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.

Vol. 25

No. 9

September 2019

What am I going to do with what has been given to me? First one must recognize what has been given.

Storing grain for better prices during harvest? It only happened if you were lucky or rich. Otherwise you were tied into the system of selling wheat during the harvest, when it was immediately available. Market ana-lysts of course are aware of this, and knowing that most small farmers have no choice but to sell immediately, will keep the price of wheat low during the harvest season. The marketplace is obvious. Everyone is selling, so the supply is high. Consequently, the demand is low. Your one annual paycheck for your wheat crop will be much less than the periodic checks that could be trickled out over the year as the prices rise, to the farmer who has many storage granaries.

Old Farmer Brown, he’s got an oil well on his property. He gets a check every month from Standard Oil for the leasing of his mineral rights plus a percentage for per barrel production, so he can afford to store his wheat until the prices are better. It just doesn’t seem fair. And understanda-bly, subsistence farmers have some resentment, particularly if Farmer Brown is puffed up about his wealth and importance and isn’t grateful for his random blessings. A little humility and perspective go a long way. In the Gospel text, the man is already rich and then on top of it, his land pro-duces abundantly. A poor man deserves a lucky year, too, once in a while, don’t you think?

BERGY’S BABBLE: “ALL YOURS…..WOW!”

… /// ...

2

The rich fool is so out of touch with reality that he is not taking into account a lot of real-world factors. The farmer who stores the grain will have a few extra expenses. He will have to do rodent control. He will have to be sure that the grain stays dry. If it gets wet it may start cooking inside the pile and spontaneous combustion is a real possibility. He will have to move it around to keep it from mildew damage. He will have to hire per-sonnel to do these things plus provide security from thievery. He may also be lucky to break even after all the expenses are deducted from his gross.

I guess that having done well at getting lucky, he thinks that he can do well at a whole lot of other things now, too. Isn’t it amusing to watch professional entertainers who all of a sudden become wise pundits of eco-nomic philosophy and political science? I believe that the technical term for this neurotic whimsy is ‘ultracrepidarianism.’

This is a story that takes us all the way back to Genesis 3:17-19.

“Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. (Eat dirt, little man) Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you

shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. You are dust and to dust you shall return.” Whoops, no more of that happy-go-lucky, leisurely, hunting and gathering in the Garden stuff.

The rich man has fallen out of touch with the normal human condi-tion. According to scripture, the normal human condition is that the earth will not be very cooperative. It will take a partnership of heavy labor, pa-tience, luck and prayer to produce the needs of life.

And just this once, for this lucky guy, the ground has cooperated.

The curse of Adam has been temporarily lifted to grace and bless his life. And HE thought HE did it all. With unearned goodness and blessings, he is preening and strutting outside of the norm, and as we can see by the conclu-

sion of the story, he is operating outside the protection of a safety net which he is taking for granted that he has.

… /// ...

… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “All Yours …. Wow!”

3

… /// ...

He won the grand lottery. The $5000/week Publisher’s Clearing House Prize. And he is deluded into thinking that he did something, and that if he does just a little something more, he can make the best from God, something he can improve on and make God’s “little” gift a lot better.

There is a problem here with gratitude. Are we really grateful for God’s gifts? Or do they seem paltry to us and in need of our well-meaning improvements. In this case, God is doing most of the work and is not getting recognized for anything.

Luke gives us a wonderful look at the inner operations of this man’s mind. He’s decided to have a little talk with himself, not God.

The rich man’s thought process takes 45 words. 11 of those words, one-fourth of them refer to himself. Six of them are “I”. Five of them are “MY”. His short cogitation sounds like the George Harrison song, “I, Me, Mine.” Like they say, “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’. (But there are five “I’s” in Trite, Simplistic Cliché.) It sounds like the designation of a sonnet form in English Lit class.

I, I, MY, I, I, MY, I, MY, MY, I, MY.

You can feel the droll humor of Jesus just dripping through the text. Complete with rhyming doggerel, Hebraic asymmetriphobia, and ironic satire. The parable is amazing multi-layered story-telling. There is judg-ment, there is greed, there is bitterness and jealousy, there is abundance, there are lucky breaks and there is the simple fact of inconceivable richness. Then there are GRATITUDE and the RECOGNITION of GOD, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS.

