Meditation Service Startup

Beginning Sunday, March 30, we will be meeting Sundays at 7pm in the Sanctuary for meditation using Scripture, reflective music and silence in darkness and candlelight based in the tradition of Taize. This will be the trial run, and will be publicized outside the church to begin April 6 and will run throughout the spring. Please consider inviting a friend.

Taize (pronounced Tah-Zay) began as a Christian youth movement in Taize, France. Youth from all over the world spend days, weeks or months in the Taize community to connect with the love of Christ and find brother and sisterhood there.

The community never intended to break away from the church, but to provide renewal within the church. Many churches around the world are incorporating this style of meditation, which is especially appealing to teens and young adults. For more information, you can go to the Taize Community website.

In addition to the pastors, those assisting in the design and leadership of these services have included Earle Harvey, Betty Lane, Claralee Street and Ellen Dunn. Others are always welcome. We hope all might come out to experience a time of meditation in the Christian tradition.

VBS Coming This Summer

Plans are taking shape to host a vacation bible school (VBS) the week of July 7 from 9am-12pm, headed up by Karen Jennings who is a certified elementary school teacher and one of our own Sunday School teachers.

VBS is a week long Christian camp adventure for kids ages 3-11. We will be using the Cokesbury curriculum, Beach Party. Karen will be looking for teachers, beach supplies such as surf boards and beach balls, and other needs. Won't it be neat to see the church transformed into a beach?

There are tentative plans to have a family evening picnic on Willard Beach one night, and a presentation with slide show on Friday night for parents to experience the fun and love shared with their kids during the week.

Please tell everyone you know with kids to sign up! Stay tuned for details as summer approaches (soon and very soon).

Start Practicing your Basketball!

Peoples will be holding a Shoot-a-Thon in May (date to be announced). This is a project for Nothing-But-Nets underway by the New England Conference in conjunction with the NBA to buy mosquito nets for areas of the world infested with Malaria. Contact Carol Bruneau for more info, or go to NothingButNets.net Each net costs only $10. Our goal is to raise 17 nets. Who thinks we can beat our goal?

Upcoming Work Camps

Carol Bruneau, our new missions chair, has arranged for a Peoples work camp to go to Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop on Saturday, May 31. We will have an opportunity to paint, repair, clean up and generally ready the camp for the summer season! For questions or to sign up, please contact Carol.

Carol and Andy Folley are also working on plans to bring a group down to the Heifer farm in Massachusetts. Please stay tuned for details! And financially, we are more than half way toward our goal of raising an ark! Alleluia! Praise the Lord!

Camperships Available

There are funds now available for kids to attend Camp Mechuwana this summer for kids grades 2-12. The list of camps available (including those that are already full) are on this website. Please see Pastor Jamie for details about the funds available.

Tithing Sunday March 30

The 5th Sunday of the month is an opportunity for all folks who consider themselves part of the Peoples family to try tithing (offering 10% of their income to the church family) for one week. Those who have tried this have experienced real joy in trusting the Lord to provide. We have a 5th Sunday coming up on March 30! Why not give tithing a try and see what joy might be in store for you?

Moms and Dads Groups Starting Up

Men at home – Men with non-traditional schedules, both with and without kids please come and drop in for lunch or coffee Mondays Noon –2:30pm. 154 Mussey St next door to the church. Contact Pastor Jamie at 799-6814 for details.

Moms Group – Pastor Gwyneth is restarting the moms group for moms with preschoolers on Tuesday mornings, 9am for about an hour. We will meet at 154 Mussey St. next door to the church for the first few weeks and then talk about rotating homes. Call 799-6814 for more info. Note: on Tuesday, April 1, we will be meeting at 10:30am.

New Computer, New Possibilities!

Thanks to Fred and Linda Wade who donated a personal computer (PC) to Peoples for worship, we can now record services directly onto the PC and upload them onto the blog as MP3s. There is a test version posted right now (see link to Worship Services), although we are still attempting to improve the format. This computer should also run faster and more smoothly than the pastors' laptops which we've been using for the last two years since introducing worship slides and videos on Sunday mornings.

What about tapes to shut-ins you may ask? Ruth McLellan has received the first MP3 player! The player is not much bigger than a spool of thread and has a built in speaker as well as ear phone jacks if preferred. The other option is to burn CDs but there are many advantages to using MP3 players.

Than you to Doug Greer for his continued leadership in running the audio/visual systems. He did a fabulous job running a brand new system on Easter Sunday. And thank you again to the Wades for their generous donation!

