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July & August 2024

From Your Executive Team

Dear Members of LCC,

I’m Emma Petrie Barcelona, Chair Elect of the LCC Executive Team. The Executive Team meets monthly on the 2nd Monday of each month.  In partnership with LCC staff lead by Pastor Joanna, we are the elected body of the church tasked with supporting the broad work of the church.


Like any major organization, there are a lot of pieces and parts that make everything run and function (as best possible).  In our case, we do have staff for the big things, primarily leading and supporting our faith experiences, but the church needs lots of volunteers to cover all of the things that need to be done.  Pastor Joanna shared with us an article written by a minister that shared how it takes 17-20 people to make a worship service happen in their church. 


At LCC, we have at least that many alongside our Ministers, Directors, Custodian, and Office Manager making everything happen.  For example, on any given Sunday morning we have volunteers:

  • Greeting us when we come in
  • Setting up and maintaining the sound system and equipment
  • Filming and supporting the worship service livestream
  • Passing out bulletins, ushering as needed
  • Setting up, providing, and cleaning up from communion
  • Decorating and setting up the Sanctuary
  • Facilitating coffee or lemonade hour
  • Reading and announcing
  • Singing with the choir and/or performing music
  • Collecting and counting weekly offerings
  • Teaching faith formation
  • Helping in the nursery
  • Taking care of other tasks, I may be forgetting


There is so much more that occurs beyond the Sunday morning worship, but this helps explore everything it takes to make things work in the church. 


Your Executive Team and the leaders of Worship Life (Darren Toms), Buildings and Grounds (David Spahr), Congregational Life (Andy Barlow), Welcoming (Audrey Hancock) and Faith in Action (Kristina Kovach) and our Treasurer (Laura Sangree) all help to support the life and work of the church.  Alongside our Chair, Laura Germaine and Moderator, Dave Amen, we all work together with the staff to do our best to meet the needs of the church.  


These leaders support all of the people in our church creating programing, helping the community and finding ways to connect with each other and God in meaningful ways. 


If you have ideas, concerns or questions, please speak with one of us.  We can explore and discuss ways to approach things and next steps. 



On behalf of the Executive Team,

Sincerely, Emma Petrie Barcelona

From the Pastors

Dear Church,



I’ve been stuck in some sort of writer’s block for about 2-3 years. You see and hear my writing a lot, so it might be hard to understand. It’s not a complete inability to write; it’s more like a heavy pressure, or a lack of ease. I don’t like it. 

Click below to read Pastor Joanna's full letter, expressing some sentiments about writer's block and the dailyness of spiritual growth. Additionally, the letter includes notes about Joanna's vacation dates.

Read Rev. Joanna's full letter

The Wonders of Our World


“The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it,”

-Psalm 24:1a


"Welcome to July! I was blessed to visit my son near Seattle. During my visit we travelled up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. The scenery was breathtaking. The snow-capped mountain range and brushed clouds affirmed the amazing wonders of God’s creation."


Click below to read Rev. Catherine's full letter.

Read Rev. Catherine's full letter
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Children, Youth, and Family Ministries Information

 July/August 2024 Children, Youth, and Family Ministries (CYF)


Hello church family!


"A song that I feel like I’ve known my whole life is “They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” by Peter Scholtes and it’s a favorite of mine. The tune is catchy and repetitive, and the lyrics are timeless. 

At the beginning of June, our mission team of 14 youth and 5 adults served together in Johnstown, Pennsylvania under the guidance of Hosanna Industries and the 1960s hymn seems like a perfect reflection for that week." 


Click below to read Rachel's full letter.

