The Williston-West Navigator

I seldom have the privilege of attending funerals as part of the congregation, but last week I listened to a memorial service in our sanctuary led by the Rev. Dr. Richard B. Knight, pastor of the First Parish Congregational U.C.C. in York. It was a beautiful service that celebrated the full and wonderful life of Alice Van Aken, which was done so well that it made me wish I had known her. As part of the celebration the wonderful old hymn "Joyful, Joyful We Adore You" was sung. The pastor introduced the hymn by saying, "In 1934 Alice stood right there when this hymn was sung at her wedding, so we are singing it today to celebrate the joy of her life."

During the children’s time on Sunday, Tom Riddle was speaking to the children about our wonderful old sanctuary and how important it is to us, and he told our young ones that this church was built in 1877 and that Easter has been celebrated in our sacred space 127 times. Our original fore bearers are all gone, but think how happy they would be to know that the foundations of faith they established are still going strong.

The season of Lent leads me to deeper thoughts about the meaning of life and the passage of time which is why these two events of the past week have stuck with me. My first Easter at Williston-West was in 1987, which means that this year will be my eighteenth time of celebrating Easter Sunday as your pastor.

Life is short under the best of circumstances and we love life so much that we do not want to see it end but yet it always does- at least as we know it. The wonderful promise of Easter is that God never lets us go and that somehow in God’s infinite mercy and wisdom we remain in God’s care forever. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

That is the affirmation of Easter that gradually becomes reality in the lives of those who worship in fullness and truth. I invite you to join us this season as we walk through the richness of Holy Week with all the worship experiences we are planning to lead us to Easter Day equipped to receive it’s gift in ways we may have never experienced Easter before.

A friend of mine once had a board game - I don't even remember the name. What was interesting about the game, which had cards to turn over - as many do - was one particular card. The card simply said, "Time passes". I assumed it meant that, sometimes you don't know what to do next and time passing will be enough to make things change. It sounds obvious...and it is very true.

I started a newsletter article in my head with the idea of talking about the abduction of my granddaughter, Shalynn, a painful and disturbing event that left us all lost and confused. She was gone for a week, long enough for the pain and sadness and anger to settle on us like clouds before a storm. We were helpless to control the events on our own and we knew we needed to allow the authorities time to perform their jobs. Before I could fully form thoughts of grief the phone rang in my office with the news that Shay had been found, safe and healthy a few thousand miles from here.

She was taken by a relative with not even a word about her health or whereabouts. It was only a casual comment to a former co-worker that led the police to the abductor. So often these cases can linger for weeks, months, or even years that we have only thanks and praise for the solid detective work that brought Shay back to us so fast.

But I truly believe it was not detective work alone. As I have said to many people in the last few days, "Thank God, and the good detectives!" E-mail allowed us to spread our plight to many corners of this country in a very short time as we emailed members of our family who, in turn, passed the note to the many people on their mailing lists, often, in the very city where Shay was found! I received many responses from family, friends and many members of this congregation (who also fit into the 'friends' category!) and all of them basically said the same thing: We will keep all of you in our prayers.

So, you will always be able to ask the question: How were we so fortunate that she was found so quickly? Was it the good police work? Or was it the power of prayer? I don't necessarily believe that God weighs the prayers and chooses who to save. But I believe prayers make a difference; just as I believe faith and hope make a difference. Who now can say otherwise? I had faith that Shay would be found...how could I not? And how could I ever give up hope, no matter how long it took? I will always be grateful that we had a detective working on the case who really wanted to reunite this beautiful young girl with her family. I will also always be grateful to the many people who kept us in their prayers.

OK, you ask, given all of that, how does the title of this article relate to the story? Well, Shalynn is a smart little five-year-old who has lived in Maine for the last few years and comes to our house many times. She also has a devilish, playful sense of humor (as do I , at times) and each time she comes for a visit, I step out of the house as she is getting out of the car and I say, "Oh no, you back again?"... she laughs hysterically. Now she says the same thing to me when I visit her house. Today, Shay, Rusty and Lea fly back to the east coast and when I see her next, I'm sure I will be laughing and crying at the same time when I say, "You back again?"

The United Church of Christ has a long history of involvement in social issues and that is one of the reasons I feel blessed to be a part of this denomination. If you are looking for an easy way to stay informed in this election year, and if you'd like to know what many others in your faith community think and what they're working for, just go online at www.ucctakeaction.org. At this site you can register your email address to be added to the subscription list of the UCC's justice and peace advocacy service. You can read up-to-the-minute information on national and state issues there and receive alerts that make it easy for you to let federal and state officials, corporate executives, opinion makers, and media outlets know your feelings on issues as they come up.

