THE WRIGHT UPS

September 2014 edition

FEBRUARY 2015 ISSUE

Greetings my dear loved ones!

February is a wonderful month. It is short and sweet. The latter does not happen because of

the former. February’s sweetness comes despite its brevity. There is a lot that happens in February

that reminds us of the true beauty of life and love. This includes black history month, Valentine’s

Day, and Mardi Gras or the beginning of Lent.

The start of lent does not appear to fit with the rest of the month’s delicious flavor. A

moment of reflection might change our perspective. Lent’s positive attribute is that its prelude is

Mardi Gras. This maybe the most fun Christian holiday ever created. I know it has been hijacked

by secular society and taken in strange maybe even unsettling ways. We should not let that stop us

from realizing that it really is a Christian celebration. If you were about to embark on 40 days of

fasting in a desert, a feast beyond imagination seems like a good send off. A deeper embrace of

Mardi Gras, also known as fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday, helps us fully appreciate the practice

and meaning of Lent.

What is the point of lent and how is it connected to the sweetness of love? Great question,

I’m glad you asked. Lent is a prayerful time to let go. There are 2000 years worth of thoughts,

questions and insights about why it is important to let go. Love is the clearest example of how we

release the barriers to life.

Anyone who has ever shared love with another is aware of what it means to let go. The true

emotions and affection that occur when we have strong feelings for another person, romantic or not,

force us out of ourselves. These are the moments when natural concepts of self-preservation and

desire are immediately trumped for full unity with other. This is love. When the force overcomes

us it is easy to practice. Our daily lives show that the powerful emotion is not always present. We

need regular prayer and practice to open our hearts to fully sharing with others.

Every kid who has ever played with a Chinese finger trap knows this wisdom. The toy

requires that you put your two index fingers into the opposite ends of a cylindrical contraption. If

you try and pull your fingers out they will never be released. The trick is to push your fingers in

toward each other. This movement loosens the trap and grants your fingers freedom. Frustration or

impatience can easily lead to finger imprisonment. Life, love and spirituality are similar. They

require us to relax and relinquish our perceptions in order to grow.

The second month of the year is a wonderful time to pray and reflect on how to let go for

love. Our adult Sunday school class’s just peace study is reviewing how we release assumptions of

the status quo in order to create better community. Our dream notes in the fellowship hall are

guiding us to prioritize and discern what visions we have to hold off. Our faith is that whatever we

liberate from our grasp will allow us to embrace Divine love.

Daily, I am grateful God pushed me to release my ignorance of the city of Boise and the state of

Idaho. This has led me to a powerful sharing of love with you.

Many Blessings and love

Rev. Drew Terry

Wright Congregational United Church of Christ

4821 Franklin Rd, Boise, ID 83705 Office: Tues-Thurs 9-Noon and 1-3:00

208-343-0292 email: church@wrightucc.com web: wrightucc.com

FEBRUARY Worship Team

Lay Worship Leader Trevor Makinson, Feb. 1 & 15; Chuck Pond, Feb. 8 & 22 Ushers Mary Ellen Parsons, Mary Pond, Anne Schnebly, Robin Canning Care Givers Carol Card Altar Care Marilyn Williams Communion Servers Chuck & Meredith Pond; Carol Rivers; Robin Canning

Date Greeters Altar Flowers Coffee Hosts

Feb. 1 Jane Penrod & Ethel Farnsworth

Rea & Bob Suggs Carol & Jerry Card

Feb. 8 Suzanne & Pat Robb Dolores Wallace Chuck & Meredith Pond/Farnsworth

Family for Ethels 95th birthday

Feb. 15 Jerry & Carol Card Maxine & Joh Freeman in celebration of their 58th

anniversary

All Church Potluck

Feb. 22 Maxine & Dick Palmer Dale & Betty Ramsey Dave & Debbie Turner

AS OF THIS WRITING THESE WERE THE SIGN UPS

February Birthdays

Feb. 2-Stephanie Bastow; 3-Peter Busche; 7-Maxine Briggs; 9-Ethel Farnsworth; 18-Ron Apperson; 19-Sally VanderVeen; 20-Dale Ramsey; 25-Shirley Spiva

February Anniversaries Feb. 23-John & Maxine Freeman

Don't appear on our birthday or anniversary list? Missing out on the wishes!

Please give Robin a call at the office with your info.

2015 Directory's The new directories are available.

Keeping Our Food Pantry Stocked

for the Winter

Our pantry needs our help to be stocked for the winter months. Non-parishable items are always needed. This time of year, chili, stew,

canned meats, soups, veggies and fruits are always good. Plus paper goods and personal hygeine items. Thank you.

2015 PLEDGES ARE STILL BEING ACCEPTED

If you have not turned in your pledge for 2015 please do so as soon as possible. Pledge cards are available in the office.

