Holy Cross Connections

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1 Holy Cross Connections Upcoming Events: Holy Cross Connections December 2013 December 14 & 15 A Night In Bethlehem Advent/Christmas Worship Schedule (Pages 3 & 7) Inside this issue: Women s Retreat 2 McGregor Thanksgiving Youth Goings On... 2 Young at Heart 3 50th Anniversary Celebration Ladies Book 3 Advent Schedule 3 Nursery Request 4 Tidbits 4 Haiti Mission Trip 4 School News 5 Kids Corner 6 Christmas Worship Schedule Jesus He s Everything We Need! What do you wa nt for Jesus is and what He can do for Christmas? That s the question of them. Their relationship with Jesus the month, isn t it? What can we is much like my relationship with my buy that will make us, or the people cell phone. They are told that He we love, happy? What can we can do marvelous things for them, purchase that will make but they have not spent (God) gave us His our lives more pleasant, enough time reading up only begotten Son to productive and enjoyable? on Him, or exploring be our Savior, our Retailers would have us to Him, to discover His full Redeemer, and our believe, indeed buy the lie, potential in their lives. Prince of Peace. that gadgets, gismos and This Advent/Christmas creature comforts are what we are season we are going to be to invest in during the Christmas exploring who Jesus is and what season. And to one degree or all He means to us under the another, we keep getting sucked theme: He Is Everything We into the lie. Need. On the Wednesdays of December 4 th, 11 th, and 18 th, we will explore Jesus as our Prophet, Priest The truth is most of us don t need anything that can be purchased at a store for Christmas. Most of us already have more than enough to wear and to play with. Any more kitchen conveniences and we ll need more kitchen cabinets to store them in until we sell them at a garage sale. Thank God! He did not ask His children what they wanted for themselves that first Christmas. Out of His fatherly love and wisdom, He gave us what we needed on that first Christmas. He gave us His only begotten Son to be our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Prince of Peace. Unfortunately to this day, many Christians still do not know, nor can they appreciate, everything and King. Christmas Eve s three candlelight services will explore Jesus Our Savior. Christmas day will be Jesus: God With Us. The Sunday after Christmas we will look at Jesus, Our Redeemer. Of course, all three Advent services will be preceded by wonderful soup suppers that will begin at 5:30 PM. Pastor Kip will be showing pictures and videos of our last mission trip to Haiti at 6:30 PM. And worship will begin at 7:15. Please carve out the time for what you need amidst all the things you want to do this Christmas season. Pastor Kip

2 Page 2 Holy Cross Connections Women s Retreat, Camp Mowana 41 Holy Cross women attended a two-night retreat at Camp Mowana (near Mansfield) from November It was a great time away from the busyness of life. We enjoyed time with our Lord through Scripture, singing and prayer time. We grew closer to one another as sisters in Christ and as true friends! Not to mention, we ate too well, stayed up too late, and laughed pretty hard, too! Praise God for a great and worshipful time! Thanks to the presenters, Barb Sautters, Joan Schultz and Vonnie LaRue, who led sessions on True Worship with Jesus as our friend, praying the Scripture as worship, and true friendship with Christian sisters. We have been refreshed and renewed! McGregor Thanksgiving Dinner Because you cared and were willing to share, the Thanksgiving holiday was made more enjoyable for many families less fortunate than us. 42 families in the McGregor school area were provided a Thanksgiving dinner which included turkey, dressing and other sides. In addition, we were able to distribute 114 turkeys, 10 chickens, and 125 bags of potatoes along with their regular bag of groceries to inter-city folks through UrbanArk. WHAT A PRIVILEGE AND BLESSING IT IS TO SHARE! Holy Cross Youth Goings On... The annual Jr. & Sr. Youth Christmas bash will be Saturday, December 7 at 7:00 PM. We will meet at the youth house, drop off our white elephant gifts & eat, then taxi over to Diamond Park to enjoy their Christmas Festival. We will be handing out candy canes with Christian Christmas wishes to fellow patrons. Weather permitting, we will stay for the tree lighting, then head back to the youth house for more frolicking fun! Sign-up sheet for youth & parent helpers will be posted on the youth bulletin board! Merry, blessed Christmas from Holy Cross Youth! Upcoming Events: January Youth Lock-in! The return of the Sweetheart Dinner with Newlywed Game & Silent Auction February 9!