Taken From the U.C.C. Justice and Peace Home Page:

A sampling of the issues the UCC alerted us to in 2003: Medicare Prescription Drug Bill, The Energy Bill, Private School Vouchers, Head Start Funding, Gun Control, Media Ownership, Civil Liberties, Reproductive Choice, Minimum Wage, Same-Sex Marriage, and Tax Cuts.

Check out the UCC web site soon -- It's a convenient way to stay informed and engaged and a simple way to make your voice heard!

On Saturday, May 8, we will hold a Yard Sale from 9:00 – 12:00 to benefit the newly-established Pilgrim Lodge Scholarship Fund (see Cindy Stewart's article)

As you begin your spring-cleaning, consider bringing unwanted items in for the yard sale (no clothing, please). Donations are now being accepted! The Missions Committee invites all church committees to become involved with the sale and in true "Bruce Lewis style," challenges all members and friends of Williston-West to strive for "100% participation"! Think how successful this fundraiser could be if each of us were to donate an item, help with sorting and set-up, work the day of the sale, or come to shop. Let's work together to establish the new Pilgrim Lodge Scholarship Fund that will enrich the lives of many Williston-West kids by sending them to summer camp!

This afternoon, after church, I found myself reflecting on my behavior while at the Missions Committee meeting. During one point of the meeting, I found myself immersed in communicating with Baby Tobias, rather than participating in the very important conversation going on around me. Not just for a few seconds either. I was captivated by this charming soul. Discovering his power over others with his smiles and gurgles, he held me sway for far longer than was appropriate meeting behavior for a responsible adult. However, perhaps my relationship-building with Tobias was very responsible as a member of the church community.

The more I consider my cognitive wandering away from the meeting, I know that the Missions Committee is not the only time my mind wandered to children in our church day. I am fond of the first part of our Sunday Service, where the life and activity of the church is represented not only in the variety and number of announcements that are made before we adults settle into the more formal rituals of our being together each week, but in the voices and movements of the young children with us.

Today, I was given the gift of watching Paula C. allow her youngest boy to fulfill his current constant mission of improving his walking skills. She was silently supportive, balancing in that parental space of allowing her son to do what he is designed to do at his age: explore, practice and build skill every moment he gets, while being with him in a place not truly designed for children. As an early childhood professional, I thought of all the right things Paula was doing for her son at that moment. As a fellow parent, I shared in her silent hope that he would only wander so far, and not create more noise than what is acceptable to the church members.

And what amount of child noise is acceptable to the church membership? Well, I am confident it varies from person to person. During the silent meditation moments in our Sunday ritual, there is often the buzz of children needing to wiggle despite valiant attempts to obey the requests to be still, and the noise of babies making the sounds and cries that are the foundation for beautiful words like, "I love you," and, "look at the yellow moon!" When not in the common parental mode of trying to keep my child appropriately (also reads as "quietly") engaged, I find myself thanking God for guiding my family to this particular church community. I thank God for the emotional space created in our church that will allow my daughter to be who she is in full, acting as a buffer to the many challenging and conflicting messages that are sent to children in our culture. I thank God for the adults in her church who will bear witness to her successes and mistakes, and I thank God for the opportunity to do the same for the rest of the children in our congregation.

I am also grateful to God for Amy and Tom. Both of our Christian Education leaders respond to the children with love and kindness, and find ways to weave the unpredictable statements or actions offered up by the children into the lesson of the week. I frequently find the prayers Tom and Amy ask the children to say to be very fitting for my own spiritual journey. They are simple, to the point, and universal for anyone striving to walk a path of kindness and love. The commitment these two responsible adults have made to our children is significant and hugely important to the children’s moral and social development.

And so, while perhaps my fellow Missions Committee members deserve an apology from this responsible adult, I want to express my extreme gratitude for the responsible adults in our congregation who honor and celebrate each child’s spiritual, social, emotional and cognitive development.

Through our involvement with the Cora L. Brown Foundation (formerly known as the Portland Diet Mission), Williston West Church has helped hundreds of our needy Portland friends and neighbors with material and/or financial assistance during hard times. The Foundation’s mission is to provide assistance to residents of Portland who are in need and have exhausted other avenues of aid.

