July 2020

What Do We Do with Our Freedom?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened

again by a yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1

As I write this, our county is finally slated to “go green,” allowing us all a freedom we have not enjoyed in quite some time. If you are anything like me, you are looking forward to the prospect of sitting somewhere besides my own backyard, enjoying a burger or a drink with a friend. Though masks are likely to be a feature of life for some time to come, I am look-ing forward to being less tentative in the grocery store, look-ing at their fellow shoppers with suspicion and cowering into the canned goods when we need to pass each other in the aisle.

I am planning to use this new freedom to visit a colleague who is in the “high risk” group, patronize some local business-es, take some clothes to a thrift store, and maybe even take my wife out for dinner for our 25th anniversary!

What are you going to do with your Christian freedom? We all know Christ died to free us from sin, but He also rose and sent the Spirit to give us a new life—His life—so we could learn how to live with our hard-won freedom… live as His people.

On June 14th we began a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount to help us learn what to do with this freedom. Whether you are in church or not, be sure to check out our website or the new Holy Cross App to make sure you don’t miss a single installment as we explore Jesus’ most developed teaching in detail!

JUNE 10 COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS…

• Plans for re-opening the church. • Use of fields can resume with a waiver. • Daycare Leadership change.

Details on page 6

V I S I T U S O N L I N E A T WWW . H O L Y C R O S S N A Z A R E T H . O R G

Calendar of Events can be found on the website under

“Church Life -Calendar of Events”

Lift High the Cross; the Love of Christ Proclaim!

Inside This Issue

July Lessons……….2 Family News ........... 3 Church News........... 4 The Prayer of Faith..5 Church Council… ... 6 Contact Us .............. 7

July 5 5th Sunday after Pentecost

Deuteronomy 30:11-20a Psalm 119:33-40 James 1:22-24

Matthew 5:17-20

July 12 6th Sunday after Pentecost

James 1:19-21 Psalm 133

Matthew 5:20-26

July 19 7th Sunday after Pentecost

Proverbs 6:21-29 Philippians 3:17-21

Matthew 5:20, 27-30

July 26 8th Sunday after Pentecost

Deuteronomy 7:6-9 Psalm 125

Romans 8:28-39 Matthew 13:44-52

ADD GOD’S WORD TO YOUR DAY!

Holy Cross sermons are available as a podcast!

Scan the box to the right, or got to this link:

https://holycrossnazareth.org/sermons

Share these with a friend and

introduce them to Jesus...

The UPPER ROOM for July/August

is available in the Narthex or contact the church office

for a copy.

July Lessons

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WANTED: Used Tablets and iPads!

Now that Holy Cross is including our Sunday readings on our website, members and visitors who are visually chal-lenged can use a large screen device to help then read along with the Scriptures!

If you have an iPad or Android Tablet that is in decent repair, please consider donating it to the church so that more people can read the word of God while in worship with us!

Tuesday morning Bible Study

will resume on July 7 at 11:00 am in Fellowship Hall.

Please join us!

Sherwood & Jane Altemose Terry & Julie DeGroot

Adam & Morgan Grube Nathan & Margaret Grube Chad & Katherine Harris Elton V. & Nicole Herrick Howard & Susan Kindred

Joseph Jr. & Gloria Mazzie Michael & Kirsten McMullen

Alton Jr. & Joanne Mann Linda & William Prueter

James & Cheri Voth

Allen Stewart, 101 ~ April 22 Donald Bostic, Sr., 83 ~ June 10

May they find eternal rest in our Lord’s loving arms.

Kami Arfanella Lynne Auger

Charmaine Bartholomew Keith Berlew

Alice Bittenbender Danielle Brearman

Byron Burger Jackie Fernsler Justus Grube

Barbara Gubich Heather Hahn Rebecca Hahn

Katherine Harris Vinetta Heinly Susan Kindred Beatrice Klipple Charlene Klipple Addison Kneisly

Carol Kratzer Gloria Mazzie

Kameron McMullen William Metzgar Richard Michael Sandra Michael

Pat Miller Denise Nolder

Aida Rios Gavin Roth Pat Sandt

Robert Sandt Ronald Short

Natasha Silfies Mildred Silfies Janae Sinclair

Pamela Snyder James VanHorn Jr.

Michele Verdi Timothy Vituszynski

LouAnn Wallace Scott Wunderly

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Send a Card… Send a Smile! Since it is likely to be some time before state guidelines recommend (or in some cases, permit!) pastoral visitation of our shut-ins, we are asking the members of Holy Cross to send a card to some-one… especially if you have never done so before!

Brightening someone’s day is easy! Just pick up a Card List in the Narthex, or contact the Church Office and one will be sent to you. and pick one—or several—recipients to receive a remind-er of God’s love for them sent through one of His children.

