Happy Thanksgiving to all our TRUU members and friends! I hope you all will be with friends and/ or family this holiday, while Chris and I will be in Oklahoma, where my 93-year-old mother is expecting 31 people for Thanksgiving dinner! For 16 years, we’ve been saying, “We have to go this year—it could be the last one.” That card keeps getting played, and it’s still taking tricks!
We have so much to be thankful for at TRUU: Stephan Papa, who has been an inspiration and a gift to our leadership and our congregation; our hard-working Board of Trustees, including Kathy Feinsinger, Bill Spence, Nicolette Toussaint, Pat Seydel, Trina Haines, Mark Kloster, and yours truly. All the many volunteers who provide us with coffee and snacks (special shout-out to the indefatigable Mia Williams) each Sunday; the wonderful Worship Committee, headed by Barbara Palmer: the Caring Committee (you know who you are!); the irrepressible Mason Ingram (just TRY to get past him, or leave without turning in your nametag!) and all the welcomers; the Mike and Cathy Schermer Team, without whom, nothing would ever happen; Jimmy ”The Piano Man” Byrne, our awesome Music Director, and Heather Rydell, our great R.E. Director; John Palmer and Bruce Wampler, who have forced us to stay cyber-savvy, dragging us by the hair into the 21st century; Cathy Schermer (again and again!) and her Membership Committee; another shout-out to Mike Schermer, who produced an amazing TRUU BFF Fundraiser and keeps the Circle Suppers organized; Trina Haines and Judy Feinsinger for the great website and weekly newsletter (really, you all should try reading it!); the loving people who provide food for the homeless at Extended Table; Amy Barr and Trina Haines, who put “the word” out there for the rest of the world to see; and all of you who could and should be named, who have contributed your time, your money, and your love to the greater mission of TRUU. I am humbled and grateful for all that you do! If you were not personally listed above, please know that the list is just too long, and that all you contribute is received with great appreciation.
Please note: the offering from last Sunday, dedicated to the victims of the hurricane in the Philippines, totaled $515, and it will all be sent to the UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) to directly benefit that cause. Thank you for your generosity! This is what we do best: loving the brethren.
Pledges! So hard to believe, but this year is close to being over. Remember, TRUU relies on your support, so please fulfill those pledges that you made last spring. If you’ve been meaning to pledge but haven’t, it’s not too late!
Coming up:
Rev. Papa will return to the Calaway Room on Dec. 8. You won’t want to miss the mini-drama that day, presented by the talented team of Haines & Toussaint!
Our Third Annual Winter Solstice Celebration is scheduled for Dec. 21, so please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Actually, plan to do more than attend—plan to help in any way you can. You can contribute by helping decorate, bringing food, working as greeters, being on the ever-popular cleanup team, and in other ways. This event transcends TRUU, reaching out into the community at large, as we celebrate the passing of the shortest day of the year and the entrance into the season of light.
From myself and all of your Board of Trustees: Happy Thanksgiving!
Yours TRUUly,
Sue Coyle