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Maine Conference Newsletter
January 18, 2017
 

ANNUAL REPORTING IS OPEN
Data Hub Access Started
January 3, 2017


All Data Collection will be Done Online
There are NO paper forms this year

Accessing the Data Hub Instructions

 

To login to the UCC Data Hub please go to
Alternately, you will find a link to the Data Hub at
http://www.ucc.org/research_yearbook

Please be sure to read
Church Instructions 
 
 and watch the tutorials at the site below before beginning.  If AFTER reading the instructions and watching the tutorials you still have questions please feel free to contact Anne Hodgman, Executive Assistant 
, in the Conference Office at 207-622-3100 or at
conference@maineucc.org 

Your username is your conference church ID#. Please do not use leading zeros for the conference portion of the login. However, leading zeros should be used for the church portion of the number. (For example, The Maine Conference ID # is 28 and if your church number is #40, then your ID# would be 280040.) A link to a list of ID numbers is below.
 
Your default password is password.
Several brief video tutorials have been posted at http://www.ucc.org/research_yearbook to assist you. Please view these videos before calling your conference for assistance.
 
. Please submit your data as early as possible to avoid potential delays if you should need assistance.

Please view these videos before calling the conference for assistance .
The Data Hub will be available January 3, 2017 at noon until March 8, 2017 at midnight
 
 
The Maine Conference, UCC at the Women's March on Maine!
January 21, 2017 - 10:00am - 12:00 noon
111 Sewall St, Augusta, ME

 

Dear Friends, Grace and peace to all in this season of Epiphany! I pray the light of Christ is shining in your lives!
I write with an invitation to Be The Church together on January 21, 2017! If you are planning to attend the Women's March on Maine, please consider gathering around our banner, pictured above. We will also have a banner for our Earthcare and Spirituality Team and a number of folks will be showing up in support of God's Creation.
If you would like, come to the Conference Office, 1 Weston Court, Augusta beginning at 8:30am that morning to make signs, have a cup of coffee or tea and arrange car-pooling. We will also gather after the rally to debrief and warm up!
This is a non-partisan, faith-based opportunity to honor our long-held Maine Conference, UCC commitments to justice, equality for all, peace and Creation Care. All are welcome - no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey! Although the event has "women" in the title, men are encouraged to attend as well as folks who have a variety of justice concerns.
I am certainly aware that we live in a politically "striped" State, and that our members likely reflect that reality, at least to a significant extent. At the same time, over many years, the Annual Meeting of our Conference has consistently voted in support of the issues that are reflected above, and which will be lifted up by this event. Regardless of our political stance, if we wish, we can all find something to support in this rally.
With hopes of seeing many of you in Augusta - or at rallys around Maine and the northeast!
                                                            Blessings and peace,
                                                                       
                                                Deborah Blood, Conference Minister

 
Maine School of Ministry
2017 Winter/Spring Course Offerings

 

will offer two courses for the 2017 Winter/Spring Semester.  Each will meet at the Maine UCC Conference Center, One Weston Court, Suite 104, Augusta, ME 04330.
(Students may call-in using the Conference's Zoom video conferencing capacity)
BibSt-Fdn 2:
"Apostles, Epistles, Apocalypse: The Best of the Rest of the New Testament." 
 Instructor: Rev. Dr. Larry Kalajainen.
Class time and dates: 10AM-3PM, Saturday Feb. 11th, March 11th, April 8th & May 6th 2017.

PrTh-Pb 2:
"An introduction to Congregational Life and Pastoral Leadership."  
Instructor. Rev. Dr. Beth Nordbeck. Class
time and dates" 9AM-3PM, Saturday Jan 28th, Feb 25th, March 25th, April 22nd & May 20th 2017.
 

