The Williston-West Navigator

None of this is to say that we are better than others or that we sit in judgment of others, but it is saying that we have a unique openness that we believe is in line with the teachings of Jesus, and we are consciously stepping up in His name. We believe that we have listened to God in the past and true to our theme, God Is Still Speaking and We Are Listening!

As is any high and holy endeavor to understand the perfect nature of God, we are doomed to failure, for our aspirations are beyond us. Still, in our faithfulness amidst our human frailty, we follow what we believe while always listening for deeper truths from God that can only come as we seek to walk the walk in our time.

Our Advent Program for 2004, the time of preparation for the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace, into this chaotic and violent world, will be a guided exploration of our denominational initiative to know the paths God sets out for us to walk. I hope you will take advantage of this program, for it is another potentially life-changing event that may very well give you the gift of peace right now!

The United Church of Christ bears a testimony that must not be lost and we are seeking ways of relevance to see that it isn’t. We are not seeking to be a historical society whose mission is to preserve what has been. We are a people of God seeking to be faithful to what God is calling us to be.

Thanks from the Membership Committee to those who have recently greeted us when we arrive at church: Sumner Moulton, Bev and Aftin Doughty, Chris and Marge Harding, Neil and Lea Cole, Kathy Rauschfuss, Roxanna Brophy, Peg Cyr, Jacob and Jesse Cyr-Brophy.

Greeting is a good way to meet people and to show that we are a friendly church. If you would like to be a greeter, email Ellie Brown at ebrown1@maine.rr.com

I am amazed at how time gets away from us as we age. I am sure you remember how long it took for Christmas to come when you were 8, or for school to let out for the summer when you were 13. While now, I am much older and it seems like just yesterday that we were all in Jonesport for the annual gathering. By the time you read this Thanksgiving will have passed and the Christmas Fair, Advent Program and our Christmas Eve service will be upon us.

Things at Williston-West flow with the calendar and time may try to get away from us, but I hope you will hold tight to the reins and join us in all that this season offers as a member of our faith family. The pressures of children’s school programs and after-school activities, our own careers and relationships all place demands on us.

What we are offering at Williston West will give you satisfaction, friendship, spiritual growth and personal joy as these holidays speed by. The time you spend working at the Christmas Fair, participating and growing at our "God is still speaking" Advent Program and worshiping with us during the holidays will provide time of another sort. Make some time for peace of mind and reflection, a time for you. Time you may not think you have time for. You will be blessed and thankful that you did.

I wish you all the peace and joy of the season of Christ.

As you are probably aware, the Williston-West Missions Committee is committed to supporting the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield, Maine, in any way that we can. We hold an annual planting day there each June, just before the campers arrive, and have a fundraising effort underway to sponsor a camper. You’ll be hearing more about the fundraising after the holidays. In these times of global unrest and divisiveness, the work being done at Seeds of Peace International Camp has never been more important. Please take a minute to read this synopsis of the 2004 summer camp season.

From the Seeds of Peace Bulletin, Fall 2004…

This summer brought another successful camp season as Seeds of Peace graduated over 400 teens plus adult delegation leaders—a record number—during the first two sessions. Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Moroccan, Tunisian, Qatari, Yemeni, Indian, Pakistani, Afghan, Cypriot and American Seeds all experienced the magic of the International Camp as they participated in sports and art activities and the intense daily dialogue sessions. On their trips to Washington D.C., Seeds met with National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, and with Secretary of State Colin Powell and shared their summer experience with these important world leaders. The Seeds went home determined to teach their friends and families about the human side of their "enemies." As Tomer, an Israeli, and Saeed, a Palestinian agreed, "Even though our nations fight, we know what is right and we can still be friends."

Added excitement came when NBA and WNBA players visited camp to teach basketball skills. During this third year of the clinic, Brent Barry of the Spurs, Jarron Collins of the Jazz, Jason Collins of the Nets, Etan Thomas of the Wizards, and Carla McGhee of the WNBA Suns participated. Adding to the fun was Dave Chappelle from Comedy Central’s The Chappelle Show who provided everyone with the day’s entertainment!

