Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for September 11, 2022
O Power of Peace, who brings to us good tidings,
Teach us to speak you word of hope and cheer:
Rest for the soul, and strength for all our striving,
Light for the path of life, your truth brought near.
Upcoming services and meetings
Sunday, September 11th, we will return to our regular worship hour of 10:00 am.
Fostering Imagination brainstorm session at 9:30 this Sunday, September 11th.
(Please see next page.)
There will be a graveside service for Marcia Stratton on Sunday, September 11th
at noon at the Riverside Cemetery, behind Hancock Grammar School.
The reception has been postponed. The family will announce new details in the Spring.
Deacons will meet Friday, September 9th at 2:00 p.m.
Outreach will meet Thursday, September 15th at 4:00 p.m.
Council will meet Tuesday, September 20th at 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 18 our guest pastor, Jeff Jeude will lead our worship service while
Pastor TJ and some of the women of the church are enjoying a weekend at Pilgrim Lodge.
---Women’s Weekend is September 16 – 18th.
It is not too late to sign up!
Visit the Pilgrim Lodge website or ask Pastor TJ for details.
Tiered pricing from $137 – $177. Scholarships available.
If you would like assistance with online registration talk with Pastor TJ.
The month of September we will be taking a collection for One Great Hour of Sharing. OGHS
is one of the five for five special offerings of the United Church of Christ. This offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the United Church of Christ within Wider Church Ministries.
When we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.
Fostering Imagination brainstorm session at 9:30 this Sunday, September 11th.
All are welcome and encouraged to participate in-person or on Zoom.
Isaiah 43:19
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The Small Church Leadership Team has been meeting on Zoom with five other churches in Northern New England approximately twice a month since June – and will continue to gather through November.
The program topic is Fostering Imagination. We applied to participate in this program because of our aging church population and declining participation. I believe we were chosen to join The BTS Center program because our church displays incredible creativity and a willingness to try new things.
Our Task Force consists of:
Jennifer Ashmore
Mary Beth DiMarco
Peggy Karns
Doug Kimmel
TJ Mack
Plus alternates
Patrice Alexander
Nick Davis
Our current focus is wondering about and re-imagining our place in our community/ies and we need your help. We ask you to please join us this coming Sunday at 9:30, in the sanctuary or on Zoom, prior to the 10:00 worship service for a Brainstorming session. Each of your individual perspectives are instrumental in shaping the eventual focus and direction of our team.
Our plan is to ask one another, “What if…?” specifically as it relates to our church and our place in our communities.
Examples:
What if everyone in Hancock (and surrounding towns) knew that they were welcome here?
What if we asked people in our community what they need or want from us?
What if we had a drop-in coffee shop in our Fellowship Hall during the week?
What if we always had paper and crayons in the pews for people of all ages?
What if the church was always open?
Please join us at 9:30 on Sunday, September 11th to ponder “what if…?”
Blessings,
The Small Church Leadership Team
Cards of healing and support re: Marcia’s recent lung cancer diagnosis and surgery can be
sent to Steven & Marcia Crabtree, 865 Central Ave., Apt. I-112, Needham MA 02492.
September Birthdays and Anniversaries
08: *Tamara* Crowley
11: *Kenny* Stratton
14: Roger & Denise Chandler
15: *Nancy* Cooledge
15: *Priscilla* Hirschenhofer
16: *David* Wood
16: Jaimie & Gina Tansey
19: *Tony* Burkart
19: *Joey* & Morgan Espling
20: *Cliff* Manchester
20: *Jim* Singletary
From the Ellsworth American:
There will be an organ concert at the First Congregational Church of Ellsworth, UCC on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 2:30 p.m. Local organists Gerald Wheeler, Peter Haynes, Debbie Riley and Lynn Hall will showcase the majesty of the church’s Hall pipe organ. The church is commemorating this gift from the Black Family of Woodlawn over 110 years ago. Wheeler studied piano, organ, theory and composition at the Royal College of Music in London. He has performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra domestically and internationally. He has served churches in London, Ottawa, Montreal, Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Boston and Blue Hill. He is presently the organist and choir director at the First Congregational Church in Blue Hill. Haynes is a native of Ellsworth, and though his family moved away when he was 13, he has summered in Trenton on Union River Bay his entire life. He is a member of the board for the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ in Portland, and subs occasionally at the First Parish Church in Yarmouth. Riley studied music at Boston University School of Fine & Applied Arts, receiving a Bachelor of Music in Organ and Church Music. She has been organist at several churches in Massachusetts and Maine, including Orono United Methodist and Blue Hill Congregational. Riley is presently the organist and choir director at Union Congregational UCC in Hancock. After moving to Maine in 1998, Hall worked with Allen Fernald, the organist at the First Congregational Church of Ellsworth, and was a substitute when needed. She became the full-time organist at the First Congregational Church seven years ago. For more information, call 667-8321.
The Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry is hosting “Fill The Grand” drive September 23rd.
The pantry is asking the community to fill every seat in the historic Grand theater with bags of food and funds to support their mission: ending food insecurity for Hancock County families. Monetary donations are welcome as donor dollars go further since L&F can purchase food through partners at a competitive price. Individuals can sponsor a bag at $25. which will fill one seat in the theater. The most needed non-perishable items include soups (chicken noodle and condensed tomato), canned chicken and tuna, stuffing mix, jelly, paper towels (single pack), dog food (canned food and 5-pound dry food), cat food (canned food and 5-pound dry food), baby shampoo and ointment and adult diapers (male and female larger sizes). Loaves and Fishes hopes the event will raise $10,000. For more information about the even and how to participate, contact Leila Murphy at murphy.leila@gmail.com or 207-701-1666.
Contact Us at Union Congregational Church of Hancock:
TJ can be reached by cell phone at 207-323-6743 or by email at revtjmack@hancockucc.com
Vicky can be reached at 207-422-3100 or by email at office@hancockucc.com
(When emailing Vicky it is helpful to send to both addresses.)
Jen can be reached by email at treasurer@hancockucc.com
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