Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for May 10, 2026

Like Jochebed and Hannah,

and Mary too, we know

the hardest part of loving

is learning to let go,

so when we send our children

out in the world to live,

grant us such hope and faith, God,

and love enough to give.

Choir rehearsals are on Sunday mornings at 9:10am. All are welcome.

The Meditation Group meets Friday mornings, at 9:00am in the Fellowship Hall. Reach out to Pastor TJ or Alison Boden with any questions. All are welcome!

(revtjmack@gmail.com, 207-323-6743 or aboden3321@gmail.com, 609-865-3236)

During the month of May, we will be receiving the Strengthen the Church (STC) Offering This is one of the 5 for 5 special offerings supported by the Maine Conference. The STC Offering reflects the shared commitment of people across the United Church of Christ to cooperatively build up the UCC. Conferences and the national setting equally share the gifts given by members and friends through their local congregations. The funds raised support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation in existing congregations. Your generosity to this offering builds up the Body of Christ. Envelopes are available in the back of the Sanctuary.

Our meetings are open to all. Please let Vicky know if you would like a link to attend via ZOOM. Upcoming April meetings:

Friday, May 8th - the Christian Education Team meets at noon on Zoom only

Friday, May 8th - the Deacons meet at 4:30 pm

Tuesday, May 12 – the Thorsen Fund Awards Panel meets at 4 pm

Friday, May 15th – our Church Council meets at 11:00 am on Zoom only

Our Spring clothing and linen sale is coming up on May15 and16. Donations of clean spring and summer clothes and any linens will be accepted from May 1-13 at the church. From May11th-May15 please consider helping with setup (and do your presale shopping). On May 15th we will need volunteers for the sale, cleanup, and distribution of the leftovers. Thank you all for your support of this important event.

Save the Dates

●     Monday, May 25^th – Hancock Memorial Day “Breakfast on the Green”. This fundraiser is sponsored by the Christian Education Team, with much help from the Outreach Group. Enjoy breakfast sandwiches and burritos, muffins, coffee, water, and more while attending the Town Memorial Day event. Your support creates Pilgrim Lodge Camp scholarships for Hancock UCC members & friends.

●     Sunday, May 31st will be an opportunity to hear our Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Marisa Laviola preach in our congregation. A great morning to be in the pews or online!

●     It is time to start planning our retreat to Pilgrim Lodge for Lighten Up Loosen Up (LULU) camp for adults, June 17-20.

We always have a wonderful time. Stay all three nights or only one or two. Join Pastor TJ and others for the schedule that works best for you. Let’s spend time with old and new friends at PL!

May Birthdays

14: John Wells           18: Fran Courschene          22: Brendan Bonner

23: Debbie Ehrlenbach       24: Erva Pinkham      26: Vicky Espling      

27: Andrea Bernard      29: *Sally Knapp

The Outreach team is curious about your interest in a "Crafting Circle"!  Once a month at the church and open to the public, these casual gatherings would provide the chance to share and connect and have snacks!  Just bring your sewing, knitting, quilting, painting, felting....whatever it is that you do....and enjoy the company of cool, creative friends!  We are still working out the details so if you think you might be interested, please reach out to Tamara and let her know! 

Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rachel Dow and the entire Dow family and friends on the recent death of her father, Gary.

Prayers for all God’s creation, that peace may prevail here and around the world. 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 BJ. Prayers for Tracey Arsenault and Joe MacKay as they both await test results. Prayers for Sonny recovering from shoulder surgery. We pray for all those who are saddled with grief, ancient or new. And for Charlotte and others struggling with depression. Prayers for Jeanne and her brother Clem. We pray for Sarina’s dad James, Graham, Joey & Morgan; Vicky & Everett; David; Dean; Don; Dexter B.; Cynthia W.; Judith C.; the Raymonds; Hollis & Debbie; Ira & Ginny; Bruce’s sister Lynn; Kirk; Ruth & Peter; Patrice’s step-sister Patricia; Herbie Lounder; Sandy Phippen; David Mack; Sue Davies; Sue Davenport; and James B. 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 addictions. Prayers for those who are experiencing family conflict; and prayers for all that is in your heart…

As you know, Pastor TJ is going on Sabbatical this July, August, and September.

The Deacons and Church Council have planned for this since 2019 when TJ was called. Offering our Pastor a sabbatical every five years is a provision in our church bylaws. We have been setting aside money in our budget every month since October 2019 to ensure the ability to compensate a sabbatical pastor while TJ is away. This is a time of renewal for TJ—and simultaneously a gift to the entire congregation. As Pastor TJ rests, reflects, and reconnects with their calling, they return refreshed, spiritually nourished, and better equipped to lead with clarity and compassion. In the meantime, the church community is given opportunities to grow in meaningful ways, with members stepping into new roles, deepening their faith, and strengthening relationships with one another. This shared season of renewal can ultimately bring fresh energy, perspective, and unity to the whole congregation. Your additional questions about what to expect are always welcome.

Hancock UCC Tote Bags are available for $15. Made of durable canvas, they are attractive and eco-friendly, with a side pocket for a water bottle, and two interior pockets for cash, driver license, or credit cards. Great as grocery or book bags!

On Friday, June 5, at 7:00 pm the Historical Society and Hancock Women’s Club will present a program about the two cabarets held in the 70’s and 80’s. A film of the later group will be shown. Participants from both cabarets will be present. Myrna Coffin will lead the panel discussion. You do not want to miss this!

