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PLC Rummage Sale Donations now being accepted

The PLC Rummage Sale will take place Thursday, August 27, 2026 through Saturday August 29, 2026. Please consider donating your rummage! Items can start coming in NOW. Please know that it CANNOT be left in the Brick Lobby. They MUST be taken to the classroom (old Nursery/Craft Closets Room) on the right by the kitchen.  Please remember we only accept clean and unbroken items. The proceeds this year will go towards the security cameras and a Youth outing! Thank You ~ PLC Youth

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Changes coming to PLC Sanctuary

In 1960 our current worship space was designed and constructed to accommodate the phenomenal growth of our church family. By 1962 we were the largest Lutheran congregation in Cuyahoga Country with an average of 670 attending two Sunday worship services. Today we are a growing medium sized church family currently averaging about 80 at our Sunday worship service during the school year, and 50 during the summer months. 

We are fast approaching the time in our church building's life cycle when it needs repair and remodel. The first thing we ought to do is appropriately size our main worship space. Our current space seats 400.

 

To provide us an appropriately sized sanctuary, we will remove a third of our back pews. Keep in mind whatever pews remain we'll need to strip and resurface due to the damage caused by the disinfectant we used during COVID. We open that space and use it as overflow seating, multipurpose fellowship area, and we could even put in an area for our kiddos to engage in quiet play during worship services.

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Our goal is to have this first phase in beautifying our church building done by the time we return to worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday, September 13th. You may have concerns or questions. Feel free to contact me or the church administrator, or our elected leaders to discuss any of your questions or concerns.  

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A sweet new ministry

I have been asked to write the church of hope toward faith in a new ministry.

I’m asking if anyone would be interested in offering support to a project. One tried and proven to work toward a mission of a common good. A small but faithful business of making candy in the Big Kitchen here at PLC. If anyone shares interest, please reach out to Pastor Jay or Mary Westerh. 

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Security cameras installed in church building

Did you know that on an average week 584 people are in our building either through the two AA meetings, five weight watcher meetings, four worship services, four Bible studies, two Hunger Center pick-up days, rentals, Girl Scout meeting and the families that play in our new Courtyard playground. 

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Parma Lutheran Church is a fluid community outreach building. Open for all! With all the footsteps comes the need for security cameras, not just for us but for our guests. They have been installed this week (6/30). 

Thank you for helping PLC move forward with technology and safety.​

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Volunteers needed for Hunger Center

Parma Hunger Center, a ministry of Parma Lutheran, is in great need of some helping hands!!!

 

We need someone to answer the cell phone, schedule clients and produce a simple spread sheet whether in good handwriting or over the computer. This person will have the cell phone at their own home, may set their own call schedule, sign up our clients into time slots for distribution and produce a schedule be given to the HC on Tuesday and/or Friday AM. 

 

We need someone to be a door person on Tuesday from 1-4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. This person will take the names of the clients arriving and compare them to the schedule. This person could also input the information in the computer (Fridays).

*this could be the same person or 2-3 different people

 

We also need people willing to move large boxes into cars during distribution. 

Tuesday 1-4 and Friday 9-12.

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Please consider volunteering in one of these needed roles. Call the Church Office if you can help. We will train anyone that is willing to give it a try. 

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​A big Thank-You to our VBS volunteers! 

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PLC's VBS took place June 15-19, 2026. Thank yous from Deb M. for food/donation:

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Thank you - WOW! The kitchen was quite the bustle this week and filled with tacos (shells, meat, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cheddar cheese, sour cream, sauce), chicken tenders, (ranch, buffalo, garlic parm, BBQ, and honey dipping sauces), corn, dinner rolls and butter, hot dogs, onion, homemade chili (for the hot dogs), rigatoni, sheet pizzas, grapes, watermelons, carrots, salad, (croutons, cheese, tomatoes, onions, black olives, ranch, honey mustard, Italian dressings) applesauce, potato chips, fruit snacks, string cheese, Rice Krispie treats, Oreo cookies, lemon and orange Jello cookies, and giant orange coolers of water, lemonade, cherry, and fruit punch drinks!

 

• Heartfelt thanks to Beth Vaitekunas and Cindy Lucas for their wonderful tacos! They were totally delicious!

• A heartfelt thanks to Genie Barthelman for her delicious chocolate ice cream coned cakes! Very yummy! :)

• A heartfelt thanks to State Road Pizza for taking $30 off our bill. 5320 State Rd (216) 7 49-1122  Please support our neighborhood establishment!

