Newsletter October 18th, 2020

Oct 15, 2020 | Weekly

 

Current Sermon Series: Seasons: Doing Life Together

Genesis 28:10-17, Ephesians 4:22-28, Matthew 9:1-8

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

 

Current Sermon Series – Seasons: Doing Life Together

Church Service – October 18th

Current sermon series, Seasons: Doing Life Together! As we move into a new church season, we also move into a new season in our lives and in how we are dealing with the current pandemic. We welcome you home to do life together with your family here at Holy Cross.  The readings will be about the life of Christ and the ongoing life of the church as we relate them to our ongoing lives during this challenging season.  Please join us here or online, at 8:00am or 10:00am, for Doing Life Together!

How to Stay Connected When You’re not Ready to Come Back

We know it’s hard to feel connected sometimes with everything that is going on. We are working hard here at Holy Cross to keep our church family thriving as much as possible while still being responsible with our decisions about the health of our congregation and the community. Here are some ways to stay plugged in to HCLM:
– Devotions on YouTube and Facebook- intended for our student ministry, but helpful for everyone.
– Prepare for Sunday Services – contemporary worship songs, scripture readings, and questions for deeper thinking posted throughout the week on Facebook and Instagram
– Monday Night Bible Study @ 5:30pm on YouTube and Facebook- A walk through the book of Psalms with Pastor Matt and Pastor Chris 
– Unscripted Live – Thursdays at 1:30 on YouTube and Facebook – Unscripted chat with the Pastors and special guests 
– Drive Through Communion – the fourth Sunday of each month from 11:30 am -12:00 pm
– Praying for You – We have always believed in the power of prayer. If there is something weighing on your mind or want to submit a prayer, let us know through our prayer request form or e-mail prayer@hclm.org.
– Online or In Person Services – Sunday at 8:00 am for traditional service or 10:00 am for contemporary

Education Hour

Each Sunday, we will be having Sunday School in the Children’s Center, Middle/High School Student Service in the Youth Center, and the Sunday Morning Bible Study in the Community Center during our new Education Hour between services from 9:00-10:00 AM. Hope to see you there!

Tithes & Offerings

We give because we recognize that God has blessed us immensely and so we honor Him by giving back to Him out of our tithes and offerings. You can give online at hclm.org/give or mail to church address at 780 N Sun Drive, Lake Mary, FL 32746.

Sunday Morning Seating Arrangements

You will notice that more seats have returned in the church. The groups of seating has returned to rows. We still ask that members of households to sit together while remaining socially distant from other households with 2-3 seats between families. Thanks for keeping others safe.

What’s Going On

Nursery is open!

The church nursery is open to kids under three or not potty trained during education hour and our contemporary 10 AM service. Nursery is located in the back of the former preschool

Ladies Weekly Bible Study 

The Ladies Weekly Bible Study is meeting at the church again on Wednesdays in the Community Center each week from 6:30-8:30pm. This is the same time as Confirmation classes, so hopefully more ladies will be able to join as their kids are in Confirmation. We will be practicing social distancing and using masks as we are required to still do so to help keep us all safe. The Bible study planned will be led by Christine Jennison and is entitled “Wrapped up in Psalms”. There will still be some ladies joining online as well so if that is a better fit for you email Sharon Shyrock at ssshyrock@yahoo.com for further information.

Human Trafficking, Social Media, and How to Protect Your Children

You’re invited to learn more about how you and your children can be aware of the dangers of human trafficking. Advocates from 121 Hope, Northland Church, will age-appropriately discuss what human trafficking can look like, the warning signs, and how to avoid it. They will also discuss many online apps, how they are used by human traffickers, and how to understand safety protocols.
121Hope brings hope to victims and survivors of human trafficking and empowers local abolitionists, all through one-to-one discipleship.
This event is free of charge, although advanced registration on the NHE website is required. Please, no children below 8th grade except for nursing babies. This event is sponsored by NearHim Educators.
Held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Lake Mary. Use this link to sign up: https://www.homeschool-life.com/540/events/events_view?private=1&public=&eventid=3063205
Covid Requirements: Masks are required to be worn. Families may sit together; however, a minimum of 3 seats must be in between non family members per the church guidelines.

