April 2015
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
Cross Talk
By the grace of God and the call of the church
Sarah Shanks
Will be ordained and installed into the
Ministry of Word and Sacrament
In Christ’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic
Church
On Sunday, the twelfth day of April
In the year of our Lord
Two thousand and fifteen
At
Three o’clock in the afternoon
Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
605 US Highway 77A South
Yoakum, Texas
The Reverend J. W. Mielke, presiding.
Your prayers and presence are requested.
Meal in the Parish Hall
Following the service
Palm Sunday– March 29th
8:00 a.m. Worship
10:30 a.m. Procession of Palms & Worship
5:30 p.m. Community Palm Sunday Worship
At First Baptist Church
Maundy Thursday Worship
April 2nd
10:00 a.m. & 7:15 p.m. Worship/Communion
Good Friday Worship
April 3rd
1:00 p.m. Worship/Communion
& 7:15 p.m. Tenebrae Service
Easter-April 5th
7:30 a.m. Sunrise Worship Service
& 10:30 a.m. Worship Service
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Thought from Pastor
On Easter Sunday we rejoice
in the victory of God’s light
overpowering the world’s
darkness. That suffocating
and cold darkness which we
can experience in the cold
months of the year; and the
dreaded darkness of the night
can make us uneasy but they
can never over power the
light of God’s goodness.
Easter proclaims that not even
death can keep the light from
shining upon us.
We know the light comes
from God when the very first
word was let there be light.
John also saw this light in Je-
sus writing that in Him was
life and light. There is no
need to worry about God taking a rest on the seventh;
there is no power shortage
when it comes to light and
life in Jesus Christ. The
Word is an everlasting word
in Jesus, fulfills and keeps all
promises; establishing a new
covenant within His Blood.
As Easter approaches we are
to embrace the life and light
that comes to us anew each
day as we step into the morning light. May our Easter be
a shining and bright day that
Join us for
fills our lives with life and
light in Jesus Christ.
The Youth Group
will be serving
Breakfast
following the
7:30 a.m. Sunrise Service
On April 5thJoin Us for
Breakfast & Fellowship!!!
EASTER EGG HUNT
We are planning to have an Easter Egg Hunt
on April 5th at 9:30 a.m. We have plenty of
plastic eggs, but would appreciate candy donations to fill them. Please bring your candy donations to the church office on or before April
1st. Thank You!
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Blood Drive
April 19th
From 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
In the Church Parking Lot
For more information or to
Donate blood,
Contact Connie Zimmerman at 293-3033
Mark Your
Calendars!!!
Vacation Bible
School
is planned for
the week of
June 8th-12th!
Save the Dates
Holy Cross Day Camp
July 13th-17th!
Watch for more
information to
follow in the
May Newsletter!
More info to follow!!!
Remember to pray …
Pray daily, pray without
ceasing.
Social Ministry Committee is in need!
We are needing two people to make visits once a
month to homebound parishioners to offer communion
and fellowship. This is a rewarding ministry that only
requires about 3 hours a month, but means so much to
our homebound members. Please call Jody Maneth at
293-6685 for more information.
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NEWSLETTER ITEMS
DUE APRIL 20TH
BULLETIN ITEMS DUE
ON TUESDAY
Youth News & Happenings
Thanks to parents and youth
who helped with the Lenten Meal
on March 4th. On Sunday the 15th
the youth picked up litter on
church grounds just before it was
cut on the follow Tuesday. The
Youth are looking forward to Pastor Sarah coming to join in the
youth group activities. Back into
the kitchen, April 5th, Easter
Morning breakfast. Easter
breakfast will include all the
fixin’s for a delicious breakfast
tacos along with fresh fruit served
with milk, juice and coffee. The
meal will be served at 8:20 a.m. so
plan to be at church at 6:00 a.m. to
get everything ready! CALLING
ALL YOUTH!! Any questions call
pastor.
Library Work –Check It Out!!!
The church library is a new project for the LCW this year. Some
cleaning has been done and some
unuseable books given away. The
shelves need to be labeled and a
book check out system established. Visit the library and help
us make it a source of knowledge,
research or reading for pleasure.
Consider giving a book in memory
or to honor a loved one.
New books this month:
For children:
Look & Find Bible-a search and
find fun book from the New Testament.
Day by Day Kids Bible-read the
bible in 1 year, in just 7 minutes a
day!
For Adults:
Jesus Calling by Sarah Younddevotions for every day of the
Year!
NEWS FROM LORD’S LITTLE ANGELS
Spring has sprung! We are
thankful for the sunshine, warmer
weather, and extra outside time!
Before you know it, we will be
knocking on summer’s door.
