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Newsletter September 6th, 2020

Sep 3, 2020 | Weekly

 

Current Sermon Series: Seasons: Doing Life Together

2 Chronicles 28:8-15, Galatians 3:15-22, Luke 10:23-37

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

 

Current Sermon Series – Seasons: Doing Life Together

Church Service – September 6th

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 During This Time

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:
– Daily 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
– Wednesday Night Bible Study on YouTube and Facebook- A walk through the book of Psalms with Pastor Matt and Pastor Chris (Moving to Monday’s starting September 21st)
– 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

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

Most of you have noticed the seating spacing at church. We have created groups of seating to allow members of households to sit together while remaining socially distant from other households. We feel that this is the best way for us to adhere to government guidance and care for others as we gather. Please find a seating group that most closely resembles your group size. If there are 2 in your party, pick a set with 2 seats, if all 2s are occupied pick a three and so on. You should not sit in a seating group with another household unless you have frequent interaction with that group outside of church(ie:they are in your inner circle). Thanks for keeping others safe.

What’s Going On

NEW- Education Hour Starts September 20th

It’s official! Starting September 20th, we will be bringing back Sunday School, Middle/High School Student Service, and the Sunday Morning Bible Study during our new Education Hour between services from 9:00-10:00 AM.

NEW- Confirmation Start Sept 23rd

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. We meet weekly on Wednesday nights 6:30-8:00 through the school year (with holiday breaks).This year begins on Wednesday, Sept 23. Currently masks are required.
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. This upcoming year is called “The Foundation”. We’ll be working our way through Luther’s small catechism, which covers the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the Apostles Creed and the Sacraments. In addition to the weekly meetings there are retreats spaced throughout the year where our students can grow in community with one another and dive a little deeper into the material we’ll be covering during the year. 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 Matt Wallis at mwallis@hclm.org.

Family Serve: Road Cleanup – Sept 13th

Join us as we make a noticeable impact in our community as we pick-up garbage along Longwood/Lake Mary Rd which the church as adopted. The whole family can attend! Grabbers will be provided, bring gloves and water. We will meet at GREENWOOD LAKES PARK (Between Lk Mary High and the Library) at 4pm on Sunday, Sept 13th. If you would like to join us for a meal at a local restaurant after, feel free.

CancerBank Virtual Poker Tournament – Sept 19th

Cancer doesn’t stop just because of a Pandemic. We debated for a long time on what we were going to do about our annual poker tournament and what was the best way to continue to help the community and provide a quality fundraising event for our supporters who have been attending and donating for years. We have decided to switch to a virtual poker tournament this year and we hope that you will join us. To be a sponsor of the event, please visit CancerBank.org or contact Pastor Chris. SIGN UP IS NOW OPEN AT CANCERBANK.ORG/EVENTS

Cookies, breads, cakes, brownies, and…. SHRIMP??

This year has been strange. With COVID cancelling most activities including our youth fundraisers and with all of the new requirements with masks and sanitization that has been implemented. In order to alleviate some of these issues, we are creating an online bake sale and shrimp boil to support our Youth Missions Program and the Academy with the unexpected COVID related expenses. In September we are planning on having an ordering system where people can order baked goods and for one day, on 10/10/2020, a take home Shrimp Boil Meal. 

We are looking for those who would like to make a sweet treat that we can offer for sale. If you are interested in taking part in this event, please email the following to Lara Jackson at ljackson@hclm.org or visit the Facebook event for a link to register, but don’t bake yet! The end of September, we will notify you how many of your items have been ordered for you to make. If you have trouble affording the ingredients for your recipe, but want to help, let us know and we will see what we can do.

Save the Date – 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. 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 wishlist at https://a.co/1PO2Jdo

Announcements & Updates

The FL/GA LWML Virtual District Convention

The biennial convention always promotes a “Giving from the Heart” and a “Serving with Gladness” opportunity to share God’s blessings with others. The ‘Giving’ this time is a minimum of $5 donation to Angel Flight Southeast, an organization which enlists volunteers with private airplanes to make medical flights. These flights help anyone on the life saving flights in a 5 state southeast (USA) area. Donations can be placed in the Mite Box. Make checks payable to Angel Flight Southeast. The deadline to contribute is Sept 14th.

The ‘Serving with Gladness’ involves writing notes of hope, compassion, and encouragement which will be given to persons who are suffering losses of any kind. The note, accompanies a wooden cross with a heart attachment which symbolizes Christ’s hope and promise of eternal life. Specially designed cards will be given to whomever wants to write notes. Please contact Chris Jennisen ASAP if you would like to participate at jenn3275@bellsouth.net. She must have them to send out prior to September 20th.

St. Luke’s Concert Series

St. Luke’s is excited to announce The Brass Band of Central Florida and their online performance “The Show must Go On!” Saturday, September 12, at 7pm. Visit SLLCS.org/concert-series for more information or to access their digital performance.

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.

Middle School Student Ministry

Middle School Youth Group will kickoff on Sunday, September 27 from 5-7 PM here at Holy Cross. All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students are welcome to join us for a fun night including activities, devotion, and dinner. Please be sure to register your middle schooler at HCLM.org/Youth prior to attending so that we have up to date emergency contact information and can keep you in the loop about middle school happenings as the year progresses.

Sharing Center – Back to School Supplies

Whether kids are going back in person or virtually, there are still those that need assistance with school supplies in our community.  Grab a supply list off the table in the Narthex and bring items to church with you on Sunday or drop it off in the office during the week.  Can’t get out to be able to donate? Purchase from the Church’s Amazon Wishlist and your donation can be delivered directly to the church! Go to  https://a.co/cbPsv9x to see the wishlist.

Prayers of the Church   

Prayers of Thanksgiving

That we are able to start gathering again as a church in Bible studies soon.

Prayers of Comfort

Prayers for all those grieving silently whatever the cause, that they may find peace from the mourning and comfort in the love of Jesus.

Prayers of Healing 

Michelle Grass prayers for healing from breast cancer and prayers for a successful surgery

Marilyn Childs  Prayers for healing from a back surgery she had this week

Dennis Bridger Prayers for a speedy and full recovery from a brain aneurysm and peace and comfort for his family

Danielle Bottass prayers for physical and emotional healing after a horrible car accident

Joan Bove (Kim Sanders’ Mom) prayers for healing from complications of being hospitalized after a broken hip

Paul Baker (friend of Tracy Alfonso) prayers of wisdom for Dr’s as they help Paul with congestive heart failure

Ralph Lembrich prayers for healing from recent surgery

Terri prayers for quick and complete healing from stroke

Bob Rogers prayers for healing from back issues

Alan McGinn prayers for complete healing as he recently had surgery on a brain tumor

Rita Freebern (neighbor of Joanne Hench) prayers for general healing

For all those suffering from coronavirus.

General Prayer

Prayers for those who were in the path of Hurricane Laura. That may rebuild after the destruction that it caused.

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

Michael Francis

Ron Frederickson

Pat Goodwine

Jerry Gross

Dana Grimes

Bob Hamilton

Todd Haynes

David Haynes

Steve Homan

Joy Hostler

Marlin Houser

Karen Kalich

Alan Kimball

Elizabeth Koob

Al Laruffa

Rick Lembrick

Sally Lowd

Lori Luedtke

Charaline Luna

Jean Mactye

Kathy Marwood

Judy McBride

Alan McGinn

Leslie Pilz

Paul Queck

Dave Riker

Martin Rodriguez

Karen Schlue

Debbie Shaffer

Gina Shaffer

Tina Smith

Martin Summ

Hector Vazquez

Steve Wash

Linda Weiler

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