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| Holy Cross Church Council
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Executive Board
Rev. Claudia D. Raggie, Pastor
Pastor Raggie has been the Pastor at Holy Cross since 1996. Among her primary responsibilities are coordinating the ministry and personnel at Holy Cross and the overall vision for Worship life.
Janice has been an active member of the ministry of Holy Cross for over 20 years and is currently the Church President. She is active in our store ministry, CrossWords & Gifts. She lends support in all aspects of our ministry, including Chairing our Education Ministries, and teaching Sunday School and Confirmation. She leads worship regularly and is also an Usher. She loves the Lord and loves this ministry. She has two adult sons and a husband who serves the citizens of this state as a Police Officer.
Dee is one of two deacons serving Holy Cross. She has been a member of HCLC for over 25 years, and has been active in all aspects of our ministry. As a Deacon for several years now, Dee assists the Pastor in choreographing the worship services; ensuring that they are well prepared, and that the leaders and accoutrements of the services are all in place. Widowed in 2006, she has been a fountain of strength and has witnessed to us all the beauty of being deeply rooted in Jesus Christ. Dee has two daughters and one son, all committed to the journey of faith.
Barbara has been a member of Holy Cross since 1999. She has served as President of the Council, and devotes her talents to our Outreach and Evangelism ministries. Barbara became our Church Administrator in February of 2008.
Valerie has been at HCLC since 1997. She was on council for three years and is now Treasurer. Val is on Celebrations Committee, Executive Board, Finance Committee, Budget Review, & FDT Committee. She is a loving mother to four children and a caring wife to Buck. During the week she is the Assistant Director of Nursing at South Shore Health Care.
Jenn Hecker has been at Holy Cross since she was baptized here in 1980. She has taught Sunday School since 1993 and has been the Co-Superintendent of Sunday School since 2006. Jenn also teaches 8th grade Confirmation and co-runs Faith Friends, our youngest youth group. Jenn has a Bachelors degree in Accounting from SUNY Binghamton and has her Masters degree from Long Island University in Early Childhood Education. She just became the part-time bookkeeper for the church. During the week, Jenn is a teacher at Chatterbox Day School in East Islip. She loves serving the Lord and especially loves working with the children and helping them grow their love of the Lord!
Council Members
Buck has been at HCLC since 1997. He is a member of Council and is on the Celebrations Committee, PMM, Budget Review, Finance Commitee, FDT Committee and is the resident handy man at HCLC. He is a caring father of four children and loving husband to Valerie. During the week he stays out of trouble running his plumbing, heating and cooling business.
Bahna has been an active member of Holy Cross for over 25 years, and has raised her children in this congregation. She is an active mother and grandmother, enjoying her family immensely and supporting them with love. Bahna has been active in our Nursery Ministry, and weekly helps in the Church’s Financial Ministry and as an office help volunteer. She has seen this ministry flourish and grow, stumble and regroup. Bahna has been a catalyst in the latest wave of changes as she worked with the RSVP Team (Rock Solid Vision Plan).
Kathryn (Katt) Burkart joined Holy Cross in 2003, and has been an active member ever since. She is a high school senior and will be attending Saint Joseph’s College in the fall, majoring in Psychology. Kathryn has attended three Mission trips, and became a Worship Assistant at the age of fourteen. She is very excited to be a member of Council and is grateful for all the opportunities presented at Holy Cross. She plans on entering Seminary after college.
Participating in the ministry of Holy Cross for over 25 years, Neal and his family have enjoyed their lives here as first, second and third generation members. To Council Neal brings great business acumen, love for this ministry and a joy of serving. His faith has grown deeper and his life has grown richer as he has served in the ministry of Holy Cross over the years. He is committed to this growing ministry. Neal loves his family deeply and is a proud father and grandfather. He is a loving husband and son. Neal enjoys boating and summer recreation.
Bill Quaresimo joined the congregation of Holy Cross in May of 2005. Fondly called Billy Q., he is one of the percussionists of The Mission From God Band, playing and singing at our Sunday evening Reach Service, special church events, and at our ministries at Lake Shore Assisted Living Facility and the Wittridge Adult Home. He assists in leading worship through the band, through scripture reading and through his vocals. Billy is a man growing in spiritual depth and commitment. His life has changed through the prompting of the Holy Spirit that drew him to Holy Cross and stirred in him a desire to live a God honoring life. He brings to this ministry the gift of experience in public relations. We draw on this skill often. His joy is in his baby grandchild, his family and his Holy Cross family. He continues to grow spiritually and deepen his relationship with God.
Ron, his wife Arlene and son Taylor have been members of Holy Cross for about six years. Ron has a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Hofstra University and is a Certified Public Accountant in New York State. He has practiced public accounting for over 25 years and is a partner in the firm of Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, where he practices out of the firm’s New York City office. In his free time, he is an avid (though only fair) golfer.