Memorials Gifts have been given in loving memory of:

George Miller by Janice Aagaard, Ron & Syl Apperson, Bob & Kathy Smith, Drew Terry, Gil & Dorothy Haskins, Marian Niece, Mike & Tami Black, Ellen Farnsworth, Jerry

Lawson, Carol Rivers, Carl Van Slyke, Anne Schnebly, Willare & Bethene Dykes, Dale & Betty Ramsey.

Tempa Simmonsen by Marian Niece, & Dale & Betty Ramsey. Don & Letha Gribble by Willard & Jerrie Lee Gribble

Virginia "Ginny" Trapp by Robyn Parsons Paffendorf (in honor of Dale & Mary Ellen Parsons)

Albert & Esther Tennyson by Stephen Tennyson Carol Hansen by Jack Hansen (in honor of her birthday)

Lunch Bunch

Our lunch bunch will meet at 1:00 pm, Thursday, Feb. 12 at Miss Tami's Tea Room at 1031 N. Main St. in Meridian.

All are welcome to come, relax, visit and enjoy lunch. Map to Miss Tami’s Team Room

Book Club News

The book club meets on the first Thursday of each month at 1:00 pm in the church library.

All are welcome to come and enjoy a cup of tea, a snack and an interesting discussion. Feb. 5 – Each one will tell about a favorite book.

March 5 – Continue with the telling about favorite books.

Women's Fellowship

Calling all Ladies The Women’s Fellowship will meet Wednesday, February 4th

at 1 pm in the Fellowship Hall at the church. We will be planning this year’s upcoming events and we’ll have some brain teasers

to keep you alert along with some refreshments. All ladies are welcome to join this fun group.

And the president has promised to be there also.

All Church Potluck-Sunday, February 15

Yummy foods, fun, and fellowship will continue on the Third Sunday of each month. Bring your favorite dish of choice to share and enjoy a relaxing meal with friends and family. ALL ARE WELCOME.

Wright 1's All single people are welcome to this fun and active group.

Feb. 7, (Sat.) Pop Up In The Park. Edward's Greenhouse off Hill Road at 11 a.m.

Lunch boxes from Honeybakes Ham with a picnic on the green grass with blooming

flowers.

Feb. 27, (Fri.) dinner at Sockeye on Cole Rd and listen to the band "Chicken Dinner Road". More

info to follow

March 21, (Sat.) hosting an all church game night in the social hall. Beverages provided. Please

bring a snack to share and a favorite game.

April 26, (Sun.) Pizza and Movie afternoon. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" more into to

follow.

May 16, (Sat.) 11 am lunch at the Trolley House on Warmsprings then a tour of the Old Pen.

June date to be determined. Lunch outdoors at the Orchard House on Sunny Slope Road

July 1, (Wed) Day trip to Robin's cabin in Lowman, Idaho. Lunch and birthday cake to celebrate

Robin's 59th birthday.

Sept. Date to be determined-tour of historic Idaho City.

Lesson of the Month!

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full noon!

NEW WRIGHT UP ARTICLE DEADLINE:

All articles for the February issue will be due in the office by Wednesday, January 21 – please.

Also if you have family news you would like to share, such as graduations, births, honors, winnings, travels, tributes, etc. Please give the office a call or

leave a note on Robin's desk. We would love to include this info in our newsletters.

NEED AN IDEA FOR OUR MONTHLY POTLUCKS? Copies of "The Wright Recipes Cookbook" by The Wright People are

available in the office and they are just $10. Get your copy today. Great ideas for breads, candies, cookies, desserts, main dishes, salads, soups and miscellaneous recipes.

SHROVE TUESDAY, MARDI GRAS, PANCAKE

CELEBRATION We are kicking off the season of Lent with a Shrove

Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Pancake celebration and everyone is invited.

Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7 pm in the social hall. Pancakes and all the trimmings will be served.

If you would like to help give Pastor Drew or Robin a call and we will sign you up.

ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE

Wednesday, Feb. 18 Wright Church will be sharing an Ash Wednesday Service with First Congregational Church.

7 pm at Wright Church in the Sanctuary. ALL ARE WELCOME Map to First Congregational Church

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Dear Pastor Terry,

Please communicate to your church members our heartfelt thanks for their help in making the 2014 Thanksgiving Turkey Box Project a sucess.

I wish to thank the many donors and those who volunteered their time to gather and disperse the approximate 2,600 turkeys and boxes that were given out this year in Ada County. We were also able to give 100 plus turkeys and boxes to migrant camps and low income families in the Canyon County ares.

Our food pantry provides food for approximately 1,000 low income families per month in our community.

Our dining hass is open three to four days a week at 6:00 pm. We are surrently serving a dinner meal to approximately 70 to 100 low income families per night.

The generosity of your members are simply awesome.

God Bless, Mike Gallagher, President SW Idaho District Council, Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Wright Church Prayer Chain For those who may not know we have a wonderful Prayer Chain here at Wright Church. The prayers are kept very confidential by those on the chain. Anyone can be put on the prayer chain, yourself, family members, or friends. We will send up those extra needed prayers during times of illness, despair, sorrow, joy, and searching. It's easy to do - Give Maxine Palmer a call or the church office and your requested prayers will be on their way. Pass it on, prayers do work.