Read Rachel's full letter
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Check out all of the UCC/LCC Summer Camp Opportunities Here. Details on: MADD, Camp Out, Sportscamp, All Ages & Family, Grands & Family, and Pathfinder! 
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FAITH IN ACTION NEWS

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The Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) is a faith-based, non-profit, community-based, justice-focused organization that presently has over 39 Congregations and other groups on its membership roll, LCC being one of them. We focus on reforming any aspects of our legal system that is not fair or equitable for al, with the thought that justice for one is justice for all. GCC’s present focus has been collecting signatures on petitions to ban gerrymandering in Ohio and reforming our present Youth Bind Over procedures and use (or lack) of Pretrial Services for youth and adults in our legal system. If you would like to learn more about GCC, or become part of the LCC GCC Core Team, see Patti Komperda. Having our voices heard is so important for each one of us as individuals and Americans as we get closer to an extremely important election year in November.

These past few months, GCC seems to be “popping up” more in the news, television and newspaper. Are we making “Good Trouble”?

For more information about the work of GCC, click on to either or both of the sites listed below: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BHQjo-qcGYM&si=Yn_5u1H0b68CMu0C

https://thelandcle.org/stories/gcc-pretrial-justice-forum/


LCC's Community Meal

We will be offering our monthly

Community Meal - No July Meal

Thursday, August 1

We served our mac & cheese and vegetable casserole with cut up chicken tenders (that we received as a donation from the youth musical) with fruit cocktail and oatmeal cookies by Wendy Summers and Beth Hendricks. Our volunteers were Susan Walker, Bob Paraska, and John Kasper. 45 meals were taken, and three meals were donated to AA. Peggi and Michael 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. 

LCC Volunteer Opportunities

Music Makers


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. The Music Team will reach out to you several weeks ahead of time to coordinate.”


Sign Up HERE

Fellowship Hour Host


Sign Up to be a Host for our fellowship time after worship on Sundays. All information and training will be provided by Sarah and Paul Pierce (our Coffee Hour coordinators). Sign Up Here

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)

Sign Up HERE

LCC Meetings & Event Schedule

Be sure to check the weekly emails for any changes

Please join us for Second Saturday on

Saturday, July 13, at 9 am

Saturday, August 10


All friends of LCC who identify as female are invited to join us for Second Saturday on July 13 and August 10, at 9am. We meet in the garden (bring a chair/rain in the parlor) for an hour of discussion, reflection and prayer. This is a great way to get to know others in a multigenerational group. Hope to see you there.

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The Prayer Shawl Ministry will meet

 July 9 & August 13

on the front porch of the church.



Please bring a lawn chair for your comfort. Bring whatever project you are working on, even if not a shawl. We have a pretty creative group, and the conversation is always terrific!!!Questions? Call or text Debi Kasper 440-554-8798

Men's Group

We meet for fun and conversation monthly. For more information email Tom Leatherman

  • July 17 - at John Kasper’s home
  • Aug 14 - TBD (contact Tom if you are willing to host)
  • Sep 18 - Tom Leatherman's home

Addresses can be found in the Instant Church Directory.

June Fun at LCC

Our LCC Boomer Gals THANK Susan Walker (again!) for hosting a delightful evening at Clifton Beach on June 3. The snacks are always plentiful along with our conversation(s)! Our next Boomer Gal Gathering will be sometime in late September/early October to enjoy that beautiful sunset over Lake Erie! If you were born between 1946-1964 and have not received any personal emails about this Group, please let the LCC office know, so we can add you to the list! 

Men's Group Thank you to all who made it to our cookout. Special thanks to Terry & Susan Walker as well as David Sangree for hosting! A nice sunset and great conversation as well as a delicious meal was had by all Next meeting is at John Kasper’s on Wednesday July 17 at 6:30pm. More details to come! Gratefully, Tom Leatherman

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Adventures in Reading celebrated the end of their reading season with lunch at Heck’s Cafe in Avon on June 12. Seventeen members were able to attend and enjoy good food and fellowship. Thank you to Beth Abbott for coordinating the location and details.

Save the Date/Upcoming Events

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The 2024 LCC Women’s Retreat (women of all ages),

“Pachamama: Mother Earth, Earth Mother,” will be held at Templed Hills (UCC) in Bellville, Ohio on September 13-15.