• A heartfelt thanks to our donors who really helped make this happen: Carol Eberling, Judy Grabski, Jackie Berkheimer, Jeannette Bailey, Karen Palmer, Bruce and Chis Riha, Juniper Mackey, Judy and Richard Taylor, and Diane Gienke.

• Thanks to Judy Smothers for her Giant Eagle gift card to help with chicken.

• Thanks to all for the donations in the donation can in the kitchen during the event! 

• A heartfelt thanks to lsha Holowczak (granddaughter of Chris & Bruce Riha) for her kitchen help throughout the week! What a hard worker! :)

• Thanks to Peggi Stahnke for helping on the bookkeeping side of our donations received.

• A heartfelt thanks to my kitchen crew: 
  Jill Ruiz, Noreen Nowak, Laura Storey, Mary Westerh, 
  Beth Vaitekunas, Cindy Lucas, and Genie Barthelman. (Please know how much I appreciate your friendship and help in the kitchen. I could NOT have done it without you all - Love: Debbie) 

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Thank yous from Stephanie Antal:

Our Rainforest Falls VBS came to life June 15-19, 2026, and was a big success! We had several new faces participate this year, and the children had a lot of fun during the week, especially when visitor "Jungle Bob" Tuma visited to show off some of his rainforest and desert critters! I wanted to give a shout-out to everyone who helped in any way with the program!

 

• Thank you to Kim Cummings for organizing and leading the program

• Kim Armstrong for leading our craft/experiments "Imagination Station"' and Dan Zaranec for also helping with the station

• Todd Woelfl for working our check-in/check-out station (and being a great sport wearing the safari hat!)

• Pastor Jay for leading our Bible Study

• Chelsea Taylor, Jamison Armstrong, Koen Antal and Brett lafigliola for leading our Wild Games station outside

• Riley, Regan and Morgan Cummings, lsha Holowczak, Grace lafigliola, Arihanna Betz and Samantha Justice who lead the groups of kiddos from station to station

• Jason Armstrong for helping keep the groups on schedule throughout the week

• all of the kitchen staff headed up by Deb Miklus

• Cindy Lucas for making the jungle vines

• Beth Vaitekunas, the Armstrong family, Betsy, Jim and Genie and everyone else who I missed and stayed after church on June 14th to do the hallway and final touches to all the decorations! A huge thank-you for that!

• Thank you to all of the teens who helped de-decorate the hallway on the last night

• Thank you to Bob Antal for helping me with the decorations- especially the waterfall, jungle hut and boat! We hope it created a magical space for exploring the nature of God! 

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Summertime Worship time change and Zoom code change  

Starting the Sunday after Memorial Day, Sunday, May 31st until the Sunday after Labor Day, Sunday September 13th we will be holding Sunday worship in the Fellowship Hall starting at 9:00am.  

 

We will not be having early morning Sunday Bible Study with Dr. Joe or Sunday Songleaders practice with Dan.  

 

The Meet and Greet will be offering just coffee and juice set out at 8:15 a.m. 

 

Summer Zoom Code and Password 

Meeting ID 856 0765 8770 

Passcode 501920 

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Important feedback needed

We are beginning to study our church building usage and research possible paths forward that

would make the most sense for our congregation. Our current building was built when we had one of

the largest Lutheran congregations in the area. Much of our current building is no longer used, and we have been

able to rent out many of those spaces, with more space available for rental. Our sanctuary could possibly benefit

by creating a smaller more intimate space. There are also areas of the building that are needing renovation such as

the bathrooms and brick lobby. We are looking for input from our PLC members.

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• What areas of the building would you like to see updated, including the sanctuary? Please share your vision.

• What renovations do you think are important? Which are absolutely necessary?

• Would you be willing to help fund these renovations? How would you feel about the church taking out a loan to finance the renovations?

• How do you feel about re-purposing areas of our current building including additional rental of unused space or possibly even selling our unused spaces to others?

 

It’s very important to share your input and ideas concerning the future of our church building. Any and all ideas

are welcomed. Your responses will be kept confidential but will aid us in creating a report which will be shared

with you this fall. It will then be put up for a congregational vote. We greatly appreciate your prayerful consideration of this topic and look forward to hearing from you as we research options. The future of our church home is in our hands as we collectively determine the best way forward. Email Barbara Tibbitts at soldwithbarbara@gmail.com with your responses.

