First Parish

Congregational Church

EXPLORING BELIEFS

INCLUSIVE ACTION

CREATING COMMUNITY

This Week

Every Monday 10am - Cribbage and Games Club -- 3rd floor

Every Tuesday 10:30am Coffee Chat w/Pastor Christine —2nd fl.

Every Wednesday 10am – the Originals -- 3rd floor

Every Thursday 10am - Spring Fling Crafting - Fellowship Hall

Every Thursday night 7pm - Choir Practice in the Sanctuary

Every Friday 10am - Artrageous Seniors at Gorham Art Alliance

Every Sunday 11:15am Coffee Fellowship in Fellowship Hall

Every Sunday night at 6pm - Courage Circle in Fellowship Hall

Upcoming Events

May 4 BEYOND WORSHIP 11:30a-1:30p

May 11 MOTHER'S DAY

The Monthly calendar is now available on our website. Please check here for other events of interest.

Missions invites you to assemble Hygiene Kits or Kids Kits for Church World Service throughout the month of April. Click here for a list of what is needed in the Hygiene Kits and click here for a list of what is needed in the Kids Kits (Jane Charron and Sue Morrow have already made the bags for the Kids Kits). Completed kits can be dropped off on the table in Fellowship Hall. Thank you!

Please join the Environmental Justice Committee on our Husky Bus Trip to Portland on Sunday, April 27th, taking place at 11:30ish, right after the service. You may leave your car in the First Parish parking lot, and we'll walk over to the bus stop in front of Hannaford. Dollar bills will be needed for correct change ($1 for seniors; $2 for others). We'll ride to Monument Square in Portland, where we'll get off the bus and find a restaurant for lunch - either as a group or on your own. Here are a sample of restaurants within easy walking distance of Monument Square - open on Sundays:

• Flores, 431 Congress, Salvadoran food
• Nosh, 551 Congress, pub food
• Thai Treat, 571 Congress, Thai food
• Empire Chinese, 575 Congress, Chinese food
• CBG, 617 Congress, comfort food
• Crispy Gai, 90 Exchange St., Asian food
• Taco Escobar, 548 Congress St., Mexican food

So bring the kids and grands. We can't wait to share this adventure with you!  

Family Promise Giving Day was April 22nd. Please join us for our fundraiser and ensure that families have the stability and resources necessary to thrive. Families need your help more than ever and every donation brings us closer to ending family homelessness. Home is where families find the strength to build a better future. 

Home begins with you. Make your donation today. To show your support please click the link below:

Give the gift of home

https://secure.qgiv.com/for/greaterportlandfamilypromise/

BEYOND WORSHIP - MAY 4 - 11:30a - 1:30p

Join us for a showing of ALL WE CARRY on May 4. Sandwiches and Salad will be provided. The movie runs 84 minutes, and we will have a time of discussion after the movie.

Spanning three years, ALL WE CARRY tells the intimate story of one family, while humanizing one of the most divisive issues of our time: immigration. The film follows Magdiel, Mirna, and their young son, Joshua—as they flee targeted cartel violence in Honduras on foot and ride in cargo trains across Mexico, claim asylum at the US border, and endure detention before being released to live with extended family in Seattle, Washington. After two months living in Seattle, the young family’s fortune suddenly changes when a West Seattle synagogue offers to sponsor them for the two years leading up to their final asylum date. As the family forms bonds in their new community they learn about the synagogue’s members’ own history of persecution and migration. After living in a state of limbo for two years, Magdiel and Mirna have their long-awaited court appearance and receive a decision on their case. As they share the news with the community who embraced them, we witness the powerful ending to their search for home. The three extraordinary years in Magdiel and Mirna's lives that we watch unfold on screen show a love story full of joy and grief in equal measure.

Do you own a sewing machine? Can you sew a fairly straight seam? That's all it takes to make a dress for a little girl! There are complete kits, including instructions, in Fellowship Hall. Completed dresses can be left in Fellowship Hall or left in the basket on the 3rd floor by the hanging dresses.  

As dresses are completed, we will hang them in the hallway outside the sanctuary. Dresses will be blessed during the worship service on Mother's Day, May 11.  48 dresses are currently hanging. Can we hit 100?

