1 2 B e a c h S t r e e t , S a c o , M a i n e 0 4 0 7 2P h o n e 2 0 7 - 2 8 3 - 3 7 7 1 w w w . f i r s t p a r i s h s a c o . o r g

Deborah Breault, Interim Minister deborah@firstparishsaco.org

Kristine Galasyn, Director of Christian Education kris@firstparishsaco.org

Stefanie Burgess, Office Manager stefanie@firstparishsaco.org

Comfort & Hope ServiceWednesday, February 22

7PM

First Parish Congregational ChurchUnited Church of ChristThe Church with Love &Hope to Share

Book ClubTuesday, February 16

6:30PM

2017

Bible StudySundays at 9am

Bean SupperSaturday, February 11

5-6:30 PM

Souper Bowl SubsSunday, February 7

11:30 AM

WF PotluckFriday, February 26

5:30-7:30 PM

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An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church.He came home and his wife asked him how it was. "Well," said the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses," said his wife, "What are those?" "Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer."Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife. The farmer said, "Well it's like this - If I were to say to you:

'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a hymn.If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:'Martha Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows,the white cows, the black and white cows,the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,the CORN, CORN, CORN,'

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."

AND THEN....

A young, new Christian went to out of town one weekend and decided to visit a small village church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs." "Hymns," said his wife, "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man. "Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The young man said, "Well it's like this - If I were to say to you:'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a regular song.

If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cryInclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and byTo the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.

For the way of the animals who can explainThere in their heads is no shadow of sense,Hearkenest they in God's sun or his rainUnless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.Then goaded by minions of darkness and nightThey all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.

So look to that bright shining day by and by,Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn.Where no vicious animal makes my soul cryAnd I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.

Then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn.

even when we disagree. Although each of us may prefer one style verses another, within our covenant of living as the body of Christ, let us pray for a unified vision and love in Christ. As we move forward on our interim journey, let us strive to respect and appreciate one another’s viewpoints even as we learn from one another and grow in faith. May the Spirit of the living Christ transform even our most challenging issues into opportunities for God’s new song to be sung in our midst.

In the love of Christ, peace and blessings to you all.

Rev. Deborah

Although the humor of this story is obvious, the message is one from which we can all benefit. Most things in life are a matter of perspective and naturally, our own perspective usually seems to be the “right” one. However, we are well served to remember that our perspective is just that. OURS! It is often the result of where we were raised and how we have experienced life so far. And that doesn’t make it the only one or the “right” one just because we can justify it to others or ourselves. Tolerance and inclusivity are not just politically correct terms that we should use in intellectual discussions; they are important ways that we live together in community, being respectful and affirming of one another,

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Here we are already in February and the last month of the Winter Quarter. How quickly those 13 weeks fly by. March begins ourSpring quarter, and the last one before summer. If you haven’t already signed up to be a church school teacher, we hope that you will do so, for our Spring Quarter. There is a sign up on the Christian Education kiosk.

Our Spring quarter begins March 5th and goes through

May 28th.

Kris

Our team would like to welcome Jennifer Erickson. Jen has lived in Saco for 11 years and has been

attending First Parish since 2014. After attending a much smaller Congregational Church in the area, she was attracted to First Parish for the church school offerings for her nephews. Jen grew up attending a Congregational Church and attended Pilgrim Lodge and wanted a similar connection for them. She was also attracted by the amount of community outreach such as the MLK day, Bean Suppers, Bon Appetite, and other missions of the church.Jen teaches grades 9 -12 at Yarmouth High School as a Special Ed. Teacher and enjoys working with youth. I am thrilled that First Parish has such a strong Christian Ed. program. She and Amy have two dogs that take up a lot of our time and we enjoy our camp in the Western

Maine mountains in the summer, going kayaking, hiking, and fishing. In the winter, she has recently returned to sewing and is thinking about learning to knit. She also loves reading and has enjoyed the First Parish book club!We welcome Jen Erickson to the team. Jen is currently teaching our Senior high class with Karen Brann and Brian Doyle.