Easter Celebration, Begun with Despair

Many were surprised as they entered the Sanctuary on Easter morning to find the lights off, flowers hidden and no beautiful organ music. Slides projected on the wall depicted scenes from Jesus agonizing in prayer in the garden, his trial and beatings, crucifixion and dead body. All were invited to quiet reflection, and after a brief introduction, we heard the Scripture story told (Sam Seidl and Danielle Seidl), from the darkness somewhere, of how Jesus died on the cross and his body placed in a tomb. The choir then began to sing, "What Wondrous Love is This" as we viewed a painting depicting Jesus on the cross.

Chris Ward then led us in a "Call to Worship," proclaiming what happened next. As the women came to the tomb they found it empty. We spoke together the angelic greeting: Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen. Christ is risen indeed! The organist began "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and the acolytes, Isaac and Nathan Dunn, brought the Light of Christ up the darkened isle, with their parents Hank and Ellen carrying flowers to the altar and removing the black cloths. The ushers raised the lights, starting from the back which made it seem almost supernatural. As we continued to sing, Chris Ward and Becky Snoddy brought out the hidden flowers and placed them on the altar rail for all to see (we could only smell them before!). We sang the Good News that Jesus is risen, and joy flooded the Sanctuary. Wow.

By the way, the idea of starting Easter in darkness came from one of the Bishop's messages in which he shared his own experience of a church that did this where he visited. Since then, I've learned of other churches that have done this for years. If you attended and have feedback on the experience, please share this with the worship committee (Chris Ward is chair).

Karen Jennings shared an amazing children's message using pretzels! Did you know that you can share the Gospel using pretzels? Karen and Teresa Folley then brought the kids down to make Easter banners, which the kids paraded around the sanctuary at the close of worship and all clapped and praised God!

There was however one very disheartening event during worship. During the sermon, as we spoke about the blessing of peace that Christ speaks to our hearts even in the midst of tremendous anxiety and fear, our dear Elaine Rogers became very ill. As folks called paramedics, we prayed together as a congregation and had opportunity to practice the very thing we were proclaiming. We heard several hours later that Elaine was released from the hospital, and for that we are thankful. Let us all hear the words of the risen Christ as he appears to us in the midst of fear and pain and grief and darkness: "Peace by with you."

So perhaps we all left a bit more reflective than a typical Easter Sunday. Hopefully we saw that the joy and good news of Easter does not just magically appear but comes through darkness and suffering and pain and despair. And that this dark reality of death all around us, as real as it is, has been conquered by our victorious Savior Jesus Christ who gives this same victory to all who trust and follow him.

Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!

Easter Hunt for the Kids!

The kids had a great time running around to find plastic Easter eggs filled not only with candy but cars, bracelets and other fun toys! Many thanks to Becky Snoddy and Betty Lane for putting this together!

Easter Sunrise Service & Breakfast

The Easter Sunrise Service was held at Fisherman's Point on Willard Beach. Pastor Jamie spoke from the Gospel of John about Christ coming as the Light in the midst of the darkness. God's timing was perfect as the sun began peeking up just as everyone began singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" !

After the sunrise service, we had a wonderful breakfast together. Many thank yous to Brad Morrison, Chris Ward and others who helped set up and clean up!

Good Friday Healing Services

The pastors in the cluster organized healing services at Thornton Heights UMC for Good Friday this year, not one, not two, but three! The first began at noon, and was well attended. The format was simple, with some singing, Scripture and homily, followed by anointing with oil and prayer over all those who attended. The second and third services had many fewer attendees, but this also allowed for some more intensive prayer and healing time which was a very powerful experience for the lay folks who came as well as the clergy.

There was a light meal served during this time as well and was a wonderful conclusion to our Lenten worship services together. Methodists are truly "connectional" and these worship services together a perfect example. We are in ministry together and we fellowship together, not just within our churches but among all of our churches as we seek to share the love of Christ in our community together.

Good Friday Prayer Vigil

From 9am-9pm the Sanctuary was darkened but filled with the presence of prayer. Betty Splettstoesser prayed for the entire time and put together the schedule for others to come and pray during this time as well. It was a beautiful time to meditate and reflect in silence, seeing the cross and altar covered in black as a reminder of the darkness of that Friday when our Lord died on the cross.

