The Columns Newsletter: January 2023

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The Columns - January 2023

News from your LCC Leadership

Children, Youth, & Family: News & Events

Registration for Haynes nursery school will begin January 30, 2023, to the public.

However, Haynes families and LCC friends and families may begin registering January 9, 2023. Contact Shannon Lubas 216260-5938 or haynes@lcc-church.org

FAITH IN ACTION NEWS

Undie Sundays

One of the biggest needs in homeless shelters is for socks and underwear for the clients residing there. Lakewood Congregational Church will once again collect those items during our January Undie Sundays.

This year we will be donating to FrontLine Service and Safe Haven, where our own Olivia Bando works as a case manager in the Permanent Supportive Housing Program. The organization runs two safe haven group homes offering housing to individuals who have been chronically homeless and have a qualifying disability such as mental illness, substance use disorder, or a chronic health condition (sometimes all three). lients receive supportive services including psychiatric care, substance abuse management, psychotherapy, supported employment, 24/7 crisis services, life skills training and more. You can learn more about the organization at www.frontlineservice.org.

We will be collecting new men's and women's large and X-large underwear, men's and women's socks and long sleeve t-shirts, large, XL and 2X-4X. Hampers will be located in the Sanctuary and in the West Clifton lobby to collect donations.

Thanks for your support so that we can offer those in crisis a small bit of dignity.

Please contact Vicki Smigelski through Church Directory or the church office with any questions.

Global Missions Update

We want to celebrate our fundraising effort to help the Mount Selinda Hospital in Zimbabwe! https://www.globalministries.org/project/mt_selinda_hospital_uccz/

Between donations from the congregation and the endowment distribution from the Global Missions fund, we will be sending a check for over $8,000 (additional donations are trickling in and it is not too late to send in yours!). Thank you to all who contributed to this important mission effort! The patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff of Mount Selinda Hospital will greatly appreciate our efforts to provide them financial support as well as to know that a congregation cares about them from the other side of the world.

Community Meal at Denison UCC in Cleveland

Do you miss the opportunities we had through Family Promise? Would you like to share a meal with God's children who are in need? Would you like to build community with those who are hurting? Denison UCC provides sit down community meals on a near daily basis including weekends. Heather Tuck-Macalla will be taking small groups to Denison to build community over a shared meal this year. If you are interested, please contact her.

Upcoming Faith in Action Events:

As a lead up to our church's Homeless Awareness Sleep-Out we will be hosting a Large Group Poverty Simulation through the Cleveland Food Bank that the entire congregation is invited to attend.

The Poverty Simulation is an interactive three-hour experience for large groups (60 to 90) that helps individuals begin to understand what life is like with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress. It moves people to think about the harsh realities of poverty and to talk about how communities can address the problem collectively. Most importantly, it encourages people to make a difference.

The simulation is based on the Missouri Community Action Model and is facilitated at your facility by Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Since 2013, many organizations and companies have participated in poverty simulations including Leadership Cleveland, Greater Cleveland RTA, and Cleveland Municipal School District.

Stay tuned for further details. Date TBD.

ANGEL TREE 2022

THANK YOU to all volunteers who helped with Angel Tree this year! The children who hung the angels on the tree, the gift donors, those who donated funds to cover unclaimed angels, the youth who shopped for gifts, and the drivers who delivered gifts to the families, we couldn’t have done this without you!! We delivered to 33 families, providing gifts to 84 children in our community. Thank you for helping make Christmas special for those children.

Nicky Wills, Angel Tree Chair

Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) Update

Greater Cleveland Congregations is a non-profit faith-based community action organization. It has over 30 dues-paying congregations and organizations from across Cuyahoga County including Lakewood Congregational. GCC is Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular. Together we connect individuals and organizations to multiply our power and mobilize our members by the thousands to make our voices heard to build a better community for all of our residents.

On December 6th, 10 members of LCC along with hundreds of other people of faith attended a Public Hearing at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church (and virtually) to hear a discussion about the present policy of Youth Bindovers-passing juveniles as young as 14 years old to the adult legal system for trial, held in an adult jail during trial and sent to adult prison upon conviction. Cuyahoga County shockingly sends more children to adult prison than any other major Ohio county combined, 98% of which are black or brown. Change is clearly necessary.

https://www.clevescene.com/news/cuyahoga-community-pushes-for-bindover-reform-40980886

If you are interested in learning more about how we can reduce the number of juveniles sent to adult prison, please see the invitation below to attend our next meeting on January 12th.

Dear GCC Colleagues:

The feedback from participants and media who attended our December 6th hearing on youth bindover has been overwhelmingly positive.

Going forward, we are inviting your involvement with our Bindover Team in this important work to reform the abuse of discretionary bindover in Cuyahoga County.

We have scheduled a meeting of our Bindover Team on Thursday, January 12^that 7 PM via Zoom. We hope that you can join us and help build on the considerable momentum we have garnered from the public hearing.

GCC will have meetings in the new year with County Executive Chris Ronayne, County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, and Juvenile Court Judge Anne McDonough. Our Bindover Team meeting on the 12th will help us prepare for these meetings by reviewing the ideas for reform suggested at the December 6th hearing and discussing our priorities.