Any questions, text Jane Charron (207-671-0452).  

Spring Fair Update

The book sale helps to make the Spring Fair a success! Your book, puzzle and game donations are an important part of the process. We are accepting these item donations now through Monday, May 12th. Please leave your items in Fellowship Hall to the left of the door as you enter.

Have you ever enjoyed sorting and organizing for others?

It can be strangely satisfying!

Come help the book sale team prepare donated items for the sale at Fellowship Hall, during our 3-day Set-up Work-a-thon Tuesday through Thursday, May 13th through 15th 9-3 pm. Drop in at a time convenient for you. Your efforts will be much appreciated. Thank you!



If you have questions, or need help to transport your donations, please contact Connie Piper. piperc54@gmail.com 207-712-0974

The Great First Parish Bake-Off!



Okay, not really a bake-off, but we do have some of the best bakers around.

Please consider baking for the Spring Fair Bake Sale, on Sat. May 17th 9 am – 2 pm.



All kinds of baked goods are welcome! We’re not using the pre-order system for this fair. Bake Sale creations can be left in the church kitchen on May 16 or on May 17 by 9am. If you can’t drop off on these dates, no problem! We can plan to freeze items too.

No need to worry about packaging – Judy Pryor and Rhonda Loveitt will display your goodies so that they are irresistible.

If you can contribute, please notify Linda Sanborn lindafsanborn@gmail.com or 207-939-2879

Let’s make the Bake Sale component of our Spring Fair the most successful ever! Thanks!

We are looking for bikes for children ages 8-19. If you have a spare in good shape, please bring it to church and put it in Pastor Christine’s office. Thank you!

Ryan Jara of Gorham was the top finisher of the Boston Marathon from Maine, who finished 70th overall with a time of 2:22:48. The 2024 Maine Marathon champion said seeing some of his friends along the course helped him push through.



“I was hoping to be a little bit faster, but I feel great. I was happy with that overall,” Jara said. “The fans out here were, like, fantastic. Being able to come down here and just every mile, fans are — basically every time you’re hitting a sort of a wall, everyone lifts you up. It was great.”

**If you have an item you'd like added or removed from our Prayer Request list, please let Betsy know by calling the office or emailing admin@firstparishgorham.org.**

Poem for the Week: DARK TESTAMENT

In verse 8 of her lengthy poem “Dark Testament,” Pauli Murray captures the essence of a hope that refuses to be silenced, a hope that persists even in the face of adversity:



Hope is a song in a weary throat.

Give me a song of hope

And a world where I can sing it.

Give me a song of faith

And a people to believe in it.

Give me a song of kindliness

And a country where I can live it.

Give me a song of hope and love

And a brown girl’s heart to hear it.

+ Pauli Murray

No Settling in Resurrection

John 20:1-18

Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025

Art by Allie Rimkunas

Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly with God

Resources for the Journey: Click the pictures or links to read the articles

Earth day from NY Times

On Tyranny:

5. Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.

A Safe Home Is Not a Privilege

Take Action

Will there by other Economic Blackouts?

The People’s Union USA website lists boycotts throughout the spring, including:



• April 21-27: General Mills, whose brands include Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Gold Medal and Pillsbury.

May Day Against Trump - Strength in Solidarity

Thursday, May 1 3:30 - 6:00p

USM Portland Campus | Green Space in front of McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success

There will be a march across Portland to demonstrate solidarity with community and union struggles against Trump's attacks. The march will start at USM at 3:30, and will continue to the Post Office, Portland High School and the Portland Public Library. The march will end at the Portland Museum of Art for a closing rally starting around 5pm with a program of music and speakers.

Join Maine union members, neighbors, students, artists, and LGTBQ+ and immigrants rights activists to show our STRENGTH IN SOLIDARITY!

Organized locally by Maine May Day Committee.

For more information and to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/mayday/event/778395/

Ongoing Protests

• Every Thursday 4pm-6pm - In front of Walgreens, Gorham
• Every Saturday 11am-12noon - Monument Square

Upcoming Events

This April, the Land Peace Foundation, of which Sherri Mitchell is the founding Director, is offering a 7-day multifaith, cross-cultural prayer walk in Maine. The journey begins on April 22 at the Penobscot Nation Boat Landing and concludes on April 29 at the State House in Augusta. 

