Hancock UCC Weekly Messenger for September 20, 2026

Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;

your mighty Defender is always the same.

Mount up with wings, as the eagle ascending;

victory is sure when you call on God’s name.

We have a new Zoom link for Worship Services and Committee Meetings.

Beginning today, to join one of our Zoom Meetings use this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84880468016?pwd=lYcwgVaRs49aMfzCajE7MrFbH2Kap5.1

Meeting ID: 848 8046 8016

Passcode: 616145 

Join us at Tidal Falls each Sunday morning through September at 7:00 a.m. for a 25-30 minute contemplative service. Come and join us!

The Choir will resume practice this Sunday morning at 9:10 am and into the future.  All are welcome!

BINGO BASH

The Christian Ed board invites you to our Fall Intergenerational Event: On September 20, from 4-6pm we will 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!

The First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, located at 22 Tenney Hill, will host a special concert featuring acclaimed singer-songwriter Caroline Cotter on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. The concert will benefit The Dolly Fisher Emergency Fund. The fund, founded in 2008, provides critical food, utility and heating assistance for neighbors facing hardships on the Blue Hill Peninsula. The concert will take place in the church's historic main sanctuary.

Cotter, a Maine-based artist who has played over 1,000 shows across 46 states and 19 countries, will deliver an afternoon of indie-folk music rooted in themes of human connection, gratitude, and wanderlust. In 2025, she spent months crisscrossing the US, two months touring in Germany, two months performing at The World Expo as an artist in residence in Osaka, Japan, and a month touring through Italy on an “End of War Peace Tour” with her WWII era banner Gibson in honor of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. She plans to release her fifth album, “The Answer,” in October.

"We are thrilled to welcome Caroline Cotter to our sanctuary for an afternoon of incredible music that serves an urgent purpose," said Lisa Durkee, Pastor of The First Congregational Church of Blue Hill. "The funds raised from this concert will provide immediate, practical support to our neighbors on the Blue Hill Peninsula."

Tickets are $20 when purchased in advance online at carolinecotter.com/shows and will also be available at the door for $25, cash only, please. Caroline's music and more information can be found at carolinecotter.com. Direct donations to the Dolly Fisher Emergency Fund may be made by visiting the church website at bluehillcongregational.org or calling the church office at 207 374-2891.

The First Congregational Church of Blue Hill is a historic and welcoming faith community located in Blue Hill, Maine. Dedicated to spiritual growth, inclusivity, and active outreach, the church regularly hosts community programs, musical events, and charitable initiatives to support the well-being of the Hancock County region.

Culinary Landscapes Cookbook Talk

The Hancock Woman’s Club is hosting a talk on Tuesday, September 22, at 1 pm, with Penobscot author Jane Crosen who will share poems, excerpts, and recipes from her new cookbook, Culinary Landscapes: A world of delicious discoveries in a Maine Mapmaker’s kitchen. 

          A Maine native with family roots in Hancock, Crosen fondly remembers learning to bake popovers in her Grammie’s kitchen in Mt. Desert Ferry.

          She began cooking with natural foods in her 20s and grew as an international vegetarian cook and baker while living at the Findhorn Community in Scotland. There she also discovered publishing as a way to combine her skills with writing, editing, art, typography, and design. On returning to Maine, jobs at DeLorme Publishing and WoodenBoat Publications led to a double career as a mapmaker and freelance editor of recreational guides, homesteading and field guides, and other genres.

Crosen’s adventures in cookbook publishing began in 1988 with a collection of favorite recipes she and her husband put together as a gift for their wedding guests. Drawing on her experience editing cookbooks for various publishers, Crosen enjoyed creating a signature cookbook in collaboration with her husband and kitchen mate, Richard Washburn, Maine Mapmaker’s Kitchen: Creative, healthy recipes for home, camp & afloat, published in 2009.

Like the first cookbook, Culinary Landscapes explores international flavors and seasonal ingredients, sharing discoveries in home and camp cooking, artful baking, kitchen gardening, foraging, and preserving. Recipes for 350 new and old favorites include colorful salads and soups, appetizers and small plates, entrees and ethnic dishes, sauces and condiments, sides and comfort dishes, holiday and breakfast specials, luscious desserts, and a cosmos of cookies.

          The cookbook is practical, personable, and inviting, embellished with Crosen’s hand-drawn illustrations, photos, and whimsical poems offering hints of culinary wisdom and reflections on cooking through the seasons at home and at camp.