You can view the tentative schedule here: http://www.pilgrimlodge.org/schedule.htmlSome sessions do fill up fast.

Please contact us at:207-724-3200 or email our administrator

Karen karen@pilgrimlodge.org with questions or to learn how to register offline.

Online registration for Pilgrim Lodge 2017 began on

Wednesday, January 25, 2017.

First Parish Camperships will be available the beginning of April.

See you at Church,

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Jesus says: “Let the little children come to me”

-Matthew 19:14

Helping Lisa Edstorm in the Nursery for the month of January was:1st8th Katherine Siniscalchi15th Mary Coyne22nd Judi Klingensmith29th Welsey Wiggins

F i r s t P a r i s h C h r i s t i a n E d u c a t i o nT e a m a p p r e c i a t e s y o u r t i m e .

Thank you

Second: Please bring in a can good between now and Sat., Feb 4. We are hoping to get

enough can goods to go up our center aisle—gaining as much yardage as possible

“I was hungry and you fed me.”---Matthew 25:35

If you have borrowed a book from First Parish’s library, please return it within three weeks.

FriendlyLibraryReminder

If you have read a book from our library, that you really loved, or maybe one from the First Parish Discussion Group, how about writing a review for it? See Kris for a special review card to use.

Third: Give to our Souper Bowl offering on Feb 5th

Please eat dinner before you come. Bring your sleeping bag and pillow and get ready for a FUN night. We start off the evening by preparing our veggies and meat etc. for the subs on Sunday, February 5th

Fellowship

First: Please order a delicious Super Bowl Sub.

All youth, 6th grade and up, are encourage to attend Souper Bowl of Caring overnight

Saturday, Feb. 4th beginning at 7PM

First Parish Youth are getting ready for the BIG SuperBowlGame. We invite you to be a part of it by participating in all three of our Super Bowl activities.

Martin Luther KingDay of Service

January 16, 2017

Life’s most urgent question is “What are you doing for others?”

-Martin Luther King

Our 9th annual MLK Day of Service has come and gone but what a GREAT day it was. The weather was sunny but cold and by 8:45 we had over 60 “clients” waiting to participate in our services. After a 15 minute wait in the sanctuary our providers were in place and we were ready to go. We had over 50 volunteers helping with food, being host/hostess, who helped take people around the church for the services, and 30 service providers. From haircuts to foot care, chiropractic to blood pressure checks osteopathic medicine to reflexology. Also donations of New underwear and socks, clothes and jackets to health and beauty items to nail polishing and head checks. First Parish Shoe Ministry, gave away over 75 pairs of shoes. Read More Saco was back giving away books, puzzles and games and information. Out in our community we had 20 youth participating in Service Projects and 10 of our Church school children were present and helping. We even had a Boy Scout troop involved.

The GREAT news is we provided: 83 Haircuts, 33 Blood Pressure readings, 20 Osteopathic manipulations, 10 Chiropractic Services, 22 Foot Care services, 14 people enjoyed our Reflexology services, 1 person did laundry (she just started a new job and didn’t have any money to wash clothes), everyone ate breakfast and/or lunch and all this in a four hour span. One hundred and twenty –three clients in our community were given a helping hand.

If you are interested in being part of a Core Group to organize MLK Day of Service please email Kris. kris@firstparishsaco.org If you have some great ideas for donations, service providers, food etc, just GO FOR IT.Thank you to ALL everyone who helped by being at the event, by bringing in donations, or by being a provider. The day was amazing.

One of my favorite quotes is by Anne Frank “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world”.

Not A Day Off, But A Day On

Next MLK Day will be

January 15, 2018

This will be our 10th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr Day of Service here at Saco First Parish. If you have any ideas of how we can celebrate this special anniversary please share them by emailing/talking to me:kris@firstparishsaco.org. Thank you.

Kaeley Brann and Ripley Biggs with therapy dogs, Professor and Scotch at MLK Day.

