church $761.95; this is a line item in the budget.

New Business: Pastor and at least three congregational members are encouraged to attend the district meeting Oct. 28, expected to last two to 2.5 hours.
The Kratzer family’s memorial donation of $10,000 is to be used for altar linens and a zero-turn lawn tractor, with any remaining funds going toward audio-visual equipment for the sanctuary.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. The next meeting is 7 p.m. Sept. 8.

Vacation Bible School News

VBS was held from July 27th through the 31st. The week was all about learning how through stories in the Bible the kids are challenged to GO LEAD!, GO RISK!, GO TELL!, GO OBEY!, and to GO SERVE! The theme was based on a game show and the kids loved the fun games and skits that included the main characters Wade Winalot, Professor Wordsmart and Coach Armstrong. The fun and upbeat music had everyone singing and dancing.
Each day the kids rotated through five different sites that included music, snack, crafts, games and Bible lessons. The week was then finished out with our GO SERVE! theme being reinforced with a major service project. We chose to do Operation Christmas Child as our project. With the help of member Doris Farley, who is a volunteer for the organization, we were able to pack and pray over 100 shoeboxes. We met in Fellowship Hall for the last 30 minutes of our day before the Parents Program was held. It was truly an amazing site watching so many kids working together for a common cause! The children then brought the boxes to the front of the church for our closing program.
During our closing we challenged our parents to some silly games like our wrap race which used plungers (brand new of course) and tennis balls hung with string . The children got a big laugh out of this game and watching the adults try to work together to get the job done! We sung all of our songs and devoted our offering to help with the cost of shipping the shoeboxes. It was followed by a picnic lunch that was held inside due to stormy weather. A good time was held by all!
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a shoebox or two, the cost to ship on average is $7.00 per box. You can put it in a designated offering envelope and place it in the offering plate.
I just want to also say thank you to everyone that helped with the success of this year's VBS. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well our kids are so fortunate to have a "village" like the members of Holy Cross. So many of you gave of your time, money and words of encouragement that it made the week go very smoothly! Thank you again for all of your help !!

July 14 council meeting notes

Julie DeGroot, Kate Grube, Jeff Heffelfinger, Mark Losagio, Sherri Lutz, Shelley Gilbert, Darlene Garon, Alyssa Young, Mel Zellner, Pastor John and Christa Browne attended.

Christa Browne, director for spirituality formation, attended and provided a report to council in advance via e-mail. She said kids would like to do more events like the lock-in, which targeted third- through eighth-graders. Fifty kids have registered for VBS, but she’s preparing for 100. She has sufficient volunteers, though she would’ve liked to see more teens sign up, and all of the materials sought on the tree are being donated.
Christa’s still trying to find balance in her position. She’ll stand firm in her team approach and wants to see communication improve among others involved in Christian education. She doesn’t see herself as overseeing the program, but rather serving as a liaison and support person. She’d like to become more familiar with the confirmation program, so she’s better equipped to help. There was discussion about other Christian education volunteers being unclear about what her role would be and whether she was replacing them in their positions.
Christa wants to form a committee of core volunteers to help start two youth groups that meet and have programming on a regular basis.
Darlene Garon suggested looking again at Christa’s role to define it more specifically and spell out how it’s integrated with the existing programs and volunteers. Pastor John said the spiritual growth committee also will be feeding ideas for Christa’s position.

Treasurer’s Report: Council further discussed the new bill-approval process on which it agreed last month, to clarify the steps and timeline for the treasurer. Bills should be due the 20th of the month or later to accommodate council approving all bills before they’re paid. Pam would call utility companies, etc., to request any necessary changes to billing cycles.
Before each council meeting, Diane should give finance committee members a list of the bills that need approval. A committee member will pull the copies of the bill from the folder Pastor keeps in the office (he will continue to monitor bills to ensure they are legitimate, initial them and put copies in the folder). All checks could be written and held until they’re approved, then the treasurer could send them. Council doesn’t need to sign off on expense reimbursements that were submitted with a green approval slip.

