ALL CONFERENCE E-MAIL                
January 27, 2010
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1. Conference Change of Address
2. Help!!
3. What Works?
4. “Who Do You Say that I Am?” – Clergy Lenten Retreat
5. PL “Jumper” Training – new sites added
6. Wilton’s Haiti Benefit Concert
7. Inside out/Outside in – Regional Youth Event
8. Congratulations to Rev. John Woodward
9. Custodian needed in Belfast
10. Not too late to Register for Women’s Celebration
11. Preach-in on Global Warming Feb. 14
12. UCC new Stillspeaking Magazine
13. Renew your Ministry at BTS
14. Thought for today

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1. CHANGE OF ADDRESS -- Effective Feb. 15, 2010, the Maine Conference will discontinue the use of our PO Box and begin using our street address as our mailing address.  Please begin using our new mailing address immediately, and make the change in your records and address books.  Thanks.  The new mailing address is:
Maine Conference UCC
28 Yarmouth Crossing Drive
Yarmouth, ME 04096

2.   I need your help!  For the last several years, the same 4 or 5 conferences have consistently had the highest percentage of churches who returned their national yearbook forms.  So, the Hawaii Conference has challenged all of the other UCC Conferences to get better returns this year.  If Maine is in the top 7, Hawaii will send us a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts.  If Hawaii is in the top 7, I have to send them something representative of Maine.  Do you think I can get a box of snow to Hawaii? 
So I need the help of every church office in Maine.  Please have your clerk and treasurer fill out their respective information on your national yearbook forms, and send them back to the Conference office.  Our deadline to have the forms back is January 31.  Thanks for your help.  I will share my macadamia nuts with anyone who comes to the office, if we win.

3. WHAT WORKS?  Thanks to those who have already contributed something special done by their congregation does for Ash Wednesday or Lent.  You can find those ideas through a link on the front page of the Maine Conference website.  www.maineucc.org
Do you have something you can share? Maybe it is something new or maybe it’s a tradition.  Something small or a major project that has turned out great. 
To foster the sense of community among churches in the Conference, ACE will be asking for your ideas on a different topic each month this year.  We will gather your “things that work” for congregations across the state, and post them on the Conference website.  Please send your great ideas for Ash Wednesday or Lent to conference@maineucc.org

 

4.  "Who Do You Say That I Am?" is the theme for the Clergy Lenten Retreat and will invite your personal reflection as an individual and in your pastoral role.  The leader for this retreat will be Lorraine Martin, Spiritual Director and Retreat Leader. Come and join other clergy in the Conference for a day of renewal, at the Winthrop Congregational Church on February 9th from 9:00 to 2:30 pm.  Lunch will be provided by the Spiritual Life Commission.  Please register with the Conference office by February 4.
 “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”  Marcel Proust

5.  Virtual Pilgrim Lodge "Jumper" Trainings also in Machais and Presque Isle
Every active church in the conference is asked to designate a PL contact person ("Jumper") who will attend one of four orientations and help bring PL to their church.  The February 20th training in Saco is being broadcast via two way internet connection to churches in Presque Isle and Machais.  More sites will be added shortly.  For more information and a Jumper job description visit www.pilgrimlodge.org/recentnews.html#jump

Here is a complete list of PL orientations (designed for Jumpers, but everyone is welcome):

SATURDAY, FEB. 13, 9:30-12, GORHAM, First Parish Congregational UCC
SATURDAY, FEB. 13, 9:30-12, BRUNSWICK, First Parish Church UCC
SATURDAY, FEB. 20, 9:30-12, SACO, First Parish Congregational UCC
SATURDAY, FEB. 20, 9:30-12, PRESQUE ISLE, Congregational Church UCC (internet connection to Saco)
SATURDAY, FEB. 20, 9:30-12, MACHIAS, Centre Street Congregational UCC (internet connection to Saco)
SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 9:30-12, BANGOR,  All Souls Congregational Church UCC
To volunteer and register for an event contact Sara Godfrey:
saragthatsme@yahoo.com
207-659-6200

6.  The First Congregational Church of Wilton, UCC, held its annual Youth Music Benefit Concert on January 24, and raised nearly $1300 for Haiti Earthquake Relief and for the Wilton Food Pantry. The Concert was originally planned to support the Food Pantry, but both the church's youth group, which sponsors the annual concert, and Wilton Food Pantry officials agreed that Haiti earthquake relief deserved attention at this time. With half of the donations going to Haiti, the earthquake fund stands at $650, and this figure will be augmented by additional donations coming from the Wilton congregation as part of a special stewardship appeal on behalf of Haiti.
       The Youth Concerts in Wilton began in 2005 when the Youth Group sought to raise funds for relief efforts following the South Asia Tsunami. They invited music groups from the Mt. Blue Schol district to perform. The groups included the Mt. Blue Voices, the Middle School Show Choir, the Franklin County Fiddlers, and the Mt. Blue Jazz Band. The tradition has continued, with funds supporting the Franklin County Ecumenical Heating Fund, the Wilton Food Pantry, and, now, Haiti Earthquake Relief.

