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The Columns - June 2021
Letters to Our Church Family
From Your Pastor
Dear Friends, 
In preparation for our regathering on May 30th, I spent a lot of time in the sanctuary. Preparing the technology for Livestreaming was more complex than one would think, and several of us spent an evening deep cleaning the pews and baseboards even as our custodian John has tended graciously to the space all year. Typically, when I’m leading worship, I don’t look at the baseboards or think about the lighting; I think about conveying a message of Good News and hope-filled challenge.

These past couple weeks, spending extra time there, I’ve thought more about the physical space. It brought me back to the first conversation I had with the architect who redesigned the sanctuary in the church I previously served in Ripon, Wisconsin. I remember walking around the sanctuary looking at every nook and cranny with her. We picked it apart, criticizing the chipping and fading, the stains and dust, the broken furniture, and the lack of accessibility. As the conversation drew to an end, I felt so hyper-critical of this Holy Ground, and wanted to clarify how much I love the space. So, I said, “You have to come on a Sunday. It is so beautiful on a Sunday.” She knowingly replied, “Trust me. I see the dust, but I see the glory too.” 

There is a beautiful intersection of the Sacred and the Structural. When we’re tending to the logistics, God has a way of sneaking in to remind us of our mission. In the exact moment when I start to look at the Sanctuary as “a big ol’ room,” God sends that ray of golden light across the chancel and emanates Holiness throughout the space. In the exact moment when I might throw the Livestream transmitter off the balcony, Ben touches the organ keys to practice and the notes rumble with the Glory of God. As I lift the hymnals to dust between them, I think of all the hands that have touched them-- those who will gather again soon and those we have loved and lost throughout the decades. As soon as I get too business-y, too logistical, God taps me on my shoulder and says, “You’re standing on Holy Ground.” 

The intersection of Sacred and Structural is delicate but glorious. A building does not define us as a community, but we do need to tend to it. So, when we tend to it, focus needs to be placed on the ways in which the structure is hindering or empowering our ministry.
These discussions must be centered in the Gospel, giving glory to God, walking in the way of Christ inside and outside of our building, about being the Light of the World, the City on a Hill, the Salt of the Earth when we leave that space on a Sunday morning.

To that end, there are a number of things within our building that need to be taken care of.
  1. We’re working with Richardson Design to redesign the W. Clifton Hallway into a comfortable and welcoming seating area. This will allow us to have a second space for coffee hour. If you recall, before the pandemic, the parlor was getting a bit crowded!
  2. We transformed the Sanctuary level restroom into a handicap-accessible family restroom, because there was not an accessible restroom for all genders on the Sanctuary level.
  3. At the request and in support of the ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church, we are temporarily removing and professionally storing the pews in Bowers' Chapel. TLC has asked for a more accessible and flexible worship space as they discern the future of their ministry. This will also allow LCC to tend to long-delayed electrical needs, which we can’t reach while the pews are fixed to the ground.
  4. We are tending to and repairing the Memorial Garden and other outdoor landscaping concerns, especially where there are visible issues with the stone walls and erosion of our garden areas.

There are other changes here and there in the building, as we’re always looking to make our space more usable and accessible, as we grow and thrive as a church in 2021.

We stand at the intersection of Structural and Sacred, pursuing the mission and vision of our beautiful church. You are standing on Holy Ground, my friends. Remember that God is with us in the journey. 
Grace and Peace, 
Pastor Joanna
Covid-19 Advisory Team Updates
Covid Protocols for Indoor Worship: HERE
Covid Video created by J.B. Bando: HERE
***Please note our Indoor Worship Protocols will likely change as the weeks move on. Please check back regularly with the Protocol Document. A date at the top will indicate the most recent update.***
Each Week, our livestream service can be accessed on Facebook or Youtube, or at LCC-CHURCH.ORG/LIVESTREAM

To access the list of sources where we obtain COVID-19 data that informs our decision-making process, please see the Google doc. HERE
One of the great joys in our church is welcoming new members into our Christian community. We will hold a New Member Sunday on July 25 during worship to formally accept new members into the life and ministry of Lakewood Congregational Church.
Despite not meeting in person for over a year, we are blessed that many found their way to LCC during this time and may now be ready to join. If you are interested in learning more about membership at LCC, please contact the church office or Pastor Joanna. We will have an in person informational gathering in the coming weeks once we know everyone’s availability.
This is a new practice for LCC, to help us stay updated on our congregation. To respect varying privacy preferences, we will simply include names in this email and we will share more detailed information with permission in our Zoom Prayer Group and ongoing prayer spreadsheet. Help to keep the prayer list up to date by letting Karen know of any changes.