          Crosen and her husband live in Penobscot, Maine, where they grow favorite varieties of veggies and herbs for cooking and putting food by. During the warmer months she enjoys frequent getaways at their camp on a Downeast lake. As a “camp cookee” she shares tips from years of provisioning and preparing camp-friendly, delicious meals in rustic conditions.

          Culinary Landscapes is the latest addition to Crosen’s product line featuring her hand-drawn maps of Maine regions along with her Coastwise editions of Colby’s historic 1881 Hancock and Washington county atlases.

          The event, which is free and open to all, will be held at the Hancock Community Center. Signed copies of both cookbooks will be available for purchase at the talk. For more information, call Mary Lou Barker at 207-422-3756.

The Meditation Group meets in our Sanctuary Friday mornings at 9:00 All welcome!

During the month of September we will be receiving the OCWM offering. Together we are a

bold witness to God’s extravagant love for all. We share resources to bring our vision to life. Gifts from congregations like ours to OCWM Basic Support make it possible for our Conferences and the National Ministries to strengthen local churches and leaders and engage us in mission beyond our community. Envelopes are available at the back of the Sanctuary.

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.

September Birthdays

19: Tony Burkart           20: Dianne Eckhardt              20: Jim Singletary

October Birthdays

01: Gina Tansey                 02: Sue Bonner         03: Everett Espling   

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. (See new Zoom link on page one.)

Outreach will meet Thursday, September 17 at 4:30 pm

Council will meet Friday, September 25 at 11 am

SAVE THE DATE: The Ecclesiastical Council for Sarina Brooks to be held on September 26th at 1 p.m. at the Centre Street Congregational Church UCC in Machias. This meeting requires a quorum. When we gather as an association for an ecclesiastical council we discern whether or not the individual is ready to receive a formal call to ministry on behalf of the United Church of Christ. It's a big deal...and important work we are doing. We hope you will make the effort to attend. There will be a Zoom option available for those unable to participate in person. The Zoom link will open at 12:30 for the 1:00 pm scheduled meeting that day. Zoom participants will be able to unmute and make comments or put their comments in the chat. The Zoom link will be forthcoming. Some of you may need to copy the link into your browser to initiate the Zoom functionality.

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 for Noah, 18 year old son of Alex and Melissa of Warren, recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. 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; 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; Ruth & Peter; 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…

Over the past year, the Maine Conference has been engaged in a Capital Campaign to renovate the Farm House at Pilgrim Lodge into a new home for our Conference offices. The goal is $150,000.

This project is about much more than a building. It's about bringing together the ministries of the Maine Conference, Pilgrim Lodge, and the Maine School of Ministry in one place, creating a shared home that reflects who we are: one church, joined together in covenant, mission, and hope. As Conference Minister Marisa Laviola has shared, this move is a tangible reminder that although we are spread across the state, we are one body in Christ.

Renovations are well underway, and each step forward is possible because of the generosity of people throughout our Conference who believe in this vision. Whether you've already made a gift, are considering a pledge, or are learning about the campaign for the first time, we invite you to join us.

Every gift—large or small—helps create a welcoming, accessible, and lasting home for the ministries that support our churches, equip our leaders, nurture our youth through Pilgrim Lodge, and strengthen the work we do together across Maine.

To learn more about the campaign, see the progress of the renovations, or make a gift, please visit: Maine Conference Capital Campaign maineucc.org/capital-campaign

Thank you for your faithful support of the Maine Conference and for helping build a home that will serve generations to come.

An opportunity to support Pilgrim Lodge:

The Katahdin Association  is sponsoring a work session to prepare the PL campus for our Maine Conference Annual Meeting. When: Beginning on Monday, September 28, from lunch time, to Thursday, October 1st after lunch is finished. You can come for a day, or two, or all four. What: There is no cost for food or housing because our work is valued by the PL staff. Those who attend might find themselves helping get meeting spaces ready for the Conference Annual Meeting which will begin the day after we’re done.  Or there may be other work to do.  If you let Bruce know of your interest he will fill you in further as the time gets closer. For food and space planning, please do check in via email with Bruce. (katahdin.me.ucc@gmail.com)   **For Monday arrivals bring your own bag lunch and meet us on the porch of Quito. Another group is renting the space til later afternoon and then by dinner it is just us.  ~ Pam & Bruce Burnham  😀👍

A Letter from our Associate Conference Minister

Rev. John Fiscus 

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Creator your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3

Throughout all the letters written or attributed to Paul you will find prayer as a central theme. Whether Paul is offering up a prayer of thanksgiving/petition or asking us to pray, prayer inundates the way Paul displays faith. When I sing the song There is a Balm in Gilead, I really understand the lyric, if you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul… Paul believed in the need for prayer in our lives.