My crops? Whose crops did you say?

My barns? Whose barns are they now and in the near future? Sounds like you are fixin’ to tear’em down for a pipedream.

My grain and my goods? Who will get their primary use? Since you’re dead tomorrow.

My soul? Who gave you that soul?

… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “All Yours …. Wow!”

4

… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “All Yours …. Wow!”

All that you have prepared will go to someone else. It will be theirs, not yours. Pay attention therefore to humility, gratitude, recognition of the God who gives all, and wise resource management of his gifts. What if…….?

There are over eighteen million vacant houses in the United States. We also have over three million people in the generally constant homeless population. Do the math. 3 goes into 18? That’s six houses for each home-less person.

What if funds were allocated to provide education, counseling and hands-on mentoring for the homeless population so that they could pick their favorite house, sell the rest for escrow to pay utilities, taxes and repairs in perpetuity for that favorite house. There would then be 3 million new Home Depot customers. Hardware stores, grocery stores, gas stations, hos-pitals, schools, insurance companies, and others will have to hire a million new employees to handle the 3 million new customers. How about that for a brick and mortar New Deal that gives instead of taking?

Summarizing Luke 12:13-21: Give God some credit. Accept his gifted love with gratitude and humility. And don’t, please don’t, carry the crushing burden of figuring it all out yourself. God loves his job! Let Him Do It!

See you in worship…………………… BERGY

We are looking for a volunteer to help clean the Gym kitchen after Sunday

Worship. If you are available please contact Gloria McGarvey.

5

Hope YOU can join us on Sunday, September 8th

at 11:45 a.m. @ FEDERAL AMERICAN GRILL

510 Shepherd Houston, TX 77007

Tel. (713) 863-7777

RSVP Jeanette Dukleth (832) 326-7214

jdukleth@gmail.com

FALL KICKOFF BRUNCH BUNCH

allcornr@gmail.com

or call (713) 254-8638

We have wonderful prayer warriors, if you wish to be added to our Prayer Chain

please contact Renee Allcorn.

PLEASE NOTE RENEE’S NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

WELCA GENERAL MEETING

The date for General Meeting has changed to Saturday, September 14, at 10:00 a.m. so we will be able to celebrate

the life of our friend, Calvin Remmert on September 7.

Nancy Beamesderfer

6

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

FOR LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF

School supplies are on sale everywhere right now making it the perfect time

to buy and donate them to the school kits that WELCA packs for Lutheran

World Relief. Last year WELCA donated 22 kits. This year you can be a

part of helping to double or triple that amount. Simply go shopping for the

following items and place them in the box located in the Family Life

Center. WELCA will assemble and place in backpacks.

Here’s your shopping list:

• 70-sheet notebooks of wide or college-ruled paper, approximately 8”X101/2” no loose leaf paper

• 30-centimeter ruler or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other

• Pencil sharpener • Pair of blunt safety scissors • #2 Pencils • Black or blue ballpoint pens – No gel ink • Box of 16 or 24 crayons • 2 ½” eraser

SAVE YOUR CANCELLED STAMPS

Stamps on envelopes. You were going to just recycle, shred or throw the

envelopes away, right? So instead, bring them to the box in the Family Life

Center just waiting for your cancelled stamps. The cancelled stamps are

sent to Lutheran World Relief to help defray the cost of shipping baby care

kits, personal care kits, school kits, sewing kits and quilts.

Nancy Beamesderfer

7

SHARING THE GOSPEL IN SLOVAKIA

On September 15, Joshua Addudell and his family will be here to tell us about the high school ministry he is doing in Slovakia.

Joshua, the grandson of John and Julia Linn, is a baptized member of Holy Cross on staff with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ). He, his wife, Jade, and two sons, Ezra and Elias have an exciting story to tell. Their family's call to Slovakia started in the late 1800s. Josh's great-grandfather, Samuel Holéczy, was born in 1886, in Jelšava, Slovakia only an hour away from Košice, Slovakia where they will be living and doing ministry.

Their passion for high school students comes from their own personal testi-monies and the impact individuals had on their lives as teenagers. Their mission is to build spiritual movements among students in Slovakia so that everyone has the opportunity to know and follow Jesus.

