Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for August 16, 2026

I'm crying for crumbs today. Please let one fall my way.

Cause I believe that in my heart you love me too.

I know I don't deserve one Lord, but please spare just one.

I'm not begging for bread, I'm just crying for crumbs.

Join us at Tidal Falls each Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. for a 25-30 minute contemplative service grounded in the prayer books of John Philip Newell. All are welcome! Thank you to Nancy Gourlie and Robin Stratton for leading these services.

The Meditation Group is meeting at the Hancock Point Chapel on Fridays led by Alison Boden and will continue into September! All are welcome! Reach out to Alison with any questions. (aboden3321@gmail.com, 609-865-3236)

If you are interested in year-long Zoom study with Angela please contact Angela for further information at angelaabsher@gmail.com

LIVE at the Milbridge Theater

26 Main St,. Milbridge

Saturday, August 15 at 7:00 pm

Sunday, August 16 at 3:00 pm

$8 – Child  $12 – Adult

PJ Open House

Sunday, August 16th from 2-4 pm

        at the Hancock Community Center

1416 US Hwy 1, Hancock

Sponsored by P.E.O.

New PJs only

All sizes - infant - teen

Art Exhibit of new paintings by Renata Moise and Noreen Eagleston during the entire month of August, with reception Tuesday, August 18th from 3:30-5pm at The Crocker House Country Inn, 967 Point Road, Hancock. Please join us!

Come celebrate Hancock, August 22 from 11 am - 2 pm

at the Hancock Grammar School. Good food, shop locally, games, bouncy house, water slide and more.

Something for EVERYONE!

BINGO BASH

The Christian Ed board invites you to our Fall Intergenerational Event: On September 20, from 4-6 we’ll host a potluck supper and Bingo! Small prizes will be given for each Bingo scored. (No money needed) Team up with your child or friend, or play on your own. Mark your calendar now for this fun party!

 August Birthdays

          23: Gerry Mehl    24: Cynthia Wood      25: Austin Crowley-Dunn

My (Pastor TJ’s) month volunteering at Pilgrim Lodge exceeded all of my expectations. Thank you all for giving me the time away from Hancock to both offer and receive the many gifts of camp life.

A Pilgrim Lodge tradition as the season comes to the end is to share “staffirmations” (staff affirmations) with one another. I thought you might like to know how your generosity was received.

 “Thank you for hopping in and taking control, we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”

“I had so much fun doing challenges with you! I hope our paths cross again in the future.”

“Your heart for camp, staff, and campers is as big as all outdoors. You always bring a smile to my face.”

 “What a gift to have you able to share your time and energy with us! I’m glad it worked out for all concerned.”

“TJ, what a blessing beyond belief to have you with us for a whole month this summer. You showed up in all the right ways, exactly when we needed you. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to share this experience of camp with you. Thank you for your leadership, kindness, and care.”

“TJ, it has been an honor being on the PLLT with you and on staff for the past month!  Thank you for all you have done for us all.”

“You were such a fantastic addition to the team! I’m so glad I got to know you and to have another -J on staff!”

“Thank you for coming in ready to go and for helping out so much wherever you were needed. I enjoyed doing challenges with you.”

 “Thank you for always being someone who will listen to me—even when you probably have something else going on during that time.”

“Duck around and find out… how awesome you are!”

“Thank you for being so reliable and willing to do anything and everything!”

“TJ, oh how I love thee! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the energy, effort, and dedication you have given to us all this summer. Your presence has been such a steady beat in the song of the summer. I always know we can count on you to take on a task or a brand new role, and I trust you so much. I hope your next journey is one that brings you so, so much JOY! Come back to us soon, often, and always. <3”

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. 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 Roberta and her family; and for Bobby, recovering from a stroke. We pray for Betty Johnston; Sonny & Gerry; Scott; Dean; David; Don; Dexter B.; Cynthia W.; Judith C.; Debbie; Kirk; Ruth & Peter; Patrice’s step-sister Patricia; Sally’s friend Darren; Herbie Lounder; Sandy Phippen; David Mack; Sue Davies; 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…

A letter from our Conference Minister

Rev. Dr. Marisa Laviola PhD.

“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us. (John 17:20-21)

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

 “Beloved in unity; Called through diversity”

Unity and diversity have been on my mind a lot lately. How do we show our unity within the Maine Conference as a people who embrace the original motto of the UCC “that they may be one”; a people who know they are beloved and are willing to consider everyone beloved? How do we in the Maine Conference express our call to serve God through the diversity of our gifts and our experiences?

As I anticipate our upcoming Annual Meeting, I am excited that we will celebrate the many years of the Maine Conference in which we have served our God through our outdoor ministries, our regional ministry program, and in our faith settings with love and support from the Conference office. We have had our ups and downs, our assuredness and doubts; we have reimagined the “alive and thrive” commitment to our local churches, especially our smaller churches. And I have witnessed all of our churches, including our tiny churches, knowing a resurgence of commitment to our God to spread the Gospel message so that all know they are beloved; all are welcome, no matter who and no matter where. We are beacons of hope as we bring the message and actions of Jesus through our hands and feet to the people in our greater communities.

For us to continue to be unified as Jesus and God are unified; for us to acknowledge that through our diversity we can be the hands and feet of Jesus, we must first answer the question:

Do you know you that you are beloved? Do you know that there is nothing you can do to push God away; there is nothing you can do to bring God closer? Do you know that God is with you, constantly, surrounding you with love because God is love and you are God’s children? Beginning at birth, and traversing throughout our time on this earth, we have the blessed assurance that we are unconditionally beloved of God.

And God’s love is dynamic, urgent, and active. God counts on us, expects us, the beloved, to spread that beloved news to everyone, even those who are so difficult to see as beloved. Our call from God, rooted in love, is to bring all the diversity of our gifts to bear to minister to those around us in our greater communities and throughout Maine. Paul, in the 12 chapter of Corinthians tells us we are members of one unified body. And each of us has a vital ministry, unique and cherished, equal in value, called to be the hands and feet of Jesus for peace and justice for everyone.

Beloved, we all know that we are in the midst of turmoil and conflict in our country and our world, some say beyond what we’ve seen in our lifetime. We are so needed to bring God’s love to all and to serve as Jesus showed us how through his actions and teachings in the Gospel—especially for those who are marginalized and shunned and harmed. In this fractious time of our lives in this country, our unity in Christ is even more needed. Our affirmation of our diverse gifts and how we are called to serve is essential in this world.

In response to the plight of our world today, the United Church of Christ has recently re-affirmed our commitment to unity, inclusion, and diversity through a new paradigm that is both edifying and empowering as we struggle to be one and welcome all.

It’s called “the tent of our own making” as we affirm our continued commitment to inclusivity and welcoming a diversity of theological and political views as we strive to have loving dialogue with one another in the midst of turmoil and conflict in our country and our world. God calls us to welcome one another, whatever our views are; to bring the message of God’s love, to spread that love to everyone, and to serve through the diversity of our gifts God has bestowed on us for the sake of the Gospel as Jesus shows us and teaches us.

At Annual Meeting our general Minister and President Karen Georgia Thompson will be offering a workshop on “The Tent of our own Making.” She will also offer the keynote and will have a “meet and greet” with folks Friday evening at dinner.

Our hope for a celebration that extends beyond Annual Meeting, that continues into our future requires us to covenant one with another, whatever our interpretations of God’s work in the world. We can begin and end our encounters with owning and sharing Gods unconditional love. We can strive to engage in respectful and loving dialogue. And we can work together to be the hands and feet of Jesus for our world that is crying for peace, love, and justice.