ALL CONFERENCE E-MAIL
April 7, 2011
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Remember . . .
Your OCWM (Our Church's Wider Mission) contribution to the Maine Conference makes this email newsletter and the
numerous programs described herein available to you and your church.
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- St. Matthew’s Passion performed Good Friday in Brunswick
- Partnering with a Green God
- Pilgrim Lodge registration
- PL Jump Start Weekend
- In the Resource Center
- Insurance Board Webinars
- BTS Open House in Portland, April 9
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1. First Parish Church of Brunswick invites everyone to attend their Good Friday service. Under the direction of Ray Cornils, the 70 voice First Parish Choir, featuring six nationally known soloists, and accompanied by a 32 piece orchestra will present the complete St. Matthew’s Passion by Bach. The service will begin at 3:00 pm at the First Parish Church. Call 207 729-7331 for more information
2. “Called to Tell the Story” is the theme for the 2011 Maine Conference Annual Meeting, to be held at the University of Maine in Farmington, June 23-26, 2011. Join with church members from around the state and learn new ways to tell the “old, old stories of Jesus and his love”. Registration forms, workshop descriptions and much more can be found on the Conference website www.maineucc.org
3. Partnering with a Green God: Calling People of Faith to Environmental Ministries is co-sponsored by the six UCC Conferences in New England, and features keynote speaker Bill McKibben, founder of the environmental organization Step It Up and 350.org, a global warming awareness campaign. He is the author of more than a dozen books, the most recent of which is titled: eearth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet.
Held on May 6-7, 2011 at Silver Lake Conference Center (Sharon, CT). Twenty-two (22) outstanding workshops are being offered—by presenters from throughout New England and as far away as Virginia, West Virginia, and Iowa. There will be two environmentally-themed worship opportunities, including Friday evening worship with guest preacher, The Rev. Robert B. Coleman from Riverside Church in New York City.
The event begins Friday evening and ends late Saturday afternoon. Participants will be coming from across the New England region and space is limited, so you are encouraged to act quickly.
Online registration—including registration for workshops—is available by following this link: http://www.ctucc.org/greengod/.
Scholarship assistance is available from the Witness Life Commission. Contact Steve Hastings at shastings@fairpoint.net or 207-468-3692
4. PILGRIM LODGE SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION IS STRONG
so please be sure to sign up soon!
5. PILGRIM LODGE JUMP START WORK WEEKEND is APRIL 29-30
Come wake Pilgrim Lodge up for the season! This is an opportunity to serve by tending our church's camp. Details on what to bring and what meals are offered as well as forms for minors can be found at www.pilgrimlodge.org/adultwork.html The work days are followed by the Youth Group overnight April 30-May 1 details on this event are at http://www.pilgrimlodge.org/pages/ygo.html
6. In the Resource Center!
Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform by William G. McLoughlin
In Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform, McLoughlin draws on psychohistory, sociology, and anthropology to examine the relationship between America's five great religious awakenings and their influence on five great movements for social reform in the United States. He finds that awakenings (and the revivals that are part of them) are periods of revitalization born in times of cultural stress and eventuating in drastic social reform. Awakenings are thus the means by which a people or nation creates and sustains its identity in a changing world.
Please remember that the cart for the online catalog is not working, to order any resources send emails to resourcecenter@maineucc.org. Or call 1-800-244-0937 or 207-846-5118.
7. The Insurance Board offers free webinars on a variety of church and ministry related topices. Our goal is to help make all churches safer places to worship. To register for one go to https://insuranceboard.ilinc.com. Once you arrive at the landing page you will have a choice to Register or Join.
Register -- To register for a webinar in the future, click on Register tab (page default). Check the box next to the session you wish to attend. Click on the Register button at the bottom of the list. You will receive e-mail confirmation and a reminder the day before.
Join -- To attend a webinar previously recorded, click on Join tab at the top. Click on the Open button next to the session name. To attend a live webinar in session, click on Join not earlier than ten minutes before the start time.
Upcoming webinars:
What is Your Church Worth? - April 13th at 11AM and 3PM Eastern - Review of the components of building value and insurance considerations. Covers stained glass and other special items, and understanding when a professional appraisal is needed.
Social Media, Plan, Prepare, Protect - May 18th at 11AM and 3PM Eastern - Social Media is "child's play" for children, but not for churches. A review of the many considerations around church use of social media, including management controls and oversight, copyright, libel, privacy, and security.
8. Bangor Theological Seminary (BTS) will host an Open House on Saturday, April 9 at Noon at the Portland Campus located at 159 State Street. The Open House will feature a faculty presentation, roundtable discussion with students, as well as brief financial aid and admissions presentations. Learn about BTS’s Master of Arts, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry degree programs; as well as summer course offerings; full or part-time study; taking or auditing individual courses.
The faculty presentation will be given by Professor Ronald W. Baard and is titled, "Whether You're Spiritual, Religious, or Spiritual-and-Religious: The Compelling Case for Theological Education in the 21st Century.” Ron will share the BTS vision of the seminary as a vibrant place for adventures of the mind and spirit in the 21st century. The BTS community includes spiritual seekers, future church leaders, and those who seek to contribute in diverse ways in many community settings. BTS offers excellent courses in religion, spirituality, theology, social justice, biblical studies, pastoral studies, history, world religions, ethics, gender and sexuality studies.
Professor Baard joined the faculty of Bangor Theological Seminary in 2003 and received his Ph.D. from Claremont School of Theology in 1995. His teaching and research interests include pastoral theology, pastoral care and counseling, theology and culture, and the mentoring, supervision and spiritual guidance of pastors.
RSVP’s required. Contact Adrea Jaehnig at 1-800-287-6781 x-205 or ajaehnig@bts.edu with questions.