The camp season concluded with Seeds of Peace’s new ground-breaking program, Beyond Borders, which brought together over 60 American and Arab teens (including Iraqis and Saudis) as well as 25 adult educators to spend two weeks of political and cultural exchange. As Sammie of the American delegation commented, "I walked away from camp with a new sense of things around me and where I want to go with my life. I’m making it my duty to get the word out there and to share my experience with as many people as I can." Part two of the exchange will take place in Jordan in March 2005.

This year, the Missions Committee is sponsoring a giving tree to provide Christmas gifts for the teens at Long Creek Youth Development Center, a youth correctional facility in South Portland. We will have a lighted tree in the Sanctuary (on the right as you enter) with a large, festively-decorated box in which you can return unwrapped gifts. (The box was decorated by our Sunday School children and it is beautiful!) We will collect gifts until December 15, and then deliver them to the Youth Center so that the personnel there will have time to sort and distribute the gifts for Christmas morning. The Christmas Giving Tree will work like the Williston-West Apple Tree, with individual tags that you can take off the tree—and each tag will be labeled with a gift need. You can return the gift (unwrapped, please), along with the tag, to the church office or to the box in the sanctuary.

In this season of giving, we hope that you will consider adding an item from the Christmas Giving Tree to your holiday shopping list. So many of the teens at the Youth Center come from backgrounds of abuse and neglect and many have no families at all. It would mean a great deal to these teens to know that there are people in their community who care about them—particularly at this time of year.

The average age of the teens is 16 years, although ages can range from 11 to 21, and there are both males and females. Each teen gets to choose one large gift, two medium gifts, and three small gifts from the following list:

Cranium, Stratego, Imaginiff, Sequence, Lord of the Rings, Risk-Lord of the Rings,Worst Case Scenario, Mission Commando, Uno Cards, Skip Bo Cards, Scattergories, Outburst, Taboo, Scrabble, Life, Pictionary, Mad Gab, Candy Land, Chess, Checkers, Battleship, Phase Ten, Mousetrap, Clue, Puzzles (with no metal pieces)

Small Gifts:
Pencils
Colored Pencils
Coloring Books
Crayons
Address Book (non-spiral)
Date Book (non-spiral)
Shampoo/Conditioner
Deodorant/Antiperspirant (stick only)
Plastic Combs/Brushes
Hair Scrunchies (no metal pieces)

Thanks so much for your generosity, and Merry, Merry Christmas from the Williston-West Missions Committee.

I nwas lying in bed this morning and thinking about M &M’s and Diet Coke. These are two items I often crave, but am better off dreaming about than actually having. When I do have them I end up with a headache from the nutrasweet and a stomach ache from sugar. But, I want them anyway. I was thinking of these things this morning because December is upon us, and there is a lot of wanting going on. We often get annoyed hearing others, particularly kids, deluge us with their wants. And we feel frustrated about all the things people, including us, want but will not get. But there is another way to look at the wanting (otherwise known as wishing). It can be a wonderful escape into fantasy land when we wish for something. And sometimes, whether we get our wish or not, the anticipation was half the fun.

This season I want my kids to not get something they wish for, not just so the house will be less cluttered with unnecessary plastic junk, but so they can have a chance to feel disappointment and see that it goes away, and to realize that wishing is about seeking happiness, which is a good thing. For me, there is pleasure in wanting a Diet Coke and M & M’s for breakfast, far more pleasure than I experience if I actually have them for breakfast. Thinking about them reminds me of college when I would fill my 32 oz. mug with soda in the dining hall on my way to the art studio to paint for the day, and when my best college friend and I opened up a care package destined for her friend in Israel, and removed the precious almond M & M’s and ate the whole bag while we talked and laughed.

Wishing is a deeper emotion than our consumer culture would have us believe. Often tied up in wishing are special memories, hopes for our future, questions about the way we are living our life right now. My son wants a transformer. I believe he wants the happiness he feels when he and his best friend play. And he associates that happiness with the transformer. It is my job to teach him that it is the friend he cherishes more than the transformer, and to perhaps not give him that transformer, but provide some other product around which he and this most special friend can create new happy memories.