Registration opened on January 4, 2017

In the Resource Center!
(Maine UCC Lending Library)
 
Hopes and Fears: Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People
By Bromleigh McCleneghan & Lee Hull Moses
Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People, is a joyous celebration of child-rearing in which any parent-no matter how perfect-can share. Hopes and Fears is neither a "how-to" book nor a mere meditation. Rather, the authors seek to find the beautiful and the spiritual in the sometimes mundane activities that parents have performed since the beginning of history, while at the same time allowing beautiful and spiritual insights of the past to inform and shape the activities of modern parenting. Thus, the words of a hymn can trigger an idea about how to deal with bedtime, and an exercise in baby-naming can lead to a better understanding of a passage in Isaiah. The intertwining of the spiritual and familial in this book constantly surprises and delights: a quote from Paul Tillich can stand next to one from Tina Fey or What to Expect When You're Expecting. 
  
We have one copy of this resource available to borrow.

Conference website and the Library cart are now working, or you can send requests to resourcecenter@maineucc.org
or call 1-800-244-0937 or 207-622-3100. Please be aware that once you enter a search item you will be taken to a page that says "Grace Presbytery" in the upper left hand corner. You are in the right place. This is our catalog web host. The Resource Center is the lending library for the Maine Conference.


  January 30-31: Convocation 2017 - "Course Corrections"

  Hotel Discounts for the Event Are Only Available for A Short Time 
 
    Click Here to Register

  "And though his eyes were open, he could see nothing" (Acts 9:8)
 
For those of us facing forceful disruptions to the stories of our lives, this is a palpably familiar experience. With eyes we know are open, we look out at our families, our work or our churches,
at our communities or our nation - sometimes at our very selves - with a confused and uncomprehending gaze.  Known features become oddly unrecognizable and we simply cannot
see how the stories will continue to unfold.
This was true for the apostle Paul on the Damascus Road, whose story brilliantly illuminates our own spiritual narratives. Tradition celebrates Paul's story as one of conversation, clarity, and
conviction, but that is really to read only the story's epilogue. Its middle chapters are more
complex - and much closer to our own personal and communal stories than we might imagine:
radical ruptures with the past; disorientation, loss and grief; an urgent need to make sense of things that no longer make sense; the struggle to find the words with which to speak newly comprehended truths.  

   At this year's Convocation, you will be:
  • invited to find yourself in the complexities of Paul's story.
  • equipped to respond to radical disruptions and to accompany others in times of disorientation and loss.
  • guided in reinterpreting the sacred text of your life and expressing the truths discovered in the midst of change.
  • encouraged to discern your own course corrections when the way ahead is not clear.
  • challenged to look bravely, with others, into the blinding light of transformational change.
  Alumni/ae of Bangor Theological Seminary
  will have their annual gathering from 11 AM to 1 PM on Monday, January 30, preceding the   Convocation.        
 
  Venue
   Congregation Bet Ha'am
   81 Westbrook Street
   South Portland, Maine 04106
   (207) 879-0028
    www.bethaam.org

  Tickets 
                
    • Early Bird Admission: $120 (Available through January 6, 2017)
    • Regular Registration: $140
    • Meal tickets (optional):
        • $20 for the BTS Alumni/ae Luncheon
        • $25 for Convocation Dinner
        • $15 for Convocation Lunch
   
 
Limited scholarship assistance is available for this event. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Alyssa at by CLICKING HERE
   
 

                                                        Click Here to Register 
2017 Boundary Awareness Trainings
Boundary Awareness Training opportunities sponsored by the Maine Conference UCC: 
 
  1. "Boundary Awareness in the Digital Age" with Rev. Darren Morgan - This training will equip clergy in understanding the importance of healthy digital boundaries in ministry and to critically discern the complexities of boundaries in pastoral relationships. Church lay-leaders are welcome to attend. 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Thursday, February 9, 2017 at Alfred Parish Church UCC, Alfred. $25.
2. "Boundary Basics" with Rev. Darren     
Morgan - This workshop will explore basic professional boundaries in ministerial situations and when crossing those boundaries becomes a betrayal of sacred trust. Topics include: Power and Vulnerability, Dating, Friendships, Gifts, The Pulpit, Transference, Hugging & Touch, Intimacy, and Personal Needs & Self-Care. This program is the basic Boundary Awareness Training 101: first timers as well as seasoned clergy are welcome. Members of Pastoral Relations Committees or Diaconate are also invited to attend. 10:a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at the Maine Conference Center, Augusta. $25.

