Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for August 24, 2025

Shackled by a heavy burden / 'Neath a load of guilt and shame Then the hand of Jesus touched me / And now I am no longer the same

He touched me, oh, he touched me / And oh, the joy that floods my soul Something happened, and now I know / He touched me, and made me whole

The Annual Church Picnic will be held on Sunday, August 24th from 4-6:00 pm at Tidal Falls in Hancock. Plan to bring a chair, a dish to share, and family and friends.

August 31st will be the last week of the alternative contemplative service inspired by John Philip Newell prayer books. These outdoor Sunday services begin at 7:00 a.m. at Tidal Falls (rain or shine) and last 25-30 minutes. Please join us!

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 the Fellowship Hall.

The Outreach Committee will meet on Thursday, August 28 at 4:15 p.m.

The Minister’s Discretionary Fund helps people in need, members of our church family and people in our communities. It is a minimal church budget item, it is supported mainly by donations made to that specific fund. If you would like to donate, envelopes are available at the back of the Sanctuary, or notate your desired donation on your check. Thank you. 

Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

Our prayers are with Debbie Riley while she is home recovering from a fall and a broken hip. Our prayers remain with Alex & Savannah and Andrew & Tamara; and Tyler Crabtree and his family. We pray for David M,; Donald B.; Kenny V.; Brian; and Jane of Golden Acres. Prayers for  Jim Snyder and all in Hospice Care. Prayers for Morgan E.; Cynthia W.; Judith C.; the Raymond Family; Eleanor A.; Hollis & Debbie; Bruce’s sister Lynn; Sally’s friend, Sue Barger; Herbie Lounder; Ruth; Marie; Jonathan Holmes; Sue Davies; Sue Davenport; Kenny Stratton & Joy & David & Lori & Melissa; Debbie & Lincoln & Aaron, Ashley, & Brielle; and Sandy Phippen. Prayers for all that are unsafe, unhoused, hungry & in need of care & compassion. Prayers for individuals and families affected by addictions. Prayers for all caregivers; those who are grieving loss or change; and prayers for all that is in your heart…

Hancock Point Chapel: Rev. Alice A. Hildebrand, Retired Pastor Deer Isle-Sunset Congregational and Women’s and Children's Chaplain at Maine Medical Center in Portland ME.

There were requests after Peter Schay’s sermon, on August 10th, for the full text of the “Declaration for an End to Genocide in Palestine” resolution, made at the General Synod. I’ve attached that, and the text of Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson’s State of the Church speech (both downloaded from https://generalsynod.org/). Please see the attachments for these documents.

August Birthdays and Anniversaries 

24: Cynthia Wood       25: Austin Crowley-Dunn         29: Nick & Mary Angela Davis

September

02:*Chris* Nowell          07: Rohanna Madigan           08: Tamara Crowley  

08: Jane Coffin           09: Parker Fuller   11: Kenny Stratton     

14: Roger & Denise Chandler   15: Nancy Cooledge        15: Priscilla Hirschenhofer  

16: Jamie & Gina Tansey           19: Tony Burkart        20: Dianne Eckhardt      

20: Cliff Manchester             20: Jim Singletary

There will be a Public Pot Roast Supper at the First Congregational Church of Ellsworth, UCC,  2 Church Street, on Saturday, August  23rd. Supper will be served from 5-6:30 p.m. Cost is $12 per person, $25 per family (2 adults, 2 children). Beef pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, salad, rolls, homemade pies, and beverages (coffee, tea, lemonade).

Pilgrim Lodge

Were you ever a camper, counselor, dean or staff member at Pilgrim Lodge?

Did you ever send your child to camp, or support Pilgrim Lodge through your church?

You are invited to this in-gathering of people who love Pilgrim Lodge

on August 31st from 1-9:00 pm.  Learn more and register!