We all sometimes forget that it is not the "thing" that we cherish, but the feelings or relationships that that happened in the presence of that "thing" that made it special. So the next time I want a Diet Coke, instead of grabbing it off the shelf, I will remember a happy time where a regular old soda can had the privilege of sitting there next to me while I enjoyed some special moment with a friend. And, I will pass that Diet Coke by and maybe go call that friend and tell her I was thinking of her today. After all, she and I can laugh again, but what can that soda give to me other than a headache?

An afterthought….I receive a newsletter called the Green Guide, which offers earth-human-animal friendly products. This month they sent an excellent eco-friendly list of holiday gifts. If you are interested in some creative ideas check them out. My favorite was "Adopt an Animal." You can adopt anything from a sea turtle to a gorilla or a Vancouver Island marmot. The prices range from $20 to upward of $120. I think my kids might actually go for this. How could you resist a picture of an endangered animal you helped to save? With some packages you even get a stuffed animal of your new friend. Below are several sources to adopt an animal. There are more at www.greenguide.com:

*Defenders of Wildlife;

*Dian Fossy Gorilla Fund International;

*Smithsonian National Zoological Park’s Adopt a Species Program

The choir is gearing up for the Christmas season and we are looking for some additional voices for Christmas Eve. There seems to be a misconception that you need to be able to read music in order to join the choir. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be in it. That is the reason we have section leaders, who help other members learn new pieces. We would really like a bigger choir for Christmas. We will begin practicing for Christmas on Wed. December 1 at 7:15 in the second floor nursery school. Members of the choir will also be providing music for the Christmas Fair, and Maggie will be doing some fiddling.

The church has been given an amazing gift. Vicky and Bob Morgan have presented the church with a beautiful Yamaha baby grand piano. Denise is really thrilled, as are we all. The music committee/choir will be sponsoring a potluck supper - piano dedication on Fri. Dec. 10 at 6:00 PM. After the potluck supper we will go to the sanctuary and listen to some of our congregation members play our new piano. We have several people lined up to play, but if you play piano and would like to be a part of this program, please let Denise know. There will be a sign up sheet in Fellowship Hall. I know this a busy time of the year, but we really wanted to celebrate this fantastic gift with the entire church family. Please plan on being there.

As we enter the glorious Advent season, it seems a good time to reflect on the past year at Williston-West. And a good year it has been, both spiritually and financially.

As our Church family continues to grow, bringing into the fold many new additions, your Board of Trustees has been busy keeping Williston-West afloat.

And I am very happy to report that we will be ending the 2004 budget year on a solid (black!) note. Through the generosity of our members in giving their time and expertise, we have been able to keep expenses to a minimum. And, of course, we have been very fortunate to not have had any major building issues.

But with the age of our Church, we know this won’t always be the case. And with that in mind, the Stewards are hard at work getting pledges to allow for a healthy budget next year, a budget that will ensure that Williston-West continues to be physically and fiscally stable. With your continued generosity, we can all make it work!

Suppers of Eight

You are invited to become part of a soon to be, long time tradition of "getting to know you" at Williston West Church.

WHAT: Suppers of Eight

WHEN: February, March, April and May 2005

WHERE: In each other’s homes

WHO: Groups of 8 (sometimes 9 or 10), a new group every month.

People are assigned to supper groups by 2’s. You will be pared with your spouse/partner or another attendee. You may choose this person, or we will do it for you.

You and your partner will be responsible for hosting one of four suppers. This means providing a main dish and beverage and holding the supper in your home. If space is a problem, you may hold it in the church (check first for availability).

1. E-mail the following information to the Church office.
2. Or sign up during the Coffee Hour in December.
3. Or place the completed form in a designated container on the table at the back of the sanctuary after morning worship services on Sundays in December. Reservations must be in by January 1.

Name(s) _________________________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________

Phone_______________________if you cannot commit to all four suppers but would

enjoy substituting, please indicate_____________________________________________

(Including filling in the above information.)

"Mildred Perkins, 99, of 75 State St., formerly of 1 Carroll St., died Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004 at a Portland nursing home."