  • Friday will be an optional night to “hang out,” with actual Retreat Programming beginning at 10:00am on Saturday.
  • The Goal of our Retreat is to strengthen Community amongst our LCC Sisters, and the weekend will be filled with lots of conversation, outdoor adventures, scripture, music, hopefully a beautiful star-filled night sky, crafts, meditation, writing, jewelry-making, and food, and fun!
  • The cost of the Retreat is $80, to be paid by cash/check/or card accompanied by the Registration Form that can be found with this Columns, the LCC Church website, and throughout the church! The “hard copy” Registration Form will be due by July 30 to the LCC Church Office.
  • If the cost would prohibit you from coming to the Retreat, please see Reverend Joanna.


Follow-Up Details about the Retreat will be EMAILED to you in August and September.


QUESTIONS?

Ask anyone on the Women’s Retreat Planning Team: Patti Komperda, Melissa Parlanti-Klein, Julie Warren, Beth Abbott, Jill Richardson, or Reverend Catherine

Registration Form A hard copy must be turned into the office

Living Water Association News & Events

Learn more about UCC Summer Camp here: https://heartlanducc.org/templed-hills/


All Summer Camp theme, Linked by Love: We know that love comes from God, and sometimes we experience it directly. More often, God’s love in manifest in relationships of all kinds that weave in and out of our lives. We see God’s love in close friends and family – those we are born into and those we chose along the way. We see God in quiet moments where we are present with each other and in acts of profound grace when we have been far apart. We hear God in life guiding and life changing words of truth from those who know and love us. We know that such love links our lives, teaching us about commitment, intimacy, grace, and faith. As we seek to create and strengthen life giving relationships, we remember that such love flows from God, links us all together, and we give thanks.

Click Here for Instructions on How to Setup your Account
How do I Register for a Summer Camp Session?
How do I sign forms for my camper or myself?

At Dover Congregational in Westlake


Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents—mostly elderly and black—died over the course of one week. As COOKED: Survival by Zip Code links the deadly heat wave's devastation back to the underlying manmade disaster of structural racism, it delves deep into one of our nation's biggest growth industries: Disaster Preparedness.

 

Whether it was the heat wave in Chicago or Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Maria, all of these disasters share something key: they reveal the ways in which class, race, and zip code predetermine who was living on the edge to start with, who gets hurt the worst, who recovers and bounces back—and who doesn't. Click here to view the 2-minute trailer.

 

Join us at Dover Congregational UCC on Sunday, July 14, at 6 PM to view this documentary by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand.

 

2239 Dover Center Road, Westlake, OH 44145

440-871-1050, doverucc@doverucc.org


UCC Webinar:

An Indigenous Translation of Scripture

The "First Nations Version" is an Indigenous translation of the Christian scriptures. It brings a fresh language to how these scriptures are conveyed and understood. Notably, a decolonized rendering of the sacred texts articulates a different understanding of how humans understand their relationship to both God and all of God's creation. In this webinar, we will hear from three members of the translation council that produced the First Nations Version. Terry M. Wildman, who envisioned the translation, will be joined by Amy Allan and Kimberlee Medicine Horn Jackson. Even if you cannot make it at its scheduled time on Tuesday, July 16th at 3 pm ET, still sign-up, and you will receive a recording. Register now!


Learn more and sign up for the Regional Youth Event

The Faith-in-Action would like to help members of our church connect with the wider church outside of our own church walls. One of the best ways to connect is to join the Living Water Association mailing list. Subscribe here. There are a wide variety of adult education programs and events available year-round.

LCC Executive Team

Chair: Laura Germaine

Chair Elect: Emma Petrie Barcelona

Moderator: Dave Amen

Treasurer: Laura Sangree

Worship Life: Darren Toms

Buildings and Grounds: David Spahr

Congregational Life: Andy Barlow

Faith In Action: Kristina Kovach

Asst. Treasurer: Michael Daso

Welcoming Ministries: Audrey Hancock

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

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Summer Office Hours:

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