Text Box: Report from the Church Board Text Box: TALKING PAST EACH OTHER… Dear Friends, Have you noticed the “talking heads” on television? They have the most annoying habit of talking past, rather than with, each other. No matter what the subject, they listen, seemingly just for an opportunity to continue making the point they had in mind, with no thought to what their counterpart has just said. It is a habit most of us emulate in our own lives. When telling stories, we play “can you top this?” We usually can. When discussing (read arguing) politics or religion, we pay little heed to the position of others. It seems that we are a nation of citizens who talk past each other! Perhaps that is one reason why we have become so polarized as a nation. One virtue I try to practice, not as successfully as I would like, is to repeat the point the other person has made, back to them. When we know that we really have been heard we seem to be more ready to hear. Another thing I notice is that when I hear an argument my first response is to offer a counter argument. I try, again with limited success, to respond to arguments with stories. I got that idea from Jesus. He told stories. We call them parables. It’s hard to argue with a story. We tend to respond or react to stories, and often we grow as a result. Here’s to talking with each other! That is what we seek to do each Sunday morning at 10:00 AM in Church. You are always invited. I am yours, and His, Brick Gibson Text Box: Pastor’s Corner Text Box: Newsletter of Union Congregational Church South Bristol, Maine May 2009 Text Box: The Fisherman’s Net Text Box: Opportunities for Fellowship Sunday Worship and Sunday School 10 AM Pastor Gibson’s Office Hours (usual) Wednesday and Thursday 9 AM to 12:30 PM Choir Practice, Thursday Evenings 7 PM (new choir voices are always welcome) AA, Downstairs of Parish Hall Saturday 8 AM and Thursday 8 PM Thrift Shop, Friday and Saturday 9 AM to Noon Women’s Night Out Potluck Supper First Sunday of Every Month 5:30 PM Board meets 2nd Saturday of the month. Deacons meet 2nd Sunday of the month. Church Council meets 4th Sunday of the month.

 

In This Issue

Church Board Report

Diaconate Report

The Bookshelf                                                                   Page 2

 

Search Committee Report

News Notes from Summers Gone by                                   Page 3

 

Treasurer’s Report

Profile of Organist/Choir Director, Judy Falconer

Women’s Night Out Potluck Supper                                                                                                                                      Page 4

 

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Church Council Report

South Bristol School News

Pemaquid Peninsula Cooperative Ministry                           Page 5

 

The Fisherman’s Net is published quarterly by Union Congregational Church, PO Box 59, South Bristol, Maine 04568.

 
Text Box: look much improved. Thanks to everyone for their help. We are sorry to hear that our tenant at the parsonage will be leaving in May. Congratulations to her on the purchase of a new home! The board is considering continuing a month to month rental and we encourage anyone who is interested to call Priscilla House at 644-8878. We look forward to the return of our summer visitors and as always are grateful to our dedicated year round congregation. Respectfully Submitted, Priscilla House, Chairperson Text Box: We are grateful to have Spring arrive at last but as the snow melts we are reminded of the many maintenance and repair needs of our church, parish house, and parsonage. Our primary task over the next few months will be to establish priorities for such things as parsonage septic system replacement, painting, loading dock repair at the post office among others, and to determine how to fund these repairs. We welcome input and/or volunteers. The stone steps, railing, and stone bench at the parish house are fully installed and are beautiful; many thanks to the Burns foundation. We also have new flower boxes at the church, thanks to Earle Wright.; these are also beautiful. Our “grubby Sunday” on 4-25-09 was successful and our grounds Text Box: The Deacons for 2009 are as follows: Jane Alley, Linda Brunner, Mary Jane Field, Betty House (Thrift Shop), Bill Glendinning (Chairperson), Sally Gundersen (Secretary), and Gail Shand. As we know, the primary function of the Diaconate is to assist and support the Pastor in attending to the spiritual affairs of the church. This has been a rewarding and challenging function since the arrival of The Rev. R. Bricker Gibson last November, and we continue to provide the means by which his interim tenure runs as smoothly and effectively as possible. We recently celebrated the Holy Week of Easter. This afforded us the opportunity to try new and different approaches to the Easter worship services, thanks to the varied experiences of Pastor Bricker. The Text Box: Maundy Thursday Service of Tenebrae included several members of the congregation taking part in the scripture readings. Many in attendance commented favorably on their departure of the poignant and emotional impact they felt. The Good Friday evening worship service, which was a joint Pemaquid Peninsula Cooperative Ministry function was well attended, and the Easter service incorporated the children of the Church to decorate the Cross in flowers. The above is one successful example of the congregation working together with the new minister and support of the Deacons. The Diaconate donated $1,000 to CHIP for this quarter while also giving a helping hand to one of our community members in need of dental care. The Deacons are in an active program of Text Box: self reflection during our meetings with the goal of providing better attention and service to our mission. For instance, we discussed the opportunities to identify the talents of our various church members to contribute to the congregation as a whole. It will be the free thinking and open mindedness to explore new ways, which will heighten our Christian experience, while the fellowship of the congregation a more personal matter for everyone. These objectives and more to come in the following months will be the efforts of your Deacons. Thank you for your interest and willingness to recognize the value and benefit of new ideas. Respectfully Submitted, Bill Glendinning, Chairperson Text Box: Church Diaconate—First Quarter 2009 Text Box: The Bookshelf

