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Maine Conference Newsletter
March 02, 2016
 


 

Please Keep the following Family's in your thoughts and prayers while they celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

Rev. Ronald Mosley
of Marietta Ga., and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia died Thursday, January 28, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Priscilla Mosley of Marietta, GA.  Children: Professor Ronald A. Mosley Jr., J. D., University of Maine Machias; Professor Gordon G. Mosley, D.B.A., Troy University, AL and Katherine E. (Mosley) Mills, Lafayette, IN
  
George P Hobart
 
Please keep Rev. Deborah Breault, Interim Pastor of First Congregational Church in Blue Hill, and her family in your prayers at the loss of her father George P Hobart of Trumbull, CT
Mr. Hobart passed away on Monday Evening, February 29, 2016. 
Arrangements will be announce as we receive them
  
Mary Johnston (Moody) Small

Please keep Rev. Marcia Charles, pastor of the Blue Point Congregational Church in Scarborough, her siblings and extended family and friends, in your thoughts and prayers at the loss of Marcia's Mother who passed away on February 25, 2016

A memorial service and burial will be announced at a later date. To access full obituary, please Click Here.
  
Rev. Meredith "Jerry" Handspicker
Retired pastor, Jerry Handspicker died on Sunday night, February 28. We are told he had a gentle and quiet passing in the presence of his wife, Deb.  
Ordained in 1957, he had served several churches and been a Professor at the Andover Newton Theological School before retiring to Bennington, Vermont. Here in Vermont Jerry would consult and did Interim Ministry. He also created the "Covenant for Dialogue" that the Vermont Conference Annual Meeting uses as our rule for orderly conversation.
 
Information about times and dates for remembrances or celebrations of his life is pending.
  
Step by Step Instructions

5 MORE DAYS
DATA COLLECTION STOPS
MARCH 7TH


All Data Collection will be Done Online
There are NO paper forms this year

PLEASE READ ALL THESE INSTRUCTIONS
For easier entry, have your numbers ready before you log into the data base.
You can find screen shots of the tabs and fields you will be providing amounts for at this link
Great!  You are now ready to log into the database
Step 1: Log into the Data Hub by clicking the link below
Enter your Church number
All Maine Conference Church numbers start with 28 (this is our conference number)
You find your four digit church number at the link below
You church number will look like 28####
Your password is defaulted to password (unless you have already gone into the data hub this year and changed it)
The Data Hub will ask you to change the password immediately after logging in (again unless you have already done that this year)
Step 2: Entering the numbers
In front of you should be the templates you printed out with the numbers you wrote in.
Go to the Membership Tab and click "Add New Membership Year Data"
Enter the numbers in the corresponding fields and click the "calculate" button.
Once this is done, click the "add" button at the bottom of the screen you have just entered all the numbers to
You will repeat this step on the following tabs:
1. Membership
2. Attendance
(no calculate button)
3. Financial
(no calculate button)
4. Ministerial Support
(no calculate button)
Step 3: Log out of the Data Hub
YOU ARE DONE!!
If you have additional questions please refer to the link below, if after that, you still have questions please feel free to call me or e-mail me. 
207-622-3100
Please Do Not Call the National Office with questions.
I hope this will clear up any confusion you might have.
Peace, Beth
 

  
Come on up to Pilgrim Lodge on Saturday, April 30 (and Friday the 29th if you can). We have much to do this year as we shift things around in light of the new construction. Bring your friends, family, church members, and have a fun time helping PL launch into the 2016 season. Details are available here: http://www.pilgrimlodge.org/adultwork.html 
.

In the Resource Center!

Weird Church by Beth Ann Estock and Paul Nixon
In the post-Christendom era, the institutional church just isn't what it used to be. But don't give up hope for the future of faith. Weird Church offers church leaders a clear vision of what's coming next, so long as they're willing to live into a few critical shifts. Utilizing Spiral Dynamics as a means of framing the current changes in North American culture, Nixon and Estock give a thrilling forecast of where the church is going as we race toward the mid-century. This book is a wake-up call for those who still think church revitalization is simply a matter of doing better the things that used to come so easily. A must-read for anybody who is designing Christian ministry for the new world that is rapidly emerging around us.
 
The search page for the online catalog is now available on the Maine Conference website and the Library cart is now working, or you can send requests to [email protected] or call 1-800-244-0937 or 207-622-3100. Please be aware that once you enter a search item you will be taken to a page that says "Grace Presbytery" in the upper left hand corner. You are in the right place. This is our catalog web host.
  
