Inside this issue: F I R S T U N I T E D P R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U RC H N A M P A, I DA H O MARCH 2018

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1 F I R S T U N I T E D P R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U RC H N A M P A, I DA H O Nampa First United Presbyterian Church Purpose Statement To bring people together to love and magnify God through worship, to minister to the needs of all His children, to fellowship in God's family, to spread the Good News, and to develop people to Christ-like maturity for their mission in the world. Office Hours Monday - Friday 9:00am -1:00pm Office firstpresnampa@gmail.com Website: Phone: (208) Fax: (208) Pastor Aaron Berkowitz alb733@gmail.com Phone: Pastor s Office Hours Mondays & Thursdays 10:30am -1:00pm MARCH 2018 Inside this issue: Pastor s Message 2 One Great Hour of Sharing 2 General Fund Activity 3 Session/Deacons Highlights 3 Book Suggestion 3 Birthdays & Anniversaries 4 Nursery News 4 Movie Night 4 PW Spring Gathering 4 Youth Activities 5 Women s Retreat 5 Camp Dates 5 Community Lenten Services 5 Kids Page 6 Calendar of Events 7

2 Page 2 Erotic Desire and the Song of Songs Lately I have been thinking about the Song of Songs, or The Song of Solomon, as it is sometimes titled. I thought about it on Valentines day, because Ash Wednesday came with it. Song of Songs is about romantic love and erotic passion. For that reason, the book has caused much embarrassment among pious Jews and Christians who find it unseemly. I thought about it again as I was teaching the Old Testament for Seminary Without Walls, a free educational program for lay people who want to serve the Presbyterian Church as leaders and preachers. Questions came up about the purpose of the book in the Bible. It is so sexual, so worldly. The couple whose love animates the book is not even married, but in the stages of courtship. We might say they are dating. One lesson to take from the book is that sexual desire, erotic love, and physical passion have a place in Christian life. They are good. Can they be abused? Yes. But are they to be ashamed of? Certainly not. One of the ways churches have dealt with the Song of Songs is by making it into allegory. That means that the lovers in the book are really metaphors for God and human beings. In one sense, this reading is almost certainly false. If you think of Scripture as conveying the original intent of the person who wrote it, then this reading of Song of Songs is flat out wrong. But the ancient Christian Fathers had two kinds of ways to read the Bible, literal, and spiritual. One of the spiritual ways of reading was allegory, where God, as the author of Scripture, also communicated spiritual truths alongside the literal sense. If all of this sounds academic, here is a beautiful passage from Gregory of Nyssa, one of the greatest Christian church fathers, talking about how human erotic desire in the Song of Songs teaches us about our limitless desire for God: It is just as if you could see that spring which Scripture tells us rose from the earth at the beginning in such quantities that it watered the entire face of the earth (Gen. 2:10 ff.). As you came near the spring you would marvel, seeing that the water was endless, as it constantly gushed up and poured forth. Yet you could never say that you had seen all the water. How could you see what was still hidden in the bosom of the earth? Hence no matter how long you might stay at the spring, you would always be beginning to see the water. For the water never stops flowing, and it is always beginning to bubble up again. It is the same with one who fixes his gaze on the infinite beauty of God. It is constantly being discovered anew, and it is always seen as something new and strange in comparison with what the mind has already understood. And as God continues to reveal Himself, man continues to wonder; and he never exhausts his desire to see more, since what he is waiting for is always more magnificent, more divine, than all that he has already seen. Gregory Of Nyssa Commentary on Song of Songs, Homily 11 - Rev. Aaron Berkowitz One Great Hour of Sharing The Lenten season is a time when we try to give up something, change a behavior, or spend more time in prayer and study that helps us to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made to redeem all of us. It is also a time when we are asked to participate in the One Great Hour of Sharing. The One Great Hour of Sharing has three major areas: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Works alongside communities as they recover and find hope after the devastation of natural or human-caused disasters, and support for refugees Presbyterian Hunger Program Takes action to alleviate hunger, care for creation, and the systemic causes of poverty so all may be fed Self-Development of People Invests in Communities responding to their experiences of oppression, poverty and injustice and educates Presbyterians about the impact of these issues. In the weeks ahead you will see more information about the One Great Hour of Sharing. May God Bless you all for the wonderful support you give to the annual requests for donations. -The Mission Committee