Ellen Shew, our wonderful librarian, says that if you want a really good read you should check out “Remarkable Americans: The Washburn Family” by Kelsey Kerck.  This non-fiction work is available in our library...when it’s not out, of course!

This is a family biography, written by the great-great-great-grandson of Cadwallader Washburn.  There were ten children who grew up on a nineteenth century farm (Norlands) in Livermore Falls, Maine.

From these humble beginnings they went on to launch law firms, banks, railroads and sawmills.  They spread across the continent and served in the Civil War.  Some became senators, governors and diplomats; others went into business, including the flour-milling Washburn Crosby, which in 1928 became General Mills.

This chronicle presents a narrative of big dreams that reflects the physical and economic expansion of nineteenth century America.

If you’re looking for suspense and adventure, Ellen said that these authors: Clive Cussler, David Baldacci and James Patterson are always popular.

If you’d rather have something that tickles your funny bone, try one of Janet Evanovich’s books.  They’re as lighthearted as can crime get.

 
Text Box: encourage people to fill out. Most questions will be multiple choice yet will have a space for people to further express their feelings about our church, their suggestions on where we go from here, and what they are looking for. Our discussions so far have clearly shown that we want to provide surveys to congregation members and friends of the church, members of the town and definitely our summer parishioners. The members of the committee are fully aware of the trust you have placed in our hands, and we are diligently pursuing the task. It will not be easy, but it will be gratifying. At this time it is not possible for us to estimate how long it will take to complete the process, but it could certainly extend into 2010. Greatly Submitted, Cotton Damon, Chairman Text Box: Members of the committee: Cotton Damon (Chairman), Lori Wright (Recording Secretary), Jane Alley, Gordon Claar, Bill Glendinning, Jr., Betsy Graves, Donna Plummer and Sally Reilly We have had five meetings and things have gotten off to a good start. The first meeting was used to update the Church Prospectus that was used in the search for Pastor Jeff Belcher. It basically describes our church, our town, what we as a church do and contribute, and our relationship with the town. Once we get it printed up it will be shared with the Board. The second, third and fourth meetings were dedicated to developing our church profile. We used a template provided by the UCC Conference. It is an effort to describe out church in a more in-depth look, including financial information, membership information, community characteristics, congregational life, wider church connections, and our relationship with Text Box: prior pastors. This is a prodigious document and will be the basis of our truthful “sales pitch” to prospective candidates. Our fifth meeting was spent solely with developing a survey. It will be a way for us to include the congregation in this search process because they are a vital part of this process. We have used the survey template developed by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research at the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. The template is very long with many, many questions. All are an effort to elicit what vital information we think is important to developing the church profile. Because of the length of the template, we will need to pare it down to a manageable size, one that will be easy to answer, will provide the information we seek, and is not cumbersome to fill out. We are committed to the KISS method and want a survey that is easy to fill out and one that will Text Box: Pastor Search Committee Report

News Notes from Summers Gone By….