For Information Regarding this training and registration, please click below

Central Atlantic churches step up support for One Great Hour of Sharing 

Written by Anthony Moujaes
 

Each year, donations to One Great Hour of Sharing are used to transform lives around the planet. Of the 38 conferences that make up the United Church of Christ, the congregations of one in particular, the Central Atlantic Conference, have been steadfast supporters of the annual offering.
 

  
Mission Center for displaced peoples attacked in Philippines
By on February 26, 2016

WHAT THEY COULD NOT DO IN THE LIGHT OF DAY,
THEY DO SO UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS
A Pastoral Letter
February 24, 2016
 
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes,  to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!  What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? Isaiah 10:1-4b, NRSV
 

HISTORY OF THE UCC WOMEN LEADERS OF NEW ENGLAND


In 1980, at Geneva Point, during the Annual Meeting of the New England Women's Presidents, a committee was formed for the purpose of establishing a U.C.C. Regional Women's Event in New England. Carol Seaman from CT, Barbara Bowman from MA, Laura Bailey and Rosalyn Baston from ME, Elinor Burroughs from NH or VT, and Sally Bradley from RI served on that exploratory committee. These women gathered with several others in MA to brainstorm and develop the concept of NEW ENGLAND WOMEN'S CELEBRATIONS.
 

Purpose

The purpose was to reach the women in the pews, to involve them in learning about and sharing their Faith beyond the local church and the Conference setting.
Mid-March, mid-Lent was chosen as the time for Celebrations because of the historical reference to Mothering Sunday which was a time when the strict observances of Lent were relaxed for a day so church folks could return to their Mother Church or their roots. The purpose of the celebrations was to reach the women in the pews, to involve them in learning about and sharing their Faith beyond the local church and the Conference setting.  These Founding Mothers had a dream and incredible Faith. They were drawn to Lydia, the weaver of purple cloth. From there it was decided that the gathering would have a special color, purple, and many of the traditions that were used at subsequent Celebrations come from the early researching and deliberations of these representatives from each of our 6 states. WEAVING THE FABRIC OF OUR FAITH was the first theme.
 
They had no funds, so each state put up some seed money to get them started. They had no idea how many women would come, but they had nearly 1100 show up. And they had money left over, hence the tradition of sending off the excess to a good cause. At the first Celebration in 1982, many women volunteered to do all sorts of work that none of them ever imagined they could do before. Rosalyn Baston from ME was coordinator and she traveled to all the N.E. Conferences to publicize that first event. Rosalyn was the mother of volunteers!
 
It is now almost 40 years later til the next planned event for 2018 and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  We have a date and a theme, " A Place at the Table". If you have the passion to see this transpire over the next 2 years, please come to a planning meeting on April 9th, 2016 at Greenland, NH church at 10 am. (After rsvp to Margie she can send the directions to the church and we all usually bring a bag lunch.)
What we need from you (women who attended the September meeting) and the women who said they would reach out to others is to share who we are and what we are doing.  Invite them to meet with us on April 9th.  At the meeting, we will share our plans and work collaboratively to begin our in-depth planning.
 
We will send another reminder as we get closer. Please keep track of who you have talked to and ask them to mark the date 4/9/16 on their calendars. We will ask you to send the names and email info to Margie and confirm their attendance.  Our secretary, Margie's email is [email protected]  or call 603-279-6150
 
Have a good and safe winter!
 
Tri-chairs, Pam Burnham, Diane Dunton, & Sharon Beckwith
  

National Youth Event Information

  

When: July 26-30, 2016

Registration:
Opens January 6, 2016

We're Helping CEVER Revive
The Maine Honduras Partnership has now delivered nearly $10,000 worth of machine parts and hand tools to CEVER, the vocational school overseen by the Evangelical and Reformed Church of Honduras, our partners in Christ. Thanks to donations from Falmouth and Falmouth Foreside Partnership, the Cumberland and Franklin Associations and other churches and individuals, CEVER students started their 2016 school year this week with far more tools than what had to suffice last year. Woodworking, Auto Repair and Industrial Mechanics departments are the winners. Sorry, Welding, maybe next year.
  

  

Hi, I'm Marcha�. I'm the social media manager for the national office of the United Church of Christ, and in case you wondered, I am not one of the people featured in this meme.