It's Winter Carnival Time And Pilgrim Cove Camp has your

accommodations. February 6 through 8 is the dates.

Pilgrim Cove Camp will be open for fun in the snow. Your outdoor adventures await.

You could Alpine ski at Brundage or Tamarack, Nordic ski or snow shoe around camp and nearby Ponderosa State Park, ice skate at Manchester Ice rink; sled at the camp or at the Activity Barn in McCall. Or view the ice and snow sculptures, do some walking

around McCall and do some shopping. While at camp you can play cards and board games with family and friends, watch a movie

or just relax and enjoy the scenery. The camp will serve your Friday night dinner, 3 meals on Saturday

and breakfast on Sunday, plus all the coffee, tea and hot chocolate you can drink. The cost is just $89 for the whole weekend or $75 for Saturday and Sunday.

Contact Susan Busche at 208-634-5555 (the camp) or visit pilgrimcovecmp@outlook.com for reservations and information.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Thanks to David and Debbie Turner for the beautiful bookcases for our history notebooks. A lot of work and love went into them. Be sure to see them in the hall between the office and the choir room. And thank them for all their work. Carol Rivers, church historian

Thanks also to Jerry Card for the new trash box for our coffee hour. Jerry also built extension blocks for our advent candle wreath that you will see (or not see) Christmas of 2015.

More thanks to Jack Wenske for his handy work with our new memorial boards located in the back of the sanctuary. They will soon have updated name plaques on then. Also to Jack for the "new to us" stove for the kitchen.

Even more thanks of appreciation to Julie Patterson and Joan Wenske their scrubbing and organizing of our kitchen. We thank everyone for their dedication to Wright Church. A lot goes on behind the scenes that many folks never notice. We are a wonderful family of helpful and caring folks.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

CHAIRMANS REPORT Welcome to a new year at Wright Church. I look forward to a renewed and invigor-

ated year for our church and its members new and old. Our possibilities are endless and I look forward to serving as your chairman once again this year.

The church is always looking for volunteers. We have a number of opportunities for anyone who is willing both short term and long term. An example of a short term oppor-tunity is helping out with the Community Dinner that we do for the 4th Thursday of each month or hosting coffee hour or hosting our monthly church potluck. A more long term would be to volunteer on one of the teams to mow the lawn or serve as a member/chairman of our annual June fund raiser. You can also talk to one of the chairpersons and vol- unteer to serve on a committee.

So who are the board members and what are the various committees? You can find a list of these individuals down- stairs on a bulletin board. If you have questions, concerns, or opportunities this list is a great starting point to mov-ing us forward. I would like to challenge all of us to be results oriented. It is one thing to complain about something, but also think about ideas and what you can do to improve and grow our church.

Two weeks ago a wish/dream list of what we wanted Wright Church to be like in the future was put up downstairs in the social hall. Please take the time to review what is there and add items that are missing and think how you might help bring one to fruition. In fu-ture reports I hope that we can start reporting on issues that have been addressed. Unless we keep these dreams in the fore front of thoughts and activities they are less likely to come about. I wish all of our church family a new year of blessings and positive changes.

Chuck Pond, Board Chairperson

FEBRUARY 2015

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

1 10:00 Sunday School 10:30 Choir warm up 11:00-WORSHIP/ Communion Noon-Fellowship/coffee

2 3 7:00pm Alanon

4 . 1:00-Women's

Fellowship

5

1:00 Book

Club

6

7 11:00-Wright 1's Edwards Greenhouse

8 10:00-Sunday School 11:00 WORSHIP Noon-Fellowship/coffee

9 10 7:00 pm Alanon

11 6:30 Huntingtons Meeting 7-Board Meeting

12 1:00 pm Lunch Bunch

13 14

15 10:00-Sunday School 11:00 WORSHIP Noon--POTLUCK

16 President's Day

17 Shrove Tuesday Mardi Gras 7:00 pm Pancake feast 7:00 pm-Alanon

18 ASH WEDNESDAY

7-Ash Wednesday Service

19

20 11:30 Crafters

21 Wright Up articles DUE

22

1st Sunday of Lent 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 WORSHIP-NoonFellowship/coffee

23 24 7:00 pm-Alanon

25 7:00 pm Choir Reh.

26 6:00 pm Bench Community Supper

27 Wright 1's Sockeye TBA

28

The Wright Ups Wright Community Congregational Church United Church of Christ 4821 Franklin Rd Boise, Idaho 83705

Return Service Requested

February 2015 Vol. 2015 Issue 2

Contact us: Phone: 208.343.0292 e-mail: church @wrightucc.com web: wrightucc.com Ministers: All Of Us Pastor: Rev. Drew Terry Office Admin: Robin Canning Board Chair: Chuck Pond Organist: Ann Burkholder Moderator: Carl Van Slyke

10:00 Sunday School for all ages 11:00 Worship Noon: Fellowship Communion: 1st Sunday of each month Cry room available for restless little ones