Summer Book Group News

Our Wednesday Book Group resumes on July 10 at 4:00 PM in-person and through Zoom. Our summer plan will be to share weekly articles on various topics relating to spirituality, public life and ethics, social trends affecting church life, and whatever else interests us. Our first discussion comes from Rev. Samuel Wells, Vicar of St. Martins-in-the-Fields in London. Wells offers a view from Europe on how to be an inclusive church of divergent voices, based on his recent book, Humbler Faith, Bigger God.”

Link to Well's Article:

https://www.christiancentury.org/voices/what-does-it-mean-be-inclusive-church

We will complement that reading with an article from the Washington Post, How Pope Francis opened the Vatican to transgender sex workers.

The following week, we will read Seven Church Trends that Will Disrupt 2024 by Carey Neuhoff. Other possibilities include a week on the value of spirituality in difficult times with Richard Rohr and sermons from Diana Butler Bass and Brian McLaren. I will be keeping watch for new things as the summer unfolds. To access the weekly readings, you can visit the resource page. 

Link to Resource Page:

https://www.congochurchbbh.org/resource-page

Contact the church office for more information.

Let's Eat Together!

Plan to attend an appetizer pot-luck on Sunday, July 14, and get to know your fellow parishioners while you munch on delicious finger food. We will meet at 4:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring an appetizer that can be eaten without utensils and prepare to share stories about favorite foods and memories. This is a prelude to our summer meal get-togethers in parishioners’ homes. We have several members who will share hospitality on different dates throughout the summer. You are invited to sign up to attend a meal between mid-July and mid-August with 6-10 guests. This is an opportunity for us to get to know each other better in small groups. Dinner hosts, dates, and times will be announced at the potluck. Then you will decide which dates and times work for you to attend. We hope you will participate enthusiastically.

Piano Concert

Piano Concert in the church sanctuary will be on Wed., July 17, at 4:00 p.m. with pianist Stephen Porter.

Tickets are $15 at the door 30 minutes before the show or purchase online at Instantseats.com.

The Deconstructing Boundaries Walk on July 20, 2024

In conjunction with its symposium at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Indigo Arts Alliance invites all to experience the Boothbay area through the lens of Black and Indigenous history.

Click HERE for more information.

Befriender Ministry

The Befriender Ministry (BF) is characterized as a "Listening Presence" and was started at our church in 2018 under the Rev. Sarah Folger. It continues to be active with the Rev. Todd Weir, who attends BF meetings and does frequent training for the program. The BF Ministry Program is a nonprofit organization started in 1981 in St. Paul, Minnesota, and became national in 1983. BF lay ministers are trained for an initial 20 hours, plus ongoing continuing education.

Currently our church has 9 active BFs who are available to be that "Listening Presence" to any church member or friend of the church going through change or life stress. Generally, a BF meets with a person every couple of weeks for several weeks to several months till it is no longer necessary, or a different type of support is found appropriate. BF’s do not replace visits from our pastor but can offer added support.

The four principles and training of a BF are: 1. God is present, 2. Caring, not curing, 3. Nonjudgmental presence, and 4. Active listening skills.

If you are interested in having or knowing more about the BF Ministry, please contact Todd or one of our BF leaders: Vicki Haugen, Shawn Lewin, or Jamie Knobloch.

By Vicki Haugen, Befriender Leader

News From the Deacons

Highlights from our June meeting:



Pastor Todd will focus his July sermons on fellowship and community while "Feasting" together. Jazz Sunday will be July 28.

This is a reminder that "Feasting" (eating together) is an activity in which small groups of folks will gather at volunteer homes for conversation and fellowship. The Faith Formation Committee is coordinating these groups. For additional information, contact Barb Fritz.

We are looking forward to supporting a Pastoral Intern from September 2024 to May 2025; details are still being coordinated. Rev Todd will meet weekly with this individual, and a "Support Team" (Nancy Adams, Dan Lavitt, Peggy Pinkham, and Ginger Rickeman) will meet monthly with the individual.

We encourage anyone to sign up for Sunday's invocation/scripture reading. This should be a short prayer and welcome. Our Pastor can provide an invocation and will share the scripture days before the Sunday.

Additionally, all are welcome to sign up to 1) provide flowers for Sunday service and 2) host coffee time after church. This can be done online, by signing up on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall, or by calling the church office at 633-4757.

Thank you to all who presently have volunteered for any of the above!!

We welcome your comments and thoughts – please reach out to any of the Deacons.

Books and Meditation ... and Thoughtfulness

The Tuesday morning books and meditation group is starting a new book in July. Yes, we meet at an early hour, but we meet on Zoom, so it's perfectly okay to come in your bunny slippers and a cup of coffee. At 6:30 a.m., we have a check-in; at 6:45 a.m., we turn off our cameras for personal mediation time, and at the top of the hour, we come together and read and discuss aloud. At 8:00 a.m., we are on our way, refreshed and ready to start the day. Come for the fellowship, the reading, the coziness. Just come.

Join us on July 2! We will be starting Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Christian whose life turned upside down when Israel was founded -- and his village lands confiscated to make room for a Jewish settlement. In this autobiography, Chacour talks about growing up in Galilee, the founding of Israel, what happened to his family and village amid the war in 1947 and its aftermath, as well as his personal struggles to follow a loving God despite the ethnic violence around him.

Elias Chacour, archbishop of the Melkite Church, is the founder of Mar Elias University and has built schools, libraries, community centers, and youth clubs throughout Galilee. He is a source of reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews. The book is a classic, first published in 1984 and subsequently republished in 2003 by Baker Books.

Seminary Intern Sarah Whitfield

This Fall, we will welcome Sarah Whitfield as a Maine School of Ministry pastoral intern. Sarah is a native of Wiscasset, is on the Town Board, plays the flute, and is a professional in Development and Annual Giving. She has been supply-preaching nearly every Sunday for two years while working on her ministerial studies. In September, we will work on a learning agreement and job description for her 15 hours a week with us. We are delighted to have this opportunity to nurture future leadership for the wider church and receive what Sarah offers us.

Workers From Away 2024

Last Wednesday, we welcomed 50 guest workers from many nations who are here for summer jobs. We served a great lunch, shared local resources, and introduced them to our police department, who shared safety tips. Bill Prince provided bicycles from the Rotary Club for summer transportation. We had them meet each other and urged them to contact us if they had challenges. When I spoke to them, I told them we didn't have enough people to handle all the summer tourism jobs, and we appreciated them coming to support our local economy. I saw many people smile and could see that it felt good to be welcomed in a country so far from home. Since then, I have seen these workers at Hannaford, walking downtown, and a few were in the Windjammer Parade supporting the businesses where they work. A familiar face can make a big difference. Welcoming people with hospitality and community is faithful ministry. Thanks to Cathy Shepard and Sarah Wilcox as the lead organizers from the Mission Committee, led by Margi Spratt, and to everyone who helped with cooking and serving a delicious meal. 

Pastor Todd