They are currently in the process of building their monthly support team and as soon as this team is complete, they can report to their ministry in Slovakia.

Plan to join them at 10:45 a.m. on September 15, in the Annex to learn more about their call to share the gospel.

If you want more information, Joshua’s phone is 979.219.3534,

Email: Joshua.Aduddell@cru.org, Website: www.give.cru.org/0959891

Kay Vaccaro

8

MINUTES FOR COUNCIL MEETING

JULY 17, 2019

The July 2019 Church Council meeting was called to order by Presi-dent Wendy Lambeth on Wednesday, July 17, 2019, at 4:01 p.m. Pastor Berggren opened the meeting with a prayer.

In attendance were: Pastor Jim Berggren, Wendy Lambeth, Bettie Baring, Pat Curran, Deacon Karen Davidson, Francisco Gonzalez, Julie Kilkenny, Bettye Raschke, Wayne Schaper, Kay Vaccaro and Sharon Wagner, as well as special guest Gloria McGarvey.

Gloria McGarvey addressed Council to consider procedural changes after the elimination of the Spanish language worship service at Holy Cross. She asked for help with some of her duties, including kitchen cleanup after the Sunday coffee hour, as volunteers from the Spanish service were major contributors in this area. She also suggested refresher meetings to address changes in other areas such as Altar Guild and Usher Teams.

The minutes from the June Council Meeting were submitted by Julie Kilkenny and unanimously approved by Council. They will be sub-mitted for publication in Crossties and on the website.

The Treasurer’s report was presented by Wayne Schaper. Offerings for the month of June were $25,545, an increase of $59 from the previous month; however, 2019 year-to-date offerings of $168,625 were $39,181 less than 2018. Expenses for June were $34,688, a decrease of $3,796 from May expenses. Year-to-date expenses for 2019 exceeded offerings by $46,480. The checking account balance at 6/30/19 was $187,908, not including restricted funds. The Endow-ment Committee has $784 interest available for disbursement. The Treasurer’s report was unanimously approved as presented.

… /// ...

9

… /// ...

Pastoral Staff Reports:

Pastor Berggren updated Council on his activities for the past month. On July 11 th, he and Deacon Davidson conducted the memo-rial service for Betty Morris, a long-time member of Holy Cross. He noted the summer church office hours of Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.–4:00 p.m., and Friday 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Pastor Berggren asked for Council’s opinion on a record-keeping matter concerning member files. While cleaning out a file cabinet in the Spanish minis-try office he discovered a group of member files, some of which pre-dated Pastor Arroyave. As he was unaware of the existence of, or the completeness of, these files Pastor Berggren was concerned about how to handle this. (The current system of member records is chronological and does not allow for retroactive insertion of this information.) It was duly motioned, seconded and approved by Council that keeping this information intact as files would be acceptable at this time. Pastor Berggren continues his visits to homebound HCLC members and reaches out to prospective members and visitors to the church.

Deacon Davidson gave a quick update on her activities for the month. She was quite involved in preparations for Betty Morris ’ memorial service. She reported to Council that Holy Cross member Ricki Finstad’s dog has been certified as a comfort dog, in the event anyone was aware of a group or individual in need of this service. Deacon Davidson continues visits, phone calls and prayers for HCLC members and friends. She also prepares the PowerPoint presentation for the early worship service.

Old Business and Committee Reports:

Council discussed activities for Buildings and Grounds. Mr. Wayne Schaper reported that the lock in the ELC area was repaired. The intermittent leak in the sanctuary due to the expanding and contracting metal roof was also repaired. Pastor Berggren continued his tree-trimming efforts around the ELC playground.

…///… Council Minutes — July 17, 2019

10

… /// ...

