Location: 67 Main Street, Belgrade Lakes, Maine Mailing Address: P. O. Box 133, Belgrade Lakes, Maine 04918 Phone: 207-495-3599 Church Email: [email protected]Pastor’s Email: [email protected]Website: unionchurchmaine.org Union Church of Belgrade Lakes a United Methodist Church Union Rider – September, 2015 Newsletter FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOR LUNCHEON Soups, sandwiches, deserts and more! Thursday, September 10, 2015 from 11:30 to 1pm. Come Join in the fellowship with our friends throughout the community. There will also be a game of trivia, come test your knowledge skills and have fun playing against everyone. A Daily Prayer From Taizé Pastor Joe receives a daily prayer from the Taizé Community and wanted to share this particular one. "Proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts and always be ready to answer people who ask you the reason for the hope you have.” 1 Peter 3:8-17 “Nothing is more enduring than the memory of past humiliations and wounds. Such memories foster an attitude of suspiciousness, sometimes lasting several generations. Gospel forgiveness, on the other hand, enables us to go beyond the memory. Will we be among those who gather up their energies to curb all forms of mistrust, be they age-old or brand new?” –from the writings of Brother Roger Jesus’ peace is with you, Pastor Joe
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Location: 67 Main Street, Belgrade Lakes, Maine
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 133, Belgrade Lakes, Maine 04918
WALK TO DEFEAT ALS September 13, 2015 marks the annual WALK TO DEFEAT ALS in Portland. As of this writing (Aug. 19th) Sue Gawler's team is leading the campaign to
raise funds. Her team has secured $18,895 toward their $20,000 goal with Sue being the top fund raiser for this event. Sue responded to her diagnosis with dignity, grace, and her multi-megawatt smile. She was dedicated to her family, friends, and community. If you would like to contribute to Sue's team effort to raise funds and her team’s desire to make a difference for ALL people with ALS you may join other Union Church members by making a contribution to "The ALS Association" in honor of Sue. Your tax deductible contribution may be in the form of cash, check, or credit card. Information and/or donor forms may be secured by contacting Colleen or Tom Crabiel @[email protected] or 269-615-4760. Or by contacting the Church Office to obtain this donation form. We walk, we pray, we now live remembering the life of Sue Gawler who died on August 21
st but not before
her life, her presence, her wisdom and smile changed many a heart.
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Our Stewardship
Campaign
Overview
2016 Seeds with Wings Report and Analysis
We are through the initial part of our pledge
campaign for 2016 and wanted to give you an
update. We began our campaign on August 2nd
sending out 121 letters to our members and friends.
Each of three weeks a member of our congregation
(Louise Young, Kelly Webster and Pastor Joe)
spoke on the significance of meaning of our church
in their lives and the importance in their own life for
giving to Christ’s ministry that takes place here at
Union Church.
Last year we received 61 pledges of support for our
ministry these totaled $98,409. Our goal for our
ministry in 2016 is to equal or exceed that amount
to fully fund our ministries.
To date we are gaining towards that goal with
32 pledges totaling $67,575.
Here are some interesting statistics:
We have 3 new pledging units this year
There were 9 pledges that were able to
increase their giving
There were 2 pledges that found it necessary to
decrease their giving
There are still 29 pledging units from 2015 that
have not returned their cards
May our giving to the ministry of Christ that emanates from Union Church become an opportunity for you to joyfully respond to the many gracious blessings of God you find in each day. --How else to demonstrate our gratitude than with a gracious gift?
We are most grateful for those of you who have
already pledged.
We are in high hopes to exceed last year’s goal of $120,000 to meet our ministry needs. Please remember, Union Church needs everyone to prayerfully consider their commitment of time and finances. This is how we will be able to achieve what it is that God is creating us to be, a growing spiritual faith community in the manner of Christ, where all are welcome and cared for...(from our Vision Statement!).
Sometimes folks, although it can make us uncomfortable, we have to talk about money in the church. With out financial gifts we just can’t get the work done that God calls us to. Our lives are so very busy
and it may be that sending in your pledge may have just
slipped your mind; so please be sure to prayerfully consider your gift to Union Church, and respond.
With your pledge of support towards our ministry for 2016 we will plan ahead. With your pledge we will accomplish the ministry God is calling us to.
[late breaking news…as of September 8th we have just received in 6 additional generous pledges.]
Infinite Loop Robotics would like to invite you to our own competition, Mainely Spirit, on Saturday, September 19 from 8:30 to 5:00 at Messalonskee High School. Admission is free; there will be craft tables and food for sale. Our robotics team has worked hard for months to build a robot to perform the
task for this game season. A season starts in January; runs through April with completion to the World Championship, then continuing through the end of the year with off-season events, like Mainely Spirit. This year’s game is called RECYCLE RUSH which is a recycling-themed game played by two Alliances of three robots each. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. As part of this event we are asking for donation of new or gently used books as a community service project.
During this time of year we accomplish most of our fundraising. Our team members are expected to fundraise for 30 hours each. This helps raise the money needed to fund our budget of $59,000. This includes the cost for: the Robot Kit; additional registrations fees; materials; plus travel expenses. This fun competition is one of the many ways we raise money, we rely on your donations, as well as the many bake sales, tag days and sponsors.
FIRST Robotics is not only a club for our team; it is a way for them to learn hands on. These students in the four years they are on the team will learn: programming, mechanics, engineering, and business. Infinite Loop is a student lead team; they make the choices needed to run a business and work as engineers. Our team currently has 23 members with an equal balance of girls to boys.
We hope you will join us at Mainely Spirit on September 19th so we can show you first hand what robotics means to us!
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The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden
to work it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15
With Fall just around the corner, the Memorial Garden
needs volunteers to help weed, water and get the garden
ready for the upcoming winter season. This is a
wonderfully reflective way to serve the church and
communion with God’s creation. Please consider
signing up to help!
Location: 67 Main Street, Belgrade Lakes, Maine
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 133, Belgrade Lakes, Maine 04918
Summer flew by and now it is that time of year again when plans are getting underway for Union Church’s annual Harvest Festival. It is the big draw in town; many folks have already asked about our event and are looking forward to attending again this year! Octoberfest is on October 10, 2015 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. Be thinking about ways you can help out -
many hands needed! Lots of volunteers needed to
make this a success again this year. Hoping that each
and every one of you will come join us in the fun and
fellowship as we share in our preparations. It is a
great way to connect with old friends, meet new
friends and get incorporated into the life of the
church and community.
We will be meeting right after the 9:30 service on
Sunday, September 20th. We will regroup to see
where everything stands so we know what else is
left to take care of. ALL ARE WELCOME to
come to this meeting and subsequent meetings
thereafter. New ideas are always entertained, so
put on your thinking caps. ALL ARE WELCOME to
volunteer your talents in preparing for the event
and working on the day of the event. It truly is a
very fun day and you get to work with your Church
Family and meet all the town folk that come take
part in this special event.
In the meantime; save the date, start canning,
crafting, woodworking, picking out your recipes for
baked goods and items for our freezer (soups, ice
cream sandwiches, etc.). Go through and identify
which jewelry items and/or Halloween/Christmas
decorations you no longer want to keep, we will have
tables for those items on the front lawn of the
Church to draw people to our Event. If you know any
shopkeepers; see if they would be willing to donate
something to our Silent Auction. Look for “really
good” things in your attic or basement that you can
donate to the auction, or make something using your