Below is a link that will take you to the video of the December 6 hearing as well as a petition and a commitment card. The petition demonstrates to key stakeholders the depth of our concern about youth bindover. The commitment card allows you to indicate the ways in which you would like to participate in this work going forward. These documents can be completed online, if you haven’t already done so.

Commitment Card:HERE

Thank you, and we look forward to being with you on January 12!

Jesse Oates and Ben Sperry, Co-chairs, GCC Bindover Team

LCC Volunteer Opportunities

LCC's Community Meal

We will be offering our monthly

Community Meal

Thursday, January 5

Our community meal was assembled and distributed on Thursday, December 1. We served chicken Parmesan, mix vegetables, freshly baked biscuits with butter, and our desserts were holiday cookies which had been decorated by the LCC family gathering the night before. Our cost was $85.51. Our elves were Donna Leisinger, Robert Wenz, John Kasper, Susan Walker, Paula Deal and Bob Paraska. Twenty-four people attended and all of our meals were taken.

During the season of giving, Michael and I continue to be very appreciative of the individuals who help us with this important ministry and also to the church for your support.

Michael and Peggi Mizen

Food delivery services have changed since the onset of Covid. If you have the means to donate, two local organizations that could be donated to are the Cleveland Food Bank and the Lakewood Community Service Center.

Each first Sunday of the month is our dedicated Hunger Sunday.

There are Hunger Envelopes at the back of the Sanctuary for your donation towards this LCC Ministry.

Liturgy Reading

SLOTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED THRU FEBRUARY

Please use the link below to sign up to read during the service 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.

Sound/Video Volunteers Needed for Sunday Mornings

SLOTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED THRU FEBRUARY

We are looking for volunteers for Sunday mornings to work the LCC sound board and the video camera.

No prior knowledge needed. We will teach you everything you need to know.

Music Makers

THE SCHEDULE HAS BEEN UPDATED THROUGH FEBRUARY

Would you like to share your music talents as a vocalist or instrumentalist in LCC’s worship service?

Please let us know what you’d be interested in sharing and whether you’d want piano or guitar accompaniment. Ben Malkevitch will reach out to you several weeks ahead of time to coordinate.”

Be part of a two-person team to count the offering following worship on Sunday mornings

It takes only about fifteen minutes each time
Sign up for as few or as many weeks per month as you wish

Contact Laura Sangree if you are interested in signing up. (Contact information is in the Instant Church Directory)

LCC Meetings & Event Schedule

Join us at Pub Theology in January!

We meet at 7:30pm on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesdays of the month:

January 11: Immigrant Son

January 25: Trellis Rooftop at Studio W117

At Pub Theology we talk about all sorts of topics, often tied to current events. All ages welcome! Whether you’ve never come before, come every time, or come once before, we’d love to have you. While the “Pub" is the location, drinking alcohol is certainly not a requirement of the group. We're aware that many people at LCC value sobriety for their lives, and we are committed to celebrating and supporting that journey if it is right for you, and we'd love to have your voice as a part of these conversations!

Reach out to Lauren Smigelski, Charlotte Petrie, or Ryan Walters if you have any questions - find us on the church directory app. And join our Facebook group! Search for LCC Pub Theology and click on request to join.

Reach out to Lauren Smigelski, Charlotte Petrie, or Ryan Walters if you have any questions - find us on the church directory app. And join our NEW Facebook group! Search for LCC Pub Theology and click on request to join.

Wednesday Jan 11, at 7pm, LCC Parlor

January's Gathering:

Way more about the trumpet than you would ever want to know

Host: Mike Galloway

We will have pizza; BYODrink

Thank you, Tom Leatherman

Holiday Gathering Success thanks to the Kaspers!

Joanellen Hurley

Ella Babcock

Olivia Bando

Kristen Humphreys

Bruce Matthews

Joan Metzner

Kendall Barlow

Martin McPherson

Lori Waddell

Avery Spahr

Debi Kasper

Nancy Fraunfelder

Peter Kwiatkowski

Ella Touhey

James Werts

Jonathan Bala

Lennox Shearn

Jimmy Rowland

Nathan Greenland

Matthew Winters

Michael Greenland

Lisa Blackburn

Jane Brady

Tim Einhouse

John Hancock

Barbara Szucs

Paula Atfield

Doug MacDougall

Mona Atfield

Steve Hotchkiss

Marguerite Harkness

Ellen Kwiatkowski

Andy Barlow

Aaron Hill

Veronica Lee

Jennifer Warden

Eliza Bala

Bill & Debbie Langenhop Ann & Joe Schleckman

Looking Ahead

Living Water Association News/Events

The Community Organizing Team would like to help members of our church connect with the larger church outside of our own church walls. One of the best ways to connect with others on faith based social justice issues is to join the Living Water Association mailing list. There are a wide variety of adult education programs and events available year-round. Register Here for more information contact Heather Tuck-Macalla

LCC Executive Team

Chair: Bill Fraunfelder

Chair Elect: Laura Germaine

Moderator: Jan Young

Buildings and Grounds: Michael Fleenor

Diaconate: Lauren Smigelski

Nurture and Growth Ministries: David Diemert

Outreach Ministries: Heather Tuck-Macalla

Treasurer: Laura Sangree

Asst. Treasurer: Michael Daso

Welcoming Ministries: Vicki Smigelski

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

Offering and Contribution Collection

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 2022 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

Office Hours:

Monday - Friday: 9:00am-3:00pm