The Wright Ups
OCTOBER 2017
Wright Community Congregational UCC 4821 Franklin Road
Boise, ID 83705
Office Hours Tuesday-Thursday 9am-Noon & 1:00pm-3:00pm (208) 343-0292
church.office@wrightucc.org
www.wrightucc.org
God is Still Speaking. Are We Listening? Last week I attended my first UCC Central Pacific Annual Conference with a fine group of Wright Church delegates. (John Thomas, Carl Van Slyke, Carol Rivers, Robin Canning, Chris Abend and myself) I heard our UCC motto “God is still speaking” spoken several times so I spent my time there listening for God’s voice. I’m sure I heard it
budget items, new programs and mission
in Rev. Molly’s sermon. She is our new
projects, new maintenance and building projects,
Conference Minister and is even newer to this
and people in the hospital. How can we help?
group than I am. Molly is inspirational, calming,
What can we do?
and preaches that we must change our narrative
We hear God’s voice in the news as we are
from “We are a dying church to look where God is
bombarded with disturbing headlines several
creating new life?” Yes! Look what God is creating
times a day. We hear anger, fear, and grief being
at Wright Church! We are alive and being
projected into our organizational structures such
recreated each day. God is still speaking to each
as our churches, schools, government,
of you and you are listening.
corporations, and even our sports leagues. God,
I also heard God speaking in the voices of those
how can we help? What can we do?
speaking up for the people of Palestine, Puerto
The world’s needs are overwhelming but God is
Rico, Mexico, Florida, Houston, and for LGBTQi
not asking any of us to save the world. That has
and racial concerns. How can we help? What can
already been accomplished. Our job is to be the
we do? I came home to a busy church buzzing
love of God and the hands and feet of Christ in
with talk about a new slate of nominees for board
whatever small way we can each day.
positions and committee chairs, new
continued next page
Continued.. If each of us could help in a small way, together we will help God in a big way. God is still speaking. Listen for God’s voice. Follow those holy whispers to offer love to someone who needs it and help the ones God places in front of us. I don’t think God is asking us to win any arguments today or prove someone else wrong. God is asking us to respond in love in whatever form that may take. God is still speaking. Are we listening? God, we are listening! Put us to work! Through Christ, Pastor Kathy
October Worship Schedule World Communion Sunday October 1 Preaching: Rev. Kathy Abend Lay Leader: Lois Taylor Communion Servers: Tom Eubanks, Deb Carlson, Lois Wade, Peggy Higgins, Marilyn Williams Greeters: Dale and Betty Ramsey Altar Flowers: John & Maxine Freeman Coffee Hosts: Dick & Natalie Thatcher
October 22 Preaching: Rev. Kathy Abend Lay Leader: Tom Eubanks Greeters: Teresa & Jim Staab Altar Flowers: Coffee Hosts: October 29 Preaching: Rev. Kathy Abend Lay Leader: Peggy Higgins Greeters: Karen Ash & Marilyn Williams Altar Flowers: Carl Van Slyke in honor of Carol Rivers birthday Coffee Hosts: Teresa Staab & Lois Taylor
October 8 Preaching: Rev. Kathy Abend Lay Leader: Dave McDonald Greeters: Chuck & Meredith Pond Altar Flowers: Coffee Hosts: Capshaws & Cards
October Ushers
October 15 Preaching: TBD Lay Leader: Deb Carlson Greeters: Dale & Mary Ellen Parsons Altar Flowers: Coffee Hosts: All Church Potluck-hosts Wright Ones
Frank Capshaw, Chris Abend, Dan VanderVeen and Will Patterson
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October Celebrations Birthdays: Oct. 2-Denise Steelman; Oct. 4-Jama Capshaw; Oct. 12 Glenda Randall; Oct. 27-Amelia McCown; Oct. 29-Carol Rivers Anniversaries: Oct. 6-Mike & Kim Smith; Oct. 9-Ron & Syl Apperson; Oct. 10-Howard & Nettie Adkins; Oct. 27-Phil & Jill Reed. If you would like to be included in our birthday or anniversary list please the office a call.
Pastor Kathy's October Schedule Pastor Kathy will be away from the office Oct. 10 thru Oct. 16. Office hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9-noon and 1-3:00.
Programming & Education Adult Sunday School continues in the Upper Room every Sunday at 10 a.m10:45am. The current study is Max Lucado’s “The Story of Heaven.” Books & Curriculum is available for a small fee. See Pam McDonald for more information.