3. "From Pulpit to Pew..."
with Rev. Karl Andersen -
If you are thinking of retiring or changing ministry settings in the near future, or if you have just retired/changed ministry settings, this Boundary Awareness Training event is for you. We will process the unique concerns, challenges, and questions that arise for clergy and their spouses as they enter a new ministry setting or "the 3rd third" of life. As our relationships with parishes and parishioners change, how do we manage this transition in healthy ways? What can we learn from one another? How can we support one another? 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Thursday, May 4, 2017 at Day's Ferry Congregational Church UCC, Woolwich. $25.

4. "The Oxymoron of Boundaries in Rural Communities"
with Kim-Anne Perkins -This workshop is designed to discuss the issues of confidentiality, boundaries and maintaining multiple roles in places in which we live and work from both the personal and professional perspective. Along with a presentation that outlines professional standards, opportunities for problem-solving and sharing concerns will be made available.
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Saturday,
October 14, 2017 at First Congregational UCC, Brewer. $25.

5. "Clergy Boundary Awareness Training for Laity" with Rev. Darren Morgan - Authorized Ministers in the United Church of Christ are required
 to attend triennial Boundary Awareness Training in order to maintain ministerial standing, but this information is not specifically delivered to laity. This training is expressly geared for church leaders of congregations who are in pastoral transition. Integrating current clergy boundary awareness information, particularly with regard to the issues of boundaries during pastoral transitions, the goal of this training is to help laity better understand clergy boundaries. Leadership development and knowledge of the ethics of ministry is essential, especially during times of pastoral transition. This training is the framework for a conversation with laity so that healthy/healthier relationships will occur, not only with the departing pastor, but also with new pastoral leadership. 10:00 a.m. to Noon, Saturday,  June 10, 2017, 
 at the Maine Conference Center, Augusta. Free.

Trainings 1-4 above meet Maine Conference UCC Association requirements for clergy to maintain their ministerial standing (others should check with your Association Committee on Ministry). Lunch is included with daylong programs. For more information, contact the Maine Conference office at 207-622-3100 or conference@maineucc.org. To register for a training,
go to: http://maineucc.org/boundary-awareness-training/    
or  click here. 
Flourishing in Ministry Project
All UCC clergy and Members in Discernment are being invited to participate in the Flourishing in Ministry project, a national study on clergy wellbeing. This research is being done in partnership with the UCC national setting and all Conferences. Ministers and MIDs will be receiving an email on February 7, 2017 that will invite you to participate in this study, though you are not required to do so.  Details can be found

United Church of Christ Scholarship online applications NOW OPEN!
Apply today.
The UCC has a wealth of scholarships for individuals in the denomination who are engaged in education, leadership, and ministry.

Scholarships are currently available in the following areas:

Ministry Education Scholarships
Scholarships for those preparing for ministry in the UCC and for support for ministers in financial or personal crisis.
 Leadership Development Scholarships
Scholarships that help to support UCC undergraduate students, future seminary professors, African-American laywomen, and gifted persons with disabilities, among others.

Apply today.  Application forms will closed
March 1, 2017 at 5PM


 More scholarship information here>>>

Questions? Email: scholarships@ucc.org 
 
Trading Places
Today we are releasing an important new United Church of Christ video titled, "Trading Places"

If you listen to most news cycles or political speeches of late, you would be left with the clear impression that people of different faiths not only hate each other, but they do so because their faith leaves them no other option.

We want difference to be perceived as beauty and not as threat.

"Trading Places" shines a light on religious bigotry in a unique way-by depicting religious leaders of different faiths experiencing the power of walking in one another's shoes -and into one another's houses of worship.

This video is intended to tell the world who we are in the United Church of Christ and what we dream of.

If you care about interfaith understanding and building a world free of religious intolerance, you will share this message.

I am personally urging you today to share this video as widely as you can.

Share it on your social media, embed it in your blog or website, email it to friends.