Prayers for: John Hancock and his family on the passing of his wife, Virginia (Ginny), our Confirmation Students on their confirmation, Doug MacDougall, Bruce Matthews, Charlotte Brown, Mary Jane Cariens, Harry and Annemarie Brockman, Gene Stair, George and Sally Alkire, Linda Lodge, Dale and Tom Spooner, Debi Kasper's brother Tom, Noah and Hannah Hamrick (Baby Due in August), Vance Awa, Dylan McIntosh, Rachel Faulkner, and the citizens of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, healthcare workers, educators, and small businesses.

Please view Virginia Hancock's Obituary: Here
Children, Youth, & Family: News & Events 
Hello, LCC families & friends-

May was an exciting month for LCC! We confirmed 16 young people and will confirm 5 more in the fall! We had a very fun first Play @ the Park gathering, and we also began worshipping together again in our Sanctuary. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to begin joining back together with our church family in our church home and to continue staying connected with our virtual family! In June, we will have Baccalaureate Sunday (June 6), Vacation Bible School (June 7, 8, 9), begin Seussical, the Musical rehearsals, and have a fun Play @ the Park event for our younger kids. 

Please remember that our youth are selling LCC greeting cards as a mission trip fundraiser. The cards are in the back of the sanctuary and there is an envelope there to place your payment. The cards are 10 for $15.

Our children’s activity bags have been updated and are ready for use! In addition, there is a basket near the bags that includes fidget toys for people of any age. Please feel free to use any items that might be helpful to you.

Outdoor nursery care is available each Sunday for toddlers thru preschoolers. If you will need nursery care, please follow these 2 steps:

  • Complete the annual Faith Formation Registration found HERE
  • Text me by Friday to reserve your spot for the following Sunday. 440-523-0708. 

For more information about Sunday worship protocols and nursery care, please see our plan for returning to worship, found HERE

I am looking forward to a fun summer with you!
Much love, Rachel Burns

To be sure you don’t miss anything and to stay connected, check out the events listed here and see the Stay Up To Date section later in this newsletter. Please reach out to me if you have questions or would like to chat.

  • Sunday, June 6, 10:00am: Baccalaureate Service during Worship
  • Monday-Wednesday, June 7-9, 5-6:30pm: Vacation Bible School
  • Wednesday, June 16, 5:00pm: Play @ the Park, Linden Park, Rocky River
  • Sunday, June 20: Seussical tickets available after worship

Looking Ahead:
  • Seussical, the Musical performances will be July 8, 9, 11
  • Youth Mission Trip: August 7 & 8 (rescheduled)
 
Stay Up To Date: Stay up to date with all of our happenings for children, youth, and families! Families with children and youth who are active in our church are welcome to join our Facebook group: Lakewood Congregational Church Children & Youth. All ages are invited to follow our Instagram account! @lcc_cyf

Text Alerts: Please sign up for text alerts about our children and youth ministry through Remind.
  • Parents of children in 5th grade or under- Send a text to 81010 with this message: @gae42kk.
  • Youth and parents of youth (grades 6-12)- Send a text to 81010 with this message: @ae6g96. 
Congratulations to our LCC Grads!
We will celebrate our graduates on Baccalaureate Sunday, June 6th.

College
Rachel Daso
Tim Einhouse
Jane Mechenbier
Amelia Richardson
Evan Suttell
Max Toms-Snodgrass

High School
Lillian May Germaine
Katherine (Rin) Kramer
Katrina Raynes
Jack Sheldon
Thomas Tamilio
Jacob Tommer
Gabby Toms
Audrey Warren
Confirmation Service
Please take a moment to learn about this year's Confirmation Class: HERE

You can watch the recording of the service:
Faith Formation Registration
It’s time to register for 2021-2022 Faith Formation! We hope to be back in the building for Faith Formation in the fall, but we will be following all recommended guidelines. We will make the best of whatever we are faced with! :) All children and youth, infants through 12th graders, should have a completed registration form.
The form is found HERE
In an effort to include as many of our youth as possible, we have changed the dates of our Mini Mission Trip to August 7 & 8.
This is a day camp style trip and we will be working with Building Hope in the City.
Please register no later than June 30th. You’ll find the registration and more information HERE
A Special Thanks
A special thanks to Audrey Warren (Harmony, the cat) and Chris Burns (Harold the cat) for their dedication to the families of our church through virtual Family Faith Formation. Not only did they give me someone to talk to each week, they brought joy, love, and laughter to our screens and to our hearts. I hope that they have a restful summer vacation! -Rachel
Miracle Jar
Our miracle jar is back! If you attend any of our upcoming in-person worship services, we will have the miracle jar there for any offerings our children and youth would like to bring. We also invite our children to make a miracle jar at home if they are not yet attending in-person worship!