Ms. Lambeth noted that some of the floor tiles in the kitchen were coming up and need to be repaired. Mr. Schaper noted that there was a broken window in the Choir Room, also in need of permanent repair. Bettie Baring updated Council on WELCA activities. At the July meeting the WELCA Board discussed helping with the floor repairs in the FLC kitchen and the set-up and take-down plans for the Rummage Sale in October. Work is almost complete on the WELCA directory. Also discussed was a project for Lutheran World Relief (LWR), which involves collecting cancelled stamps to help defray shipping costs for LWR projects. Kay Vaccaro has begun work on the WELCA retreat, tentatively set for January 18, 2020. WELCA members will be presenting ideas for upcoming events before the August Council meeting. Ms. Lambeth reported on Building Use Requests. Crafty Ladies asked to host another “Sip ‘n Shop” on December 7th, (and possibly December 6th). This would be a very low- key event, with vendors responsible for bringing and assembling their own setup. President Lambeth presented a Spanish Ministry follow up. She reported that the actual transition seemed to go pretty smoothly. At meeting time Pastor Arroyave had preached a couple of times at St. James Lutheran Church. Ms. Lambeth noted that among items discovered when clearing out the Spanish ministry office was a proposed 2003 constitution for the Spanish congregation, including organizational details. Francisco Gonzalez reported that he had been approached by several members of the Spanish congregation, trying to find a way to continue a Spanish-language worship service at Holy Cross. He expressed the frustration of members who have been worshipping at HCLC for years, but who were not comfortable attending services in English. He noted his own frustration in efforts to get help from the Synod.

…///… Council Minutes — July 17, 2019

11

Other items discussed:

• New battery and pads purchased for the defibrillator • Status of the church directory • Kay Vaccaro asked for Council approval to invite Josh Aduddel

to make a presentation to the congregation about his missionary work in Slovakia with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ).

New Business:

Ms. Lambeth attended a meeting with Mary White and the architects for the Pantry expansion. They are in the process of getting permits for this project. She noted that the new shed will be getting its own dedicated meter for electricity. Pastor Berggren relayed a proposal via a parishioner for a lesser parking lot repair (cleaning, sealing, but not scraping and resurfac-ing). After some discussion, Council agreed that $18,000 for this temporary fix was not in the budget at this time. The next Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 2:30 p.m.

Upon motion to adjourn, the meeting was closed with the Lord ’s Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie Kilkenny

Council Secretary

…///… Council Minutes — July 17, 2019

12

COUNCIL MEETING

Next Council Meeting:

Sunday, September 15, at 12 noon in the Annex.

Church Council

DATE

1st READING

PSALM

2nd READING

GOSPEL

09/01/2019

Proverbs 25:6-7

112

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:1, 7-14

09/08/2019

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

1

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-33

09/15/2019

Exodus 32:7-14

51:1-10

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Luke 15:1-10

09/22/2019

Amos 8:4-7

113

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Luke 16:1-13

09/29/2019

Amos 6:1a, 4-7

146

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 16:19-31

READINGS, PSALMS & GOSPEL

SEPTEMBER 2019

13

RUMMAGE SALE

Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5

Set up will begin on Sunday, September 23, and continue during the week prior to the sale.

Donations of clothing, books, plants, household items, collectibles, costume jewelry, toys and bake-sale items can be brought to the HCLC Family Life Center (gym) beginning Sunday, September 29, and ending at 12 noon on Wednesday, October 2.

Also needed are volunteers with trucks to pick up and deliver heavy items to church. Please call Amy Schomburg at (713) 725-2285 to volunteer to help with the rummage sale in any capacity.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

Our office hours will remain as follows:

Monday — Thursday : 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday : 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

HOURS

Amy Schomburg

14

If your name is not listed or if this is incorrect information

please contact the Church Office so that the list can be corrected.

Holy Cross members celebrating birthdays this month:

01 Leslie Appling

06 Jim Berggren

Jocelyn Ruiz

07 José Gómez

Keyshawn Roberts

08 Glendeen Roemer

09 Lino Orellana

Claire Appling

10 Mike Appling

12 Will Byerly

David Garwick

13 Laverne Pivonka

Fred Gardner IV

14 Harriet Short

Yolanda Villegas

18 Pat Boessling

Jay Byerly

Ricki Finstad

Glenda Schaper

19 Melina Martinez

20 Sarah Allcorn

22 Reyna Rauda

23 Mitchell Walton

24 Juanita Villegas

Charlotte Jensen

25 Norma Hines

Angie Eckermann

26 Susan Giesecke

Fernando Arista

27 Ken Polzin

Bill Tempel

Alan Hernández

28 Sandra Williams

29 Michael Giesecke

Evan Neumann

15

R e m e m b e r i n P r a y e r

The homebound, disabled, long-term ill and prolonged recovering.

