Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for November 5, 2023

Come to the table of mercy

Prepared with the wine and the bread

All who are hungry and thirsty

Come and your souls will be fed

Upcoming services, meetings, events, and opportunities

Our Deacons are hosting the Sunrise Assoc. Fall Meeting this Saturday, Nov. 4th

from 8:30 - noon, followed by a soup and sandwich luncheon. Please plan to attend.

A draft of the Agenda is posted in the Fellowship Hall.

Join us for Worship in our Sanctuary or on Zoom at 10:00 a.m.,

or watch the recording later on Facebook or YouTube

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82224252518?pwd=aEd4WENqcjFHakFTcVFyQnltNzl1UT09

Meeting ID: 822 2425 2518

Passcode: 755650

Find us at Hancock UCC | Hancock ME | Facebook or

on YouTube at Hancock UCC - YouTube

Choir Rehearsals are held on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am. All are welcome!

Fall Handbell Ringing - Rehearsals Sundays after church 11:30–12:15ish Nov. 5th

Playing a Thanksgiving tune on Nov. 19th.

Hammond piano – in our Sunday School room – free to a good home – must transport.

Speak to Pat Summerer or Pastor TJ or one of our Trustees if interested.

Amelia is in a play at John Bapst HS this coming Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m..

“Murder is in the Heir” turns the game “Clue” into a hilarious murder mystery play.

More details available from Jen or Artie or Amelia.

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.

Council meets Friday, November 3rd at 12:00 noon in the Fellowship Hall and on Zoom.

Deacons meet Friday, November 10th at 12:00 noon in the Fellowship Hall and on Zoom. Trustees will meet Wednesday, November 29th at 12 noon in the Fellowship Hall and on Zoom.

The Union Congregational Church of Hancock, United Church of Christ will conduct its 2023 Annual Church Meeting on November 12th, 2023, immediately following the 10:00 AM Worship Service for the following purposes:

1. To Elect Church Officers, Board and Committee members;

2. To receive Board and Committee Reports;

3. To vote on the Proposed 2024 Church Budget

4. And to hear any other business to come before the congregation.

Jeanne Edwards, Clerk

October 22, 2023

We need a quorum of 25 voting members to conduct business.

The ByLaws Revision Committee (Sally Knapp, Pat Summerer, David Wildes, Gina Tansey, and Pastor TJ) has been working very hard over the last three months to update our (2017) Church Bylaws. These will be voted on at our Annual Meeting.

Many of the changes made were simply wording corrections to clarify or simplify passages.

There are, however, a few additions and/or adjustments that will change our governing policies:

1. We propose an additional status category in our membership (Article II Sec. 3) called “Voting Friends.” This category gives church friends (those who do not seek full membership for whatever reason) who serve on Boards or Committees, the ability to vote in any and all meetings while they serve in that capacity.

2. We propose a reduction in the number of members needed for certain Boards and Committees i.e.: Board of Christian Education, Board of Outreach, and Nominating Committee would go from six (6) to five (5) required.

3. At the request of our Treasurer, we propose that our new fiscal year be September 1 to August 31(our stewardship pledges would still be on the calendar year).

Thank you to all who attended the Q&A session after church on Oct. 29th which resulted in this new language to be included in the proposed revisions under Article II - Membership, Section 3 - Friends.

The Church acknowledges with gratitude the involvement of our many “Friends”—those who for one reason or another do not wish to become members—and we look forward to their continuing fellowship and support of the activities of the Church. In many instances these Bylaws make provisions for the voting rights of “Friends” in all matters of the church. Henceforth known as “Voting Friends,” these individuals are self-identified by attendance and/or participation as a volunteer in any capacity.

The full revised Bylaws document, with color coded changes, is available online and at the church for all who wish to study it.

Our Church Council is looking for one or more individuals to take on the task of providing

Altar Flowers, beginning in November. Please contact Vicky or Pat Summerer, if interested.

Book Group - From What Is To What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want, by Rob Hopkins, was one of the guiding texts of our 2022 Fostering Imagination program facilitated by The BTS Center (the successor to the Bangor Theological Seminary). Join us as we gather to discuss ways this book speaks to us, our church and our evolving place in our communities, Wednesday, November 8th at 1:00 and 7:00 P.M.

Dawnland will be aired on Maine Public Television Nov. 2 at 9:00 PM and Nov. 4 at 2:00 PM. Dawnland is the untold story of Indigenous child removal in the US through the nation’s first-ever government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission, which investigated the devastating impact on Maine’s child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people. The film explores the possibilities of truth and reconciliation.

Ellsworth Pride is a group of volunteers committed to supporting the LGBTQ+ community in Ellsworth and the surrounding areas. Beginning in 2021, Ellsworth Pride has organized and run the annual PrideFest in Ellsworth, held on the second Sunday in June at the Knowlton Park. For 2024, the Fourth Annual PrideFest will be on June 9, from midday to late afternoon.

Ellsworth Pride welcomes interested folks who'd like to volunteer to help with planning, doing specific tasks as the event gets organized, and/or helping on the day of the event.