Dillon Treon and Tara Boehner were united in Holy Matrimony at Holy Cross on June 26, 2020.

Trisha Loch and Tyson Norton were married in a backyard wed-ding on June 20, 2020.

Giving online is easy and convenient! Visit our website at

https://holycrossnazareth.org/support

If you already utilize the Kindred app to give to Holy Cross online, please contact the church office at 610-759-7363 or secretary@holycrossnazareth.org, if you would like to discon-tinue receiving personalized offering envelopes.

Women of Abundance meeting on Saturday, July 25 at 9:30 a.m.

Please bring a friend!!

This n’ That...

OFFICE CLOSED The Church Office will be CLOSED Friday July 3.

VBS UPDATE There will be no regular week-long Vacation Bible School held at the church this summer. Plans are be-ing made for a special one night VBS event in July. Details coming soon!

OFFERING ENVELOPES In order to keep accurate record of your donations to the church, please place all donations in an envelope, whether it is your personalized offer-ing envelope or a completed desig-nated gift envelope. Most of all, THANK YOU for your continued financial support!

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Thank you to the current members of the Holy Cross Weed & Leaf Control Team

for your commitment to keeping the outside of our Church looking good!

We are in need of a few more members to commit to main-taining an outdoor section of the church grounds.

An area could be sponsored by an individual, a family, shared by a group, or a youth could be sponsored by a mentor who may not be able to do the work but offer their experience and guidance to a youth (making their own arrangements to meet to do the work). You may carry out the ongoing cleanup of your area as your schedule permits. It’s suggested that you continu-ally monitor for weeds, pruning and cleanup of your area.

Visit the Narthex to check out the photo of the numbered sec-tions in need of sprucing up, and sign up by the number of the corresponding section you wish to maintain.

We need to make a good first impression on people coming to Holy Cross. And what is one of the first things they will notice – weedy, unkempt flowerbeds! Please consider taking a part in making the outside of God’s House beautiful and inviting!

Altar Flower and Bulletin Sponsorships are suspended until September. If you sponsored and paid for Altar

Flowers or Bulletins up to September, the Church Office will be in contact with you to make ar-rangements to have your payment returned, or to choose another date.

The Prayer of Faith

by Barbara Lane Geistfeld, D.V.M. Lutherans For Life Regional Director of Texas

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone

among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous per-son has great power as it is working” (James 5:13-16).

As a Christian, I know that prayer really works. God truly does answer prayer and has done so in my life many times.

While my husband, Jim, and I were visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and two grand-daughters, aged two and a half and ten days, in upstate New York, we all tested positive for coronavirus, and the pray-ers started. I notified my friends at Lutherans For Life, other close friends, and family members and

asked for their prayers. I know dozens and dozens of people were praying for us. During those five weeks of varying stages of isolation and quarantine, we all prayed for healing. God in His grace and mercy said “yes,” and we were all healed. The little ones did not even have any symptoms. Of course, I notified everyone who had been praying for us that we were all well and coming home to Texas. Praise God!

But God, as usual, had more in mind than “just” healing us. Upon hearing that we were going home, a friend texted me: “You are lucky. My niece is still in the hospital.” Oh, man. How do I answer this? Sometimes it is easy for me to talk about God and what He has done for me, and sometimes it is very difficult. Satan tries to tell me that I sound like a religious nut when I am always saying God did this and God did that. But the Holy Spirit prevailed, and I returned her text with these words: “Luck has nothing to do with it! There were dozens, if not hundreds, of people praying for us. God in His great mercy and grace said, ‘Okay! I will do this.’ We are so grateful to Him for our healing.”

I know I have asked God for things many times, He has lovingly granted them, and then I forget to thank Him. I blissfully wander off as if it were “luck” or “chance” or “serendipity” that this good thing has happened to me. God calls us to not only recognize His work in our lives but to proclaim it to the world! To be witnesses of His goodness. To give Him credit where credit is due. And most of all, to praise and thank Him in all circumstances, whether He blesses us with what we have asked for or not. May the prayer of faith be a constant presence in the lives of us all—today and always.

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Meeting HIGHLIGHTS for June 10, 2020

COMPLETE Church Council Minutes are posted on the board in the Narthex. Attachments are filed in the church office with the originals. *The meeting minutes summarized here are pending

Council approval at next month’s meeting.*

Ten members were present and met outdoors under the pavilion. Absent: AJ Arfanella and Stephen Rissmiller GUESTS: Pastor Jenkins, Nicole Miller, Gavin Roth and Jaime Roth.

Items before the regular agenda: None.