Passover in the Christian Tradition

On Holy Thursday, we celebrated Passover together, perhaps experiencing the meal in a similar way to the disciples of Jesus during their Last Supper, which was in fact a Passover Meal.

In the photo, we see Jamie who is serving as the "father" and leader at the family meal. In front of him are the basic foods that everyone partakes throughout the meal as we read through the Passover ritual. Each food represents a part of the story and helps those at the meal to experience the meal as though we were actually there in Egypt, as though we were the ones being brought through the Red Sea on dry ground, as those now free to worship the Lord our God as God's own people. We even had to eat horse radish to remember the bitterness of slavery, and dip parsley in salt water to remember the tears. We had a lot more than saltwater to eat though. Brad Morrison cooked up some lamb stew that was fabulous, and we all ate plenty of matzo too.

One of the most wonderful aspects of the Passover was how the experience involves the children. One of the first tasks is to hide some bread (with leaven, or yeast) around the room and allow the kids to find it all and "put it outside" as a symbol of our putting out any sin from our midst. The kids also have the role of asking questions throughout the service so that the story may be told to all.

When Jesus celebrated the Passover during the Last Supper, he diverted a bit from the tradition. First, he washed the disciples' feet. This would have been the role of a slave in the house but certainly not the "father" of the meal. In this act of service, Jesus modeled for us how the greatest is to serve the least.

Even more astounding, Jesus altered the actual ritual. When Jesus gave the disciples the afikomen (middle section of matzo that had been hidden which symbolized the hope for the future), he gave thanks, blessed it, and gave it to them saying, "This is my body, broken for you." When Jesus gave the disciples the third cup (Elijah's cup of redemption), Jesus said to them, "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Radical. Amazing love.

Thank you to all who made this experience possible: Brad Morrison, Rosemary Herd, Chris Ward, Becky Snoddy, and all who attended, and most especially to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen!

Best of Broadway off and running

Best of Broadway has begun rehearsals for the Spring for their performance on May 3 at the Merrill Auditorium. Peoples has provided space for this group for several years now as a ministry to Best of Broadway which raises funds for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center.

Financial Stewardship Part I

The Finance Committee has asked various committees and ministry teams of the church to write up articles about how church funds are being used to further our ministries and mission. This the first in a series of articles on this topic, by the Trustees.

Funding for the Trustees work projects can come from several directions. They include:

Memorial Donations specified to be used, not invested;
Donations made to the Trustees for a specific project;
Income from Memorial Investments;
And, occasionally, Insurance proceeds.

The Memorial money that the Trustees has invested will not be producing the large amounts of income that we saw the past few years. The uncertainty in the stock market will necessitate the Trustees keeping expenditures conservative. In the past few years, the Trustees took measures to be good stewards of the money placed in their care. The distribution on funds was re-aligned so to safeguard the funds value in the event of the foreseeable changes in the world economy. I am happy to report that although the market has fluctuated tremendously, we are so far still realizing a 1.9% increase in value. Another safeguard that was implemented a few years ago is a 10% “buffer” that the Trustees self-imposed to protect against market fluctuations. That is, the Trustees decided to not withdraw funds down below the 110% level of the value of the covenants of the invested funds, securing the original investment. This added 10% could also be a cushion, should there be an immediate need for funds for an emergency repair to the church’s property. With the current market changes, we have currently dropped below the self-imposed 10% buffer, and now report the funds being at 109% of original investment value. This being the current status of the investments, the Trustees will not be using funds from this source for the immediate future.
The Trustees do have other funds currently available for some upcoming projects. An unfortunate accident that left the play yard fence in disrepair has brought in some insurance funds that will ultimately help in paying for a larger fenced in area behind the sanctuary (scheduled for spring 2008). The added funds needed for the project will come from the Jim Darling Memorial Fund, which is carefully being used for several improvement projects.
1. The lock fixtures on the sanctuary doors have been serviced and re-keyed alike. In Ellis Hall, the Mussey St. doors have improved locking mechanisms, the kitchen door has a new lock, and the breezeway doors have been re-keyed so that all Ellis Hall exterior doors have a common key. New keys numbered, tracked. (done)
2. The “Rose Window”, which is the round stained glass window over the altar in the sanctuary, will be removed this summer (2008) and completely renewed. Currently, the wood around the window is rotten, and the window has bowed severely. Refurbishment will restore the window to new condition,
3. New light fixtures have been purchased for the two doors on the church, and two fixtures have been purchased for the Ellis Hall/ Mussey St. entrance. An electrician has been hired for installation (as soon as possible).
4. A new “sidewalk” sign is being purchased to advertise events. This sign is 23”x 33”, and will hopefully be supplemented by banners hung on the side of Ellis Hall (on order now).
5. Maintenance to insure the life expectancy of the furnace is also to be done this summer (2008), when the heating system can be shut down during the process.