Charlie is one of the Directors of our 21st C worship service called REACH. An avid guitarist and “rocker” from the ’60s, he has combined this with a love for the Lord and for the ministry of Holy Cross by forming The Mission From God Band. This band leads our alternative worship service each and every Sunday night. In his own recording studio the band has written, rehearsed and recorded their very first CD, set to be released soon! Behind every good man, the saying goes, is a good woman, and this is true for Charlie. His wife Virginia - composer and singer - assists in the leading of the band. Charlie has worked in our ministry in many other ways too - finances, confirmation, and technologic areas come to mind. He is a dedicated father of two young women and is a loving husband and friend to Virginia.
Jo has been a member at Holy Cross since 2005. She has worked in retail for over 28 years and loves to be around people. Before joining HCLC, Jo attended Hope Lutheran Church and served on the Church Council there. She enjoys planning and seeing the successful out-come of those plans.
Church Council Calendar
NEXT EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING... Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 7:00 pm
NEXT COUNCIL MEETING... Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 7:00 pm
COUNCIL & EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE - Available online by clicking here.
DECEMBER
3rd - ANNUAL CONGREGATION MEETING...
PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE AND TIME! The annual meeting
of November 9th was adjourned before the celebration of
the past year’s accomplishments, the election of Council
members and the approval of the 2009 Budget.
Contact Us
NEED TO CONTACT THE CHURCH COUNCIL?... You may contact the HCLC Church Council through the church’s e-mail address at hclc@optonline.net (please indicate HCLC Council in the subject line) or you may call the church office at 631-588-9509.
Church Council News
OPEN CONGREGATIONAL COUNCIL SEATS... Four Congregation Council seats are available for the term beginning December 9, 2008 through December 13, 2011. The Church Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. and considers all matters relating to the life and activities of Holy Cross. This is a wonderful opportunity to serve our congregation and to support our ministries. If you are interested, please stop at the Information Center to meet with a council member. Seats will be elected at the Annual Congregation Meeting on Wednesday, December 3rd at 7:45 pm.
COUNCIL SEAT HAS BEEN FILLED... We welcome Katt Burkart to the leadership team, The Council. We are excited that a 2008 graduating teen stepped forward and offered her services to the ministry of HCLC. She has a passion for ministry and desires to pursue this passion as she makes her life’s preparations to become a parish Pastor. She will be going to college locally so we expect to have her participate in this capacity for many years to come.
THERE’S BEEN A CHANGE IN OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD... because Barbara Drewes, who was Vice President, has now assumed the position of Church Administrator. It was agreed by Church Council that she will be appointed as Council Secretary (voice but no vote), which helps with the flow of communication in all areas of our ministry. Dee Hecker has agreed to become Vice President. We are pleased to announce these changes.
CHURCH COUNCIL INSTALLATION... Our HCLC Council was installed on January 13, 2008. We asked God to bless them as they lead our ministry. As a congregation, we make a commitment to support them, encourage them, pray them and help them in leading our mission and ministry. We would like to thank our outgoing council members for their time served: Kathryn Lusteg and Valerie Barba.
TOWN HALL MEETINGS COMING TO HCLC... The Council has heard your concerns and is implementing quarterly meetings at which time you can help plan the direction of the church’s ministry and give input to events, projects and anything else. At these meetings people will have an opportunity to share in understanding, developing and fine tuning what we are about. So keep an eye out for these events.
COUNCIL PICTURES... in the lobby of the church you will find the pictures of your Church Council with their names. We hope this will help you identify who the “business” leaders of the church are. Do you have a question or a concern, want to help or give a suggestion, you can contact any one of these people. They are your elected leaders.
Church Council Highlights - November, 2008 Meeting
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CHURCH
COUNCIL... What? I didn’t know we had a church
council! What is it? This is a group of 10-12 people,
elected by the congregation at the annual congregation
meeting held each November. It is the “business”
leadership body of the church. The Council meets at
least once per month. At this meeting, committees,
special teams, Pastor, deacons, Noah’s Ark Preschool,
all present reports of the activities that they have
been involved in. It is a time to review the past
activities, and make plans for the future. The council
sorts through the issues that face a busy, growing
ministry, celebrate the successes and make sure that
everything that is done is put through the paradigm of
the mission statement and the philosophy of the Lutheran
Church. The Council works with the Pastor to make sure
everything is done well and with great care for the
well-being of the ministry of Holy Cross. They meet the
second Tuesday of each month. The meetings are open to
anyone in the congregation. Why not come and see how
things are being done, getting done and sorted through.
Maybe you’ll be able to help.
Barbara
Drewes, 
Bahna
Brown
Neal
Henshall
Ronald
Tramazzo
Charlie
Ward
Jo
Williams
Lengthy discussion of the issues surrounding the adjourned Annual
meeting. There were guests in attendance. Four of them took the
opportunity to speak their concerns. The Council listened with care. A
decision was made to hold the meeting.