June 1, 1886: Governor Washburne, Senator Gunn and ten others of Massachusetts, have paid $2,500 for Inner Heron Island.  They propose to establish a home colony similar to that on Squirrel Island….July 28, 1886:  The East Boothby Prohibition Club will hold a meeting in [South Bristol] Union Hall, Tuesday evening, July 27… August 11, 1886: The excursion to Boothbay Islands from Damariscotta, Friday, Aug. 13, will touch at Clark’s Cove for passengers.  Fare for round trip 75cents. (from the Pemaquid Messenger)

Summer, 1900:  Members of the summer community at Christmas Cove petition Everett W. Gamage, Justice of the Peace, for the incorporation of an organization to ‘promote the material moral, and social welfare of the dwellers at Christmas Cove’ [which became the Christmas Cove Improvement Association).

August 30, 1918: A large crowd gathers to inaugurate the South Bristol Town Hall, formerly known as Centennial Hall.  The Town had been incorporated in 1915, but the celebration awaiting purchase of the building for use as the Town Hall.

August 10, 1923: The “new” Holly Inn, built after the first in was destroyed by fire in 1907, burns down in a spectacular fire.

August, 1926: Wawenock Golf Course opens with the former Kelsey/Woodward house as its handsome clubhouse.

Call or email Ellen Wells for more information or questions—SBHS@tidewater.net or 644-1584.
Text Box: Have you met our new organist/choir director? How lucky can we be? Judith Falconer has long been a performer on piano, organ, clarinet and flute. In high school, she was a finalist for the Youth Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony on clarinet. After college, she worked in data processing for nearly 25 years as a manager in systems and programming. In 1986, she joined the South County Chamber Singers (Rhode Island) and in the same year became principal clarinetist with the Text Box: University of Rhode Island Symphony. After moving to Connecticut, she served on the CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) board of directors and in 2000, received her master of music degree from the University of Rhode Island. She sang in choirs in Rhode Island and Connecticut and presently sings with both the Tapestry Singers and the St. Cecilia Chamber Choir, plays violin in the Seacoast Community Orchestra and is the organist at Union Congregational Church, South Bristol. She teaches piano, flute and clarinet. Text Box: The following spreadsheet shows 2009 operating fund income and expenses compared to 2008. The operating fund income includes pledge payments, one-time gifts, loose collection, post office rent and, in 2009, parsonage rent. The 2009 income is less due to a decrease in pledges. Expenses for 2009 are less due to a decrease in the cost of ministry, equipment expense and a reduced cost of snow plowing thanks to Norman Wright. Although, in the cost of ministry, the salary is higher we Text Box: don’t have to pay the extra cost of minister’s benefits such as health insurance, housing, mileage, social security, Medicare and continuing education, etc for an interim minister. We will lose our tenant in the parsonage at the end of April, so a decision on renting the parsonage and completing the needed repairs will have to be made. Although the endowment is seriously affected by the down turn in the economy, it is already showing some signs of recovery. We went through similar losses in 2001 and 2002, and it took nearly 4 years to recover, but it did recover. Our endowment is mostly Text Box: invested in the United Church Foundation Equity and Fixed Income Funds. The Equity Fund is where most of the loss is. We may have another stewardship drive this year to help improve the income. We are also facing some major maintenance expenses in the parsonage, post office and parish house so a capital drive may be needed. Let’s hope for a successful year in 2009. Respectfully Submitted, Gordon Claar, Treasurer Text Box: Treasurer’s Report — First Quarter 2009 Text Box: Profile: Our Organist and Choir Director, Judith Falconer

 