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​Welcoming North River Church

At the November Congregation Meeting, we voted and accepted the rental contract for the North River Church with Pastor William P. McKisic. Their church service will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays in the Fellowship Hall. Their congregation is smaller than ours, but the parking will get full. We are asking our congregants to park closest to the Sanctuary side of the building, and their congregation will park towards the Fellowship Hall side of the building. Their congregants will enter through the Courtyard. They will end their worship shortly before ours. Say hello and introduce yourself if you see a new face in the building!

 

Questions and Answers:

Q: Will we be able to host events in the Fellowship Hall after our Sunday worship?

A: Yes! We will have to plan to make sure we can move tables and chairs directly after their and our worship.

 

Q: We use the FH in the summer; will we still do that?

A: Yes! They will move their worship location or time once warmer temps arrive.

 

Q: What space do they need?

A: They will use the FH from 8am-12pm each Sunday. They will have the (locked) use of the closet beside the Big Kitchen. They will have the (locked) use of an office upstairs (while knowing if we get a full permanent rental, they will have to relocate their things from that room). 

 

If you have any other questions, please call the Church Office 216.351.6376

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Community Outreach Dinners

Some have asked about the difference between a Community and Fellowship Dinner. 

A Fellowship Dinner is put on by the Fellowship Ministry and is to have Fellowship amongst our PLC members, guests and family.  A Community Dinner is put on by the Community Ministry and is a meal for the people of Parma, outside of our church, whether they are in “need” of a warm meal, a couple wanting to fellowship with people over food or a single friend that just isn’t in the mood to cook. 

 

These two ministries can overlap for sure, but they are different also. 

 

The Community Meal is “hosted” by an individual(s). This means you can choose what you would like to make or purchase. The funds to cover this meal come out of the Community Ministry so you do NOT need to pay for this yourself. With the help of the Church Office, we will choose and make the meal, get the notifications out about the upcoming meal and ask for volunteers. 

 

For our first meal on January 22nd, we had chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes with salad on the side and cake for dessert. We had 6 amazing volunteers that served our 1st and only guest, Paul. Paul, a young gentleman who works in the area and lives downtown by himself, saw our post on Facebook and was very excited to enjoy a warm meal with new friends. All 8 of us sat, ate and fellowshipped for over an hour. It truly was joyous. 

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Who wants to host this event, with the help of the Church Office and a great group of volunteers??

Call 216.351.6376 or write on the back of your yellow slip. ​

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As reminder about Offering

 

As a reminder:

• General offerings go into an account that can be used for ANY church needs. 

• Capital MUST be used on physical building needs. It can NOT be used on any other church need.

• HC offerings are placed in the Hunger Center account and can ONLY be used on Hunger Center needs.

• Other, is a place holder for everything else, (e.g. Pastor’s Discretionary Fund, a special Youth donation or an offering purchase of flowers).

 

Important things to remember:

• You can give electronically through our updated and secure payment portal via the button on this page.

• Talk to your tax advisor on ways to give to Parma Lutheran Church (possibly tax free).

• ALWAYS use your name and/or your Church # with any offering. This is the way we calculate your end-of-year offerings. 

• If you have any questions, please call the Church Office 216.351.6376

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Men's and Ladies' Breakfasts Invitation

Did you know that you are invited to the Men's and Ladies' Breakfasts each month? Men get together on the second Tuesday of each month, and men and ladies get together on the fourth Tuesday of each month. They meet at 8:30 a.m. at Demetrio's Family Restaurant located at 7851 Broadview Rd. Seven Hills, OH 44131.

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2026 schedule:

• January: 13th (Men); 27th (Men & Ladies)

• February: 10th (Men); 24th (Men & Ladies)

• March: 10th (Men); 31st (Men & Ladies)

• April: 14th (Men); 28th (Men & Ladies)

• May: 12th (Men); 26th (Men & Ladies)

• June: 9th (Men); 30th (Men & Ladies)

• July: 14th (Men); 28th (Men & Ladies)

• August: 11th (Men); 25th (Men & Ladies)

• September: 8th (Men); 29th (Men & Ladies)

• October: 13th (Men); 27th (Men & Ladies)

• November: 10th (Men): 24th (Men & Ladies)

• December: 8th (Men): 29th (Men & Ladies)​

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Communion Ministers Needed for Homebound

