Why Do We Celebrate Valentine s Day?

Transcription

1 Community Congregational Church United Church of Christ P.O. Box 762 McCall, ID Website: mccallucc.org Rev. Charlottie Havlicak, Pastor February 2019 Volume XXVIII Number 2 Why Do We Celebrate Valentine s Day? Valentine s Day, celebrated annually on February 14, originated as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus. Valentine s Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country. Stories associated with various Valentines connected to February 14 include a written account of Saint Valentine of Rome s imprisonment for performing weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge, and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed Your Valentine as a farewell. The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey (Continued on Page 5).

2 Pastor s Writings Precious Lord, We Serve In Your Name Our Annual Meeting was held on January 20 following worship and we had a good group of members and friends stay for the meeting. Our Moderator, Mark Robinson, led us through the business portion of the meeting. Mark Robinson, serving as Treasurer to finish out Bobbi Hoover s term as Treasurer, reported that we finished the year 2018 in a good position. Bob Hallock then presented the budget for the coming year. All those in attendance then approved this budget. The slate of officers for 2019 was elected by acclamation. If you were not able to attend our Annual Meeting and would like a copy of our Annual Report, please call the church office. After the meeting, we all joined together in the fellowship hall for a bountiful potluck meal. My heart is touched by your faithfulness to the life and work of our church family. It was my privilege and joy this past Sunday to install our officers for the coming year, and I look forward to sharing leadership with each one of you. Mark Robinson was elected to another term as Moderator; we welcomed one new Trustee, Phil Reberger, and a new Deacon, Karen Nelson. Linda Corder was elected to serve as our new Treasurer. Because of each one of you and your dedication to this congregation, we look forward to another awesome year together. Our Spring Social will be held on April 14 at Pilgrim Cove Camp, immediately following worship. This was a fun, well-attended social last year and the Deacons voted to host this social again this year. Plans are being made and we will announce more details later. Please mark this date on your calendar and plan to attend. I have been thinking about how important it is for each one of us to know that we are loved and appreciated for who we are. Valentine s Day was created as a day to show all those we love how important they are in our lives. I love each one of you and our loving God doesn t need a special day to tell us how much we are loved. Every day God proclaims to us, I love you. God knows the beginning and ending of our days. God cares about every aspect of our lives. God be with you as we move through this busy month. Along with everything else that is happening, don t forget to come to worship each Sunday.

3 February Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday :45 a.m. Worship Communion 4 12 noon Women s 5 7 p.m. Practice 6 7 7:30 a.m. Men s Breakfast & :45 a.m. Worship 6 p.m. Second Sunday Six noon Women s 12 7 p.m. Practice a.m. Trustees 14 7:30 a.m. Men s Breakfast & :45 a.m. Worship noon Women s 6:30 p.m. Community a.m. Quilting Group 7 p.m. Practice a.m. Quilting Group 21 7:30 a.m. Men s Breakfast & 10:30 a.m. Deacons Presidents Day 24 10:45 a.m. Worship noon Women s 6:30 p.m. Community 26 7 p.m. Practice :30 a.m. Men s Breakfast &

4 Let s Get Acquainted Will, Stephanie and Warren Day Will Day was born and raised in Boise, graduating from Timberline High School. Following his graduation, he moved to Homer, Alaska, where he lived with his aunt and uncle for a year. He worked on a halibut fishing boat and in construction. After a year up north Will moved to San Francisco where he attended junior college for two years, playing basketball at Skyline College. Will then received a basketball scholarship to Montana State University-Billings, so moved to Billings, Montana. He attended MSU- Billings for two years, graduating with a bachelor s degree in liberal arts. Upon his college graduation, Will returned home to Boise, where he realized the careers he was really interested in would require an engineering degree, so he enrolled in Boise State University and studied mechanical engineering. Stephanie grew up in the small town of Lake Stevens, Washington, and graduated from high school there. She then attended Montana State University- Billings on a soft- ball scholarship. She earned her degree in elementary education from MSU-Billings. It was while in Montana State that Will and Stephanie met and they got married in 2006, the year after Stephanie graduated. The couple moved to Poulsbo, Washington, in the Seattle area and Will transferred to the University of Washington, where he received a degree in (Continued on Page 5)

