A Publication of the Holy Cross
The Cross
May 2017
Articles and News
We Welcome Quinley Naaktgeboren; Heather, Adam & Aleksandra Sanchez and Austin Bradford into the family of god through baptism.
A Note From the Vestry...Summer Giving
I have been a pledging member at Holy Cross for over twenty years. But for many of those years I was pretty inconsistent about paying my pledge regularly. In the rush to get out the door and drive to Holy Cross I would either forget to write a check or forget to bring my check book week after week. Then near the end of the year I would try to catch up with large checks just as the Holiday season would arrive and feel the pinch.  A few years ago I found “Bill Pay” at my bank.  All that stress went away.  As soon as I send in my pledge card each fall, I go to my bank’s web site and set up a monthly payment for the next year. Now I know that for some this sounds too easy and removes the devotional thought that comes with consciously giving weekly or monthly.  I get it, and respect that. Every summer attendance at Holy Cross falls off. People want to enjoy the beautiful NW, travel to see family or to exotic places. At the same time pledge payments and plate offering fall and the vestry begins to get very anxious because the Church’s bills still need to be paid just like your electric and cable bill needs to be paid even when you are at Lake Chelan.  Please at least consider for the months that you are less likely to regularly attend church to set up Bill Pay or make other arraignments to support Holy Cross during these traditionally lean revenue months.  Contact Carmella in the church office to learn how to set up direct transfer, or make some other plan. You may think that your several missed contributions do not mean much but multiply it by many others and it creates a surprising amount of red ink! Thank you for considering this suggestion and for all your generous support.   Cal Jones, Vestry member
New Holy Cross Parish Directory
The office will be updating and creating a new Parish Directory to be completed by the middle of June.  If you have moved, changed phone numbers or email, please let the office know. You can also update your photo by sending your picture to the office. I would like to have all new/update information by May 26 to meet the June deadline. Questions?
Contact Carmella:  Office@HolyCrossRedmond.org
New Member Celebration
On Sunday, June 18 at 8:00am & 10:00am services,
the New comers Ministry group would like to introduce our Newcomers.  After the 10:00am service we will have a celebration to welcome them.  If you would like to be officially welcomes as a new member or have questions, please contact Lynn Ray- LynnRaySoc@yahoo.com
 #617-767-1159 or call the church office at  #425-885-5822.  Thank you.





Thank you Lydia Abbott and all her helpers for a wonderful Seder Dinner.
Easter Brunch~
Thank you Tina Paul, Sue Crossley and all the other helpers for a successful Easter Brunch!
The New Tractor is Blessed!
Faith Formation



Everyone is invited!  Diocesan-wide Confirmation at  St. Mark's Cathedral and Cathedral Day Fun! Saturday, May 13 @ 10:00am
Come for a special service of diocesan confirmations and stay for an afternoon of fun games and activities for all ages.  New this year: Selfie Station with the Bishop! And Food trucks!
Middle School Mission to Seafarers
June 30th - July 2
More details coming soon!

Southern Social Justice Pilgrimage for 2017!
The purpose of the trip is to experience the south through a social justice lens via the history, culture, and people who live there.  Sites include New Orleans, Jackson, Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, and Dauphin Island.
The trip is open to all high school students and this year’s 8th graders.  
Holy Cross Hosts JYC in May!
Please plan to join the fun by-
Hosting youth in your home for the weekend or helping with meal service during the weekend of May 5-7.
Hosting forms here and on our website.
SAVE THE DATE!
VBC at Holy Cross
July 24-27



Registration forms here
Monday-Thursday
9:30am - Noon
Ages 4-10; Middle School and High School Helpers needed.
Kids and Youth
Would you like to design a cover for one of our Pentecost bulletins?
See Sue for details.
Youth ~ 24 Hour Fast
In March Holy Cross hosted three youth groups for a 24 Hour Fast and Lock In. We walked the Stations of the Cross, Made cookies, played hide and seek with the lights off, watched a movie, and broke the fast with Eucharist and pancakes made by Marty Smith and Jim Van der Veen.
Holy Cross Men,
This is a reminder that our next monthly Men’s Breakfast will be May 7th at 8:30 AM. Our mystery chef will prepare one of his special preparations. Our breakfast meeting will be to discuss and coordinate our up incoming Men's Retreat.