The Foundation is overseen by representatives from a consortium of five Portland churches – WWC, Clark Memorial United Methodist, Trinity Lutheran, Chestnut Street United Methodist and Immanuel Baptist – and is funded by contributions from each of the churches as well as private donations. The following forms of assistance were provided to Portland individuals and families during the past year:

• 2 individuals had medicine paid for
• 150 individuals were fed at the soup kitchen in November
• 121 families received groceries
• 30 families received holiday dinners
• 11 individuals received assistance with their electric bills
• several families were assisted with their fuel bills
• 1 individual was assisted in purchasing an electric wheelchair

Millie Perkins has faithfully served as our church’s representative to the Cora L. Brown Foundation for more than 30 years and still attends board meetings when weather and health permit. I was recruited by Millie several years ago to be the second representative from Williston-West. As more than half the board members are now in their 80s and 90s, additional representatives are being sought in order to keep the Foundation alive and active. If there are any members of our congregation who would be interested in this service opportunity, or if you would like more information, please send an email to susan.pettingill@maine.gov or contact me through the Church office.

I have many fond childhood memories of participating in church activities. The annual family picnic we had, Children’s Sunday, choir, youth group and teaching Sunday School to the little ones are all memories I cherish.

But, by far, the fondest memory is of two weeks spent at Pilgrim Lodge. I got to go to camp twice for a week each time. My first time at camp I recall being excited, but a little afraid. There were a couple of other kids from my church who went too, so that eased the fear a bit.

Once I arrived at camp, my experience was one of endless fun, great food, sleep-filled nights and new friends. Pilgrim Lodge is a camp owned and operated by the United Church of Christ. We did "religious things" at camp, but I don’t recall that I ever felt like there were limitations to how much fun we had or that there was too much time spent on praying! But as an adult, I realize that my camp experience gave me more than swimming, playing, making a craft to bring home or good food. Pilgrim Lodge gave me a sense of belonging to a large family of friends who shared my beliefs, made me feel safe and welcome - and provided great memories.

Pilgrim Lodge offers camp for kids in grades 3 to 12. There is also a one-day at camp for younger kids and their parents in June. It fills-up fast, so if you’re interested in that one, let me or Tom Riddell know soon.

As you know, I want to challenge the congregation to create a scholarship fund for sending kids from Williston West to Pilgrim Lodge every year. A full week at camp costs $260 for each child. There is effort afoot at Williston-West to raise scholarship funds through yard sales, bake sales and maybe a special offering. I would like to raise enough funds this year to create a seed account and add to that each year so that the church can send any child who wants to go to camp. You’ll be hearing more about this in the very near future.

If any of you would like to make that first donation to get things started, please let me know!

Since our last report to you a year ago, quite a few projects have been completed to keep our building in proper condition. First and foremost has been the beautiful refinishing of the floor in Fellowship Hall – with the very generous sponsorship of David and Nancy Shedd. We cannot thank them enough for this. A volunteer crew (Erik Hanna, Steve Powers and Sam Saltonstall) is now working on the baseboards and moldings to complement the effect of the new floor. In addition, the hole in the ceiling has been repaired, and Dick Loughlin has fixed the doors where the chairs are stored.

Some other significant improvements accomplished through the unselfish efforts of our congregation were:

1. Construction of new covers for the ventilation openings to the cellar under the Parish hall by our Pastor, Eric Kelley. (He’s really good at woodworking, too!)

2. Replacement of the missing molding on the floor of the south wall (Spring Street side) of the sanctuary by Dick Loughlin. (You’d probably seen that hole under the radiator that opened into the basement.)

3. Repair of the electrical outlets in Fellowship Hall by Pat Mulkern. (Now we don’t have to run an extension cord from the kitchen.)

4. ...And Carol West – well, she’s been involved in numerous unsung projects: tarring leaks in the roof over the entryway to the sanctuary, scraping radiators (with the help of Jackie Nadeau) in preparation for painting, and dusting the rafters in the sanctuary (with a contraption that mercifully was not photographed...)

The hot water heater gave us quite a bit of trouble – or rather, the plumbing service company did. The first recommendation of replacing the whole system - at a cost of $1,000 + - because it had exceeded the recommended limit (ten years), was averted by a little sleuthing in the owner’s manual by our secretary, Chris Curtis. (It was only six years old.) Then their replacement of the supposed malfunctioning valve for $300.00 did nothing. We then employed a plumber known for his work, who promptly found the solution for a nominal cost.

Finally, the switch on the wheelchair elevator has been replaced, and the unit now works properly.

This year the major project will be replacing the rain down-spouts, if money permits. Other jobs will be insulating the hot water pipes under the parish hall, painting some radiators, covering the vent openings in the exterior walls of the parish hall, and installing lights on the fire escape.

Patrick Costin is the new chairman of the committee. He is an architect, and we hope his keen eye and drive don’t keep us too busy!

In this election year, a political issue has caught my attention, which I thought might interest other members of our congregation as well. I belong to The Interfaith Alliance (TIA), a national non-partisan organization "dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote narrow, divisive agenda." (Their website can be found at www.interfaithalliance.org in case you are interested.)