Secretary’s report: Approved electronically. Treasurer’s report: See Finance Report. Pastor’s report: Written report was accepted and approved. Online services continue to be well received. Cost of an improved sound system discussed. Congregational volunteers are need-ed to accomplish church re-opening these next few weeks. More Eucharistic Ministers are need-ed, however, visitation time will be restricted for some time to come. Daycare asked that new by-laws by approved. Because they are part of the church bylaws a congregational vote will be re-quired. Approved provisionally pending the com-pletion of our revised Constitution so they may officially received by the congregation as part of that completed document. The outdoor service will require special leadership. Back to church celebration and VBS options discussed. Office Secretary Notes: Timeframe for when outside groups can resume meeting within the church - Per council, use of fields may resume with a waiver to be drafted stating that the club will abide by state government/CDC regulations. Indoor use can resume when we go to green sta-tus and council approves. Correspondence: None.

Committee Reports: Daycare: Written report provided by Nicole Mil-ler. 56 total enrolled with more scheduled to start next week. Daycare re-opened June 9. CDC plans were developed. Cristina is no longer em-ployed by the Daycare. Nicole Miller is grateful for the opportunity as Interim Director.

Finance: Sarah provided written report. Treas-urer’s reports reviewed. Audit Sub-Committee had an initial meeting and were given the updat-ed audit checklist. Discussed PPP Loan and Day Care Finances. BB&T account will be closed and transferred. Mutual Ministry: Steve Treon provided a written report. Jesse and Sarah joined our meetings and we are seeking one additional member. On-going discussion about the re-opening of the church. Set up of employee reviews, but due to closure, it’s unlikely raises will be offered this year. Discussed compensating Amy for her help with our musical ministry. Daycare Director has been replaced with Nicole Miller acting as Assis-tant Director. After a 90 day period, if it is deter-mined she should be retained in that position, the fulltime director position would be offered to her. Two current teachers have expressed an interest in the Assistant Director position. Our consultant Betty will be assisting Nicole one day a week for a few weeks. Church council has permitted Day-care to use Fellowship Hall for the summer pro-gram. Betty has asked that we transition Lynne Auger as a voting member of the Daycare board so that she can start to step away from the con-sulting role. Property: Heater was fixed in the Sanctuary 6/9. Old Business: None.

New Business: Altar flower sponsorships will resume September 13.

Other Business: Jesse got 150 reusable masks through his business for any congregation mem-bers needing one. An Electrostatic Sprayer was approved. Daycare will split the cost as the sprayer can be used to clean surfaces.

Meeting adjourned at 8:29 pm.

The next regular meeting TBD at 7:00 pm.

Please do not hesitate to contact a council member with any questions or concerns.

.

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Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church (LCMC/NALC)

MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission of Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church (LCMC/NALC) 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.

Our Staff

Pastor: Rev. Brett Jenkins, STS Pastor@holycrossnazareth.org

Office Hours ~ Tuesday 10-1; or by appointment

Deacon Michael Grube

Director of Worship Arts: Bethany Randall WorshipDirector@holycrossnazareth.org

Traditional Music Worship Leader: Ben Watson

Church Secretary: Kris Sterner Secretary@holycrossnazareth.org

Office Hours: M/T/F ~ 9 a.m.-1 p.m; Th ~ 1-6 p.m. OFFICE IS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS

Sexton: Kerry Livermore Sexton@holycrossnazareth.org

Preschool/Day Care holycrossdaycare1@gmail.com

Phone ~ 610-759-8761 Website ~ holycrossdaycare.com

Our Church

Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church 696 Johnson Road

Nazareth, PA 18064-8828

Phone ~ 610-759-7363 Fax ~ 610-759-3431

Website ~ holycrossnazareth.org LCMC website ~ www.lcmc.com

NALC website ~ the nalc.org

SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Sunday:

8:00 am & 9:30 am

(Holy Communion 1st Sunday)

11:30 am Outside Worship (rain or shine)

with Holy Communion

Tuesday at 12:30pm

Wednesday at 7:00 pm

with Holy Communion

Thursday at 10:00 am

Please follow CDC guidelines when

attending worship. Thank you!

2020 Church Council

A.J. Arfanella 717-903-0521 Lynne Auger 484-634-1347 Cindy Denker 610-597-1436 Diane Dickison 570-977-3638 Paul Grube, Jr. 610-570-2474 Cooper Marotta 484-538-6716 Pat Miller 610-759-1435 Sarah Raley 570-369-0238 Stephen Rissmiller 610-428-4592 Tonya Trach 484-281-3312 Steve Treon 610-814-5826 Jesse Way 484-330-1263

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congregational Officers—2020

President ~ Paul Grube, Jr. CouncilPresident@holycrossnazareth.org

Vice President ~ Jesse Way

Secretary ~ Tonya Trach

Treasurers ~ Darren Landro and Cindy Denker Treasurer@holycrossnazareth.org

Financial Secretary ~ Keith Miller