If it opens up the heart of another to love in new ways; if it inspires the just peace we are committed to-then God be praised!

Shalom,

John C. Dorhauer
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ
 
Summer Work Trip to Honduras
June 30 - July 8, 2017 



Your Honduras Partnership Resource team is sponsoring a work trip to the medical clinic in Subirana, Honduras this summer.  It is being led by May Schumacher who has been leading trips for a decade.  The estimated cost of the trip will be $1,300, some of which is a donation to help build a better security fence around the clinic compound.  Up to 10 people can share this amazing experience.
To read more Click Here

 

 
Congregational Church in Cumberland presents
An Afternoon of Hymns + Piano
Event Information:  
January 29, 2017
2:00 PM
282 Main Street
Cumberland Center, Maine

Highlight:
Selection of hymns in piano arrangements by Dr. James Wesley Nga

Dr. James Wesley Nga, Music Director for The Congregational Church in Cumberland, performs a selection of beloved hymns in piano arrangements with spoken narration by Mr. Ronald Martin.  Dr. Nga holds a Doctoral of Piano Performance degree from Texas Tech University and has performed nationally and internationally at venues in California, Maine, Texas, New York, Taiwan, Belgium, Malaysia, and Singapore. 
 
Help Wanted/Classifieds



Coordinator of Family Programs
Woodfords Congregational Church 
 
Woodfords Congregational Church (Portland) seeks a Christian educator with a passion for supporting Christian fellowship and education by working with our children, youth and families for a part-time (18 hours weekly) position as Coordinator of Family Programs.

The Coordinator will spend half of their time directing and supporting volunteers in our Christian Education program for children and youth. This requires the Coordinator to be on site on most Sundays. The other half of their time will be dedicated to planning, leading, and supporting fellowship programs for youth and families of Woodfords Church.
 
Knowledge and experience in Christian ministry/Biblical studies or a related field is required.  The ability to work collaboratively with volunteers and staff is essential,
as is flexibility and the ability to manage several events/projects at once.
 
Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to info@woodfordschurch.org   Review of applications will begin on January 15 and continue until the position is filled.
Please reference "Coordinator of Family Programs" in the Subject line of the email.

The Union Congregational Church of
Isle au Haut, UCC is 
in need of a serviceable vehicle for the island's pastor to use for visiting when on the island. There is no car ferry service to Isle au Haut, and although there are only 10 miles of roads on the island, most of the homes are a long hile from the Town Dock where the mailboat lands!  The church will foot the cost for barging a car to the island of Stonington. 
 
If you have a car you can donate, please contact Rev. Allen Myers 776-2656 or   
acmyers65@yahoo.com
or Robert Gerber aframe73@gmail.com.
The vehicle must be insurable and able to be registered in Maine. 


Youth Group Leader Position Open 
Blue Hill 1st Congregational Church

Job Opening: First Congregational Church seeks a Youth Group Leader, for an 8-hour per week, 10 month per year position, working with middle school and high school youth. We are looking for someone with a strong spiritual background and experience working with youth, to offer youth regular meetings and activities, and to plan mission trips, outreach and service projects. Couples are encouraged to apply. For more information on this position, please contact Wendy Ritger, Sunday School Superintendent, First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, 374-2891, info@bluehillcongregational.org  
 
Seeking Director of Music
 
First Parish Church Congregational, UCC, Saco, Maine, is seeking a part time (approximately 15 hours) Director of Music to enhance the worship of God through the church's music ministry.  The Director of Music is responsible for all aspects of the music ministry, including piano/organ, choral leadership and service music.  The Director of Music will encourage congregational singing with suitable hymns and service music and render suitable music leadership to meet the diverse and unique needs particular to First Parish Church.
A detailed job description can be found on our website, www.firstparishsaco.org. This position will be open until a suitable candidate can be found.
A letter of interest and resume can be submitted by emailing our Office Administrator, Stefanie Burgess ( stefanie@firstparishsaco.org ) or by mail: Minister of Music Search Task Force, First Parish Congregational Church, 12 Beach ST, Saco, ME 04072.

In This Issue
 
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