May God's
Face Shine
on Us and
be Gracious
HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN
CHURCH Reno, Nevada
"Holy Cross Lutheran Church is a caring
community of active Christians.  We invite you to
share our worship and grow in Faith, Spirit, and
Fellowship."
Welcome to Holy Cross Lutheran Church!

May 2008 - Why Choose Any Church?

I thank God for the faithful and regular engagement of
congregational members and friends here at Holy Cross.
On the other hand, if your weekend vacation and/or
business schedules take you outside of the Reno area,
use that opportunity to visit a local congregation. We can
learn important lessons about ourselves and about our
beliefs by experiencing firsthand the architecture,
furnishings, organizational structure, leadership
personalities and styles, worship formats, and functional
theologies of other congregations. Names, locations,
and detailed information for all ELCA congregations,
Bible Camps, and campground ministries may be found
on the “elca.org” website and in the ELCA Yearbook on
file in Holy Cross’s office. If no ELCA congregation is
available where you’ll be traveling, share worship with a
congregation of another denomination or even another
faith tradition. When you visit, it is appropriate that you
identify yourselves as guests and ask for help in
maneuvering through the building and worship liturgy of
the host congregation. You will be informed and
enriched by worship with others. Then come back and
share your experience with Holy Cross congregation so
that we, too, can learn from your experience.

I enjoy the interaction with those attending the
membership-exploration class. One question I recently
posed was, “What makes a congregation different from a
local service club?” An intriguing question asked of me
was “Why would one join this congregation rather than
the congregation down the street?” How would you
respond to either question?

Many reasons are given as to why people join a
particular congregation: location, schedule, music,
friendships, ministry opportunities, staffing, theology,
hospitality, compatibility, facilities -- to name but a few. I
suppose my basic response to the congregational-
membership question would be, “The congregation that
speaks the truth in love, is worthy of my membership.”
Conversely, if life’s real issues are ignored, I probably
would keep looking for a church home.

Thirdly, a few words about David Mullen, soon-to-retire
bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod and his fine staff.
These humble, gifted servants are deeply appreciated
throughout the synod, for they have graciously led the
Church into constructive conversation and faith-filled
action. Two of the bishop’s assistants, Rev. Noreen
Meginness and Rev. Lauren “Bud” Egdahl, also are
retiring from pastoral ministry. Charles "Chuck" Ruthroff,
Rev. Bill Wong, and Rev. Harvey Blomberg have co-
terminus calls with Bishop Mullen and will continue to
serve in the synod office at the discretion of the in-
coming bishop. Please join me in thanking God for the
wonderful leadership and encouragement that these
several people have shared with the Church; we have
been very blessed by their ministry efforts.

Blessings always,  Pastor Larry
Rev. Larry D. Quanbeck

Interim Pastor
Holy Cross Lutheran
Church, ELCA