Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for October 4, 2026

God of the sparrow 

God of the whale 

God of the swirling stars 

How does the creature say Awe 

How does the creature say Praise

The Choir practices Sunday morning at 9:10 am.  All are welcome!

Hancock Community Pet Blessing Service

Community members and their pets are invited to a Pet Blessing Service at 10 am on Sunday October 4^th, at the Hancock Town Memorial Lot located at the intersection of Route 1 and Point Road, adjacent to the Hancock Town Hall. This informal service celebrates our pets and the important roles they play in our lives. Children are invited to participate and all types of pets are welcome, leashed as appropriate. If your pet does not play well with others, you may use a carrier or bring a picture. Please bring a chair. In the case of inclement weather, the service will be moved to the church.

Wednesdays,  from 10 am-12 noon –

knitting group at the Hancock Community Center  –

for the Hancock Grammar School mitten tree project.

ANNUAL REPORTS ARE DUE IN THE OFFICE NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 21st!!

Please and Thank You.

Our Congratulations go to Sarina Brooks as she was unanimously approved for Ordination, pending a Call, at her Ecclesiastical Council held in Machias on Saturday, September 26th.

October Birthdays     

06: Judi Crowley        07: Jaimie Wood Harrell     08: Richard Lewis     

12: Brandon Perry-Hudson          13: Liz Bunker            14: Peggy Karns

18: TJ Mack     19: Bonnie Ross        20: Ruth Dietze          24: Susan Davies

29: Ron McGlinchey

Our meetings are open to all. You are welcome to attend in the Fellowship Hall or by Zoom. Ask Vicky for the Zoom link, if you need it.

Deacons will meet on Thursday, October 8th at 4:30 pm (on Zoom only)

Christian Ed will meet on Friday, October 9th at 12 noon (on Zoom only)

Trustees will meet on Wednesday, October 14th at 11 am (on Zoom only)

Outreach will meet on Thursday, October 15th at 4:30 pm

Council will meet on Friday, October 16th at 11 am

Our Deposit Bottles and Cans Help Hungry Hancock Students

Throughout this summer, Members and Friends have been collecting and saving returnable deposit bottles and cans to raise money for the Hancock Grammar School’s Food Backpack program. We have been doing this for several years.  This year-round program provides much needed food assistance to school families that have difficulty providing enough food for their children.

For the months of June through September, we raised $287 which was  delivered to the school this week.

Thanks to everyone for their participation. Please call me (422-3739) when you have bottles and cans to be picked up or feel free to bring them to the church. Our deposit cans and bottles provide easy support for this important food assistance program and we need to help the school keep it going.                                                 – David Wildes

Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

Prayers for all God’s creation, that peace may prevail here and around the world. Prayers of strength and love as this church community transitions from Rev. TJ’s leadership to Rev. Pete. Our prayers remain with Aaron & Ashley, Lincoln & Debbie, Alex & Savannah, Andrew & Tamara, Tyler Crabtree and all of their families. We pray for all those who live and work at Golden Acres. Prayers for Peter; Roberta and her family; for Renata recovering from anaplasmosis; and for Bobby. We pray for Betty Johnston; Sonny & Gerry; Scott; Dean; David; Don; Dexter B.; Cynthia W.; Judith C.; Debbie; Kirk; Patrice’s step-sister Patricia; Sally’s friend Darren; Herbie Lounder; Sandy Phippen; David Mack; Sue Davies; and Sue Davenport. Prayers for all in Hospice Care and for all caregivers. Prayers for all that are unsafe, unhoused, hungry & in need of care & compassion. Prayers for individuals and families affected by mental illness and addictions. Prayers for those who are experiencing family conflict; and prayers for all that is in your heart…

We were blessed to have our Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Marisa Laviola, preach at our Service of Farewell and Release, as we said thanks to Pastor TJ for her guidance and leadership over the past seven years, and

We learn how to say goodbye… by letting go… with love. 

Our thanks, love and blessings go with you!

Hancock rent control petition 

The background is- parks and rentals are being bought up by out of state investment companies. They are more concerned with profit than residents. While most of us own our homes, we lease the lot it’s sitting on. We are held hostage to rent increases as it’s costly to purchase land and move our home. 

We got a moratorium on rent increases and are now trying to get an ordinance passed, for rent control, but we’re facing strong opposition by the select board. We have developed a petition to have a special election to pass the ordinance. The ordinance would cover any rental in Hancock.                                                  –Linda Cunningham

Overhearing A Dean’s Prayers

Rev. Dr. Malcolm Himschoot – Dean, Maine School of Ministry

This year MESOM celebrates its 15th year, lifting up ministry not for its own sake but for the life of the whole people of God. We focus on support and equipping through theological education the church and all its ministers.

When I pray for all the ministries of the church, it takes a long time! I might start with the committees and programs of the Maine Conference (big C) as each lives out their purpose, past and present, giving rise to missional work such as Pilgrim Lodge, Maine School of Ministry, Just Peace (20th anniversary) and Open and Affirming (15th anniversary). Then I pray for the noble volunteers on the Board of Directors, and those serving on each Committee on Ministry. I pray for staff, including the Conference Minister and the Associate Conference Minister in their ministries of Word and Sacrament, as they join metro and out-state areas into a shared life of prayer and mutual support that is real and relational – not A.I.! – thanks be to God.

But I’m not done.

Then I have to get into all the ministries of the conference (lower-case c) which means every local church, all the initiatives and events and moments that share the Spirit’s care and Jesus’ life-giving transformation. I do not know each one, but I give my intention to One who does. I linger to pray thanks and protection for inspiration and devotion that proclaims good news to the poor, feeds the hungry, visits the prisoners, and sets the oppressed free. As Jurgen Moltmann says, “Freed life, redeemed life, divine life is there, in this world, in our times, in the midst of us.” Which means my prayers for a congregation can’t stop (or start!) with worship on Sunday, but must go into every day of the week. Into families’ homes and housing developments, crisis planning and campus conversations, grief groups and veterans’ groups, drop-in centers that ease dementia, psych facilities that treat youth as patients. Into Tribal relationships, businesses and workplaces, county fairs and animal shelters. It’s a long list, you see.

I surely have to pray for all our pastors, and all clergy doing specialized ministries in the wider community, and those doing some of each, even the retired ones. Likewise I must include in my prayers both vocations of bi-vocational people who manage church work and also do homesteading / math teaching / nursing / school counseling / research / technology / music career / family life. The Maine School of Ministry delights in the diversity of calls and callings that reach across our state into rural and remote areas and place-based livelihoods.

Since the list is long and of infinite variety, is there any commonality to what I think of as ‘ministries’ of the conference? Perhaps what makes it ‘ministry’ is the art of doing of these things in a mindful way, a prayerful way, as a spiritual practice in the presence of God. Whether it’s a committee meeting, a one-on-one visit, a program, or an event, you can do it better or you can do it worse. You could neglect doing it, you could do it for a time, or you could do it over time. Especially if you take vows to do it lifelong, with accountability, in a manner that builds up the body of Christ in each and every other way, then that’s the one that gets named ‘ministry’ in an ecclesiastical sense.

The more we surface the question – “Do you hear God calling?” – the more people can ask themselves that question, and listen closely. It should not surprise us that in a living tradition the answer is often “Yes!” Now just where God is calling, and what kind of path Christ is leading, is usually not at all clear, and takes time to discern. Just like the meaning of the word ‘ministry.’

*You are welcome to join in this infinite exercise. If you’re like me you’ll find yourself praying while you’re driving behind a wheel, kayaking on a lake, or some mornings when God wakes you up extra early.