SUNDAY JAMM... JESUS AND MUSIC AND MICROPHONES... We have begun hosting Christian musical groups, comedians, poetry readers at 4:00 pm each Sunday - two hours before our worship begins at 6:00 pm. We are giving great Christian talent a place to express their love for the Lord and maybe even add to our worship experience at REACH, our 21st Century service. Do you know someone who fits the bill? Share this information with them. The Open Mike begins at 4:00 pm. For more information e-mail Virginia Ward; GinWard1@yahoo.com Come on down and enjoy being in your Father’s house worshiping and listening and praying and singing.

ACOLYTE TEAMS ARE BEING PUT TOGETHER... How would you like to lead worship as a family? We’ve been putting teams together and it really has been neat to see kids together with their Moms and Dads and siblings all helping to lead us in worship by lighting the candles, reading the lessons, distributing Holy Communion, carrying the torches, the Bible and the Processional Cross. DOES YOUR FAMILY WANT TO BE A TEAM? Let us know... or we might be tapping you on the shoulder and asking. Remember, it’s for the Lord and you are already here - see worship from another angle! Let Sue Fantel, Deacon Dee or someone at the Information Center know of your willingness.

NOT A FAMILY, BUT WANT TO LEAD WORSHIP?... Let us know, we’ll team you up with someone. We’d be delighted for you to be an Acolyte or Worship Assistant

GOD SQUAD 567 HAUNTED HOUSES UPDATE… We had a “spooky” good time down in the Fellowship Hall as 11 of our God Squad 567 kids made and decorated “boo-tiful” haunted gingerbread houses at our first meeting of the year. No bats were flying, but there was purple and green icing all over the place! Big thanks to our new GS567 leader, Arlene Tramazzo (who baked all those gingerbread house pieces herself) and to the parents / grandparents who stayed to help out. We will be posting pics on the website soon, so check our handiwork out there! Watch for the next GS567 meeting date.

HALLOWEEN AT THE LAKE HOUSE SHELTER… Youth Ministries and Outreach Ministries hosted a small Halloween party in October 2007 for the children living at the Lake House Shelter, an area shelter providing a home for families in need. Thanks to your generosity, Holy Cross routinely aids the residents (especially the children) of this shelter throughout the year with donations of clothes, school supplies, Christmas gifts, and warm winter wear. Kate Georghiou, a youth in our congregation, recently completed book shelves as a Girl Scout project for the shelter’s common room - a place to store kid’s books and videos, a number of which Kate collected and donated herself. HCLC made sure each child living at the shelter started this school year off with a bulging new backpack of brand-new school supplies. Families come in and out of the shelter frequently as permanent housing becomes available for them, and along with the material items we are able to give they take with them the love and faith shared so strongly here at Holy Cross. Since there are always new families in need (and growing children, too) please watch for opportunities to assist us in this ministry. Christmas and colder weather will be here soon, and we will keep you posted as to what is needed. Watch for details. Thank you Kate, and thank you all again for what you've done to help these needy families. Your generosity is very much appreciated.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION… God’s Blessings on all our youth who made their First Holy Communion on Sunday, October 28, 2007. We welcome you to the table of the Lord! We are proud of the work you have done to prepare for this day as you come to better understand your relationship with God and our Christian community. Congratulations from Youth Ministries and your Holy Cross family!

LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK UPDATE ... We had a great turnout this past year - 50 walkers, and raised $824 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thank you to all who donated to and supported this worthy cause, and thank you to all who walked: Dana and Nancy Applegate, Toni Bandows, Mikaela and Bill Baretsky, Christopher and Suzanne Beckles, Christine Brooks, the Burkarts - Sue, Dave, Katt and Kim, the Buttices - Ashley, Samantha and Linda, Justin DiLegge, Danielle and Kathleen Dragotta, Melodie and Nick Georghiou, Jessica and Tracy Goldman, Carole Gorton, the Grahams - Brendon, Dillon and Debbie, Carole and Roy Haje, Dee Hecker, Jenn Hecker, the Jacinos - Andrew, David and Pam, Kayla and Tracey Juvet, Philip Marino, Barbara Maurer, Dan Moldovan, Lilly Meyer, Nikki and Kathy O'Neill, Barbara and Joe Rizzo, Fred and Lorraine Rugen, the Sabatinos - Kristen, Danny and Cindy, Clarissa and Janet Spadanuta. God bless!

