On January 25, the Holy Cross Congregation Council met for its third Council meeting of the month. On January 13, there was a Special Council Meeting I called to announce my resignation and my new call to Central Lutheran Church in Everett, Washington. January 18, was our regular monthly Council meeting at which we spent most of our time getting ready for the Annual Meeting. And then on January 25, we met yet again. This time Pastor Juliet Focken, the Assistant to the Bishop who will be leading Holy Cross through the Call Process, called us together for my Exit Interview. 

 There just isn't one emotion present when you are saying, "Goodbye." 

The first Sunday in February is Pastor Jim's final worship service at Holy Cross. He has chosen three of his favorite Bible passages to reflect on during this worship service. The follow three Sundays, we will return to the Narrative Lectionary and continue our way through the Gospel of John. 

Here are the scripture readings for the month of February:

•    February 6         Pastor Jim's Final Worship     Isaiah 43:1-3a, 1 John 3:1a, Mark 1:14-15
•    February 13     “Bread of Life”                        John 6:35-59
•    February 20     “Living Water”                         John 7:37-52
•    February 27    “The Man Born Blind”             John 9:1-41

VBS Save the Date and a FUN Summer Opportunity!

Click "Read More" for MAJOR Youth Gathering News and a Breath Prayer for uncertain times. 

After worship on February 13th, stop in the Narthex and grab a Treatie for Your Sweetie!

Dear Holy Cross Congregation,
Thanks so much for the monetary gift for Christmas. It was greatly appreciated. Our Holy Cross family is so awesome!
God's Peace
Barb Kay

Dear Holy Cross,
Thank you for the generous Christmas gift. As always, your generosity is overwhelming and appreciated.
Peace,
Pastor Jim

Dear Holy Cross,
Thank you so much for your recent gift in support of the mission of Habitat for Humanity of Omaha. Your generous $50.00 donation that was received on 12/31/2021 is an investment in our community that will help build stronger neighborhoods and brighter futures.
At Habitat Omaha, we know that quality, affordable homeownership can provide the stability and independence that we all need to thrive.
With gratitude,
Becky Vinton - Senior Development Officer - Habitat for Humanity of Omaha

Christmas Light Re-Cycling

Thanks to everyone who dropped off old or un-needed Christmas lights.  This year we collected 110 pounds!   Our congregation is making a difference as responsible stewards of our resources.  Also thanks to Scrap Central.  They are a regional leader in recycling of copper wiring, and paid Holy Cross $27.50 for our Christmas lights.  That is frosting on the cake!  The important thing is diverting from the landfill.

Thanks again, and we will do this again next year.

Joe Evans

 Ash Wednesday, on March 2, begins our forty-day journey towards Easter. 

In the middle of Jesus’ story about the Prodigal Son, the boy is down in the pigpen eating bean pods with the hogs. At this point, he realizes that he has made a serious misjudgment with the direction of his life, and Jesus describes his turning point like this: “But when he came to himself he said, ‘I will get up and go to my
father’” (Luke 15:17-18).

What does this mean—“when he came to himself”? Was he not already at himself? Yes, he was at one part of himself, but not his real self. As the boy leaves home in the first part of the story, he is full of resentment and bitterness and rebellion. But when he finally came to himself at the low point of his life down in the pigpen, we find that he decides to become an altogether different kind of person.

And we find our real selves in the same way—by a decision to return to God. That is a great part of what we are doing each week when we worship God by giving our money to help God’s causes. We are saying, “By myself, I am not enough. By myself, I wander into pigpens. Here, take this and use it to help me, and other
people like me, to find our way home again.”

  Financial Update through December

                                                2021 Actuals        2020 Actuals
Beginning Balance              (28,484)                  (6,899)
Monthly Expenses             (39,017)                (36,142)
Monthly Income                   41,364                   42,792

Income (Deficit)                   (27,156)*                   (249)

*Keep in mind we passed a $32,000 deficit budget for 2021. (We did this with the knowledge that we have $59,000 left over from our 2020 Paycheck Protection Program funds. At the end of the year, we will make up our 2021 deficit using these funds.) Because we passed a $32,000 deficit budget, our monthly and year-to-date "actuals" will most likely always show a deficit. To keep things in perspective this year, it is more helpful to look at "budgeted" amounts as opposed to "actual" amounts, which are shown in the chart above.

With that in mind, while our actual deficit for 2021 is $27,156, we have a budget surplus of $4,844. In other words, instead of having to use $32,000 of our PPP funds, we only have to use $27,156, $4,844 less than we anticipated, This leaves us $32,062 in PPP funds as we begin 2022. 

Text to Give is just one of the new features that we offer here at Holy Cross Lutheran Church.  

 Throughout the building, you will see Call Process posters. We are currently in step one of the Preparation Phase:

“Transition Begin.” The Assistant to the Bishop we will be working with is Pastor Juliet Focken. Pastor Juliet is working with Pastor Heather and the Council to identify  an interim pastor (Transitional Minister) to work with Pastor Heather throughout the call process.   

This article will update when new information is available.  

On January 13, Pastor Jim called a Special Council Meeting. In Executive Session, Pastor Jim announced his resignation to the Council.

At the regular January Council Meeting, the Proposed 2022 Budget was approved, the slate of nominees for the Annual Meeting were approved, the 2021 budget deficit was charges to the PPP funds, Deb Manning was appointed parliamentarian for Annual Meeting, and 2022 Lenten offerings were designated equally between YES, Omaha Campus Ministry, and Habitat for Humanity.

Birthdays

Landon Sinnett.....................2/1
Tricia Wajda........................2/1
Celia Gitt..........................2/4
Christopher Grunke...............2/4
Annabelle Kreber.................2/4
Mercedes Renken...................2/4
Kelley Kennedy......................2/10
Kyle Sinnett........................2/12
Barbara Whitaker..................2/12
Amelia Ferris.....................2/14
Nikki Weight.........................2/14
Joel Adams..................2/16
Alisa Krueger....................2/16
Cecily Glesne.................2/18
Gunnar Duke........................2/19
Rick Renken.......................2/19
Arlene Marshall............................2/22
Sharon Perilo............................2/23
Sue Spengler............................2/23



Anniversaries

Becky & Geoffrey Jones..................2/3
Duane & Sandra Doering.................2/9
Harvey & Loreen Gifford......................2/10
Steve & Lillian Dawes.......................2/14
David & Rinda Howard.......................2/28

February Meetings

Finance Committee Meeting - February 10 at 6:00 pm

Council Meeting - February 15 at 6:30 pm