We have eight homebound members of the Parma Lutheran Church family.  I (Pastor Jay) try to bring Communion to them once a month. I say “try” because some months I don’t get to all of them. Even if I do visit everyone on our list, a once-a-month visit from me is not enough if our shut-ins are going to feel connected and a vital part of our church family. I’d like for every homebound member of our church family to receive at least two Communion visits per month, a visit by me, and a visit from one of our Lay Home Communion Ministers. I’d like a group of lay people (non-ordained/non-pastors) available to be assigned to one of our shut-ins to visit once a month to assist me by bringing already consecrated elements of bread and wine to them. To serve as a Lay Communion Minister is like serving as a Communion Assistant, except you will be bringing the consecrated bread and wine from our church altar to one of our homebound members once a month. If you volunteer to bring Communion to one of our homebound, I will individually train everyone interested in this important ministry. I will train you in the theology of this ministry (why we do this ministry), and I will train you in how to conduct this ministry.  It will require one hour of training with me scheduled at your convenance, and then you will visit one of our homebound members once per month. On your first visit you will accompany me so I can introduce you, and get you acquainted. You will be welcome to end the ministry at any time for any reason. Please know how important this ministry is to our shut-ins and to you. Please pray on this and reach out to me with any questions or if you would like to become a communion minister. 440.502.1192. God Bless, Pastor Jay

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Yellow Slips in Bulletins

The yellow slip in your bulletin is important. This slip is your direct line to the Church Office or Pastor Jay. We use your filled out slip to update our files, which then updates the ELCA’s files, that you have attended worship and if you received communion. You may use your slip to send messages to the office or Pastor Jay, such as a prayer request for yourself or others, just write on the back of your slip. You may also add suggestions to enhance worship or questions you may have about worship. Lastly, if you have an extra slip you don’t use, please put it back into the basket you took your bulletin from, on your way out.

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Reminder about Sonbeams

The Sonbeam is our monthly newsletter. It holds all the information from the month we have closed and the upcoming month. You can receive your copy electronically, through the mail or by picking up your copy in the Narthex or Church Office. If you would like to start receiving it electronically, let the Church Office know this by writing on the back of your yellow slip.

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AEDs purchased for PLC

Our church has purchased an AED and has also graciously received a free AED from Linda Kranski. These AEDs are being installed on the wall by Pastor Jay’s office and on the wall right outside the Fellowship Hall. The money that was used to purchased these critical devices was raised through the support or our Youth Pasta Dinner fundraiser.

 

AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator. An AED is a portable device that analyzes heart rhythm and delivers an electric shock to treat sudden cardiac arrest. Early defibrillation within minutes of collapse dramatically increases survival chances for sudden cardiac arrest. Our AEDs are maintained by the Church Office monthly. We are also a registered AED location through the City of Parma. Below you will read the easy steps to use the AED. Please, take the time to read these steps and revisit these steps often. It could save a life. The most important thing to do…is DO. The AED literally talks you through the process. No need to be scared or feel you don’t know how. 

 

Step-by-Step Guide to Using an AED

• Assess the Situation

  • Ensure the area is safe.

  • Check on the person. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, it might be sudden cardiac arrest.

• Call for Emergency Help

  • Dial 911 and ask someone to get an AED.

• Retrieve and Turn on the AED

  • Open the AED or press the power button and follow its voice prompts.

• Attach the Pads

  • Remove clothing from the chest, including the bra if the person is wearing one.

  • Place the electrode pads as shown on the diagrams on the AED.

• Analyze the Heart Rhythm

  • Allow the AED to detect whether a shock is necessary.

• Deliver a Shock if Advised

  • Ensure no one is touching the person.

  • Press the shock button if instructed. Some AEDs are fully automatic and will deliver the shock on its own.

• Perform CPR if Necessary

  • Continue with chest compressions if advised by the AED. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest

• Follow Additional Prompts

  • Keep following the AED’s instructions until professional help arrives.

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Reminder: Pastor's Cell Phone Number

Pastor Jay will continue to use his OLD phone number which is 440.502.1192. He will no longer use the "new" number of 216.231.2733. And a reminder that Kim Cummings has a cell phone number for work purposes 216.481.0635. Kim still has her personal cell phone number, and it can still be used by her church family. The Church Office is not always staffed. When calling the Church Office 216.351.6376, PLEASE leave a voicemail. Voicemails and emails to office@plcparma.org get checked three times a day regardless if anyone is in the actual building. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​To contact Pastor via email, please also use the office email address. If the message is personal for him, please signify that in the subject line. 

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Reminder: On-going Help Needed

We need on-going help around the church. Currently, we need help installing the microwave in the big kitchen. Please call the Church Office 216-351-6376.  There is always work to be done, and we can find a job for you!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​