If interested, please contact Sue Collins at 546-6735 by call or text.

In addition, the Ellsworth Pride group will be marching in the Downtown Ellsworth Holiday Light Parade on Saturday, December 2 (Rain Date December 3). Parade starts at 4 PM with lineup beginning at 3 PM. We'd love to have you march with us!

Interested people, please contact Sue Collins: 546-6735.

November Birthdays and Anniversaries

03:*Mike* Summerer

14: Johanna Bazzolo 15: *Kristy* Johnston 16: *Marcia* Nowell

16: *Erin* Shaw 17: *Cookie* Thelen 20: *Kathy* McGlinchey

24: Jimmy & *Liz* Awalt 26: *Clint* Ritchie 30: *Arthur* Ashmore

Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

Prayers for the people of Lewiston and all of Maine;

Prayers for the world, suffering loss and grief in Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, Russia, and so many other ongoing wars and conflicts. Prayers for Debbie R. diagnosed with Lyme disease; Ron & Kathy; Kenny Houghton; John Wood; Doris; Jane Preble, receiving in-home hospice care (she welcomes your short visits & phone calls); Elizabeth Racicotte in hospice care at Magnolia in Ellsworth; William in hospice care at Golden Acres; Sue Davies; Sue Davenport; Austin’s cousin Danny; Liz & Jim; Debbie & Lincoln & son-in-law Aaron, daughter Ashley, and granddaughter Brielle; Jim Snyder; Margaret B; Amy Nickerson; Kenny Stratton; Joy & David & Lori; Sandy Phippen; Betty & her step-daughter Mollie; Debbie & Hollis and her Aunt Linda Reed; Coulter; Bruce’s sister Lynn; Patrice’s niece Erica; Renata’s sister-in-law Joanne; Tom & Judy’s son Andrew & 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 individuals and families experiencing addictions; for all caregivers; and prayers for all that is in your heart…

Disaster Relief Work Trip

Saturday, January 6 to Saturday,January 13

Your Association is headed to Port Charlotte, Florida for these days where we will be helping to repair homes that Hurricane Ian damaged last year. We will be staying at Wintergarden Presbyterian Church, and working with managers supplied through the United Methodist Church. Tools are supplied!

Our accommodations are two specially-built trailers with 16 bunks in each – upper & lower. Each bunk space has a privacy curtain and individual light. A separate trailer has 7 showers, plus laundry facilities. Meals and meeting space will be in the church’s facility, as well as more bathrooms.

We will work Monday – Friday, and are responsible for fixing our own meals. The Saturday arrival will allow us to worship with our hosting congregation at “breakfast worship” on Sunday and to have Sunday afternoon to check out the area. Our evenings are mostly open. We will have a gathering each evening to discuss the day just past and consider the next day, and for prayer as well.

You will be responsible to arrange for your own flights to and from Florida. The nearest airport is Fort Myers(RSW) and Southwest flies there from Portland. You need to arrive on Saturday afternoon or evening unless you make a special arrangement with Bruce, trip coordinator. The other fees are as follows: housing, $140, Food $90 plus a celebration restaurant meal, Transportation (5 people to a minivan) $85, miscellaneous expenses $75, materials donation, $50 - for a total of $440. A $200 deposit will be due in when you reserve a place, payable to Katahdin Association. The rest will be due in early December.

Contact Bruce Burnham at katahdin.me.ucc@gmail.com with questions or for more information, and for the forms you will need to fill out to go. You can also call him at 207-331-4672. Leave a message if necessary.

From the Maine Conference

Beloved People of God in our Maine Conference

As we enter the second week of mourning and shock, I pray that the words of this prayer will lend solace and comfort. My heart is with each of you.

With love, Marisa

Dear God, This past week and a half has seemed like the world has tipped off its axis,

upending routines, rending time, shifting all that was stable under our feet.

Disoriented, we have reached for something to steady us:

A loved one’s hand, a candle that shines, spending time with one another in so many ways.

We have scrolled through the news, as if knowing the details might reorient us:

And we painfully are aware that this is the world we live in now.

A world with 18 fewer mortal lives in Lewiston.

A world with so many more members in the club of deep grief that no one wants to join.

A world in which one more community can say, “I never imagined it could happen here.”

Dear God, steady us today, we pray.

Lend us space to breathe.

Send us more hands to hold.

Wrap in your fierce-tender embrace:

Those who are in agony

Those who are in shock

Those who are responding

Those who are adrift

Those who are numb

Those who are angry

Those who are out of gas, out of words, out of strategies to cope.

Hold all your beloved people until we can find our footing again.

Amen.

Adapted from a prayer by Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Donations for Lewiston

If you would like to give financial support for the people of Lewiston directly affected by the horrific tragedy, our Conference is receiving donations.

Make your checks out to “Maine Conference UCC” and put “Lewiston” in the memo line. (337 State St. Suite 3, Augusta)

Also, you can donate directly on our web site maineucc.org. Go to the “giving” tab, choose “other” for the designation, and write “Lewiston” in the comments.