3 General Fund Financial Activity Revenue to date $27, Page 3 Expenses to date $34, Difference -$7, March 23, 2018 Session Highlights February 20, 2018 At its regular meeting on February 20, 2018, Session: elected Karen Lolley to the position of Disbursing Treasurer, a job she will perform during her regular secretarial hours. approved a membership change for 15 members who have been inactive for more than two years and have not responded to invitations to participate again. applauded the Personnel committee s review of staff files with plans to conduct regular evaluations. welcomed the report that the committee to search for a youth director has begun its work. approved the acquisition of a credit card for regularly recurring charges and asked the finance committee to create a spending policy for the next Session meeting. The next meeting will be Tuesday, March 20th at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Linda Zornik, Clerk of Session Deacons report February 5, 2018 The Deacons account shows a current balance of $3, Pastor Aaron reported concerns for members of the congregation who are hospitalized, experiencing health concerns, or dealing with life changes. The birthday list was reviewed, corrected, and completed. The parishes have successfully been consolidated from 12 to 10. Pastor Aaron is planning a study session centered on C.S. Lewis book, A Grief Observed. The Deacons voted to purchase copies of the book for those registering for the class. The next meeting will be Monday, March 5th at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Frederiksen, Secretary Book Suggestion from Pastor Aaron Many people in our congregation are excited about this book. The Christian Education Committee is reading it, the search team for hiring a Director of Student Ministry is reading it, and our Couples Bible Study is reading it. Sometimes it is good to follow the crowd. Our church is going to be talking about this book for years to come as we strive to attract new people to our wonderful church. This book is based on sound research. It explains the ideas, programs, attitudes, and strategy that is actually working in churches across the nation. One of the things that is most valuable, is to start thinking about young people not in terms of what we can do for them, and why we need them, but what we offer to them, their parents, and their grandparents. The reason we want youth is not because youth are more important to us, but because the church is important to them, with its gospel of Jesus as Lord and Savior, and its multigenerational wisdom!

4 Page 4 3/05 Dorothy Horn 3/06 Shirley Horrace 3/07 Taylor Decker 3/09 Mark Dion 3/09 Natasha Hendrix 3/10 Dale Ober 3/10 Tanner Larimer 3/11 Mackenzie Brown 3/11 Bob Potter 3/13 Bruce Freeman 3/15 Yvonne Miller You re Invited! 3/17 Pat Bennett 3/18 Donna Bowlus 3/19 Maurice Woodard 3/20 Charlene Baltzor 3/21 Tom Hamilton 3/22 Scott Hamilton 3/22 Mike Stafford 3/23 Marlene Morrison 3/24 Pauline Lewis 3/26 Ann Guzman You re Invited to Charlene Baltzor s 90th Birthday Open House on Sunday, March 18th from 2:00-4:00 PM in the fellowship hall at the church. 3/13 D.J. Swanson 3/29 Kaleb Larimer 3/30 Jaya Berkowitz Movie Night The next movie night will be Saturday, March 24th at 5:30 PM. The movie is Darkest Hour and will be available at Redbox. Watch the movie ahead of time and then bring a potluck dish to share, your own table service and beverage and join in the discussion and fellowship. WHO Needs You? WHO is looking for you? WHO needs your help? WHO wants to serve others in the community? WHO is hoping that you are the one! W(omen) H(elping) O(thers) is organizing here at church to be of service to our Nampa community by: Finding out more about the needs of the local Nampa Family Shelter. Working with the Salvation Army and others to provide much needed consistent volunteer hours to homeless assistance. Save the Date Presbyterian Women in the Boise Presbytery will have a Spring Gathering on Saturday, April 14th here at Nampa First United Presbyterian Church with co-host Putting Christ s mandate to help others to work in a visible way. WHO would be interested in giving a few hours a month in this way? WHO invites you to sign the list on the table in the narthex if you would like to make a tour of the Nampa Family Shelter to see what great things are happening there and how you can be a part of it. By the way, notice that in the name Women Helping Others there is also the hidden but very necessary inclusion of the word men. WHO needs you, too! Southminster Presbyterian Church. Registration will begin at 9:30 AM. The theme is Love Makes the World Go Round. Watch for more details coming soon. Nursery Thank you to our nursery volunteers who helped in February! Paul & Shawna Anderson Sandi Kurtz Ann Gentry Sarah Berkowitz Here is the nursery schedule for March. 3/4: Shirley Horrace 3/11: Gary & Barbara Hindman 3/18: Matt & Jaci Johnson 3/25: Willard Kneidl