Children's Sunday School every Sunday morning at 10:15 upstairs classroom. All children are encouraged to attend this fun and musical Sunday School class.
Tuesday Evening Bible Study from 7-8:15 pm in the Upper Room. This will be a 24-week comprehensive study of the Bible called Disciple Fast Track that is designed to walk people through the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The study will be cofacilitated by Pastor Kathy Abend and Greg Charlton. Carpooling will be available for anyone who doesn't drive at night.
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Fellowship Group News
Women's Fellowship Gatherings are the 1st Wednesday of each month – September through December and January through May at 1 pm in the church social hall. All ladies and their guests are welcome. Gentlemen are also welcome to join the ladies. No meetings are held June, July or August. A short business meeting is held, followed by a program and refreshments. October 4 –We will be preparing for the rummage sale. Tuesday evening at 6 pm set up racks and tables in prep for the rummage sale. Some muscles are needed (calling all strong arms) to help. Please contact Janice Aagaard if you need more details. October 6th & 7th – Fall Rummage sale (article below) November 1 – Aubrey Balfour will bring her song and experience of her singing tour in Europe this summer. December 6th – Christmas Luncheon. Location to be announced
Men's Fellowship Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 9:00am in the social hall is the date. We always encourage the ladies to join in. A light breakfast with juice and coffee is served. The program this month will be by John Thomas and David Gibson. We ask for a $5 donation to cover the food. Any extra goes into our “kitty” to use for a worthwhile project in the future. Call Tom Eubanks at 208 658 1217 for questions.
Lunch Bunch Thursday, October 12 at 1:00 everyone is welcome to meet at Famous Dave's, Eagle Road. This group gets together monthly to break bread and share fellowship, there is no program.
Wright Ones Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 pm the Wright Ones/Singles group is going to the Bird's of Prey Center. We will meet there at 1:30 and our own Jeff McElwee will give us a tour before a flight demonstration. For more information contact Carol Rivers or the office.
Crafty Characters Friday, Oct. 20 at 11:30 am in the social hall for a potluck lunch, (please bring something to share). Crafty hands will be preparing for the Bazaar on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 9 am. If you have any questions please contact Carol Rivers.
Lawn Mowing Crew Thank you!! It was a great season! Page 4
Mark Your Calendars Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, Kliner Park, 9:00 to Noon. Stacey Shegrud put together a team from Wright Church called "Let It Shine" for a 5K (3 mile) walk in the beautiful Kliner Park. To join the team or to donate go to: Click Here and select donate or register Questions - contact Stacey at staceyshegrud@gmail.com. Thank you for your support.
Woman's Fellowship Rummage Sale Friday, Oct 5th 9am-4pm & Saturday, Oct 6th 9am-Noon Help Needed Wednesday evening, Oct. 4 to set up racks and tables Thursday morning, Oct. 5 to sort and hang items beginning at 9am. Friday, Oct 5 and Saturday, Oct 6 - Keep tables organized and things hanging properly. Contact Janice Aagaard if you can lend a hand..
Saturday, October 21 from 9-4:00 pm Workers and donations are needed. There will be signup sheets available to workers. For donations of food and crafts please price them. Also the food items need a label of what is in it (ie; nuts, gluten free, etc.) Please, no refrigerated foods. The proceeds from the sale will go towards the new church roof. For more information contact: Carol Rivers or the church office.
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City Slickers Chuckwagon Dinner & Silent Auction October 7th, 6pm How You Can Help - Buy Tickets - Adopt a Skillet - Silent Auction Donation Contact Pam McDonald for donations and to volunteer
Special Entertainment by Old Time Fiddlers
Hall of Stars Many of you have mentioned you are not able to attend the events but want to support the effort. Consider becoming a member of the Hall of Stars by making a monetary donation. With your permission, a star in your honor will be hung in the Hall of Stars. Be sure to designate “Let It Shine� in the memo area of your check.
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Mark Your Calendars If you have someone in your life that has passed and you would like to recognize them on All Saints Day please give the name or names to Pastor Kathy for recognition during this special service.