KEYNOTE ADDRESS • MUSIC • CURATED 

FARM TOURS

INSPIRED WORKSHOPS • GENERATIVE GROUP TIME

Saturday, May 30, 10 am - 4 pm

Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment

Freeport, Maine

Green Teams Gathering is an annual opportunity for faith communities from across New England to come together in a spirit of bold collaboration and vision.

Ceding Conquest • Seeding Justice

   Our religious traditions hold in common the importance of covenant, of justice as wholeness, and of sacred responsibility to creation. Thus, our faith calls us to understand Indigenous sovereignty as essential to ecological well-being — and ecological well-being as essential to Indigenous sovereignty.

   Colonial dispossession of our bioregion was not only a human rights catastrophe; it was an ecological one, too, severing the reciprocal relationships between specific peoples and places. Over thousands of years, the people of the Dawnland have developed sophisticated relational technologies for the thriving of humans and the more-than-human world. Within mere centuries, colonization has ruptured much of that symbiosis.

   We invite you and your faith community to a day of un-learning and learning how our faith communities can respond to the vision of Indigenous and ecological thriving.

   During this full-day offering, we will engage in dynamic dialogue and inspired workshops, create meaningful connections, and develop skills to live prophetically amidst difficult times.

   Our day at Wolfe’s Neck will also include song, curated farm tours, inspired workshops, and generative group time.

Bring your fellow congregants! It will take a team.

Cost: Individual: $50     Congregational teams of 3 or more: $35

A Letter from Conference Minister

Rev. Dr. Marisa Laviola, PhD.

Let’s revisit: Alive and Thrive!

When I was called to serve as your Conference Minister 4 years ago, I brought experience and expertise for helping churches of all sizes to be “alive and thrive!” During my first year, many of our churches joined in workshops with the joyful realization that bigger is not better and smaller churches can be just as alive as larger churches.

Churches across Maine are embracing new models of being church that look different than 20 or 30 years ago, and these models can assure us that God’s vision for our future is bursting forth. We read in Isaiah 43: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." God says to us in the 21st century, as God said to the Hebrews centuries ago, to look closely with faith and confidence for evidence of renewal and growth.

Okay, these are inspiring words and lofty goals, but how about the “nuts and bolts or howtos” of Alive and Thrive?

Churches of all sizes can continue into God’s future with confidence as we embrace new models:

1. Ask yourselves: “if our church closed, would the folks in the greater community miss us? Would they even notice?” The greater community will miss you and notice IF you are seen as relevant to the needs of the community around you. As you talk with community partners and join with them to provide help in ways that are needed AND noticed—and as you provide that ministry in your building on days of the week other than Sunday. You will be seen as essential to the greater community as you become a center for mission and ministry.

2. If you are grieving that families and children are not part of your faith community, perhaps you are not seeking the cohort that is right outside your doors. How about folks in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s 70’s? Folks will join you, perhaps not on Sundays, but on the days when they can join with you in mission and ministry. They will continue to join you as they are warmly welcomed and relationships are forged. And some may indeed come on Sunday morning.

3. Ask yourselves: is our worship welcoming to folks who are not churched, who are genz or millennial, who haven’t attended for awhile? Are they warmly welcomed at the door? Are they included in conversations at coffee hour? Are your scripture verses, prayers, and words of hymns in the bulletin?

4. Lastly, but so very important, are you open to new pastoral models: Lay people rising out of your pews to lead worship or share a message? There is training through MESOM to help. Are you open to “pastor supply plus”, which includes worship and pastoral care?

A few of our churches are lay led and have been very successful. One of our pastors in a smaller church is training laity how to lead worship and share a message. What a ministry for any of our pastors who wish to do that in their setting or help in other settings.

The latest information coming out of Hartford Seminary and Pew Research is that churches across denominations in the U.S. are rebounding slightly or holding steady. This information surprised the researchers who predicted a steep decline since COVID. Let’s hold onto that and believe it can be true right here in our conference.

We have not talked about “Alive and Thrive” related to our Conference, and I invite us to do so. This October 2nd and 3rd we will spend two days together at our Annual Meeting celebrating our “Alive and Thrive” Conference. Pilgrim Lodge is 70 years old and is thriving. MESOM is 15 years old and is thriving. Our Conference offices will come together at the Farmhouse at Pilgrim Lodge. Our Conference is thriving as churches fulfill their financial covenant through OCWM and dues.

And we will welcome our General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson to celebrate with us and bring us words of hope and encouragement.

Beloved, let’s indeed revisit “Alive and Thrive.” John and I are available for consultation as you need it. We are here to support and uphold you, pray for you and celebrate with you.

And please feel free to reach out to me for conversation anytime.

Your Partner in Ministry and Mission,

Marisa

Farmhouse Renovations Update:

Our Farmhouse renovations are coming along with a goal of finishing and moving in by Annual Meeting! (October 2 and 3). The frame is complete; windows and external doors are in, internal framing is finished. The second floor has new insulation and currently our very own John Steelhammer is insulating the downstairs of the new section. Siding is being installed and electricity and plumbing are ready to go.

Coming up: Dry wall will be installed. We are poised to sign a contract with the heating company that will also include two heat pumps, all to be set up in the Spring.  Then the internal painting and finishing work begins early summer!

VOLUNTEERS ARE WELCOME!