Family Serve – Road Cleanup – Sun. October 18th

Road Clean-up rescheduled. Join us to make a noticeable impact on our community by joining us for this fun family event. We will meet at Greenwood Lakes Park (between Lake Mary High School and the Library) at 4pm and then walk Longwood Lake Mary Road picking up garbage. If we have a big enough group, we should be done pretty quickly and then can go enjoy dinner on the patio at Beth’s Burger Bar. Talk to Pastor Chris if you have any questions.

Drive Through Trunk R Treat Oct. 24th

With everything going on, we had to re-imagine what Trunk R Treat would look like this year. We have come up with a socially distanced drive through experience to get you and the kids out of the house while keeping you safe from 5-7pm. We are in need of candy donation to fill bags for the event. You can drop candy donations in the church office or have them delivered directly by ordering off of our TrunkR’Treat Amazon wish list at https://a.co/1PO2Jdo

Middle School Youth Group Oct. 25th

Middle School Youth Group will meet again on Sunday October 25th from 5-7pm in the youth room. Games, dinner, and devotion will fill the night with fun. Feel free to invite a friend to join you as this event is open to all students currently in 6th-8th grade.

MUG (Mothers Under Grace) – Oct. 28th

Come join other moms of school aged kids for a time of supportive love, encouragement, and coffee. Our kick-off meeting is October 28th at 10am in the Community Center. Contact Nicole Dickinson (561-358-5880) or Kelly Kutcher (386-804-6812) for more information.

Church Garage Sale – Nov 7th

Holy Cross is having a garage sale to raise money to support the church and to purge some of the items that have been floating around the church for a while that we no longer use, including toys and supplies from the former preschool. If you have items around your house that you are looking to purge, please consider donating to the church for the purpose of the sale, please feel free to bring them between October 26th and November 5th. If you have large items or a large donation that you need to have out of your house prior to then, please call the church to workout the details.
Then come shop with us and invite your neighbors and friends to come by and shop on November 7th. The church has not cut back on it’s community contributions during COVID and all proceeds go being able to keep HCLM supporting the community as we always have.

Announcements & Updates

Collecting Thanksgiving Baskets

Thanksgiving is just over 2 months away but the Food Pantry is busy with preparations for the distribution of food baskets to many residents in our community.  So far we’ve collected  Instant Mashed Potatoes and Gravy Packets, Cranberries and Boxed Stuffing Mix, we’re still in need of a lot more of these! Thanks to all who’ve brought in donations!  This week we’re asking for donations of Vegetables and Yams.  Also, each family receives a $10 Publix gift card to purchase a Turkey or Ham, your check made out to HCLM will be used to pay for these gift cards. Monetary donations can be put in the offering plate, turned into the office, or made at HCLM.org.

Trunk R Treat Help Needed

We are collecting CANDY and PROP (pirate, Fr*zen, and Circus) donations for Trunk R Treat! We are expecting a large crowd because we are one of the only places doing something this year. We love to be able to serve the community in a responsible way, but we need your help to be able to pull this off. Please bring bags of candy to church with you on Sunday or drop it in the office anytime during the week. You can also support through Amazon by purchasing directly to our wishlist and have it shipped directly to the church at https://a.co/1PO2Jdo

If you would like to volunteer as a cast member or to help pass out baggies, please talk to Pastor Chris or email Lara at ljackson@hclm.org.

AARP Virtual Classes

AARP is now offering most of their classes online. From their Driver Safety Class, Smart Driver Technology Class, We Need to Talk program, and CarFit, they all are offering a virtual option now. For more information contact the office.

