At the Feb. 3^rd meeting at 6:00 pm, we will be honoring pastors who participate with the Rio Rancho Police Department as chaplains.  We want to recognize their service to our community here in Rio Rancho.  Clergy Appreciation Week is an international project of Civitan International.  This project was inspired by the story of the Four Chaplains.  On February 3^rd, 1943, four military chaplains—a Methodist minister, a Catholic priest, and Reformed minister and a Jewish rabbi—sacrificed their lives in service to others on board the USS Dorchester.  The troop transport ship, in route to Greenland, was hit by a torpedo.  The four chaplains removed their own life jackets to give to other passengers and locked arms in prayer for the safety of others as the ship submerged into the icy waters. The speaker will be Pastor Jeff Carr, from the Mesa Baptist Church.  He is one of over a dozen pastors who support the community in assisting the RRPD. 

At the Feb. 17^th meeting at 6:00 pm, the speaker will be Melanie Templet, from the Rio Rancho Astronomical Society.  She will be highlighting the facilities available at Rainbow Park Observatory as well as ideas on how to enhance your own personal astronomical interests, including going down the street to Loma Colorado Libraryand borrowing a telescope to take home.