3 Holy Cross Connections Page 3 50th Wedding Anniversary Young at Heart Come and share our joy as we celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. Our family will host an open house in the Holy Cross café on Saturday, December 7 from 2 4 PM. As our loved church family, the honor of your presence would please us greatly. To God s Glory, Diane & Arne Diehl GIFT EXCHANGE Our annual Christmas luncheon and gift exchange will be on December 10 at noon in the north Welcome Center. Bring a $5 (or so) gift to exchange. Women buy for women and men buy for men. Be sure to sign up by December 5 so the caterer can know for how many to prepare. Ladies Book Discussion Be sure to invite a friend or two! Ladies! Sharon Ludwig will be hosting a Christmas dinner for the group on December 9 at 6:30 PM. After dinner, we enjoy fellowship and decide which books we would like to read in Women of all ages join in this book discussion. If you enjoy reading, this is a wonderful way to foster friendships and discover more about Jesus in our daily lives. Please let Sharon know if you would like to come Advent Schedule December 4, 11, 18 5:30 PM Soup Supper 6:30 PM Holy Cross U, Confirmation, Haiti Presentation Children s Christmas Ornaments 7:15 PM Advent Worship He Is Everything We Need December 4 Jesus Prophet December 11 Jesus Priest December 18 Jesus King

4 Holy Cross Connections Page 4 Nursery Request During the Christmas season we have many visitors in the church. The Nursery can often be their first stop and first impression. Please consider helping to make this a positive experience for them. Tidbits Mark your calendars! Pictures will be taken February 18 through March 1 for the new Holy Cross pictorial directory. Extra help will be needed in the nursery on Wednesday nights during Advent services as well as on Christmas Eve. The sign up sheets are on the Nursery bulletin board just outside of the nursery or you may contact Christi Ludwig to sign up. Thank you! We have an average of 57 non-members attending Holy Cross every Sunday. Have you met someone you didn t know? Haiti Mission Trip Thank you members of Holy Cross for supporting our successful October Haiti mission trip with prayers and contributions. These are pictures of some of the lives that you are touching in the name of Jesus Christ: Our team of 11 examined 670 school children and adults, provided medications, tested vision and dispensed 170 pairs of glasses, a full year s vitamins and worm medications distributed, attended worship services with two c o n g r e g a t i o n s, d i s c u s s e d accomplishments and future goals with Pastor Bernard, distributed dental hygiene supplies, visited the chicken farm operation, planted moringa and chaya trees, and developed a close working relationship with the Dr. Thedes family. Thanks to you, God continues to be proclaimed in Cap Haitien.

