Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for January 19, 2025
To ev’ry sense thy light impart
And shed thy love in ev’ry heart.
To our weak flesh, thy strength supply;
Unfailing courage from on high.
A Message from our Church President
As you know by now, our Pastor T.J.’s Dad had a fall on Christmas Eve and broke his hip.
Since T.J. arrived at her family home in Wisconsin, her Dad has had surgery and eventually was moved to a rehab facility nearby. She, originally planned to extend her vacation until her Dad was able to get home. However, what is clear, is that it is important for T.J. to remain with her family much longer than anticipated.
There is a lot of uncertainty, but, with our blessing, she will be home for the remainder of this
month, and quite probably longer.
We have discussed this at the Deacons’ meeting and told T.J. to take the time she needs to be able to give her parents the help they require.
Meanwhile, with T.J. and Vicky’s help, we have lined up preachers for the foreseeable future.
They will supply the pulpit and put together the worship services.
T.J. has made arrangements with Revs. Kate Winters and Joel Krueger to be on call for any
Pastoral Emergencies. If you are in need of Pastoral care, contact the office and Vicky will get in contact with Revs. Kate and Joel. Also, I want you to feel free to contact me if you would like to talk to a Pastor or if you have any questions or personal concerns. My name is Nick Davis and my contact information is in our Church Directory. And, of course, we’ll keep you posted.
Remember, we are a family too. With God’s help, we’ll work things out here while T.J.’s away.
Nick
(207) 667-7972
Our guest minister will be Rev. Cynthia Priem this Sunday. Thank you Cynthia!
Our meetings are open to all. If you would like to attend a meeting, please let Vicky know and she will provide the Zoom link, or you are welcome to attend in person. Our meetings are held in person and virtually on Zoom.
Council will meet on Friday, January 17 at 12:30 pm
Join us for lightly guided meditation at 9:00 a.m. on Fridays in our Sanctuary.
Mark your calendars: On Sunday, February 9th, after church, Brandy Brooks will provide training on when and how to administer Narcan, this potentially life-saving drug which comes in a nasal spray. Those who attend will be provided with both Narcan and educational resources. Brandy is working towards certification as a Recovery Coach. Please contact the church office if you wish to attend this training.
January Birthdays and Anniversaries
21: Jackie Hunt 21: Carol Skinner 22: Chris Potter
23: Avabelle Havey 25: Holly Harriman 29: Jen Remick
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:
Continued prayers for Pastor TJ, her dad, Don, mother, Carol, and her siblings as they navigate this new chapter in their lives and the lives of their parents. Prayers for Ron & Kathy and his brother Joe. Prayers for Donald B.; Kenny V.; Orrick; Brian; and Jane of Golden Acres. Prayers for Judith C.; Eleanor A.; Ira; Don and Heather; Bruce’s sister Lynn; Sally’s friend, Sue Barger; Herbie Lounder; Ruth; Marie; Jim Snyder; Jonathan Holmes; Brandon Perry-Hudson; John Wood; Sue Davies; Sue Davenport; Liz & Jim; Kenny Stratton & Joy & David & Lori & Melissa; Debbie & Lincoln & son-in-law Aaron, daughter Ashley, and granddaughter Brielle; Sandy Phippen; Amy Nickerson; Kevin and Vanessa & family. Prayers of strength and healing for all awaiting diagnoses and for all recovering from surgeries & procedures. Prayers for all that are unsafe, unhoused, hungry & in need of care & compassion. Prayers for all caregivers; and prayers for all that is in your heart…
A Letter from Associate Conference Minister, Rev. John Fiscus
One of the unexpected parts of my call here to Maine is that I was in six different worship spaces from the start of Advent through Epiphany. But that fact meant that I heard a once a year song several times. For me this has been the season of the In Bleak Mid-Winter.
Christina Rossetti’s poem turned hymn has always been part of Advent for me. One week, one sing through, then back on the shelf till next year. This year I received it three times in three different places. It is the first verse that always pulls me a bit sideways.
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
While the hymn is meant to take us to first century Palestine and the birth of Jesus it is an inaccurate depiction of Bethlehem’s December weather forecast. It is however a nearly accurate forecast of daily life along the shore of the Kennebec River. All the deciduous trees have gone gray and brown. The river is frozen, smooth in some spots and filled with cracked ice flows elsewhere. On our hand full of snow days, it falls and disappears on the bleak landscape. I have found myself sinking into that bleakness.
Friday of this week I was returning home from a long day of tasks and parked in my drive way and began to see something that I had gone blind to in my mid-winter. Across the street in my neighbors’ trees, bluebirds played and flittered. I see crows, and jays and cardinals often but here and now these little joyous bluebirds danced away my mid-winter blues. For me encounters with the divine are often just like this. In both creation and humanity, I often see flashes of the creator calling me up and out of my entombment. It can be the flash of bluebird, the wing of eagle, the dance of a leaf in the wind, the smile of a loved one, or the tear of a friend that gently jostles me and demands I acknowledge the divine covenant of our creator’s world.
In the bleakness of our mid-winter, we may succumb to the greyness and snow. It is then that we have an invitation to look for joy rather than waiting for joy to fall into our hands. I will offer in counterpoint to Rosetti’s bleakness the closing verse of Jaroslav Vajda’s God of the Sparrow God of the Whale.
God of the ages
God near at hand
God of the loving heart
How do your children say Joy
How do your children say Home
Dear friends:
Like many of you, we have been watching in deep grief and horror as wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles over the past week. We have heard so many stories — from friends, colleagues, faith communities, those we do not know — of the astonishing losses from these fires, fires which continue to burn. Although news outlets have been quick to estimate the damages in economic terms, we know that the loss of human lives, of other-than human lives, of homes and habitats, is and will remain incalculable.
We know, also, that these devastating fires are a part of the larger pattern of climate disasters that are becoming ever more present in communities across the world. The wildly destructive Hurricane Helene decimated entire communities in Appalachia just a few months ago. And it seems like every week brings a new disaster — a year's worth of rain falling in a day, leading to severe floods and landslides; wildfires burning too hot for containment; baking droughts or severe winter storms bringing communities and countries to their knees.
We cannot look away from what climate change is bringing to our world. If some form of climate catastrophe is not yet on our own doorsteps, it soon will be. And with those in power in large part refusing to acknowledge climate chaos as a systemic issue, we must discern for ourselves and our own communities who we choose to be and how we choose to be present in these days.
At The BTS Center, we hope to offer you spaces in which to seek your calling, to gain strength for the times, and to understand more deeply the vast interconnectedness of this amazing world. As we move into this new year, we hope you will join us in one or more of our slate of upcoming offerings.
Next Thursday, January 23, our Executive Director, Allen Ewing-Merrill, will host the first of our Let's Talk: Conversations that Matter events of the new year, featuring guest Sue Inches sharing about insights from her her congregation's recent trip to Cancer Alley in Louisiana. And in February, the next of our Lament with Earth gatherings will offer a space for contemplative connection with ritual, song, and conversation.
We also have a fresh round of our Spiritual Accompaniment Circles starting in March, and registrations are now open. If you are seeking a space for contemplative practice, sharing grief, and discerning your work in the world in this time, please consider joining one of the circles and being in community with a small group and a skilled facilitator. If you're still uncertain if this offering is for you, we invite you to join us for an informal "Taste of" event on January 29 to learn more.
Wishing you strength, peace, and deep resolve,
The BTS Center Team
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