All Saint's Day Sunday, October 29Â
Wright Church and the Central Bench Neighborhood association are joining forces to have a Trunk or Treat in our parking lot on Tuesday, Oct. 31 (Halloween) from 6 to 9:00 pm. We hope to fill the parking lot with decorated car trunks and costumed characters with candy for our little ones. If you are not able to attend the festivities you are welcome to donate a bag of candy. Please keep your trunk decorations family/kid friendly. We would appreciate not seeing blood, guts or gore!!
Sunday, October 15 following worship in the social hall is our monthly potluck. Please bring your favorite covered dish to share. This month's hosts are the Wright Ones. If you or your group would like to host a monthly potluck please contact Joan Wenske or put your name on the sign up list in the social hall. Set up and clean up is all that is needed.
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Potluck
Mark Your Calendars CBNA Cook-Off and Meeting On Monday, Oct. 23 at 6pm in the social hall Central Bench Neighborhood Assoc.will hold their quarterly meeting. They will kick off the meeting with a chili contest and meal. You are invited to bring your favorite chili (pre-cooked) and join in the fun. The business meeting will be a discussion on the Boise City Growth Plan and how it affects the central bench and surrounding areas. Have your voice heard regarding this plan. An election of officers will also be held. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 pm at Julia Davis Park. Joining forces with our sister church First Congregational UCC we at Wright Church are invited to join the UCC team of Boise. 25% of the donations will go to the Idaho Food Bank and 75% will go to Church World Services, which is a national organization whose projects support hungry people throughout the world. This year one of the projects is focusing on building latrines in Vietman. Let's follow Jesus's example of walking with and supporting the poor of the world. You can be part of the Hunger Crop Walk in some small way by donating or walking with our churches of Ada County. If you are interested please contact Carol Stirling of 1st Church at 208-908-7890 or Pastor Kathy
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Mark Your Calendars Walk for Huntington’s Disease October 14 at 2 PM, Veterans Memorial Park October is traditionally the time of year the Idaho Affiliate of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America schedules its largest fundraiser, the Team Hope Walk. Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a person’s physical and mental abilities during their prime working years and has no cure. HD is known as the quintessential family disease because every child of a parent with HD has a 50/50 chance of carrying the faulty gene. Today, there are 30,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 at-risk of inheriting the disease. I am Trevor Makinson, many of you know me and my wife, Jennifer. I haven’t met some of the newest members of our Congregation, but for those who don’t know us, our family is at risk for Huntington’s Disease, (HD). Jennifer’s mother passed away several years ago due to complications of HD. In addition, I have met many families due to my longtime involvement with the Support Group that Wright Church hosts. Even though it is very possible that our family won’t be affected by HD, I remain steadfast in my support for the families affected by HD and for finding the cure. I know we all have our own causes and passions for support and it seems like we are always collecting for one more project. If you feel called to support the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, (HDSA), you can sponsor me or Jennifer for the Walk to be held on October 14 by simply giving by check or cash to HDSA and share it when you do your regular offering. If you prefer you can go to my fundraiser page, click here or copy into your browser https://hdsa.donordrive.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=36412.
We are always in need of your help with non-perishable food items and hygiene items. Please help when you can.
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In Other News
Book Club The Book Club meets on the first Thursday of each month at 1:00 pm in the church library. All are welcome to come, enjoy a cup of tea, a snack and an interesting discussion. October 5- "Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult November 2 and December 7 – The Christmas Box Collection by Richard Paul Evans. Includes 3 books: The Christmas Box; Timepiece; and The Letter. There is a book that contains all three stories but the library shows them as individual books. If you have any question please give Carol Card a call.
Church Library The Church Library is featuring a book from the library each month. The featured book is posted on the Wright Church's website library page. The featured book is on a stand on the table in the library and can be checked out. The books featured will be a variety of non-fiction, biographies, or fiction. The current featured book is Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer by Max Lucado. Last month’s book was Strata by Howard E. Adkins. Howard Adkins is Meredith Pond's father. These books and many more can be checked from the church library.
Neighbors In Need of Offering The Neighbors in Need offering will be taken the first Sunday in October which is October 1st. This annual offering is one of the special missions offerings that the UCC takes that allows congregations and individuals to meet people at points of critical needs in their lives. This offering of the UCC supports ministries that address poverty, economic development, human rights, peacemaking, violence, racial and economic justice, environmental concerns, and public policy advocacy. This special mission offering makes a positive impact on areas where critical human needs exist. Neighbors in Need supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States and abroad. I thank you in advance for supporting this Neighbors in Need annual offering.
