1. Portland Freedom Trail Opening Celebration
2. SYC Advisor Search Continues
3. Safe Church Information
4. SFA Seeking Fall Intern
_______________________________________________________________________

1) Please join Honorary Co-chairs - Governor John E. Baldacci and Actress Victoria Rowell – and Portland Mayor Nicholas Mavadones, Jr. at the Official Opening Ceremony of Portland Freedom Trail, Saturday, July 14, 2007, 12:00 noon in Lincoln Park (>Corner of Congress and Franklin Streets Portland) The Portland Freedom Trail is a permanent walking trail of thirteen marked sites that help tell the story of the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movement in Maine.
A pre-ceremony concert featuring Freedom Songs by Kim and Reggie Harris begins at 11:00 am. Volunteer tour guides will be available at each if the trail’s 13 sites from 1:00 to 3:00 pm Saturday. Special activities will be provided by the Children’s Museum of Maine.
If you have any questions, feel free to call Wells Staley-Mays, at 774-1110 or e-mail: wells369@hotmail.com

2) The Maine State Youth Council would like to announce that we have extended our Advisor search deadline until July 27th.

Due to recent relocations and resignations the State Youth Council (SYC) is looking to add two advisors to its ranks. Ideally they will both be female as the current advisors are both male. One of the new advisors has to be a clergy member in good standing with the Maine Conference of the UCC. The other may be a lay person. Below is a link to the SYC Advisor page. There you will find more information about what is involved in the Advisor position, and a downloadable application packet. If you're interested in helping the SYC, please download the application packet and return it by July 27th. http://mainesyc.org/advisors.html

3) There is a very helpful article about appropriate congregational procedures for screening church workers who work with children and youth (both paid and volunteer) on the "Christianity Today" web site. It gives good advice about application forms, references, interviews, and background checks. To read and-or print out this article, follow this link: http://www.christianitytoday.com/cbg/churchlawtax/articles/screeningchildrensworkers.html

4) Be a part of one of the most cutting-edge, vibrant, and grassroots movements for social justice in the U.S. today! Student/Farmworker Alliance is looking for a Fall 2007 (September- December) intern to live and work in Immokalee, Florida alongside farmworkers and allies who are organizing for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' national Campaign for Fair Food. For more information, and to apply, see http://www.sfalliance.org/internship.html or contact organize@sfalliance.org or 239-657-8311. Applications are due July 15, 2007.
SFA is committed to developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds; people of color, women, working-class, LGBTQ, and differently-abled people are strongly encouraged to apply.