It seems that some radically conservative members of Congress are hoping to further their interests in the upcoming election by getting a bill passed called the "Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act". Their actions concern me, and might concern you too. Here is some more information from The Interfaith Alliance’s website on this matter:

Houses of Worship Church-Politicking" Legislation Returns with 101 Co-Sponsors

As the nation recovers from the effects of war and a devastating economy, two members of Congress, who often work in conjunction with Religious Right pressure groups, have quietly introduced divisive bills that seek to undermine and overturn the separation of religion and government under the guise of patriotism.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) has introduced his "Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act" (H.R. 235), which bears a striking resemblance to his "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" that failed last year by a vote of 178 – 239 on suspension. This year’s bill, authored by Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice, would allow clergy to issue political endorsements from behind the pulpit on behalf of their house of worship and allow churches to publicize their endorsements through paid advertising at any time before the elections.

Current federal law upholds the integrity of houses of worship by stating that houses of worship, like other 501(c)(3) organizations, cannot legally engage in partisan political activities and retain their tax-exempt status. This provision has served as a valuable safeguard for the integrity of both religious institutions and the political process. H.R. 235 would lift these important safeguards, and allow houses of worship to keep their tax-exempt contributions while endorsing their favored political candidates.

TIA believes that this bill will serve to divide congregations along partisan lines and eventually lead to a time when congregations are not identified by their faith tradition, but instead by the political ideology of its leadership. When pulpits, bimahs and other sacred desks, become stumps on which ministers stand to hand out political endorsements, the prophetic voice of the religious community — arguably religion's most important contribution to the nation — will be silenced.

The choir is hard at work learning new music for the Easter season. We have several people who have come forward to help us with the Easter Vigil and also the Easter Sunday service, and we thank them for their help. We have a new bass, Steven Powers, and our tenor, Dick Loughlin, has returned from his vacation. We should have a large choir for Easter Sunday. Maybe we’ll have to use both sides of the choir loft!

Once Easter is over, the choir will begin working on music for our second choir concert, which will take place in October. The tentative dates are October 2 or 16 at 7:00 P.M., with a reception to follow the concert. I will have the final date for the next newsletter.

Although I had several people talk to me about the next cabaret, I am putting that on hold for the time being. There are too many things going on at this time.

Is spring really going to come??? I’ve lived in Maine my entire life, but every year I, and most of you, start to whine about how long the winter is, yadda yadda…

I guess we just need something to complain about. Of course in a few weeks we’ll all be complaining about the heat!

The year is starting off with a bang! We had a good council meeting on February 22. We decided that we would try meeting at a different time rather than after church on Sundays. We will next meet on April 29 at 6:30. This meeting is open to the congregation. If anyone has any items for the agenda, please let me know soon.

A sub-committee of the council is reviewing the church by-laws. The last time they were reviewed was about five years ago. Every organization operating under by-laws should review them on a regular basis to make sure that they are current, still pertinent and reflect the organization and views of the church. The group will make any recommendations for change to the council at the April meeting.

This is my first Trustees' column and I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf on all the Trustees, to thank David Shedd for his outstanding leadership this past year. We are so fortunate that he's still on the Committee and will continue to share his wit and wisdom!

On the same note, I would like to bring everyone up to date on the latest Board of Trustees membership. The returning members are Bob Morgan, Ken Barber, David Shedd, Judy Reid-Parker, Gracie Johnston, Patrtick Costin and myself. We have two new members who have joined this year: Welcome to Chris Chomitz and Jeff Armstrong. I feel very privileged to be working with this illustrious group!

While I'm riding the Welcome Wagon, the Trustees are very happy to announce that Erik Hanna has accepted the Sexton position, and Penney Armstrong has agreed to fill the Secretary position. We are so lucky to have both of them in these oh-so-important positions. Please take the opportunity to congratulate Penney and Erik at Coffee Fellowship.

As David told you in his last column, we started this year with a balanced budget. As you know, in this financial climate, that is no small feat. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank the congregation for their continued support and commitment to keeping Williston-West in solid financial shape. I would also like to thank the many committee members who volunteer to help keep Williston-West a strong, vibrant community, which enables us to continue our many wonderful and far-reaching endeavors.

I feel so fortunate to be a member of this congregation; we should never take for granted that we are members of an open, caring, supportive, and generous community! And to help foster that, this year's Board of Trustees continues its commitment of keeping Williston-West in sound fiscal and physical shape.

Please feel free to contact me, or any other Trustees, if you have any issues and/or concerns. Let a new year begin!

Christian Education Committee
Linda and Tom Riddell