We’re having a different kind of Work Party on Saturday June 15th at 10 am- don’t bring your work gloves – but bring your imagination!
“Find out what God is doing and join Him” Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God
Dear Members and Friends of Holy Cross
Here at Holy Cross Lutheran in Salem we have been spending time imagining how God is at work in our church, and in our world. We, as a church have grown smaller these last few years, largely due to the death of our friends and neighbors. We have worked through our grief and loss together, and turned our face to The Son, to follow Christ’s call into service in our community.
Your church leadership has consulted experts (Beth Yutzie Sell, marketing, Manuel Borbon, Latino ministry) as well as the Oregon Synod. We have developed, through consultation with the Holy Cross membership (at annual meeting in January, our February special meeting and the recent May 5th meeting) a plan to implement 4 action teams within our church membership, to focus on those areas where we strive to follow God’s call, with an eye to the future.
Those action teams (and the contact information for the designated leaders) are:
Worship Options: This team is charged with the task of examining ways to enrich our worship and extend our joy of sharing Christ’s love to a larger audience, especially our neighborhood. Leader: Karen Halvorson, halvorsonkaren@ymail.com
Collaboration: We are not alone in the desire to worship Christ and serve our community by spreading Christ’s love. This team will search for ways to join forces with other churches, ELCA and beyond, as well as community organizations. Leader: Judy Ruscoe, jruscoe3@comcast.net
Stewardship: Maintaining our presence in the community and doing God’s work requires resources. The Stewardship team will search for and lead us in finding and implementing ways to increase all of our resources including our time, talents, and outside sources. Leader: Joyce Saul, jasaul@msn.com
Communication: For any organization to operate effectively, good communication is a must. We already have many communication processes in place. The focus of this team will be to evaluate our current methods of communication, both internal and external, then seek ways to expand and increase the effectiveness of our communication. Leader: Margo Jensen, margo30@comcast.net
We have scheduled a “Work Party” on Saturday June 15th at 10 am to work on these action teams and the way forward for Holy Cross. Yes, a Work Party is usually about bringing rakes and gloves, but this year we would like to work on ideas and action for Holy Cross as we move forward. For more information contact one of the leaders above or visit our website, holycrosslutheran-salem.org.
We have seen a lot of change in our world, including the de-emphasis on church involvement. Perhaps churches are partly responsible for the world’s perception that we are focused inward. As we continue to try to serve God in our community, won’t you help us by prayerfully considering your participation and commitment to “Find out what God is doing, and join Him”?
In God’s love,
Pastor Patricia Wolf Hughes
Holy Cross Lutheran Church Council