Women’s Night Out Potluck Supper

The Women’s Night Out and Potluck Supper is held in the parish hall on the first Sunday of the month.  Women of all ages are invited.  Bring a dish to pass and join us from 5:30 to 7:30 pm for a relaxing night out with friends.
Text Box: Lois and Jim Allen’s generous gifts of a cover and dolly for our baby grand piano deserve a halleluiah thank you if anything does. Have you noticed them? To Donna Plummer and Betty House for “neatening up” the parish house kitchen, cupboards, and closet for the umpteenth time, please know we love you. That’s truly a labor of love. Have you noticed how shiny the candelabra on the altar are? Caroline and Don Maunz spent hours cleaning and polishing them just before Easter week. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Respectfully Submitted, Text Box: I would like to express my thanks to all who worked so hard to make our Easter worship meaningful. To those who contributed lilies, plants, and cut flowers—-what a beautiful picture they made. The music was thrilling! Who would have thought that we had so many talented bell ringers in our congregation? Pamela Lord-Voshell, daughter of our organist, Judy Falconer, certainly did her mother proud with her solo “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”, and the choir’s music was truly uplifting. Now, I’ve listened to a lot of Easter sermons in my life, but Pastor Gibson’s was the most uplifting and informative I’ve ever heard….by far! If you missed it, don’t despair, he does it Sunday Text Box: after Sunday. It seems as though Earl Wright never tires of helping out with his carpentry. The new window boxes on the porch of the church are much appreciated. The old ones were looking ‘so sad” as Sally Gay used to say. And to Emma McFarland, thank you for filling the boxes with beautiful flowers and taking care of them. Thanks to Norman Wright for the countless little jobs he does weekly as Buildings and Grounds coordinator. Where would be without his attention to the “nitty gritty” of keeping our buildings ship shape? Text Box: Our Church Council meets on the 4th Sunday of each month after worship. The new 2009 council met for the first time on March 22nd. One of the most important purposes of the Church Council is communication and coordination of church planning/events and keeping up to date on what is going on at Union Congregational Church. Now that Holy Week is over, we can start planning upcoming summer activities. The next project on the agenda will be the Summer Fair/Auction. Look for details in the near future. Respectfully submitted, Lori Wright, Clerk Text Box: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Text Box: South Bristol School News Text Box: Church Council

Pemaquid Peninsula Cooperative Ministry (PPCM)

The Pemaquid Peninsula Cooperative Ministry meets approximately 4-5 times throughout the year to coordinate activities for the 4 churches in our area (Round Pond Methodist, New Harbor Methodist, Bristol Congregational and South Bristol Congregational).

The PPCM combines several times during the year for summer tent worship, a progressive supper, and Holy Week services.

PPCM Youth Group meets Sunday evenings at 5:45 in New Harbor.

We have funds in our treasury to help people throughout the peninsulas.  We are looking for creative ways to use these funds in a self-sustaining, ongoing project.  If you have any ideas, contact any one of the peninsula churches.

Respectfully Submitted,

Connie Kennedy
Text Box: PO Box 59, South Bristol, Maine 04568 Text Box: Church Office Telephone 207.644.8242 E-Mail: ucsb@tidewater.net Website: www.tidewater.net/~ucsb/ Text Box: Union Congregational Church (a United Church of Christ Congregation)

 

 

Wherever you are on your faith journey, you are always welcome here.
Text Box: May and June are busy months at school. All the year’s activities are ending, students feel the change in the season and are ready to be outside, and teachers just want to get through all that needs to be completed. Our Jump Rope team, the Spindrifters, ended their year with an overnight trip to Aroostook County. They are the only American Heart Association sponsored team in the state. The SB students look forward to performing at various schools and are always well received. The 8th graders are busy building their boats at the Maine Maritime Museum so that they have them ready to launch on June 22nd. This is the exciting conclusion to the year long process of traveling to Bath every Friday to learn the boat building process and to create a seaworthy vessel. Upcoming Events May 19— Unified Arts Program 6:30 PM, June 8 to 12— Artist in Residence week with community performance on June 12 June 22— Boat Launch in A.M., Graduation 6:00 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Connie Kennedy

Back to Home Page

 

2009

2008

1st Quarter Income

Amount

Amount

Operating Fund

11,739.48

13,026.38

Endowment Interest

2,869.34

2,787.48

Unrealized Endowment Gain (Loss)

(57,801.86)

(40,997.08)

% Loss

16.53%

11.52%

1st Quarter Expenses

 

 

Operating Fund

17,182.13

20,689.08

Cost of Ministry

6,000.00

7,782.09