 
Holy Cross Men's Retreat 2017
A Spiritual Second Wind

This year's theme: This year's retreat will feature discussion, stories, and meditations on knowledge, belief, trust, in the theme of "A Spiritual Second Wind". We'll have time to share our thoughts together and spend time together in fellowship. 

I love the men's retreat because it's a time for the guys in the Holy Cross family to get together and recharge in whatever way they need. Whether that means a good conversation, some backyard ballistics, a round of golf, some fresh shellfish, a bonfire, or a quiet prayer service, the retreat can fill that need. I'd urge all men in Holy Cross to consider attending. 

To Register: Click here to register online, or email Dan Irwin- dan.irwin@gmail.com

When: Friday, June 9 - Sunday June 11, 2017

Where: St. Andrew's House, Union, WA

Cost: $200 for 2 nights, including all meals and lodging. More details: More info is on the Holy Cross website at www.HolyCrossRedmond.org/Ministries/MensRetreat

Registration deadline: We need to know if you'll be able to attend by Tuesday, May 30.

Farewell red chairs. Tidings of comfort and joy to your new house of worship.

Women's A.M. Bible Study Spring Session
Hey Ladies!
 Spring morning bible study starts this:  Tuesday, @9:30am in the Holy Cross Office . Through June 13.  It's a breezy, easy study called "Seamless: Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story."
A great introduction or a refresher to the "Greatest Story Ever Told." The homework is fast and easy. Weekly video sessions provide great discussion fodder.   RSVP to me pamstwy@gmail.com
EfM ~  Education for Ministry 
Recruiting a “New Group”
If you love to read and love to learn and want an environment where you can talk about faith issues, EfM may be for you!  This includes the study of The Old Testament, The New Testament, Church History, and Theology. If you are interested in joining an EfM group at Good Samaritan (Episcopal Church in Sammamish) starting in September, you can learn more about EfM at: sewanee.edu/EFM, or by contacting Joe O’Neil (jmnoneil@gmail.com), or in our congregation...talk to: Tina Paul, Melissa Holmes, Kelvie Comer, Wendy Hathaway, Carol VanderVeen or Cindy Holeman to learn more.
Blessing Bags will be available on May 21 during Coffee Hour after the 10 a.m. worship for a donation of $5 each (funds cover cost per bag). Bags will contain an uplifting message from Holy Cross, lists of area resources, personal toiletry items, and a snack. *Donations of the following items are appreciated: Men's /Womens socks, Water, Granola bars or high protein bars and Rain Ponchos.  Keep bags handy to share with those in need in our community. If you have any questions contact Tracy Brooks or Fran Kennedy-Ellis via email.
Book Club May 9th @ 7:00pm
  Our book selection this month is Mink River by Brian Doyle.  In a small town on the Oregon coast there are love affairs and almost-love-affairs, mystery and hilarity, bears and tears, brawls and boats, a garrulous logger and a silent doctor, rain and pain, Irish immigrants and Salish stories, mud and laughter. There’s a Department of Public Works that gives haircuts and counts insects, a policeman addicted to Puccini, a philosophizing crow, beer and berries. An expedition is mounted, a crime committed, and there’s an unbelievably huge picnic on the football field. Babies are born. A car is cut in half with a saw. A river confesses what it’s thinking…It’s the tale of a town, written in a distinct and lyrical voice, and readers will close the book more than a little sad to leave the village of Neawanaka, on the wet coast of Oregon, beneath the hills that used to boast the biggest trees in the history of the world. Join the read then the discussion with Amy Metting hosting this month. Everyone is welcome and it’s a great way to meet new people. RSVP to Amy .     Tina Paul

From Joi Grabow...Thank you to Holy Cross for purchasing the supplies Emily needed to complete her Girl Scouts Gold Award project. If you hike at Index, look for her human waste bag dispenser that she built and installed for her project in memory of her rock climbing coach, Ross Halverson.

Remember the massive wood table that used to stand in the breezeway? We used it for serving big potluck events like Easter brunch. After construction it sat outside. It recently found a new life in a greenhouse in Bellingham.

May We Pray For You?
Contact Karen Smith to be placed on the Holy Cross Prayer Chain.
KarenSmith05@earthlink.net or #206-226-3491