The teachers at Haynes have made it through an unprecedented year! However, it was truly a wonderful school year. We learned that preschoolers can indeed learn on Zoom and that teaching is possible outdoors!
We had outdoor class in the rain, snow and even hail at least once and the kids loved every minute of it. HNS is incredibly grateful for the families that stuck with our preschool. It was a true pleasure to see how well the children adapted and we feel blessed to have had each of them as part of our school this year.
We are also looking forward to what looks to be a more typical school year in 2021-2022. Registration is still open for our 3 day 4 year olds, 4 day 4 year olds and a few spots in our 2 day 3 year old class. Call 216 260-5938 or email haynes@lcc-church.org
Shannon Lubas, Director
OUTREACH/INREACH NEWS

LCC's Community Meal
We will be offering our monthly
Community Meal
Thursday, June 3
For our May pick up meal we served a casserole made with Mac and cheese, ground turkey, peas and mushrooms ( The vegetarian “meat “was Crumblers ), peach cups, raisins and iced brownies provided by Vicki Smigelski. All 48 meals were taken by 6:05 PM and we were especially pleased that we had a new guest who took six meals for her family - she came because she had seen our signs!
Our cost was: $51.46. Our fabulous helpers were: Jennifer and Frank Schwelik, Susan Walker, Janice Young and Nancy Fraunfelder.
As always we feel very fortunate to be able to provide this service to our community.
Peggi & Michael Mizen
Since the church has been closed for services, we have been unable to collect regular donations for Hunger Sundays. If you were previously donating to Hunger Sundays and have the means to continue to give, we encourage you to make those donation. Two local organizations that could be donated to are the Cleveland Food Bank and the Lakewood Community Service Center.
LCC Meetings/News/EVENTS

JOIN YOUR LCC FAMILY FOR THESE
JUNE EVENTS

  • Thursday, June 3, 5:30pm: Community Meal
  • Sunday, June 6, 10:00am: Baccalaureate Sunday Worship with Outdoor Coffee Hour
  • Sunday, June 6, 3:00pm: We Make the Road by Walking Group
  • Monday, June 7, 6:30pm: Vacation Bible School
  • Tuesday, June 8, 6:30pm: Vacation Bible School
  • Wednesday, June 9, 12:00pm: Adventures in Reading (Clifton Beach)
  • Wednesday, June 9, 6:30pm: Vacation Bible School
  • Thursday, June 10, 7:30pm: AA (Social Hall)
  • Saturday, June 12, 9:00am: Second Saturday (Centennial Garden)
  • Sunday, June 13, 10:00am: Worship with Outdoor Coffee Hour
  • Sunday, June 13, 3:00pm: We Make the Road by Walking Group
  • Monday, June 14, 6:30pm: Friend's Circle (Clifton Beach)
  • Thursday, June 17, 7:30pm: AA (Social Hall)
  • Saturday, June 19, 1:00pm: Memorial Service for Virginia Hancock, open to all, following Covid Protocols
  • Saturday, June 19, 9:00am: Trinity Meal/Pantry
  • Sunday, June 20, 10:00am: Worship with Outdoor Coffee Hour
  • Monday, June 21, 7:00pm: Executive Team Meeting
  • Wednesday, June 23, 7:00pm: Men's Group Gathering (Kasper Household)
  • Thursday, June 24, 7:30pm: AA (Social Hall)
  • Sunday, June 27, 10:00am: Worship with Outdoor Coffee Hour
  • Sunday, June 27, 3:00pm: We Make the Road by Walking Group (final meeting at Jan Young's)

E-mail the church office to sign up for these zoom events lccstaff@lcc-church.org
LITURGIST SIGN UP
We are looking for liturgists for the summer. Please use the link to sign up and the liturgy will be emailed to you before your Sunday. A large print version will be left for you in the Liturgist's Mailbox in the office.
Fellowship Hour:
Volunteers Needed
As we return to in-person worship, we will be gathering for an Outdoor Fellowship Hour following the service. We're looking for interested folks to help set up, serve and clean up. If you want to help, please contact the church office or Vicki Smigelski (contact information is in the Church Directory)
Adventures in Reading

Adventures in Reading held their May 12th zoom book discussion with eleven members. The Overstory (2018) by Richard Powers was our book for the month. This Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction addresses the destruction of forests. The definition of the word overstory refers to the highest layer of vegetation in a forest, usually forming a canopy - an appropriate title for this environmental epic. This was a challenging book with its many characters (nine) and story lines, but it has an important theme stressing conservation. Marilyn Minteer led the discussion.