Finance Committee: Additional volunteers are being sought to count and deposit the offering weekly.
Council voted unanimously to amend the cost-sharing formulas the church charges day care for the following bills. The detailed information day care requested will be provided and any questions answered.
Sexton pay: The church had been charging day care $9.35 per hour but pays the sexton $9.70 per hour, so this will be updated. Council accepts the day care’s stance to not pay the difference retroactively.
Janitorial supplies: The church will ask the day care director to use only one supplier (Sam’s Club) instead of two. She should submit the order to the church office manager, and the church will pay the bill then seek 50 percent reimbursement from day care.
Natural gas bill: The church has been paying the natural gas bill, for the kitchen stoves, in full. It will start charging day care 75 percent of the bill, since day care uses the appliances most frequently. The committee will provide day care with monthly bill amounts for the past six months.
Copier expenses: Day care has been contributing 33 percent for supplies and maintenance. Based on use, the church requests 50 percent. The day care wants to discuss this further.
Electric bill: Based on estimated use, the day care’s share will increase from 25 percent to 40 percent.
Water testing: The church and day care have been splitting the monthly $400 testing fee and quarterly charges at 50 percent, but the church requests day care pay 75 percent since this expense only is required to meet day care regulations.

Property Committee: The property committee OKed up to $500 in repairs by a new roofer -- Kunsman. An estimate is in the works. Members will approach prospective new volunteers and will meet again Aug. 4.

Spiritual Growth Committee: Pastor John is working on revitalizing the spiritual growth committee; two members have agreed to stay on, and Pastor has approached four others. He’d like at least five members. The new stewardship program (New Love, New Mercy) will get under way once the committee is formed.

Pastor’s Goals: The ELCA’s handling of the homosexuality issue is pending. Pastor John asked for council’s anonymous input on a questionnaire about ordaining openly, practicing gay people and redefining marriage as more than just between a man and woman.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:36 p.m. The next meeting is 7 p.m. Aug. 11.

Wildwood Youth Retreat
July 17 through July 19, 2009

The youth are going to Wildwood, NJ once again for their Summer retreat. Reservations have been made at the Luther Inn for 28 beds. We look forward to another great retreat! Please contact Terry DeGroot at 610-837-7264 with any questions.

Wild Wood Retreat Schedule
Friday July 17
8:00 am Depart Holy Cross for Wildwood (Brunch enroute)
11:00 am Arrive at Wildwood (2810 Atlantic Avenue, Wildwood, NJ 08260)
Unpack, establish behavior guidelines
11:30 am Water & Amusement Park Fun!!!
6:30 pm Dinner
7:30 pm First Program Session, Theme introduction
8:30 pm Group Beach service and Boardwalk activities (w/ Chaperones)
10:30 pm Evening Prayer Session at Hotel
Midnight All youth in rooms
1 pm Lights out – Good Night!

Saturday July 18

~8:00 am Rise and Shine!
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Second Program Session
11:30 am Make lunch
Noon Beach Time! Lunch at the beach
5:00 pm Contemporary Church Service at Holy Trinity
6:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Third Program Session
9:00 pm Boardwalk Game (Clue or Scavenger Hunt)
11:00 pm Return to Hotel for evening prayer and Free time
Midnight All youth in rooms
1 pm Lights out – Good Night!

Sunday July 19
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Beach Sunday Service
10:45 am Clean rooms and pack
11:00 am Beach time/Lunch
1:00 pm Depart for Holy Cross
~4:00 pm Arrive at Holy Cross

LOCK-IN A SUCCESS!

This past Friday's lock-in was a great time! We started the evening with pizza, salad and soda and then when straight to work on some poster making and preparing materials to be used for our Vacation Bible School week. VBS is fast approaching, it will be held July 27th-July 31st.
The kids then enjoyed some movies and popcorn and treats. They had a blast playing games and just spending time together at the church. A great big THANK YOU goes out to all that participated! Your help will go a long way making VBS week easier! Keep your eyes open for more lock-in's to come in the future!

Vaction Bible School News
Studio GO! Game Show will be held July 27-31st, with many new friends to meet like our game show host Wade Winalot and old faces like Cooper the dog, your kids will be sure to have a blast while learning about Jesus and the love God has for each of us! Registration forms are still available in the Narthex. Please return your forms in the yellow box marked "VBS".