There are also many maintenance items that the Trustees are addressing:
1. The parsonage will be receiving new hard wired smoke detectors (asap).
2. The sanctuary door need repainting (summer 2008)
3. The Ellis Hall/Mussey St. doors need sanding and repainting (summer 2008)
4. The incline lift between the vestry and Ellis Hall needs maintenance (asap)
5. Ant barrier surrounding church and parsonage

Improvement items are also being addressed at upcoming meetings:
1. Indoor signs are needed
2. The outside of the church needs the street number highly visible (asap)
3. Fire exit signage needed in the Ellis Hall kitchen (asap)
4. Portable headset microphone needed for the church service
5. Window installation for nursery below the sanctuary

Items that just need some time and effort to accomplish:
1. Storage room organization and maintenance (ongoing)
2. Libraries updated, separate kids and adults books
3. Light bulb maintenance (asap)
4. Mowing schedule for summer
5. Daycamp gates on vestry ramp installed (asap)

Items for the management and operation of the church:
1. Short term Usage Agreements need updating (“rentals”) (asap)
2. Long term Usage Agreements need updating (“leases”) (asap)
3. The Capital Improvement List needs updating and prioritizing (in process)
4. The outstanding Ministerial Loans need attention (asap)
5. The arrangement of the Ellis Hall “outrooms” need to be updated for the ability of the Sunday School to best provide the proper atmosphere (ongoing)

Parsonage Maintenance items:
1. The oil tank has been replaced, as it was deemed soon-to-fail. (done)
2. Driveway side of the house, lattice work needs repair
3. Front steps rail needs work
4. Lattice of back of house needs repair
5. Back door needs new screen door
6. Fire extinguisher needs mounting in laundry room
7. Bathroom fan needs replacing (asap)
8. Closet door needs adjusting
9. Bedroom door needs lock
10. Hole in garage roof needs patch (asap)
11. Basement door needs adjusting
12. Deck boards need replacing
13. Basement stairs need light fixture

The Trustees have much to discuss at each meeting. The safety of the people using the building is priority, with maintaining the facility to best meet the needs of the church as the goal. The above mentioned items are what is currently facing the Trustees. The priority list is a work in progress, it is forever evolving. Other major expenditures will be delayed for another year.

This years Trustees include: Walter Greer, Chairperson, Brad Morrison, V.P., Doreen Gay, Treasurer, Sue Angell, Secretary, Chuck Kamilewicz, Joanne Kamilewicz, Jim MacKinnon, and Jamie Arrison is the pastoral representative.

I hope that this gives you some insight as to what the Trustees are trying to accomplish this year!

Submitted by Walter Greer

Finance is on a mission from God

This year on Finance, we have a new chair, Kathy Brann, but we also have a new mission. This was our first order of business when we met this January, to discuss our mission and goals as a team charged with caring for the finances of the church. Although always a work-in-progress, we hold as our mission to manage church resources that nurture people in their Christian walk.

With this mission in mind, we documented our main areas of responsibility. Each month we are focusing on one of these areas, which include:

1. Communication
2. Education
3. Stewardship
4. Fundraising
5. Allocating and Dispersing
6. Overseeing, Programming and Planning
7. Record Retention

The topic for a recent meeting was Communication and Education. We are planning to host another interactive presentation (possibly on May 18) to communicate our current financial status to the congregation using pie charts and powerpoint slides rather than spreadsheets. We will also be asking various ministry groups to write articles for the newsletter to relate how church funds are supporting their ministry in authentic ways -(see above article Financial Stewardship Part I. We discussed communicating the basic financial summary in the newsletter each quarter in simple terms: money in, money out, and net cash flow.

We also hope to plan a second Good $ense seminar for the Fall, a course geared toward helping us manage our personal, God-given resources without debt and with faithful stewardship. Keith Snoddy attended the 2007 class if you would like to talk to him about it. We also hope to plan a second Wills and Estate Planning seminar, a course geared toward helping folks plan for end-of-life needs. Kathy Brann attended this if you would like to talk to her about it.