5 Holy Cross Connections Page 5 School Mission and Ministry News Our halls and classrooms resound with the voices of the wonderful children God has sent us. We know it is not God s will that any of these children be lost. That is why the Staff works so hard and relies on the Holy Spirit to carry out this important ministry. The messages of encouragement and support from secret friends means more than you can know. Staff members frequently bring cards and notes to share with me as they are overwhelmed with the love and prayerful support from friends they have yet to meet. The entire school is humming with preparations for the Christmas programs: Friday, November 6 at 9:30 AM and Sunday, December 8 at 6:00 PM in our North Sanctuary. Anyone who would like to see the children offer their praises to God for the gift of His Son Jesus is invited to attend. The Holy Cross Festival Choir is providing preservice music for the Sunday program. The entire Staff wants to thank the congregation for providing the funds that allowed us to attend the Lutheran Education Association National Convocation in Milwaukee last month. The teachers agree it was the best Convocation we have ever attended. The keynote speaker was Tim Elmore. Worship was led by Rev. Timothy Klinkenberg. Entertainment was provided by Taylor Mason and friends one night and a wonderful polka band the next. Children s music writers and performers AriSon and Karyn Henley were there. If you are looking for Christian music appropriate for children all ages, we highly recommend both artists. Information can be found on the internet just in time for Christmas! We thank God for protecting the children and Staff while we were gone when a deer made his untimely entrance into the Kindergarten Classroom through the window. No children were on that side of the building at the time and no one was hurt. The deer was seen by Patty Wallace, exiting the south door. Thank you to Steve Linsky and Tom James who hurried over to make the building secure and begin the lengthy clean-up process. The amount of glass two shattered windows can make is beyond understanding. (Poor deer!) Below are some of the November class highlights. The articles were shortened due to the wordiness of the Administrator in the paragraphs above. The two & three-year-old Staff reports that attention spans are growing. The children enjoyed using paint, glue and crayons in their activities and even started to try and use the scissors. In Bible time this month, they learned about the little boy who shared his lunch with Jesus and how Jesus shared that lunch with many, many people. They also learned about David and how he served his brothers. God wants us to love and serve others too. (Mrs. Anne Hankins, Ms. Kelli Picot & Mrs. Deanna Maze) The three & four-year-old children continue to work on their color and shape books as they learn to hold crayons and scissors correctly. The children learned about how God gives them families to take care of them. The children collected canned goods to give to local families in need. During Bible time, they learned about Hannah and her son Samuel and about David and Jonathan. The children are continuing to learn about the importance of talking to God through prayer. This month, the children began taking turns to pray at the end of the day. Their prayers are so sweet. They love talking to their Jesus. (Miss Lindsey Rapp & Mrs. Patty Wallace.) The four & five-year-old children learned about the letter F. Letter G week found the children playing in Green-Glittery-Goop -- what fun! Check out the turkey by the classroom door to discover the many blessings for which the children are thankful. The children have been doing a great job learning their phone numbers. (Mrs. Teri Hockman & Mrs. Tiffany Clay) The Pre-kindergarten class explored jungle and zoo animals. In Bible time, the Lord s Prayer was explained and they talked about how awesome it is that we can talk to Jesus anytime and anywhere! Ms. Martin emphasized with the children how important it is to thank Jesus before we go to Him with petitions for ourselves, friends and family. The children pray during circle time each morning. (Ms. Leslie Martin & Mrs. Cristina Davis) The kindergarten class visited The McKinley Museum. They were able to touch a corn snake, lizard, turtle, and rabbit. After seeing the stars in the planetarium the whole class along with Mrs. Linsky and many parents ran the steps to the memorial. Back in the classroom, the children have been introduced to the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Maryland, Delaware and the nation s capital, Washington DC. Science has brought the ability to build their own simple machines. The children have mastered Jesus Loves Me on the handbells in preparation for the Christmas programs. (Mrs. Angie Linsky) In Christ, Marjorie James, Administrator

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7 Upcoming Events: December 14 & 15 A Night In Bethlehem Advent/Christmas Worship Schedule (Pages 3 & 7) Jesus Disciples building relationships and making disciples. 5:00 PM Songs of Christmas followed by 5:30 PM Contemporary Candlelight Service 7:00 PM Songs of Christmas followed by 7:30 PM Candlelight Service 11:00 PM Communion Candlelight Service 10:00 AM Service of Lessons and Carols with Communion December 31 7:00 PM New Year s Eve Service

8 Holy Cross Lutheran 7707 North Market Avenue North Canton, OH Non-Profit U.S. Postage P A I D Canton, OH Permit No. 123 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED is a Christ-centered, friendly, mission-minded, Bible-based community of believers who strive to carry out ministry with integrity and excellence. DVDs of Sunday worship services are on the counter in the north and south hallways. Audio is on the website. Sunday Mornings At Holy Cross 8:00 AM Liturgy of Praise Traditional Worship 8:45 AM Majestic Praise Blended Worship 8:45 AM Adult Bible Class 10:00 AM Sunday School, Youth Bible Class, and Adult Bible Hour 11:00 AM Expressions of Praise Contemporary Worship January Newsletter Deadline Sunday, December 15 Office Phone Office FAX Preschool info@holycrossnorthcanton.com Richard Kip Smith, Senior Pastor Ralph Hough, Associate Pastor Ted Voss, Pastor Emeritus Mr. Joel Maze, Audio/Visual Tech Coordinator Mrs. Lorin Zuppe Director of Youth Ministries & Children s Ministry Mrs. Christi Ludwig Assistant Director of Children s Ministry Mrs. Judy O Briskie, Office Manager Mrs. Katie Stiver, Soul Accounting Secretary Mrs. Rose Ann Crowder, Visitation Coordinator Mrs. Diane Diehl, Stephen Ministry Mr. Richard Reed, Property Manager Mrs. Marjorie James Holy Cross School Administrator