We are spending this time preparing for Easter. We are learning
the Easter story and about how Jesus died on the cross to save us all
from our own sin. We are also
planning some Easter fun! Classes
will be making Easter baskets and
decorating eggs. All classes will
have an Easter egg hunt on Thursday April 2nd.
The children will explore flowers, grass, baby animals, and the
wonderful spring weather. In week
one, we will focus on baby animals, from little chicks to bunnies,
kittens and puppies. Our bible focus is to continue our review of the
Easter story. In week two, we will
discuss turtles and how they live.
Our bible focus is “Sharing the
Good News”. In week three, we
will discover the transformation of
a tadpole to a jumping frog. Our
bible focus is on how Paul followed Jesus. In week four, we discuss Earth Day and explore the
Great Gardens. We will have fun
with fruit and vegetables that grow
in the garden. Our bible focus is
“Doing What is Right”.
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We would like to thank all of the
Holy Cross members who participated in our raffle fundraiser and
wish each of you very Happy
Easter! Enjoy this wonderful
weather God has given us.
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CHURCH COUNCIL MINUTE SUMMARY
An abbreviated form of the minutes is presented below. For a full copy of the minutes, contact the office
Tawnya Claybrook opened
the meeting with a short devotional
and Valerie Coronado said a prayer.
President Jody Maneth called the
meeting to order. Those present were:
Jody Maneth, Joy Janak, Valerie
Coronado, Linda O’Neill, Linda Colman, Randy Zimmerman, Ralph Polzin, Tomi Soehnge, Michael Chumchal, James Pilchek, and Pastor
Mielke. Jody Maneth read a thank
you letter from the Institute of Lutheran Theology for the donation from
Holy Cross made last year. Minutes
of the February meeting were approved. Treasurer Linda O’Neill gave
a report. Tomi Soehnge gave Council
a report on LLA activities and upcoming events. Jody Maneth reminded
everyone to support the LLA raffle.
Pastor Mielke gave the Youth report
as well as the Pastor’s report. He said
that the Youth will be serving breakfast tacos, fruit cups, juice, milk and
coffee for the Easter breakfast. That
will be at 8:20 AM after the sunrise
service at 7:30 AM. Confirmation
camp will be June 14-19 and Day
Camp will be July 13-17. Pastor said
that all of our hospitalized members
were now home and improving. Pastor also reminded all that the WOW
conference is on April 11 and that
there will be no Saturday evening service on that day but that on April 12
there will be an Ordination for Pastor
Sarah Shanks at 3:00 PM with a catered meal to follow at 4:30 PM. He
thanked all who helped with the clean
-up days. He also asked for June 27
as a vacation date. For the Property
Committee, Randy Zimmerman had
received a bid for $600 to clean the
AC ducts at Parsonage 2. A motion
was made to accept the bid; seconded;
motion passed. For Evangelism,
Ralph Polzin shared the letter to be
mailed out to church members. Ralph
also discussed the proposed half page
advertisement for the Victoria Advocate insert to be published on March
28. Ralph also reported that the next
meeting is planned for March 17 at
6:45 PM. For Social Ministry, Jody
Maneth reported that the committee is
seeking 2 more members. For Music
and Worship, Jody Maneth reported
that she is slowly going through all
the old music and that she needs help
moving a piano from Parsonage 2 for
repair. The piano in the choir loft
needs to be moved to the Parish Hall.
For Christian Education, Tawnya
Claybrook reported that there will be
a family meal on March 29 after the
10:30 service. On April 18th and 19th
there will be promotion for Vacation
Bible School at the 10:30 AM service.
The next N2Y will be on April 19th.
There will be a VBS planning meeting on April 26. On May 10th the
youth will be singing at the 10:30 service.
Under unfinished business,
Stanley Steamer will be here on
March 30-31 to clean the carpet and
tile. James Faltesek will be waxing
the floors in the Parish Hall, kitchen,
and hall on March 13. A motion was
made to pay him $200 for the job,
seconded and motion carried. Jody
Maneth gave the specifics for the bid
for refurbishing the narthex bathrooms. It was decided to repair the
leaks by a licensed plumber and then
to do the refurbishing. Bid for repair
from Midway Flooring was $1660
with materials from Soehnge $104.38.
Jody Maneth said that Beverly Rudolph is seeking anyone who wishes
to purchase books for the church library. Jody Maneth said that the name
of the Little League team was the Angels, a minor league girls team and
that opening ceremonies are March 21
at 12:00 PM.
Under new business, Sandra
Steinmann has printed the invitations
for the Ordination for Pastor Shanks.
