Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for April 2, 2023
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry;
O Saviour meek, pursue your road
with palms and scattered garments strowed.
Upcoming meetings, events, and opportunities
Choir practices Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. All are welcome.
We will be receiving Holy Communion this week
and we will also be collecting non perishable food items for
the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry.
PALM SUNDAY CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES
This Sunday during the service we will be invited to join a Palm Parade in our Sanctuary.
After the parade, children will be led out to the Fellowship Room for activities including:
coloring pages, a story, making a donkey puppet, and coloring Easter eggs.
Children will join us back in the Sanctuary for Holy Communion! Hosanna!
Stations of the Cross on-line experience. Free. Daily March 30th - April 5th.
Maundy Thursday service Thursday, April 6th at 12:00 noon
Easter Sunrise service at 6:00 am at Riverside Cemetery
Easter Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall following the Sunrise service
Easter Worship service at 10:00 in the Sanctuary and on Zoom
Join us in our Sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. or on our Sunday Worship Zoom link at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88327467219?pwd=Mis3ME4waGE1RmRBN zFXK3VUaDJXdz09
Meeting ID: 883 2746 7219 Passcode: 131738
(Posted later for viewing on Facebook and YouTube)
The Town of Hancock is accepting applications for Citizen of the Year.
Please see attached flyer for nomination guidelines.
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.
Lenten Study Group – Wed. evenings at 7:00.
Featuring selected scriptures and Wendell Berry’s Sabbath Poetry of Lent
Join us for a deepening of faith through introspection and discussion…
You need not come to all sessions. Join us whenever you can.
Pastor TJ will be on Study Week April 24th - 30th.
On April 30th, Pastor Jeff Jeude will be our guest preacher while Pastor TJ is away.
Meet our congregation:
Meet Everett and Vicky Espling: We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary this past January and have lived the majority of that time here in Hancock. We have two grown children, Joey and Holly, two grandsons, Keagan and Graham, and two granddaughters, Xyerra and Brookelin.
Everett has been a youth group advisor, and has served on the Board of Christian Education, the Board of Trustees and the Board of Deacons. He has been a member of this church for 36 years. Everett served in the US Army, stationed in Colorado and Germany and the Army Reserves. He worked at Hancock Grocery for 34½ years and currently works in the dairy department at Shaw’s supermarket.
Vicky has taught Sunday School, been a youth group advisor and has served on the Board of Christian Education and the Board of Deacons, been on Church Council, has served as clerk, been a delegate to the Maine Conference, and, yes, has been the Church Secretary for over 30 years. I have been a member of this church for 42 years. I worked at Wal*Mart as a Customer Service Manager and most recently worked the front desk at a local motel.
Submissions desired:
Your name here…. Share your story, please. Do not be shy. Not everyone knows everyone.
No one knows everything about anyone. If you have enjoyed reading these brief biographies please share one of your own. Bio’s can be sent to Pastor TJ or Vicky.
April Birthdays and Anniversaries:
03: *Jane* Preble
04: *Don* Baril
09: *Jane* Bradley
14: *Dennis* & *Linda* King
16: Jack & Delores Candy (Easter Sunday)
19: *Linda* King
19: *Keith* Bowie
21: *Mary Beth* DiMarco
21: *Peggy* Emigh
22 *Betty* Johnston
26: *John* & Chris Wells
30: *Ruth* Butters
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:
Gary & Jeanne’s grandson William recovering from a skiing accident;
Gary Edwards recovering from surgery; Amy Nickerson; Kate Winters; Samantha and her family; Mike and Cindy Merritt; Nick’s sister Susan; Kenny Stratton; Joy & David; Lori; Kenny Stratton III at EMMC recovering from double-pneumonia; Denny Doucette; Debbie R.; Vicky’s Aunt Eleanor; Graham; Myrna’s cousin Donna; Debbie E; Sandy Phippen; Linda K.; Renata’s sister-in-law Joanne; Steve Crabtree; John Wood; Judith Crowley; Cheryl and her husband Jeff; Andrew and Tamara; Austin’s cousin Danny; Bruce’s sister Lynn; Debbie Maddocks and her Aunt Linda Reed; Kathy’s sister Patti; Liz & Jim; Renata and the women she cares for; Tom & Judy’s son Andrew and his family; Coulter; Roberta Scott; Betty Johnston; Betty’s step-daughter Mollie; Nancy; Cynthia; Margaret B; Kenny Stiles; healing prayers for a family seeking solutions to significant mental health issues; Eleanor’s step-daughter Holly; all those living with depression and other mental health issues; all individuals and families experiencing addictions; all caregivers; all affected by memory loss; for all victims and loved ones of violence; those impacted by laws limiting reproductive justice; those experiencing food and housing insecurity; the people of Syria and Turkey; the people of Ukraine and Russia;
President Jimmy Carter and his family; all in your heart…
Contact Us at Union Congregational Church of Hancock:
TJ can be reached by cell phone at 207-323-6743 or by email at revtjmack@gmail.com
Vicky can be reached at 207-422-3100 or by email at hancockmaineucc@gmail.com
Jen can be reached by email at treasurer@hancockucc.com
News from the Maine Conference
God Goes With Us
Beloved Maine Conference,
I have been so touched by the calls, emails, and texts that have come in since the announcement went out on Monday that I will be finishing my term as your Designated Associate Conference Minister in May 2024. Fourteen months is a long lead time for a departure, but necessary for Marisa and the Board to lead a comprehensive search for your next settled ACM.
As I said in my resignation letter, serving the Maine Conference as your designated ACM has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my career. I have loved this work deeply, and so this choice is not about leaving this job or this conference, but rather about moving towards a more sustainable situation for my family. With two young children and a partner who also works demanding hours, we have learned that we need to live in a place that can provide a deeper bench of friends and family to help us carry the load. That could happen in a few places, but since my wife, Liz, works for Princeton University, that is our most likely destination.
This is such an exciting moment in our conference’s history. We have a gifted Conference Minister, a phenomenally talented director of Pilgrim Lodge, and an innovative Dean of the Maine School of Ministry. The future is looking bright in Maine!
Over the next year, I look forward to fully participating in the ongoing growth of this conference’s connection, vitality, and evolution. If you need me, I’m never more than an email or phone call away. I will also be praying for you as you search for your next settled Associate Conference Minister.
Friends, transitions are never easy, but in the end, the Good News remains: God goes with us, whether we are gathered or scattered. In Christ, we are one body, united, no matter where our journeys lead us. And the Spirit always goes before us, making way for new life to flourish.
Please know that I will always cheer for this conference’s flourishing, even from afar.
Yours in Christ,
Alexis
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