If you are not receiving HCLC Prayer Request emails and would like to, please contact

Renee Allcorn:

allcornr@gmail.com

or call (713) 254-8638

Note that Prayer Request emails are sent out daily, so if you are on the email list and did not receive any email, please contact Renee.

CHURCH OFFICE

HOURS

Monday—Thursday 9:00 am—4:00 pm

Friday 8:30 am—2:30 pm

You may sign up for Altar Flowers in the Narthex.

Suggested donation is $50.00 and $12.00 for a rose.

Ed Cooper Julie Davidson Betty Firth

Elaine Snell Rosie Stork Doris Wahlberg

TREASURER’S REPORT

If you have any questions call Wayne Schaper, Sr. at (713) 465-5206.

JULY 2019

Receipts $ 22,517.25

Expenses 66,051.20

Balance < $ 43,533.95 > =================

Operational receipts year to date received …….. $ 191,543.50

Expenditures year to date ..… 290,700.62

Balance < $ 99,157.12 > =================

Building Rental $ 780.00

average attendance

JULY SERVICES IN 2019

Sunday Traditional Service : 56

Saturday Informal Service : 17

Dolores Abrego Nancy Beamesderfer Julie Davidson Verlene Furley Nanette Luker

Yvonne Mosburg Mary Osborne Gordon Tinker Nancy Walton

16

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR DIRECTORY

FIRTH, Betty

Elmcroft of Cy-Fair

11246 Fallbrook Dr. #59B

Houston, TX 77065

BARING, Bettie

2819 Teague Road #1633

Houston, TX 77080

GARWICK, David

Brookdale Memorial City

11900 Barryknoll Ln.#7108

Houston, TX 77024

GARDNER, Fred & Anna

1185 Scroggins Lane

Waller, TX 77484-9659

TEMPEL, Bill

10440 Scarpinato Rd.

Stafford, TX 77477

DRUSHEL, Margaret

9723 Moorberry Lane

Houston, TX 77080-5222

NEWLON, Ilse

504 Bering Dr. Apt.#329

Houston, TX 77057-1481

MOSBURG, Yvonne

Brookdale Memorial City

11900 Barryknoll Ln #1212

Houston, TX 77024

17

AUGUST 2019

Altar flowers were donated:

04 To the Glory of God

11 To the Glory of God

18 To the Glory of God

25 Nancy Beamesderfer

HOLY CROSS FACEBOOK PAGE

Check out the newly revived Holy Cross Facebook page!

A Big Thank You to Laura Neilsen for bringing our page back to life.

Be sure to “like” the page, so it will show up on your feed.

Julie Kilkenny

“In the Round” Discussion Group

continues its discussion of Who Moved My Pulpit?

Every Sunday after worship (at 10:45 a.m.) in the Annex classroom.

Please join us!!

Julie Kilkenny

18

TELEPHONE EXTENSIONS

100 Church Office

101 Sussy Terry

103 Rev. Jim Berggren Senior Pastor

105 Karen Davidson Deacon

Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Spring Branch

A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

“Holy Cross Lutheran Church is a community of Christians gathered by God’s grace and reaching out through God’s love.”

YOUR CHURCH STAFF

† Rev. Jim Berggren — Senior Pastor Email : jlberggren@holycross.us

† Karen Davidson — Deacon Email : aimked@gmail.com

† Sussy Terry — Office Manager Email : hclc@holycross.us

WORSHIP MUSICIAN

Cathy Elijah Music Director / Organist

OFFICERS OF THE CONGREGATION

Wendy Lambeth President

Bettye Raschke Vice-President

Julie Kilkenny Secretary

Wayne Schaper, Sr. Treasurer

SATURDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

Informal Service 6:00 p. m.—AT

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

Traditional Service 9:30 a.m.—WC

Office Manager and Events Coordinator

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

ELC (713) 461-5535

email: holycrosselc4@gmail.com

7901 Westview Dr. Houston, Texas 77055

Tel. (713) 686-8253 Fax (713) 686-9095

E-mail: hclc@holycross.us

Website: www.holycross.us