Jody Maneth gave the bids for the
catered meal for the Ordination. A
motion was made that we accept the
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bid from Mike Pozzi. The motion
was seconded and it passed. Jody
Maneth said that Ron Boehm has
asked that all church architectural
plans and blueprints be archived and
stored in the vault. He has also suggested that a spreadsheet be kept enumerating all building repairs and their
dates. Jody Maneth brought a report
from the Investment Committee related to the Lutherfest funds. A motion to accept the recommendations
from the Investment Committee was
made, seconded; motion carried.
There are 5 Holy Cross members
graduating in May from Yoakum
High School. Two of them intend to
enter the military and three will receive scholarships from Holy Cross.
A motion was made that the two entering the military be awarded scholarships should they attend college at a
later date. Motion seconded; motion
carried. Pastor Mielke asked that a
committee for the 125th Anniversary
year be formulated. The official
church anniversary is January 27th.
A motion to adjourn was made, seconded the motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Colman, Secretary
VBS in Need of HELP!
VBS is needing your help! Vacation Bi-
Keep your family safe.
Working smoke alarms saves lives.
For your free smoke alarm installation
call the Red Cross 361-894-1232 or come
by the Church office for Information.
ble School will be June 8th-12th, and we are
needing persons to help with the children’s activities and in the kitchen. There will be a
planning meeting on April 26th, following the
10:30 a.m. worship service in the Parish Hall.
If you are interested in
helping, please contact
the church office at 2933033 or Tawnya Claybrook at 1-830-2030229. Come help make
the 2015 VBS a huge
success for the children
in our community!
Meet the Holy Cross
Angels Team!!!
Holy Cross is a sponsor to the
Angels Minor League Girls Softball team! If you get a chance to get
out to the ball field-make sure you look
for the Angels team! We are excited to
have had the opportunity to sponsor a
team this year and would love to show
our support to these young ladies by
watching a few of their games-check by
the church office for their schedule.
PRAYER CONCERNS
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Melton Hiller
Barbara Kaiser
Gayle Cowan
Marie Harbers
Tina Eggemeyer
Norwin Schoenfeld
Robert Almand
John Langhoff
Luella Havlik
Florine Harwood
Kay Biehunko
Bob Putnam
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Sydney Kaiser
Mikal Gasch
Virginia Putnam
Jennifer Buchhorn
Oscar Kuestler
Katherine Petering
Steve Welhausen
Don Kaiser
Our Soldiers and their families
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RECOGNITION GIVEN TO …
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3
6
7
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10
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14
16
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Sue Schneider
Rose Bland
Robert Almand
Suzi Brewer
Gary Colman
Helen Seekamp
Russell Muehlstein
Boudy Norman
Edwin Steinmann
Aileen Boening
Jonathan Stasa
Carol Pugh
Leon Heidaker
Harley Brasher
Gale Schneider
Sophie Wood
Terri Janca
Alice Kloesel
Kayla Walicek
Kinley Knezek
Lawrence Lewis
Brandon Bland
Paige Sapp
Dennis Kaiser
Peggy Sheridan
Steven Chumchal
Payten McCord
18 William Bergey
Herschel Buck
19 Tomi Soehnge
Brian Schneider
Aaron Schomburg
20 Gabriel Varkey
Westin Bruns
22 Eunice Schumann
24 Earl Cretors, Jr.
Tristan Nordstrand
25 Darren Kloesel
Christopher Colman
Whitney Boone
Bryce Bergey
26 Simone Leist
28 Joy Janak
Jerry Brasher
29 Mason Buenger
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Rose Bland
Craig Seekamp
3 Ann Sapp
Bryan Stuehrenberg
Joshua Hiller
4 Iris Riske
Jacklynn Thormahlen
5 Dorothy Moore
John Rusling
6 Lanell Renken
Sandra Steinmann
John Pierce
Raven Pierce
Jarod Wenske
7 Emily June Kelley
8 Chase Hermes
9 Luella Dvorak
Helen Seekamp
10 Jordan Goodrich
Ashlynd Kyle
Korey Kyle
11 Ralph Polzin
Weston Bergey
12 Jasmine McCord
13 Cindy Gasch
16 Brandon Bland
19 Ruby Marburger
Emily Rudolph
20 Georgie Clark
Mary Orr
Westin Bruns
21 Lorine Glass
Bobby Bland
22 James Pohl
David Walicek
Natalie Hajek
Cindy Dekowski
Devan Dekowski
23 Jake Nolte
24 Billy Goodrich
Caleb Cowan
Wedding Anniversaries
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Cindy & Allan Gasch
Peggy & Michael Chumchal
Tammy & Jerry Brasher
Sandra & William Bergey
Lorna & Robert Herman
Marsha & Denis Wauson
Shandila & Ehren Cretors
22 Barbara & Robert Kaiser
Elda Mae & Vernon Petrich
23 Dianne & Larry Zaruba
We are happy to welcome Carson Scott
Sweeney in Baptism on March 1, 2015.
