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Transcript of Cf. John 12:3 September Vol. 17 No. 09 Holy Cross Lutheran ... · money, or most of it, ... Pastor...
1
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.
…///...
2
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.
3
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
4
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
5
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 [email protected]
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
6
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, [email protected] 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
7
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........
8
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
9
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
10
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.
…///...
11
…///... 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
12
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
13
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
14
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
15
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:
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
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
16
“Holy Cross Lutheran Church is a community of Christians
gathered by God’s grace and reaching out through God’s love.”
TELEPHONE EXTENSIONS
100
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 : [email protected]
Web Site: www.holycross.us
YOUR CHURCH STAFF
† Rev. Jim Berggren — Senior Pastor email : [email protected]
† Jhon Jairo Arroyave — Hispanic Pastor email : [email protected]
† Karen Davidson — Associate In Ministry email : [email protected]
† Sussy Basurto — Office Manager email : [email protected]
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.