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A Message from the Moderator

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I find myself in a time of transition, which makes it the perfect time for me to take over as Moderator at First Parish. My daughter Sabena is a freshman in college this year, and that gives me a little more time to devote to church and other interests.

Those of you who know me, know that I am extremely involved in the life of the church. I have been a deacon for five years, which is where my passion at FPC lies; and I am also involved with hospitality, the vitality group, and Women's Fellowship. I began attending FPC in 2008 and joined the diaconate first and then council. The more I get involved it seems, the happier I am. Our church family is incredible and the friends I have made in the past eight years are irreplaceable.

I grew up in Maine, but after college and graduate school, I moved to Alaska, where Sabena was born. I lived there about 15 years before deciding it was time to return to Maine. I was grateful to come back to this amazing area to enjoy the excellent shopping; the easy travel to Boston and New York; and to cheer for the greatest sports teams in the world. Alaska is close to nowhere, has little shopping, and has no sports teams...unless you count the Seattle Seahawks, which I don't.

Attending First Parish allowed me to continue my spiritual journey. I did not grow up in a church, and joined the Lutheran church in Alaska because I was friends with the minister. I served as the head of the church council there before moving back to Maine. That church was a little smaller than FPC, though, with about 100 members, maybe 50 of them active.

As moderator, I want to hear from everyone. If you are happy with FPC, tell me about it. If you are unhappy with FPC, tell me about it. I can't promise I can fix all of the problems people see, but I want to know about them so that I can help us all work toward solutions and help First Parish be even more of an amazing community than it already is.

The easiest way to get in touch is via email or text: whateverart@live.com or 207-776-9223. Our vice moderator, Glen Ellen Roth, is also available to chat if people have questions or concerns. We want to hear from you.

Thank you for giving me this chance to serve as moderator. Heather MacLean

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January1 Hospitality8 Women’s Fellowship15 Stephen Ministers22 Diaconate29 Council

February5 Hospitality12 Music and Arts19 Flower and Altar26 Women’s Fellowship

March5 Counters12 Prayer Group and Facilities19 Investment, Charitable Gifts, JAF26 Council

April2 Program Development and Mission9 Christian Education16 Music and Arts23 Diaconate30 Media and Good News Team

May7 Hospitality14 Counters21 Christian Education28 Women’s Fellowship

June4 Stewardship11 Flower and Altar18 Stephen Ministers25 Mission and Program Development

July2 Investment, Charitable Gifts, JAF9 Women’s Fellowship16 Prayer Group and Facilities23 Diaconate30 Council

August6 Hospitality13 Flower and Altar20 Personnel and Pastor Parish Relations27 Music and Arts

September3 Hospitality10 Council17 Counters24 Diaconate

October1 Calling Committee and Facilities8 Investments, Charitable Gifts, JAF15 Christian Education22 Women’s Fellowship29 Hospitality

November5 Mission and Program Development12 Stewardship19 Stephen Ministers26 Calling Committee and Facilities

December3 Council10 Diaconate17 Counters24 Hospitality31 Media and Good News Teams

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We wanted to give you an update on all the items UCC First Parish contributed to our friends in Cherryfield, ME. On December 30th we mailed a package of the following knitted and fleece items that were given for Cherryfield to help keep area residents warm during the cold winter months.

1 prayer shawl

6 fleece throws

2 scarf and mitten sets

5 pairs of adult mittens

8 pairs of teenage mittens

6 pairs of youth size mittens

3 sets of hat and matching mittens

6 pairs of child size stretchy gloves

5 headband warmers

3 fleece children’s hats

7 adult hats

WOW! That’s 51 items that will go a long way to keep folks warm!

We are still collecting items on an on-going basis as the need is great. Please leave items addressed to Rick and Nancy Twomey or Cherryfield in the office and we will gather them for future distributions.

We received a phone call from Seacoast Mission thanking First Parish for the kindness and generosity of our members. They were in awe of all the items and said they were greatly appreciated and would be put to use immediately!