Global Missions Project I would also like to thank everyone who donated to the Global Missions Project so that we could put together school kits to be delivered to those in need. The kits were put together with the help of the children’s Sunday School and several adults. This was a great project and we have been able to make 30 school kits. I am in the process of applying for the UCC matching grant. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a success.
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Volunteer
1510.5 Hours and Counting... Thank you!! Bench Supper
Thursday, Oct. 26 at 6:00 pm, helpers needed. Signup sheet will be available for your helping hands. This is a homemade hot meal including dessert and beverage which we offer to folks from all over the valley. The supper's costs are between $100.00 to $150.00 per month depending on the menu and we serve between 60 and 100 people. If you are unable to come help prepare or serve you can participate by donating financially. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated. Please mark your checks "Bench Supper. If you should have any questions please contact Janice Aagaard.
Sunday Coffee Hosts Please don't be shy. Duties are making the coffee and punch (no red punch please), suppling a treat/goodie, setting it up and clean up. If you have any questions about being a coffee host please speak to Joan Wenske. Sign up sheets are in the social hall.
Altar Flowers Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board at the bottom of the stairs near the social hall. You have a wonderful choice. You may bring you own arrangement of flowers or you can pay the church $20 and a member of our diaconate will supply them for you. Then you take them home to enjoy. Please be sure to check the appropriate box when signing up.
Potluck Hosts .It's really easy to be a potluck host. Set out plates, utensils, and napkins. Put salt and pepper on the tables, make coffee, juice and setting out the foods near the end of worship. We encourage committee's or groups to sign up for this once a month all church event. Don't forget to log your volunteer hours with a volunteer hour sheet located at the office window. Please return to the office at month end. Thank you in advance for everything you do for Wright Church
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Church Business Treasurer's Report August 2017 General Fund Income $ 9,736.13 General Fund Expenses 10,693.71 Increase (Decrease) ($957.58) Special Fund Expenses Income $ 4,800.50 Spent 718.34 Ruby Oliason Special Fund Used (2017) $ 0.00 Total Change for Month $ 4,082.16
YTD $83,592.71 64,203.08 $19,389.63
Budget $91,960.00 91,935.00 $ 25.00
$14,479.86 19,747.84 7,500.00 12,767.98
Website and e-mail address Please change your address books to the new e-mail address: church.office@wrightucc.org Web Site: www.wrightucc.org ..\By-Laws and Constitution
Open Positions for Board of Directors and Diaconate There are open positions on our Board of Directors and Diaconate team for 2018. If you are interested in what positions are open and where your talents would be greatly appreciated please contact Mary Ellen Parsons, our Ministry of Volunteer's Chair. To check out the duties of these positions you can go to our website: www.wrightucc.org and link to the By-laws and Constitution for a description of the positions.
Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday, October 18 at 7:00 pm in the social hall. If you are a committee chair your presence is requested. Everyone is welcome.
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Food & Hygiene Pantry Thank you to all for your generous donations to our food pantry. We need help keeping the pantry stocked. A suggestion sheet is on the cupboard door. Our pantry gets heavy use during our Bench Suppers. Thank you for being a generous church!
Franklin Park Ground Breaking On Monday, Oct. 23 at 11:00 in the south west area of the old Franklin School ground breaking will happening d for the new Franklin Park. Everyone is invited to this exciting event.
• HOW EXCITING •
New Faces DON'T FORGET YOUR NAME TAG!
No name tag. No problem. Fill out a pew card and find yours in the name tag holder at the top of the stairs.
Wright Up Articles Due Due in the office on or before Monday, Oct 23. Please and thank you.
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The Wright Ups Wright Community Congregational Church United Church of Christ 4821 Franklin Road Boise, ID 83705 Return Service Requested October 2017 Vol. 2017 Issue 10
Phone: 208.343.0292 email: church.office@wright ucc.org web: www.wirghtucc.org Ministers: All of Us Pastor: Rev. Kathy Abend Office Admin: Robin Canning Board Chair: Chuck Pond Organist: Ann Burkholder Pianist and Worship Designer: Whitney Katz Moderator: Carl Van Slyke
We are Joyfully an Open and Affirming Church
10:00 Adult Sunday School 10:15 Children's Sunday School 11:00 Worship Noon: Fellowship Communion: 1st Sunday of each month Nursery & Young Childcare Available