That was the opening sentence of a small obituary that appeared in the paper a few days later. It was short; and it gave a few simple details about her life and career. But how do you tell of a 99-year life in half a newspaper column? It didn't tell you of the kindness of her heart. It didn't tell you of the gentleness of her spirit. It didn't tell you of the innocent smile she had for everyone almost all the time.

Millie and Ida Carras shared a home across the street from this church...and across the street from us for many, many years. I used to think of them almost as you would one person: Millie-and-Ida. But they were so different. Ida was tough, irascible. She would wrinkle her face and dismiss you with a casual line and you wouldn't even know it.

But Millie was different. She was quiet, she was always kind. Granted, When Christina and I moved to Portland in 1982, Millie was already 77 years old, so I can't vouch for how feisty she may have been in her youth. What I do know is that, as she got older and was forced more and more to rely on the kindness of others, she knew how to show appreciation. As neighbors, we would occasionally do little things for them and Millie would over and over thank us and tell us what good neighbors we were. She was not shy about asking when she needed something, but she made you feel good about doing it.

My brother sent me a poem called 'The Dash." It talks about the way they put your dates on a tombstone: date of birth, (dash), date of death. It tells how what we see are the two numbers, but what really counts is the life that came between them...our lives....the dash.

Millie Perkins was not a world leader, she was not a famous scientist who found a needed cure. She was a simple, quiet woman with a shaky voice who lived a long life and made a lot of friends along the way. She never married, never had children, but as our pastor, Eric Kelley, said from the pulpit, we here at Williston were a big part of her family.

If you attended the memorial service you learned a little more about Millie. Helen Gay, Millie's sister from Warwick, R.I., wrote a short 'recollection' of Millie that was read by Helen's daughter. Here is that story (Helen spells her name differently than we are used to, and I have kept it that way here):

Milly was the third of our parents' nine children. She was born in Hampton, N.H., on September 10, 1905, at the home of our grandparents. We had spent the summer there and Mom and the two older children remained while our father returned to Chester, MA., where he taught school. He was back in Hampton on the fifth and just as the church bells rang, Milly was born. In the afternoon, Grandpa (Benjamin Franklin) Perkins - who was a minister - christened her. Years later, Grandma gave Milly the lusterware bowl which had served as a font on that memorable day. 'Hampton House', as we called it, was always our vacation destination and provided many happy memories.

When Milly was about ten, she went to a girls’ camp in Wellfleet. In exchange for her room and board, she was the cook's helper assigned to tables, serve food, and clean up. Fortunately, this was looked on, not as child labor, but as a wonderful opportunity

Just as Milly was approaching high school graduation, King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered. She was fascinated by this and wrote a prize-winning essay on the subject. She had an admiration for all things Egyptian for the rest of her life.

While attending college, she followed in her older sister's footsteps, working in the East Providence Library. It was a good fit for someone so completely 'addicted' to books. She grew into the role of librarian enjoying all her life the many friends she made and the knowledge she gained of many subjects through her love of books. She worked in the Providence Public Library system for years before moving on to Nashua, Concord and finally Portland.

Milly loved Maine and Maine's gracious and generous people. Although she never learned to drive, she knew her way around. Thanks to all the wonderful people upon whom she depended for transportation, she could direct us unerringly to many scenic locations.

When she was younger, she had a beautiful alto voice and loved singing in choirs. She always had a love of music and enjoyed all the concerts available in the area.

Perhaps being born on a Sunday set her life's course, for church was always a big part of her life. She especially loved Williston-West, and it is obvious that its people have been very good to her. She felt a special connection to this church because many years ago our great uncle, Francis Clark, was pastor here, and he and his wife Hattie (Harriet) helped to found the Christian Endeavor Society.

I often found it a little embarrassing that Milly always seemed to be asking for rides here and there. But your gracious people took her, adding greatly to her enjoyment of all facets of life in her ninety-nine years. She was always interested in people and even in our last conversation the day before she died, she thought to ask for our youngest grandchild.

Thank you all for your great kindness to our Milly.

She was OUR Milly, too! Rest in Peace.