Peoples UMC News: A Busy Weekend at Peoples and Beyond

Saturday and it is sunny

A Busy Weekend at Peoples and Beyond

Marlene sorts plants

Many gardens represented

A busy weekend in the life of Peoples UMC started on May 20,Friday evening, when the garden committee gathered in Ellis Hall to sort, label and price several hundred assorted floral and herbal plants that had been donated by members of the committee from their own outdoor and indoor gardens. This plant sale has become an annual event held on the same day as that of the South Portland Land Trust. The money raised aids in maintaining the gardens and shrubs around the church as well as making a substantial contribution to the general funds of the church.

Set up in the parking lot

Jo and Carol

Jo and Susan in a familiar role

Over $600 was received this year through the sale. Those contributing plants and/or working on the sale included Janice, Pam D, Marlene, Doreen, Sharon, Susan, Joanne, Ruth, Carol, Betty Sp, Kit and Randy with some assistance from Dave, Art, John and Pastor Tom.

Marlene and Doreen pricing

Once the leftover plants were set up in Ellis Hall at noon and the parking lot was picked up it was time for some who worked on the plant sale to rest a little before getting ready for the monthly bean supper.

Pastor Tom, Rosemary,Susan and Jo

Beans needed to be cooked, casseroles prepared and desserts made. Members of Scout Troop 23 arrived later to see that many tables and chairs were already in place due to the efforts of John T. The kitchen crew reported well before the first customers came to pick their seats near where the line for the buffet would begin.

Mini-fair with Kathy and Jody

Paul the pie cutter with Doreen and Becky S

After a few announcements from Chris and additional notes from Pastor Tom he preceded the meal with prayer. Coffee, tea, punch and water were brought to the tables and poured by Janice and Pat, while Susan and Joanne assisted by Rosemary collected money from the customers. For a number of years a mini fair has been held at the back of Ellis Hall and run by Kathy and Jody. Paul, the pie cutter, carried on by making delicious desserts available to the crowd on this particular evening.

Table Number 1 with Janice serving

Kitchen crew at work

The kitchen staff on this evening, led by Chris, included Keith and Becky S, along with Becky G, Chuck and Tom N.

First come first served

Buffet serving

The line is long on the last supper of the season

The meal served at 5PM usually is nearly over by 6 PM and most of the customers have left. There are usually some that linger to talk with friends that they may not have seen since the last bean supper. Many of the customers quite often will take a few minutes of their time to help clear the tables. As the end of the hour comes to a close some of the Scouts from Troop 23 have come in with a parent to help wash down the tables and move both the tables and chairs to their respective racks. By 7 PM even the workers in the kitchen are cleaned up and ready to leave for the night, this being the last bean supper of this season. The next bean supper will be in Ellis Hall the third Saturday in September.

This coming Thursday evening, May 26, a group from Peoples under the direction of Carol will travel for the third time this year to the Root Cellar on Washington Avenue in Portland to prepare a meal and serve it to a number of young people that are active in the activities at that location. If you are so inclined the time to be there is 5 PM and the commitment of time is usually a bit less than two hours.

The next activity that helps to serve the community is the water and coffee distribution on Memorial Day. The local Memorial Day parade goes right by the front of the church on Broadway and for a number of years now Betty Sp has taken the lead to gather bottles of water from donors and with others assisting passes them out to anyone who feels a need for the water. In recent times coffee has been ready for those who need a cup at parade time as well.

While these activities are going on there are many other things that an individual can do alone or in a group. The UMM is presently working on the restoration of the garage at the parsonage and are still looking for some strong healthy men to assist in maintenance of the grounds. Dick Small is principally responsible for garage work and he has been ably assisted by many men with constructive talents. Grass grows rather fast at this time of year and there is a need to share the work to mow and trim. If you have not signed up for a time yet see Dan about it. The men under the leadership of Andy are planning to attend a Sea Dogs game on the evening of Wednesday, June 22. If interested Andy is your man to check in with.

If your interest is in Bible Study one is held weekly at Carol’s house on Tuesday mornings while another is held on Sunday morning at 9 AM in the Ellis Hall parlor.

Singing with the choir or offering your voice or those of a group or a duo for summer services is another area Peoples welcomes you to participate. Debbie C is the gal to see about such matters.

Stay tuned there is more to look forward to at Peoples. We are Alive in a loving community!