St. Luke’s Concert Series

St. Luke’s is doing their concert series virtually this year. Go to sllcs.org/concert-series for more information. Here are their upcoming shows:

  • Oct 18 – Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Nov 21 – UCF Symphony Orchestra
  • Dec 4 – Brass Band of Central Florida

Giving In the Corona Virus Era

The CARES Act allows for an additional, “above-the-line” deduction for charitable gifts made in cash of up to $300. If you are not itemizing on your 2020 taxes, you can claim this new deduction. If you itemize, charitable contributions are 100% deductible up to your Adjusted Gross Income(AGI).

Additionally, people as young as 59 1/2 may contribute proceeds from an IRA up to 100% of their Adjusted Gross Income(AGI) without tax or penalty under the CARES act. As always, please consult your financial advisor.

7th & 8th Grade Confirmation has started

It’s not to late to still join! We invite all 7th & 8th grade students to join us for our 2020-2021 confirmation class! Our confirmation program is a small group based, interactive experience that gives students the opportunity to explore and confirm their faith in Jesus Christ. Confirmation is a two-year experience in which students will learn about their faith, become familiar with the Bible, with prayer and will develop a personal testimony. We meet weekly on Wednesday nights 6:30-8:00 through the school year (with holiday breaks). This years class began on Wednesday, Sept 23. Currently masks are required. There is an annual supply/retreat fee of $100. If you have further questions about our confirmation program or for a complete schedule of the year, please contact Pastor Matt at mwallis@hclm.org. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED please go to hclm.org/confirmation/

Prayers of the Church   

 

Prayers of Thanksgiving

For our pastors, especially during this month of pastor appreciation, for all they do and sacrifice for us

For our church volunteers who work so hard to help keep the church the beautiful friendly church home that we all know and love

Prayers of Comfort

For those who are grieving, that God will help them find comfort in those He surrounds us with and in His word

Prayers of Healing 

Joan (sister of Jean Carlson) prayers for cancer free results from tests conducted this week

Allyn Williams prayers for recovery from surgery and that they were able to remove all of the cancer

Lee Kellerman prayers for recovery from recent eye surgery and restored 20/20 vision

Diego Olvera (cousin of Cynthia Rame) full recovery from surgery to fix brain aneurysm

Norma prayers for continued healing following her triple bypass surgery

Jacob Shyrock prayers for full healing in his eye and for doctors to heal him

For all those suffering from coronavirus.

General Prayer

We pray today for our church – that the body of Christ would look to Him for comfort and restoration among the fear and chaos of our world.

Prayers for Healing from Cancer

Barbara Bechtold

Laken Binkley

Robert Bowes

Dennis Breglia

Texann Buck

Becky Burrell

Andrea Clark

Jenny Colen

Kyle Corbett

Leo Cybulski

Deb Fadool

Tosha Feldmann

Shirley Firestone

Carla Ford

Jim Foster

Michael Francis

Ron Frederickson

Pat Goodwine

Michelle Grass

Jerry Gross

Dana Grimes

Bob Hamilton

Todd Haynes

David Haynes

Steve Homan

Joy Hostler

Marlin Houser

Karen Kalich

Alan Kimball

Elizabeth Koob

Rick Lembrick

Sally Lowd

Lori Luedtke

Charaline Luna

Jean Mactye

Leslie Pilz

Paul Queck

Martin Rodriguez

Karen Schlue

Debbie Shaffer

Gina Shaffer

Tina Smith

Martin Summ

Hector Vazquez

Linda Weiler

Allyn Williams

Scott Williams

Etta Woodruff

Charles Zahn

 

“Casting a light to help those who are lost find their way in Christ”

 

Sunday Services at 8:00am, and 10:00am in the Worship Center

and Online on Facebook and YouTube/hclm

Pastor Matt Wallis (mwallis@hclm.org)

Pastor Chris Johnson (chrisj@hclm.org)

Executive Pastor CFLCN: Pastor Paul Hoyer (phoyer@hclm.org)

www.hclm.org     Facebook: facebook.com/lakemarychurch