Seen Around Church – Week of June 18, 2023

Kluxen Celebrates Eagle Court of Honor

Congratulations to Joey Kluxen as he celebrated his Eagle Court of Honor on Saturday at SMPC! Joey is the son of Emmett and Tara Kluxen and the brother of Megan Kluxen.

Chancel Choir Celebrates End of Year

The Chancel Choir celebrated a fun and successful year on Saturday, June 18, with an evening of good food and fellowship hosted by Jane and Tom Klecker.

Longtime SMPC Chancel Choir Member to Move to Ohio

Longtime SMPC Chancel Choir member and frequent soloist Laura Hancock and her fiancé, John Reiter, are moving to Chagrin Falls, OH in the next couple of weeks, and Sunday’s solo was Laura’s last one (for now!). We will very much miss this couple and Laura’s incredible talent. She has been a member of the choir for 19 years!

Laura will be working at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland as a board-certified behavior analyst. John will be working in senior car. The couple will be close to Laura’s mom.

“We both want to thank the church, my beloved choir mates, Matt Brown and Zach Bowyer for all their love, support and guidance over the years,” said Laura. “No matter what, SMPC will be our forever church family!”

The good news: Laura and John are coming back to SMPC to get married next summer.

We pray a safe and smooth transition for the couple!

Youth Meet for Summer’s First ‘Message and Macarons’

SMPC Youth met for the summer’s first Message and Macarons at Amelie’s on Monday evening, June 19. The group enjoyed a prayer, fellowship, and of course, something sweet. The next Message and Macarons is Wednesday, August 2 at 6:00 p.m. at Amelies. Youth are encouraged to come and bring a friend! No registration is required and all are welcome.

Faces of Faith: Libby Egan

SMPC Note: This summer we’ve launched a weekly series called “Faces of Faith” where we spotlight SMPC members and learn about how their faith and involvement in the church have impacted their lives. This week’s spotlight is on Libby Egan, church member and Vacation Bible School volunteer coordinator.

Name: Libby Egan

Family: I have two amazing kids: Molly, who is 13, and Grant, who is 10.

Years at SMPC: I started coming to SMPC in 2007 with a coworker and immediately knew it was a special place.

Why is serving with Vacation Bible School important to you?  I was asked to become the volunteer coordinator for VBS after being a shepherd (volunteer) one year. It has allowed me to meet and get to know other members of our church community. I love watching the kids move from one place to another with smiles on their faces. Everyone pulls together to create such a memorable and enjoyable experience.

How can others get involved?  We can always use volunteers to help make VBS a success whether it’s all four days or just one. Shepherds help guide groups of children from one activity to the next where the activity leader then takes the reins. For those that are unavailable during our VBS week, we also need people in advance to cut out things, get all the materials organized and to decorate the church.

VBS is coming soon – volunteers needed!

VBS is just 5 short weeks away, and we are so excited to welcome 100 kids to VBS this year! We still have quite a few vital volunteer roles to fill, and almost all of these roles are “shepherds.” This is an easy and FUN role at VBS! Shepherds welcome kids at the beginning of the day with a pre-planned activity, and then they just make sure the group gets to where they need to go for the rest of morning. There is no planning, and you get to see every part of VBS. This role also allows you time to bond with the kids and get to know them. We hope you can join us!