A Lock-in (sleepover) is being held this Friday night ,June 26th, for youth in grades 4-9th. We will be working on props and decorations to be used for our VBS stage and different sites. We will also be preparing some of the craft materials for the week. After our "work" there will be a time for fun and fellowship. Perhaps a movie or two and popcorn!! Call Christa Browne to register at 610-759-4993, or stop by the church and the sign up sheet is in the Narthex.

We can still use any time you would like to contribute to make our VBS week a success. If you can spend the 3 hours a day for the week that is great, but even an hour or two is apprectiated. The Volunteer sign up sheet is located in the Narthex.

A volunteer meeting has been set for July 2 at 7:00 PM in Fellowship Hall. It is important that all attend so the final details for our VBS week can be discussed. If you are unable to make the meeting please contact Christa Browne at 610-759-4993.

June 9 council meeting notes

Don Bostic, Jan Carlson, Kate Grube, Mark Losagio, Sherri Lutz, Shelley Gilbert, Darlene Garon, Russ Phillips, Alyssa Young, Mel Zellner, Pastor John and Diane Searfass attended.

Treasurer’s Report: Council unanimously agreed, on a Bostic/Carlson motion, to begin approving bills for payment before the treasurer mails the checks. This allows council to be better accountable and relieves the treasurer of some apprehension. The finance committee needs to work with Diane to review whether any billing cycles need adjustment to accommodate this schedule. There have been insufficient funds to pay the monthly mission payments and make contributions to other accounts.

Mutual Ministry Committee: Committee members still are being sought after Jim Carlson’s resignation and the desire to increase the number from three to five members.

Property Committee: One person responded to the request for property team members; additional volunteers are welcome. Don Bostic plans to set up a monthly meeting, starting next week, plus a work meeting with an agenda on one Saturday each month. He also plans to contact Terry DeGroot about involving youth.

Church Blog: Alyssa Young is working with stakeholders to set up accounts to update the new church blog, so they can use the Internet to keep members informed. She created a form members can use to request no photos of a person or his/her children be posted on the blog. She’ll revise it to include an option to keep people’s names off the site, too.

Bus Trip: Council approved Sherri Lutz’s plan to organize a Dec. 12 bus trip to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes. The church will pay the up-front cost of about $3,700, to be reimbursed as tickets are purchased.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m. The next meeting is 7 p.m. July 14.

Just fill out a form to report maintenance needs

See a property issue that needs attention?

Now it's easy to report building maintenance needs, simply by filling out a form.

The work orders are available in the Narthex near the water fountains. Please submit a completed form so the volunteers who address things that need fixing can give the problem prompt attention.

Thanks for your help keeping Holy Cross in good shape!

Calling all Vacation Bible School volunteers!

Vacation Bible School is July 27-31 this year. If you can help all week or just part of the week, please sign up in the Narthex with your interest (craft, Bible story, extra hands, etc.). Please include your phone number when you sign up.

Spring and summer youth events

Koinonia Work Day -- May 16, 2009
This is a great opportunity for our youth to help the camp and fellowship for the day. We will be leaving Holy Cross at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. The camp will provide breakfast. The work day goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch at noon, also provided by the camp. There will be free time after 3 p.m. until dinner at 6 p.m. We will leave Koinonia at 7 p.m. and arrive at Holy Cross around 9 p.m.

We will need chaperones to transport the youth to Koinonia. Please contact Terry DeGroot for signups and any questions.

Wildwood Youth Retreat -- July 17-19, 2009
Our youth will have a summer retreat once again in Wildwood, NJ. Reservations have been made at the Luther Inn for 28 beds. Commitments from youth and chaperones are needed. We need a list of participating youth no later than May 17. The list is filling up quickly.

Signups will be secured with a $40 deposit per family. The total fee for the retreat is $75 per person; the second sibling is $37.50 (half price). We look forward to another great retreat!

For both events, please contact Terry DeGroot for signups and any questions.

World Hunger coin boxes still accepted

If you have been using the World Hunger coin boxes during Lent, which we will begin collecting on Easter, don't worry -- we will continue to receive them throughout April and into mid-May. We'll tally the results, and the money will be given to a hunger program or local food bank. Thanks for caring!