Finding Our Center of Stillness

Meditation Retreat: September 18-21

In the midst of a tornado there is a still, peaceful center. Spend four days with Khenmo Drolma of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery at Pilgrim Lodge discovering how to return home to your inherent peaceful heart/mind. Khenmo will offer classic meditation and mindfulness training. You will learn skills to navigate the chaos of life while dwelling in calmness, replete with resilience and authentic joy. Learn more and register here.

Sumner High School project needs support

My Project

Our high school has been working on building a positive school climate that includes looking out for each other and celebrating our successes. This year, we were able to begin offering students the opportunity to bake bread in the student kitchen as well as share bread and toppings with our students in the hallway just before the last block of the day. The students have loved it.

We want to get supplies so that our students can keep baking bread.

It is the best feeling to have students stopping by the tables and fixing a sandwich or getting a slice of their favorite sourdough flavors as they head to class. It is positive, it is delicious, and it feeds more than their bellies.

We need to get safe containers to hold our flour and to build our supply of inclusions and toppings. Even our toughest kids are saying please and thank you. We are literally breaking bread together. It is making a positive difference in our school. Please help us continue to provide this for our school family.

Hi All,

I have personally supported a project at Sumner High School that still needs support, and I thought some of you might be as interested as I am. A group of students supervised by Mrs. Edgecomb bakes bread every school day and offers bread and toppings to other students during the break before the last class period of the day. She needs sponsors for additional food-safe equipment to continue and expand the project, and she needs this support by September 1st or her project expires without any funding. Did you know that more than 1/3 of Sumner students come from low-income households?

Here's the link to the project and donation information:

     Warm Bread Full Bellies @Sumner High School, Sullivan ME

     Teacher: Mrs. Edgecomb

     https://www.donorschoose.org/project/warm-bread-full-bellies-focused-mind/9309533/

The platform, Donors Choose, vets the schools, the teachers, and the purchase list with prices, before listing any project.

I hope you will join me in personally supporting this project!

Thanks,

Donna Herring, President of the Hancock Woman’s Club          Thanks Sue for this information!

News from our Maine Conference

To Be of Use

A Message from Liz Charles McGough, Pilgrim Lodge Director

I was recently introduced to the poem, “To Be of Use” by Marge Piercy. I was moved by her celebration of people who devote themselves to everyday, unglamorous work that needs to be done.

“The people I love the best

jump into work head first

without dallying in the shallows

 and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.

They seem to become natives of that element,

the black sleek heads of seals

bouncing like half-submerged balls.”

Back in January of 2025, it was during the dark and snowy days of winter that Pilgrim Lodge’s Outdoor Ministries Team was reflecting on the question, “how can we be of use?” as we discerned what organizations and issues we might support with our annual summer mission project at camp. In those early days of 2025, we recognized that our immigrant neighbors would be facing new vulnerability in our communities. Our curriculum for camp urged us to show up in “Another Way,” and with that grounding in our faith and eyes wide open to our calling to be of use in this time and place, we connected with two organizations that partner with our New Mainer neighbors across the state: The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and the Maine Mobile Health Program. These organizations collaborate to provide support in service to the health, well-being and rights of our neighbors, many of whom contribute their labor in our fields and factories, offer service in our communities, and who sit by us in our schools and churches.

“I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again.”

I lift up the work of our summer Program Coordinator at Pilgrim Lodge, Louise Smith-Erb, who masterminded a highly interactive summer mission presentation in service to exploring how we, as people of faith or people who care about the well-being of our neighbors and community members, might be of use. We grounded our exploration in scripture, “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13: 1-2). Louise and staff members led campers, children and adults alike, through an activity to envision the world that they want to live in and how we might contribute to living in “Another Way” where everyone has a seat at the table. They then invited campers to identify their own gifts, to be of use, in the work of creating the world we seek to make manifest from the Social Change Map by Deepa Iyer.

“I want to be with people who submerge

in the task, who go into the fields to harvest

 and work in a row and pass the bags along,

who are not parlor generals and field deserters

 but move in a common rhythm

 when the food must come in or the fire be put out.”