When people hear what I do, they often get a furrowed brow and say one of these things:

"Cool! So you get paid to play on Facebook all day?"

"So, that's a full-time job?"

"So, what does that even mean?"

If you've tried creating a social media presence for your church, you know social media is definitely a lot more work than it seems.

And that's where I come in.

I'm starting this weekly newsletter called "Get Social" to help church leaders and faith-based social media managers get a better idea of how to improve their social channels.

Don't worry. I'll have a little something for everyone. I realize some people don't know what Facebook really is, and some people want tips about using Facebook analytics. No matter what your social media ability is, I have your back.

If you've read this far, you are either really excited to get the weekly emails or trying vigorously to figure out how to unsubscribe and never hear from me again.

Hey, I believe in unfollows! If this isn't your thing, you will never hear from me again. You can stop reading, and you don't even have to hit an unsubscribe link.

If you want to follow "Get Social," please click here. I'll send you one email a week, guiding you through the ever-changing, sometimes exhausting, but always exciting, world of social media.

Talk to you soon, I hope!

Marcha�

mgrairMarcha� Grair is many things. A Netflix addict, puppy enthusiast, songbird, Millennial dreamer, and God lover, to name a few. She is the editor of New Sacred and social media associate for the United Church of Christ. 

  
Help Wanted/Classifieds
South Church, Kennebunkport
Seeking Hand Chimes
 

"Seeking a minimum set of diatonic hand chimes from C5 to G6 with a hard cover carrying case to begin new program - Perhaps you have a set no longer in use.  Chromatics, particularly F# 5, A# 5, C# 6 and F# 6 are also desirable.  Please contact David Brandes, Organist/Choir Director at South Church, Kennebunkport at 603-831-1091  or email  [email protected] attention David.

  
Music Director Position

  

First Parish United Church of Christ in Gorham Maine

First Parish Church is a 270 year old spiritually progressive, open and affirming congregation of 500 members. We are seeking a Music Director, teacher and coach for our vibrant and accomplished 30 to 40 member volunteer Choir and potential Junior Choir. Candidates should offer an enthusiastic, infectious spirit, be able to draw from a wide variety of musical genres (Palestrina to the present), and view their spiritual life as rooted in music. Candidates should also endeavor to provide the Choir with fun, challenge and joy in making music together.   

Choir Director Position

Centre Street Congregational Church, UCC, seeks a part-time Choir Director. Duties include directing the Chancel Choir during Sunday worship and special services, collaborating with the pastor and organist on music selection, and securing special music as needed. Preferred qualifications include a bachelor's degree in music, experience in directing choral ensembles, keyboard skills, knowledge of church music programming, familiarity/comfort with UCC theology, and strong organizational skills. Application deadline is January 1, and start date is February 1. For full job description, e-mail
. To apply, send letter of application, r�sum�, and contact information for two references to Search Committee for Choir Director, Centre Street Congregational Church, PO Box 265, Machias, ME 04654.

Part-time Organist/Choir Director Needed

 

Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church/UCC in Westbrook, Maine seeks a part-time Organist/Choir Director. This person is primarily responsible for directing and accompanying an adult choir, and providing music for the weekly Sunday service. The ideal candidate will be an accomplished organist, pianist, and choir leader, who is familiar with the Congregational/UCC liturgy. The church is located in downtown Westbrook, with a mission to "to love God and to love one another in our congregation, community, and the world, through worship, serving and mission." More details on the position and the church are available at http://tinyurl.com/WWCCMusicJob. Applications are being accepted now for a July start date. Interested candidates are asked to submit a resume and cover letter with references by postal mail to Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, 810 Main Street, Westbrook, ME, 04092; or electronically to [email protected]. Electronic documents should be in PDF or Microsoft Word format.  
In This Issue
MEUCC ALIVE! 
 
Historic Church Steeple Gets a Facelift

 
The steeple of the Trinitarian Congregational Parish of Castine is an important symbol in this picturesque village on Penobscot Bay. Constructed in 1867 when the original church building was enlarged, the 120-foot steeple contains all the elements of a classic steeple: tower, belfry, lantern, and spire. A 1,600-pound bell was installed when the steeple was constructed, and in 1890 a four-face mechanical clock, a gift to the town of Castine, was installed in the tower. The spire is so tall and visible that even today it is included on navigational charts for Penobscot Bay.

  

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Beth Campbell
Maine Conference UCC
207-622-3100