Our June 9th gathering will be an end of the year picnic at Clifton Beach. We will meet at noon with our own lunches and drinks. Please be sure that Susan Walker has your name for the R.S.V.P. This will be our first in-person gathering since we last met at Porter Library in March 2020.

We will finalize our book list for the 2021-2022 season starting in September. There are a few openings yet for books and discussion leaders. We will also bid farewell to our book club member, Judy Foote, and wish her and Richard wonderful new adventures in their July move to Maine. Godspeed!
Blessings, Kathy MacDougall
Women in our church family will gather for Second Saturday on Saturday, June 12 at 9 am.
We spend an hour in conversation, reflection and prayer. We’ll plan to meet in the Centennial Garden at church, weather permitting. Bring a chair!
The LCC Men’s Gathering will meet, Wednesday, June 23, from 7 to 10pm at the home of John Kasper, 1116 Montclair Circle, Westlake (440)554-0237. I will supply the pizza and you can bring a snack to share...BYOB. Join our get-together in celebration of Judy and Richard Foote’s loving service to LCC. Judy and Richard are moving to Portland, Maine in July to be closer to their daughter, Beth. Looking forward to seeing you!!
Friends Circle will be gathering at Clifton Beach, Monday, June 14 at 6:30pm. BYOSnack and beverage! It will be so nice to enjoy our beautiful Lake Erie and rekindle our friendships in person!
RSVP to Susan Walker by June 10th.
Grace Banyasz
Stephanie Fries
Abbey Parker
Peggy Shaw
Evan Suttell
Ellen Schleckman
Ryan Roberts
Laura Kressler
Ben Klein
Madison Tommer
Charlie Begy
Matt Lee
Penn Stephens
Jack Touhey
Michael Komperda
Aubrey Shearn
Lilly Germaine
John Blasko
Stan Shaw
Lisa Blasko
Suzie D'Agostino
David Mechenbier
Anna Hampton
Edie Barcelona
Charlie Olivio
Charles Amen
Ann Brockman
Laura Germaine
Ruby Fraunfelder
Clara McGuan
Patti Komperda
Harry Brockman
Jennifer Touhey

Richard & Judy Foote
David & Melissa Diemert
James & Nancy Werts
Clay & Mona Atfield
Tom & Beth Clark
William & Celia Dorsch
Thomas & Jennifer Touhey
Mike & Jane Brady
Cliff & Linda Brockman
David & Kelly Amen
Kim & Nora Katzenberger
Eugene & Claire Stair
Mike & Sarah Banyasz
LCC Executive Team
Chair: Liz Spahr
Vice Chair: Bill Fraunfelder
Moderator: Jan Young
Buildings and Grounds: Michael Fleenor
Diaconate: Lauren Smigelski
Nurture and Growth Ministries: David Diemert
Outreach Ministries: Laura Blesse-Hampton
Treasurer: Steve Hotchkiss
Welcoming Ministries: Vicki Smigelski
Offering and Contribution Collection
At this time of virtual services we do not have a set-aside time of offering, so we want to remind you now that that we do hope that you will continue to fulfill your pledges during this time. Financial gifts are always welcome, our church feels the call to respond to the needs around us as they arise. Financial stability allows us to do so more effectively. So, let us give generously of our time, talent, treasure to further the work of God in our community.

You can do so in the following ways:
  • Donate through our website: Give
  • Fill out your 2021 Pledge Card: Online Pledge Card or Printable Pledge Card
  • Writing and mailing a check to Lakewood Congregational Church, 1375 W. Clifton Blvd., Lakewood, OH 44107
  • Texting STEWARD to 44-321
  • Sending a gift through your bank's online bill pay
  • Call the church office at (216) 221-9555 to discuss other options
INSTANT CHURCH DIRECTORY
LCC’s Membership Directory is online for you to use on the go! Or at home!
Only members whose email is in the directory can have access to the information. It is available on your computer or as an app on your phone.
Please make sure to update the office if you have any changes to your information. Instant Church Directory
LCC Office Schedule
Office Hours are: Monday - Thursday from 9am-1pm. There is a mailbox by the West Clifton door for you to drop off mail after hours. Email/phone messages will also be checked remotely.