With the campers, we wrote notes of care and support to share with our mission partners so that they know they are not alone in their work in this challenging moment. We’ve collected funds all summer long to share with them and we’ve charged our campers with using their gifts to go forth into the world, to be of use.

Beyond our work of sending out, we capped off our last day of Pilgrim Lodge programming in August with an invitation for coming in. We called it “Pilgrim Lodge’s Day of Gratitude” and we invited in our partner organizations that are on the frontlines of social change – their employees, Board Members, and families – for a day of rest, relaxation, and recreation at Pilgrim Lodge. We fed them lunch and offered them ice cream. They walked the labyrinth and floated in the lake. It was our way of saying, “Thank you for being of use. We see your work. We value how much you care. We love you. Come and rest for a moment before you go back out to the field.”

“The work of the world is common as mud.

Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.

But the thing worth doing well done

has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

Greek amphoras for wine or oil,

Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums

 but you know they were made to be used.

The pitcher cries for water to carry

and a person for work that is real.”

 If you would like to contribute to our summer mission project as we seek to support our New Mainer neighbors, you may mail a check to us at Pilgrim Lodge: 103 Pilgrim Lodge Lane, West Gardiner, ME 04345. The check can be made out to “Pilgrim Lodge” with “Summer Mission Project” in the memo line.

Reflections on General Synod From our Delegates

For the next few weeks you will read the reflections, thoughts, and musings from our Synod Delegates. This week we hear from Stacy George, delegate from MidCoast Association.

I was so excited to go to General Synod this year because of the overwhelming feeling you get from being in the same room with people of the same faith. We sang, worshipped, laughed, and debated with each other. All with a great amount of respect. If I could sum up this years Synod in one word that would be it, respect. The amount of decency everyone carried when they spoke either for or against a resolution during the Plenaries was astonishing. No one got overly excited one way or another, they simply stated their facts or opinion and let the next person speak. It made me ecstatic to be part of the United Church of Christ.

At first I was worried about the committee I was on and how the sessions would be. I remember how two years ago there were some committees that had a lot of debating and a lot of word smithing; I was praying that would not happen to me. My committee two years ago was excellently handled and the chair was memorable, so I had high expectations. My prayers were answered and my particular committee had excellent discussions and made profound additions to our resolution. When someone was dismissed or was disrespected another would speak up and call out the misstep and together we would correct our error. It was a beautiful experience and I was proud of the outcome.

This year as I attempted to traverse the exhibit hall, I ran into people from two years ago and made new connections along the way. My only regret was not getting through all the exhibits and see what was offered. I was talking too much! It was fulfilling to have the ability to talk to so many different people and get insight into what they were doing in their church and community. One evening I was able to have dinner with other Committee on Ministry chairs from across the country. It was eye opening to see how other CoMs were handling the lack of interest in new members joining the CoM and how some bigger areas their CoM was broken down into sub-committees to handle some of the workload. It shocked me because here in Maine we do it all and very rarely have a sub-committee. That dinner was memorable because we not only shared grievances but also our weaknesses and strengths.

As I reflect on my second time at General Synod, I cannot help but think of the friendships I made two years ago and the familiar faces I saw this year. It was amazing to recognize the people from the interest groups and committee I was in and have them recognize me. In true UCC fashion, it was an embrace and overzealous hello when we saw each other. The UCC extravagant welcome. I only pray I can hold this feeling of joy and acceptance for another three years when I will go to General Synod as a visitor. It will be interesting to not be a delegate and to see what other beautiful connections I can make.

The Crocker House has live music on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays

Join us from 5-7 pm to enjoy some light jazz along with rock and blues by Roberta DeMuro. (Every Wednesday night) You don’t want to miss out on some classic sing-along songs!

This Friday outside on the stone patio, we have bluegrass and folk music from 5-7pm by Geoff and Carlos! Drink and food service will be available outside.

Last but not least, like we have every Sunday - jazz by the Downeast Jazz Collective will be from 4-6pm! If the weather cooperates with us, outside on the patio!

We hope you can join us for an evening of live music to support some of our local talent!

~The Crocker House Family