7. New England Regional Youth Event is coming!  June 24-27, 2010 at Boston University.
Inside out/Outside in – Finding our way in God’s World for youth who are currently in Grades 8-12.
What happens at Regional Youth Event (RYE)
Your choice of exciting workshops to grow your spirit
Spend an afternoon doing service work in Boston
Worship with awesome music and dynamic speakers
Fun times – swimming, basketball, Trolley tour, coffeehouse and more!
Meet hundreds of kids from all over New England
RYE is a great way to kick off your summer vacation.  Sign up today!
Registration booklets have been mailed to all UCC churches in New England.  Cost will be $350 per person, but register before March 15 to get the early bird discount rate of $325.  For more information, call the Conference office or NERYEinfo@gmail.com

8.  Congratulations to Rev John Woodward, pastor of Christ Congregational Church, Fort Kent, who has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. John is the first and only clergy to serve on the board of this important defender of human rights and dignity. All prayers, suggestions and thoughts are welcome. John's opening message on his election to the board is this: And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

 

9.  Custodian/Sexton
The First Church in Belfast, UCC, seeks a custodian/sexton to be at the church before and after Sunday worship, scheduled events during day-time, evenings and week-ends, and when the church office is open. Duties include: open and close the building for worship services, office hours and other scheduled events; regular interior cleaning and maintenance, maintenance outside; minor repairs, dealing with congregation, guests and members of the public; some heavy lifting. Will report to the Pastors and Board of Trustees. First Church in Belfast, U.C.C., is an equal-opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious preference, gender, gender orientation, age, nationality. Seeking to fill this position on an independent-contractor basis.   For more information, call Rev. Joel Krueger, 338-2282.  Written applications with job history and three references must be submitted to Church Office, First Church in Belfast, U.C.C., 8 Court Street, Belfast, Maine 04915.
10.  Please ask the women of your church: Have you registered for Celebration VIII yet?  If you have you know how simple it is, but if you haven’t stop everything you’re doing and register right now.  Go to the website www.uccwomenscelebration.org and register.  Don’t have a computer?  Then call a friend or your church secretary to help you.  Don’t have or want to use your credit card?  You can still register on line and have an invoice sent to you for your payment by check.  It’s all so simple, really.  But you still have to do it.  It’s very important that we are all at Celebration VIII in Burlington, VT on March 12-14, 2010. 
SO MAKE TRACKS IN THE SNOW….. AND REGISTER NOW!!!
While you’re at it you can make your reservations for a hotel room, too. (You can find the list of hotels on the web site) The rates are wonderfully low and with four in a room (what better way to visit with friends?) the rate is even lower.  Check out the speaker meals and box lunches, too.
Anyone attending the UCC New England Women’s “Celebration - VIII” in Burlington Vermont on March 12-14, 2010 is welcome to “ride the bus”.  Pick up locations will be in Bangor, Waterville, Lewiston and Portland. The registration form can be found at: http://www.maineucc.org/news/UCC%20Women's%20celebration%20-bus%20reg%20.pdf
If anyone has questions please contact Jeanne Mailhot, at High Street Church, 106 Pleasant Street, Auburn at 784-1306 or office@highstreetucc.org

11.  Preach-In on Global Warming Sunday, February 14.
When was the last time you participated in an event that had a dash - in it?  1974?  Never?  The time has more than come again for these things to happen.  Maine Interfaith Power and Light, along with its national body, are asking you to hold a Preach-In on Global Warming at your place of worship Sunday, February 14.  You can find prewritten sermons and other worship planning aids here  http://interfaithpowerandlight.org/2009/12/february-preach-in/
Please remember to register your church to help build a community of faithful responders to this call.  Thanks!

12.  The United Church of Christ is launching a subscription campaign for its new high-end-design StillSpeaking Magazine, an oversized, full-color publication that will debut in late April.
The 88-page StillSpeaking Magazine will be published twice annually in Spring and Fall. An inaugural, three-year subscription is $29 if purchased before July 1. After that date, subscriptions will be $39 each.  Order online at ucc.org/magazine 
"StillSpeaking Magazine promises to be a full-sensory experience for readers, with compelling writing and expert photography that will communicate stories of inclusion, involvement, transformation and the best aspirations of the UCC, its members and its churches," said the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, the UCC's director of communications. "We're being very clear that this is not a newsmagazine. Instead, we want a quality feature publication that tells moving accounts of our people and the ways their lives have been impacted by the UCC." 
The UCC's hard news will continue to be offered online at ucc.org/news and through its weekly e-zine, Keeping You ePosted 
"Our hope is that individuals will willingly subscribe and churches will buy extra copies in bulk to distribute to newcomers," he said.

13.  Renew your ministry with the Bangor Seminary D.Min.

Are you ready to renew your ministry? BTS is now accepting applications for the next three-year colleague group of D.Min. candidates, which will commence work in August 2010. New colleague groups are formed only once every three years. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2010. Applicants must possess the M.Div. (or equivalent) and have at least three years of ministry experience. During the first two years of the program, monthly seminars will meet in southern Maine at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, while two intensive seminars per year will be held in Bangor. Scholarships and other forms of financial aid are available. More information on the Seminary’s D.Min. program including the 2010-2011 seminar dates, as well as a listing of informational luncheon for prospective candidates is available at www.bts.edu/dMin/ For questions or to receive more information, call Ms. Fae Gilbride in the BTS Admissions Office at 1-800-287-6781, ext. 126 or email fgilbride@bts.edu.   We warmly invite you to check out this remarkable program!

14.  God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain.  But God did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.                                                                  Anonymous