It has been a great privilege and blessing to minister with and among you the past two years. Every new ministry setting is an adventure with much unknown and much anticipated. I have had the great pleasure to get to know better the churches and folk of the Conference. I have been blessed to experience the awesome beauty of creation in New England as I have driven the highways and byways in Maine and other states in every season as part of my ministry. I will carry with me memories of a moose in Pittsfield, water lilies blooming next to I-295 in Topsham, fall colors in Bethel, rain in Kittery Point, snow in Norway, a profusion of lupine on the roadside, quaint village houses, and tractors in the fields. All the wonderful, warm, committed, faithful people who bless this Conference with an abundance of love, treasure, time, talent, experience, and vision will be in my heart. Your stories and faithful witness will be a part of my ministry as I move to new endeavors and your stories will be carried with me to have new life in other settings.
    Staff has continued to work on strengthening relationships with associations and local churches. I have preached in Dover-Foxcroft, Lincolnville, Camden, Scarborough, and Bridgton. I have been present in worship at Jackman, Forest Avenue-Bangor, Gray, and the dedication of a new building in Phippsburg and the 100th anniversary celebration of Mission Congregational UCC in West Paris as well as the annual congregational meeting of Thomaston Federated Church. I have been present at the ecclesiastical council for Frank Haines in Oxford Union Association, the ordination of Linda Hatch, and Allen Myers; the ordination/installation of Vicky Carpenter, and the installation of Heather Kurtz at Dover-Foxcroft. I also was present at the farewell services for Marilyn Sargent in Monson and Carol Granger in Pittsfield
I have shared fellowship at association meetings for Hancock-Waldo, Penobscot/Piscataquis, Kennebec Valley, Oxford-Union, York, Franklin, and Lincoln. I have also done boundary training for Lincoln, Penobscot/Piscataquis, and Lincoln Associations and facilitated Church and Ministry Retreats for Penobscot/Piscataquis, Cumberland, and Oxford-Union Associations. I continued to be staff liaison to the executive leadership and Church and Ministry Committees for Franklin, Kennebec Valley, Lincoln, Oxford-Union, and Penobscot/Piscataquis Associations. I was one of the facilitators for the spring Church & Ministry Day in Saco presenting materials on the working papers from the Pronouncement on Ministry Issues. In the past year I worked with twelve churches in their search for a pastor. I continued to work with the placement team in recommending profiles for consideration and reviewing all incoming profiles.
    Ministry to clergy and lay leaders included participating in the Spring Learning Event in Augusta, facilitating two Advent and one Lenten Clergy Retreats, assisting in the new Pastor’s Retreat, and assisting in planning and participating in the Spring Clergy Retreat. I attended Convocation at Bangor Theological Seminary and met with seminary students on both the Bangor and Portland campuses for the Student Days sponsored by the Commission for Spiritual Life. It was great fun to co-lead one Bangor polity class this spring with Deni Goodman. I have also appreciated the opportunity to work with colleagues on the working group for the Academy for Congregational Life and Leadership.
I continued to serve on the New England Council for Theological Education and assisted in a regional event to train folks regarding the General Synod Pronouncement on Ministry Issues. I also attended the biennial national Search and Call Gathering and the New England Annual Staff Retreat. A highlight of the year was the opportunity to be at General Synod and work with Maine’s delegates and to host the youth and leadership of the Evangelical and Reform Church of Honduras as they experienced the United Church of Christ at work. My work with the Youth Ministries Advisory Team and the State Youth Council has also been rewarding and fun including being present at Fall Convention and Mid-Winter in Wells. I have also had the privilege of facilitating a Deacon’s Retreat for a gathering of churches, leading a women’s fellowship Lenten program, and leading an education session on economic justice for a local church.
    Through all of this busy time, I have been appreciative of welcome, friendship, and support for all the ministries in which I have been engaged. Thank you for sharing your lives, your wisdom, your hospitality, your service in the Gospel with me during this two-year sojourn. Know that I will be holding you and the ministries of this Conference in prayer and thought as you move into new relationships and new ministries.

In Christ’s Service,
June Boutwell