The lectionary epistle readings since Pentecost Sunday have all come from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. I think that we receive all of this as an instruction guide on being the church that formed after Pentecost. Recently while in study for a sermon on Romans 12 I found myself on a short detour launched from the simple instruction Paul offered in the phrase “preserve in prayer,” Romans 12:12. You might have read it translated other ways. It is often translated as persistent or without ceasing. But a more literal translation is to preserve or maintain in a state. This idea is that prayer lasts forever as a method of keeping grounded.

I find myself in prayer often. I intentionally spend time in places or with readings that inspire me to slow down and spend time praying and listening for God. The Bulwark in Hallowell has been one of my favorite prayer spots since moving here. When I sit there, the radio goes off, I open the windows and I just breathe, pray, listen and repeat. Recently I found a collection of prayers by Padraig O Tuama, Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community (Canterbury Press, 2017). As a poet his prayers offer great companionship to me. This book contains prayers for different times of day and offers thirty-one prayers so that it might be used over the course of a month.

I love having this as a companion piece. Although not from our tradition, one of the most interesting prayer experiences I have had was using this text to visit and explore the Stations of the Cross. Imagine me driving slowly through a Catholic Cemetery pausing at each station to read, pray and listen. It was an amazing and too short of a journey in a hectic week.

I would like to invite you into two focused prayer challenges over the next set of months. First, I want you to offer prayers everyday from October 1 to November 3 for the election. I am not asking you to pray for a particular party, person, ideal. What I want to focus on is our continual need for love, connection and justice in our world. Offer or read a prayer that lifts you and our world. Given the current level of rhetoric in our world, turning it off daily to hand it to God and listen to God seems a way to preserve our sanity. As you are saying or offering prayers, I invite you to write a prayer down or share a prayer that you offered during this season. As you send me prayers I will start to compile and put them together. My goal is to create a mini prayer book for task two.

My second ask is that we pray together daily for the month of January. As the new year dawns, I want as many of us as possible to pray together. I want us to focus on the new year as a renewed opportunity to focus our hearts on love and justice. I will have gathered a collection of our October prayers to share prior to our January of new beginnings. It is my hope that we all can come together at these two crucial moments to do as Paul suggested and Persevere in Prayer.

I wanted to close with a prayer for us all. I found a Prayer from Padraig O Tuama that frames the communion table in a way that really spoke to me as I was reading his works. I hope that you hold on to it as a reflection the next time you break bread and lift cup. I hope this has meaning for you all.

Jesus, / you shared peace / around a table of anxiety, / peace with the bread, / peace with the wine, / peace in the face of the uncertain, / peace in the place of pain. / May we share tables of peace / in places of pain, / sharing food and friendship / and words and life. / Because you came to a fearful world / and found your place around those tables. / Amen.

Prayer by Pádraig Ó Tuama (from Daily Prayer for Corrymeela Community, which is a community of reconciliation in Belfast.)

   Rev. John Fiscus

Email your prayers to jfiscus@Maineucc.org

From the Weekly Messenger Archives:

No-Excuse Sunday

In order to make it possible for everyone to attend church next week, we are planning a special no-excuse Sunday:

●     Cots will be placed in the vestibule for those who say, “Sunday is my only day for sleeping in.”

●     Eye drops will be available for those whose eyes are tired from watching TV too late on Saturday night.

●     We will have steel helmets for those who believe the roof will cave in if they show up for church services.

●     Blankets will be furnished for those who complain that the church is too cold. Fans will be on hand for those who say the church is too hot.

●     We will have hearing aids for the parishioners who say, “The pastor doesn’t talk loud enough.” There will be cotton for those who say, “The pastor talks too loud.”

●     Score cards will be available for those who wish to count the hypocrites.

●     We guarantee that some relatives will be present for those who like to go visiting on Sunday.

●     There will be TV dinners available for those who claim they can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.

●     One section of the church will have trees and grass for those who see God in nature, especially on the golf course.

●     The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies to create a familiar environment for those who have never seen the church without them. See you in Church.

Faith in God

By Jane W. Lennon

We all must live with beauty.

Blooming flowers along the way

To learn to help each other

Live the best for one more day.

Faith rises in the sun.

Our hearts and yet our souls

Blessings to smile upon

And share within the fold.

I long to behold peace.

And feel it warm my hands.

Breezes yet to rest awhile.

And lie on golden sands.

I have to trust in God.

And let him rule on high.

To wipe away the saddest fears,

The teardrops in my eyes.

For then the fears will leave

Like the birds that stretch and soar,

And glide unto the heavens.

For this one day no more.