For more information: Learn More

ONGOING

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lecky Brown Center

Hello Seniors!! 

CRIBBAGE & GAMES CLUB: 

Mondays @ 10am - noon

the ORIGINALS: 

Weekly Guest speaker series

Wednesdays @ 10am - noon

All are welcome, please join us.

April 23: TBA

April 30: TBA

May 7:  Field Trip to Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum @ Bowdoin College in Brunswick

*May 14: Louis Miller, Osher Map Library Reference Librarian - "Rhat Soupe" Temperance in Maine in early 1900's

*May 21: Elizabeth DeWolf, UNE professor and author, returns with her book "Alias Agnes" True crime in Maine.

May 28: TBA

*June 4: the Carol Bailey String Band, "The Time of Our Lives: Songs that Tell the Story of the Fifties"  

*June 11: USM Professor Libby Bischoff, History of Gorham's USM Campus

June 18: TBA

June 25:  End of the Year/Summer Party!

* returning speakers

ARTrageous Seniors:

Fridays: 10am @ Gorham Art Alliance.

Class is near capacity, please email Lisa Becker for more information.

 ARTrageous Seniors exhibit at Baxter Library is replaying at 11am & 7pm daily

Or at this link https://vimeo.com/1075376464

GoCAM:  Reruns of past Originals on GoCat local access

Spectrum channel 2 & 3 at 10am every morning (also channel 1302, 1301)

The subject changes every Friday, on each channel.

FMI: Lisa Becker: 835-9379 or leckybrowncenter@gmail.com

Coffee Chat

with Pastor Christine

Every Tuesday at 10:30am

in the 2nd Floor Conference Room

Inclement Weather Closings

We will post any closings or delays on the following:

• Office voicemail
• Facebook
• Channel 6 TV WCSH
• Channel 8 TV WMTW
• Channel 13 Storm Team
• via email blast

Volunteering and Giving

Volunteers Needed

We are looking for more volunteers to run the Sunday morning Zoom meeting. If you are interested, but nervous to try it, rest assured that all volunteers will be very well trained! If interested, please contact the office:

admin@firstparishgorham.org

Housekeeping

UPDATED CHURCH DIRECTORY

Please use the one linked HERE

for the 4/23/25 update of the church directory.

Please contact the office with any changes.

Thanks for using our Waste Collection Cart, toward a “greener” planet!

The cart holds bins for the following:

LIQUIDS-for emptying drink containers

COMPOST-for food waste

RETURNABLES-for bottles and cans labeled as Maine returnables

RECYCLABLES-for rigid plastic containers labeled with a #1 through #7 triangle, metal, glass and paper (except foil or wax-coated, heavily soiled, napkins/tissues/paper towels)

TRASH

(For more details, see the Information page on the bottom shelf of the cart, or check ecomaine’s Recyclopedia app.)

Composting!

First Parish composts with Garden to Garbage! Please deposit ALL food scraps, food soiled paper, and certified compostables in the green bucket, located in the kitchen under the big prep table.

Beyond

First Parish

Share Your Input on Gorham's Open Space & Trails Master Plan Through April 2025

Now through April 2025, citizens can access various maps and a survey on site in Gorham offices or visit https://www.gorhamopenspace.me to share input via an online survey that will help develop opportunities, connections, and issues for the Town to adopt under its Open Space & Trails Master Plan. Read on below for more details.

Flavors of Our Community



On May 7, Gorham High School will be hosting an International Potluck Dinner. We are hoping to make this a community-wide event. Anyone from the community, and their children, are welcome to come share some food from their culture or tradition and get to know their neighbors. For more information, see the flyer below.

Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Center

Contact: Rob Korobkin, MPH at Rob@couragecenter.me or 207-632-0763

The Courage Center has opened a community outpatient facility dedicated to providing support and clinical care for individuals struggling with substance use disorders (SUD). The center is located at 341 Main St., Gorham. The new facility is designed to provide a safe, welcoming, and therapeutic environment.