YOUTH MINISTRIES WEEK OF HOPE 2007 UPDATE…Wow! Our WOH07 campers are back with tales of their great adventures in Manassas, VA as they helped needy members of that community. Thanks to Don Applegate, Toni Bandows, Dave Burkart, Katt Burkart, Kim Burkart, Samantha Buttice, Kate Georghiou, Melodie Georghiou, Nick Georghiou, Jordan Gilliam, Jenn Hecker, Steven Lerman, Kelsey Lohsen, Barbara Maurer, Anjela McGill, Dan Moldovan, Sharon Moller, Gabby Morin, Barbara Rizzo, Lauren Rogers, Jenn Ward - our campers. Ask them about their week when you see them!

Thanks also to all who helped through financial donations, with our fundraising, through food and material donations throughout the year, through prayer and through your overall support - we could not have done this without you. Thank you to Pastor Raggie, Council President Janice Savarese and the HCLC Council for their continued support.

Click here for pics!

30 HOUR FAMINE 2007 UPDATE… Congratulations on a great 30 Hour Famine weekend!!! We raised $5,278.00 for World Vision so far and money is still coming in! Big “thank yous” to all of our Famine youth and especially to our Famine Leaders - Melodie Georghiou, Billy Quaresimo, Betty McGill, Mary Faley, Lauren Rogers, Jenn Hecker, Toni Bandows and Nick Georghiou and to our Asst. Leaders - Victoria Orban, Samantha Buttice, Kelsey Lohsen, Dan Moldovan, Gabby Morin, Kate Georghiou, Donna Smith and Jenn Smith. And of course it needs to be said - “THANK YOU Barbara Maurer and Barbara Rizzo” for all you do and for another great Famine fundraiser - we love you!!!

Thank you to Kristen, Joe and Kaylyn Esatto, Linda Buttice and Taylor Maningo for help with registration. Thank you to Marilyn Moldovan and all who helped with and donated to our Sunday morning Coffee Hour fellowship. Thank you to Joe Rizzo for doing our great Famine signs. Thank you to HCLC Financial Assistant Nancy Jaissle for handling our bank deposit. Thank you to Kelly Maningo and Barbara Drewes for doing our “Break-Fast” dinner meal. Thanks to Tom Moldovan for keeping it all on track.

Thanks to all you parents and families for sharing your kids with us this weekend, for helping with the fundraising, for your amazing donations of water and juices, and for your outstanding response to our request for supplies for our Hospital Snack Bags - we packed 100 and have supplies left to still pack more!

Thank you to Deacon Dee Hecker for 3 awesome services and to Sue Fantel for help with our acolytes.

Thanks to the Waldbaums and Stop and Shop stores on Portion Road in Ronkonkoma for letting us collect funds and food Sunday. Please support these stores when you are shopping as thanks for supporting us!

We took a lot of pictures over the weekend, but if anybody else was using a camera, Tom would appreciate copies of your pics - either uploaded on the web through sites like Snapfish (let him know if you do this), e-mailed or on disc or even hard copies. The sooner the better to show the congregation!

Finally, the very biggest THANKS to the whole congregation, our HCLC family, for opening your hearts and aiding our efforts to end world hunger. God’s blessings on all of you!

Donations are still being accepted. Please see Tom Moldovan or one of the Barbaras. Checks should be made out to World Vision. Thank you.

MEAL MADNESS CONTINUES!…  Monday nights at 6:15 pm downstairs in the Fellowship Hall!!! Confirmation students and their families are invited to come, hang out and enjoy a chance to settle in, have something hot to eat, do homework, let the kids socialize a little and catch their breath before class. Meals could be hamburgers, English muffin pizzas, hot dogs, macaroni, etc. The food is good, we get a large turnout of kids looking to eat and hang out and the food is free! Meal Madness is held downstairs in the Fellowship Hall and begins at 6 pm every Monday night when class is in session. Hope you join us! Parent volunteers are always welcome, too. We could also use the usual food donations (taco shells, spaghetti, tomato sauce, etc) for anyone who wants to donate. Thank you!

YOUTH MINISTRIES E-MAILS… Do we have your correct e-mail address? In today's hi-tech age, e-mail addresses change frequently. If you are not getting the latest updates on Youth Ministries activities and events, make sure we have your correct e-mail address. Drop a message to Tom Moldovan, our YM secretary at tmandd@optonline.net.