Carson is the son of Ryan and Susan
Sweeney. His sponsors are Chad Fritz, Jennifer Laqua, Marshall Schautschick,
Randolph Schautschick, Stacy Goodson and
Cheryl Psencik.
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LUTHERAN CHURCH WOMEN MEETING SUMMARY
The meeting was called to order
by President Sylvia Bertram at
2pm in the Parish Hall. Devotion
was given by Joy Janak on
“Connecting to God”.
Our guest speaker, Barbara
Neville, was introduced by Linda
McCabe. Barbara is the community representative for Crossroads
American Red Cross. She discussed the many programs of the
Red Cross.
The business portion of the meeting was opened with the reciting
of our statement of purpose. The
minutes were read. Minutes were
approved as corrected. Treasurer’s
report was given by Jean Shindler:
The Regular Account Balance was
$2,943.24; Quilters was $5,589.21
and Bereavement was $200.00 for
a total account balance of
$8,732.45.
Committee reports:
Linda McCabe reported she had
made a baby blanket for baptism
of Carson Sweeney this Sunday.
Colleen Heidaker thanked all who
helped with the Lenten Meal; 90
were served.
Beverly Rudolph has purchased
two books for our library; one of
them will be donated by Katherine
Petering in memory of her mother;
another is a children’s bible that
could be given to children when
they are learning to read. Beverly
will work on a method of checking
out books.
Old business:
There will be a WOW meeting
planning meeting on Tuesday,
March 10, 2015 at 5:30pm.
Jean Shindler reminded all to sign
up for Easter lily purchase.
New business:
The ordination for Pastor Sarah
Shanks will be Sunday, April 12,
2015 at 3pm followed by a catered
dinner. Mabel Hickey is looking
for table cloths both long and
round.
A motion to donate $100 to the
American Red Cross, seconded;
motion carried.
Birthdays were recognized by
Mary Pargmann; they were Pastor
Mielke and Colleen Heidaker.
Hostesses for today are Linda
McCabe, Connie Zimmerman,
HOLY CROSS LCW TO
HOST WOW RETREAT
The Holy Cross Lutheran Church Women are
hosting the WOW Women’s Retreat on April
11th. The retreat begins at 8:30 a.m. and will end
at 1:15 p.m. with a Closing Worship Service. The
meal will be catered. If you would like to attend,
please come by the church office to register. The
LCW is paying the registration fee of $15, for all
Holy Cross women that would like to attend. The
theme for the retreat is “Our Body, His Temple”hope you can join us for the retreat!!!
Mabel Hickey, and Beverly Rudolph. Hostesses for April are
Lillian Mueller, Carolyn Frank,
and Sue Schneider. Devotional
will be given by Mary Pargmann.
Motion to adjourn was made by
Jean Shindler, seconded by Dorothy Mgebroff; motion carried.
Meeting adjourned with reciting of
the Lord’s Prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Jody Maneth, Secretary
Upcoming Events
Monthly Meeting
April 9th, 2:00 p.m.
Program:
Stephanie Lerch
with New Horizons
Bible Study
Tuesday, April 14th, 2:00 p.m.
Quilting
April 13th and 23rd,
9 a.m.—5 p.m.
Ordination for
Sarah Shanks
Sunday, April 12th
at 3:00 p.m.
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
Meal to follow
In Parish Hall
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OUR SHUT-INS &
NURSING HOME RESIDENTS
These shut-ins would gladly take phone calls or visits from our
church family. Also, please remember them in your daily prayers.
Home Shut-Ins
Lorine Glass
Alice Kloesel
Hallettsville Nursing
& Rehab
Arno & Lee Pfuhl
Allen Winkenwerder
Julia Bernshausen
Whispering Oaks, Cuero
Linda Proschko
Stevens in Hallettsville
Florine Harwood
Stevens Nursing Home
Gayle Cowan
Viola Hagens
Adele Hahn
Leona Picha
Wilmon Steinmann
Yoakum Nursing
Annie Mae Barcak
Sophie Wood
Today’s Assisted Living
Dorothy Kuempel
Erna Rindorf
CONTACT US:
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
605 US Hwy 77A S
PO Box 647
(Ph) 361-293-3033
(Fax) 361-293-5471
(Pastor home) 361-293-2719
(Pastor cell) 361-741-8640
www.holycrossyoakum.org
[email protected]
OFFICE HRS:
Mon-Thur 8 am—4 pm
Fri 8 am—12 pm
Personalized CareShiner
Rosa Lee Findeisen
If you or a family member goes into the hospital, please alert church
staff. You can also ask a nurse from the hospital to contact us.
Return service requested
P. O. Box 647
Yoakum, TX 77995
Holy Cross Lutheran Church