5 Will, Stephanie and Warren Day (Continued from Page 4) mechanical engineering. While in college, he worked as an intern at a company that then offered him a position upon his graduation. Stephanie worked as an elementary school teacher until Warren was born in 2012, at which time she opted to become a stay-at-home mom. In 2013, Will was looking to change careers, so got his teaching credential for high school math and science. The family relocated to McCall where Will accepted a position teaching math and physics. Having grown up in Boise, Will had spent a lot of time in McCall, but Stephanie had never been here. However, it was love at first sight for her. She likes having all four seasons and living in a small town especially being able to walk everywhere, with no long car drives or traffic to contend with. Will taught high school for three years in McCall, but decided he didn t feel tough enough for the job. Stephanie stayed home with Warren until 2015, then founded Roots Forest School, an outdoor preschool designed for children ages 18 month - 5 years, located at Ponderosa State Park. Will is currently employed by Randy Acker Tree Service seasonally and during the winter is learning the plumbing trade. Warren is now six years old and attends first grade at Barbara Morgan Elementary. His favorite subject in school is art and he is enjoying his first year playing on a basketball team. While walking by, Will saw McCall Community Congregational United Church of Christ. At first he was impressed by the building and architecture and decided to try it out. He says the first time he came in, it just seemed like the right thing. When Stephanie attended with Will, she was excited that everyone was so warm and friendly. Warren enjoys coming to Sunday School class. We are so glad that they have decided to make this their church home and to have them as part of our church family. Valentine s Day (Continued from Page 1) Chaucer in the 14 th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18 th -century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionary, and sending greeting cards. Valentine s Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19 th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In Europe, Saint Valentine s Keys are given to lovers as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver s heart. --From Wikipedia 6

6 New Officers Installed A special ceremony was held during the worship service on Sunday, January 27, to install the newly elected church officers. This was also a time to honor those officers who were retiring for their years of service. The officers who were installed are Mark Robinson, Moderator; Linda Corder, Treasurer; Marge Krahn, Financial Secretary, assisted by Mark Robinson; Linda Hallock, Deacon Chair; Marilyn Krahn, Teresa Mapp, Jet Johnson, Karen Nelson, Helen Moore, Dixie Johnson, and Pat Thompson, Deacons; Bob Hallock, Trustee Chair; Tom Mapp, David McQuade, Tom Henderson, Gary Thompson, and Phil Reberger, Trustees. Those officers who are retired are Barbara Hershberger and Linda Corder, Deacons; Kermit Peterson, Historian; and Bobbi Hoover, Treasurer. We are very grateful and proud of those folks who are willing to give of their time and talents to the church and serve so faithfully. New Coffee Host Procedures The board of deacons has requested instituting a new policy with regard to coffee host duties each Sunday. Beginning this January, the church will provide cookies which will be considered the food fare for fellowship time. Coffee hosts need to attend to the preparation of coffee, tea, and table water and prepare the food table with napkins and cookies. The cookies are in tins and multiple tins are located in the brides room just off the hall near the kitchen. No other food is suggested other than cookies. We will, of course, have more elaborate food fare on special occasions such as our annual meeting, the Children s Christmas program, and other specially designated occasions. The deacon board hopes this new policy will simplify the coffee host duties and make it feasible for more church members to participate in hosting coffee hour/fellowship time on Sunday.

7 Trebelle To Perform The featured artists for the February Second Sunday Six recital will once again be the trio Trebelle. The group previously performed in 2013 and This year s concert will be titled Chaminade, Chopin and...schoenfield! Trebelle is a combination of the Italian words tre (three) and belle (the plural form of the word beauty). Trebelle members, violinist Jennifer Dunn, cellist Heidi Nagel, and pianist Robyn Wells, first decided to form a piano trio when the collaborated on Robyn s CD, Hymns, Songs and Spirituals. The group made its debut in February 2012, and has been presenting concerts throughout the Treasure Valley ever since. The concert will be held at McCall Community Congregational United Church of Christ on Sunday, February 10, at 6 p.m. There is no charge for the performance but donations are welcomed. Birthday Greetings... February 1 February 2 February 4 February 6 February 7 February 10 February 12 February 15 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 February 24 February 27 February 28 Candice DeGuilio Nickie Coil Helen Moore Dr. Scott Harris Janice Reinhard Paul DeSchryver Tom Robin Harris Lew Keys Kirsten Wiking Robert Gearhardt Rob Blackmon Bev Henderson Wes Rhoades Nancy Harris Brandon Henggeler Kathy Mertz Del Dodd Matthew Henggeler Judd DeBoer Shala Wilder Ron Coil Kate Anderson Fiona Dendler Charla Havlicak Aura Simmie Loving is not just looking at each other, it s looking in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Happy Anniversary February 2 Brian & Toni Cororan February 4 Ron & Nickie Coil February 10 Tom & Bev Henderson February 14 John & Nancy Grove Ron & Priscilla Walker February 18 David & Tamara Kam

8 McCall Community Congregational Church United Church of Christ P.O. Box 762 McCall, ID 83638