Please say Thank You to a Finance Committee member today! Kathy Brann (chair), Keith Snoddy, Walter Greer, Chris Bowker, Earle Harvey and Susan Angell.

Welcome our Newest Members!

On March 3, Karen Kelty Jennings and Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Splettstoesser were received into membership at Peoples United Methodist Church. Karen and Betty have actively attended Peoples for over a year, and have become part of the Peoples family very quickly. In fact, even during this month you will see their names mentioned in other articles: Karen leading Easter Sunday's children message and heading up this summer's VBS, Betty leading this year's Good Friday prayer vigil. But as family members the church has not only embraced them for the gifts they bring in service, but just for their presence, who they are. Both ladies are a true blessing to Peoples Church.

Karen Jennings:
Karen was born in Augusta but grew up in Readfield where she was active in the Readfield United Methodist Church, an experience that has continued to be formative in Karen's faith even today. Some of her warmest memories are from Sunday School, youth group and children's choir. She also attended Camp Mechuwana for five summers and volunteered there as a counselor in her 20's. Karen is now serving in Sunday School, fostering such experiences for younger generations.

Karen worked in Yarmouth as a 2nd/3rd grade teacher for nine years. Her husband, Shawn, is chief engineer on the McFarland, an Army Core of Engineers dredging ship. They have three children: Kelty (age 6 in kindergarten), Callie (age 4 in preschool) and Seamus (age 1-1/2). Karen has left teaching to stay home with the children but keeps her teaching certificate current! Karen says, "The girls love dress-up, singing, dancing, and arts & crafts. Seamus is into everything and is very busy keeping up with his sisters. They are an unbelievable joy in my life."

Karen loves to scrapbook. She has books of her travels, wedding in Costa Rica, and books for each of the kids' first year of life and beyond. She also loves to make cards. She hopes to get back into mountain biking and running, as well as playing the piano. For now the kids are keeping her very busy!

When asked why she wanted to become a member at Peoples, Karen said, "I wanted to join a Methodist Church where I felt comfortable, welcomed and cared for. I wanted my children to be part of a Sunday School program and feel a sense of belonging. I wanted to feel that my children were welcomed and appreciated. I found all of these at Peoples. I knew when Marlene had baked gluten free cookies for the Church Fair that I had found my Church Family!"

Betty Splettstoesser:
Betty was born and raised in Portland. She works at Gorham High School kitchen, and has also worked for Hannaford in Windham, and worked as a hairdresser for 20 years. Her husband, Wes, was in the U.S. Coast Guard for 24 years. Her son Guy works on a tug boat in Portland, and her son Erick works on a tug boat in Staten Island, NY. When asked what she enjoys doing, Betty says, "Reading all spirituality books, walking to Bug Light or on any beach, holding my husband's hand and watching TV."

Betty started off as Methodist, but was most recently a member of the Westbrook Warren Church United Church of Christ where she was very active in women's groups and Sunday School. She feels that Peoples is home for her now, having come full circle from Methodism as a youngster. Betty says, "Peoples Church makes me happy."

Betty is active at Peoples in the walking group, serving at the Wayside soup kitchen and Root Cellar, serving in children's ministries such as the nursery and Sunday School and has already volunteered for VBS! You might be served some drinks by Betty at the monthly bean supper. Wherever you find Betty, she's working, with a smile on her face that can't help but make others smile.

Betty is on a waiting list for a liver transplant due to a rare genetic disorder. Many Peoples Church folks are on her list to stay with her around the clock when she recovers from this surgery sometime in the future.

When Betty first attended Peoples when she moved to South Portland a few years ago, everyone knew her as "Barbara Nelson's sister." At some point though Betty has become "Betty" and has truly become part of the Peoples family, along with her sister Barbara and all her other sisters and brothers here!

Betty's membership sponsors were Barbara Nelson and Becky Gotlieb who stood up with her and took vows to support her in her faith journey. Karen's sponsor was Pastor Gwyneth. The congregation also took vows to disciple these new members, and Betty and Karen also took vows to profess their faith in Christ, to reaffirm their baptism, remain loyal to the United Methodist Church, and to support Peoples with their prayers, presence, gifts and service. Each of them signed a membership covenant which spells out these vows in more detail. Churches have found that serious membership requirements brings serious members. If you are interested in attending our next series of Inquirer's Classes, please contact the pastors. The next scheuled series will be in the Fall, but if there is enough interest to host an additional one this Spring or Summer that would be wonderful.

Welcome Karen and Betty!