5 Christian Education Update It s been another busy month for Christian Ed & Youth Programming! Sunday school continues right along, thanks to our AMAZING congregation of volunteers. Our February volunteers were Shirley Horrace & Ed Cisek and we thank them for their wonderful service! Also, starting in March there will be a change to our 6 th -12 th grade Sunday School class. The first Sunday of each month we will be cancelling the older youth class so that our older youth can experience the worship service and communion. Our younger class however, (PreK- 5 th grade) will continue to meet every week. In February the Youth Group & Presby Kids Club met at the church to make Valentine s for the congregation and to play Minute to Win It games and our second meeting was an outing to Urban Air Adventure Park in Meridian. This was a fun location with trampolines, a zip line, laser tag, glow -in-the-dark mini golf, and a rock climbing wall. The kids had a great time jumping and the adults had a great time watching! In March we have planned a day at the church to talk about prayer and Page 5 another day of swimming at the Rec Center. Thank you to everyone that has donated passes to this event! Camp Sawtooth Sunday will be on March 11 th this year so make sure to wear your camp T-shirts to church! Also on March 11 th, our adult education program has planned a mini study during coffee hour where discussion questions will be available on every table relating to that day s sermon scripture. Christian Ed will also host a soup lunch that day so please plan to join us! Also coming up is our annual Easter Egg Hunt after the service on April 1 st and we are once again asking the congregation to donate mini-sized wrapped candy (mini candy bars, starbursts, etc.) for the eggs. There will be a basket in the back of the church if you would like to donate. Lastly, VBS planning is well under way so we hope you reserve June 11 th -14 th on your summer calendars! If you are interested in volunteering for VBS please contact Sarah Berkowitz or Tiffany Neely. Women s Retreat Coming in August! Our favorite Joey Mills has agreed to provide leadership for a women s retreat here in Nampa this summer! This will be a oneday retreat on August 25, The theme is Listening to God. Additional details will follow, but please flip ahead to August and put a big circle around that Saturday. You really won t want to miss a day with Joey, listening to what God may is telling us Camp Dates 5 th & 6 th Grade / June rd & 4 th Grade / July th & 8 th Grade / July th & 10 th Grade / July th & 12 th Grade / July Soup Supper at 6:00 PM and Service at 7:00 PM Thursday, March 1: Thursday, March 8: Thursday, March 15: Thursday, March 22: Nampa First Presbyterian Church 400 Lake Lowell Ave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints, West Stake Roosevelt Ave. Nampa United Church of Christ 55 S. Midland Blvd. Nampa Southside Boulevard Methodist Church 5420 Southside Blvd.

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7 4 3rd Sunday in Lent 11 4th Sunday in Lent 18 5th Sunday in Lent 25 Palm Sunday 29 Maundy Thursday 30 Good Friday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 8:45a Bible Study 10:00a Worship-Communion 10:15a Sunday School 11:30a Youth Group & Presby Kids Club Daylight Savings Time Begins 8:45a Bible Study 10:00a Worship-Camp Sawtooth Sunday 10:15a Sunday School 11:30a Soup Devotion Fellowship 8:45a Bible Study 10:00a Worship 10:15a Sunday School 11:30a Youth Group & Presby Kids Club 2:00p Charlene Baltzor 90th Birthday Open House 8:45a Bible Study 10:00a Worship 10:15a Sunday School 11:30a Christian Ed Meeting 5 7:00p Boy Scouts 7:00p Deacons 12 9:00a Worship Committee 7:00p Boy Scouts 19 Community Shelter Meal 7:00p Boy Scouts 26 7:00p Boy Scouts 6 10:00a PW meeting 6:00p Community Dinner 6:00p Youth Director Search committee 13 6:00p Community Dinner 20 6:00p Community Dinner 6:00p Youth Director Search committee 7:00p Session meeting 27 6:00p Community Dinner 7 6:00p Bell choir 7:00p Chancel choir 14 6:00p Bell choir 7:00p Chancel choir 21 6:00p Bell choir 7:00p Chancel choir 28 6:00p Bell choir 7:00p Chancel choir 1 6:00p Lenten Soup Supper 7:00p Lenten Service 8 10:00a Brunch Bunch 6:00p Bible Study :00p Seder meal Half-Link Deadline 10 9:00a Jr. Jammers The Link Deadline 24 7:00p Service 2:00p Betty Pearson Memorial Service 5:309 Movie Night Darkest Hour 31

8 400 Lake Lowell Avenue Nampa, ID If this publication is no longer needed, please notify the church office. F I R S T U N I T E D P R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U R C H February February February February