In the next few months we will be giving you information in regards to the work we do for Seacoast Mission and hope some of you will consider volunteering (usually the second week in September, week after Labor Day week) for this worthy organization of “Mainers helping Mainers”.

Thank You from Seacoast Mission in Cherryfield, Maine

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Mark your calendars now so you don't miss "Bible Study in the New Year"!Beginning February 5th, 9 am to 9 :45. The theme will be "The Psalms: The hymnbook of the ages", a gymnasium of the soul. Led by Merle Steva.

Book Club meets the third Tuesday of every month at 6:30 PM in the parlor. Books to be

read this year should be available at any local library. If you have trouble finding a book or if you have a question, please contact organizer

Heather MacLean at wintercherryfarm@live.com.

February: "Our Man in Havana" by Graham Greene

March:"The Secret Chord" by Geraldine Brooks

April:"Death Comes to the Archbishop" by Willa Cather

May: "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving

June: "Persuasion" by Jane Austen

July:"The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas"

by Gertrude SteinAugust:

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society“by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

September:"The Sellout" by Paul Beatty

October:"Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins

November:"The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey

December:"Murder for Christmas" by Francis Duncan

Book Club

Bean Supper

First Parish Congregational Church12 Beach Street, Saco

(Corner of Beach & Main Streets)

When: Saturday, February 11, 2017Serving from 5:00-6:30PM

Cost: $7.00 for Adult$4.00 for Children ages 6-12

Children under 6 years old are free

Menu: Pea BeansKidney BeansHot DogsMacaroni & CheeseBrown Bread/Dinner RollsColeslaw DessertsBeverages

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THE NAVAJO POET and writer, Luci Tapahonso, author of Blue Horses Rush In, writes of stories that they are for her a way of looking. For her, stories often explain things, as well as offer an exploration of alternative ways of living. So it is with us. We too have favorite writers, whose works have proven life-enhancing, making available themes, images and metaphors which, in turn, have illuminated and sharpened moments of discernment relative to who we are and what we are for.

THE PERCEPTIONS WE glean from stories often enable an enriched in seeing. Somewhere I have read that it is a lifetime project, cultivating the five senses in order to distinguish ourselves from the buzzing, blooming confusion of the world, until we are able to say with confidence, ‘this is me.’ Psychiatrist Robert Coles allowed that stories were renderings of life, both keeping us company and admonishing us, possibly pointing us in new directions, or giving us the courage to stay a given course.

COLES’ PERCEPTIVENESS lends credence to the idea that the stories of our faith rightly discerned also may help in our seeing how God is present with us. From my youth up I have been informed and guided by the facts and fictions of my biblical heritage. Apart from this literature, it would be impossible for me to interpret myself to anyone...even to myself. So it is with those whose faith-stories may be different than mine.

SOMETIME AGO I read an editorial stating that today’s children and youth are being cut off from these value-forming narratives that have given moral direction to societies for centuries. The writer further allowed that so much of our social insanity seems to stem from this generation’s failure to pass on to their children and youth a way of looking that includes God and how it is that each person is related to a dimension of reality outside and beyond themselves.

POSSIBLY YOU WHO read this live as I do in that evangelical world where God’s story and our stories have become inspirationally a melded reality. Our Christian writings have engaged our minds and spirits in ways not easily shrugged off. When, like prodigal sons and daughters we come to ourselves, as the father’s son of Jesus’ parable did, we want to come home to God. Faith-wise, we are persuaded that God is hiddenly and always present to us...his steadfast love upholding us. Unashamedly, we confess that this way of looking has an irrational slant.

--Nat Whilk

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PERMEATING THESE STORIES is a moral force pushing us to clarify to ourselves what it means to be here on this planet—the only personal space in the universe. How is it that we have these singular selves just once and no more? There may be no viable answers to our ponderings and yet thinking upon and around these writings, we find ourselves moving confidently from contemplation to our day-to-day living. So we, acting out of faith, though it may seem a little light, find that light sufficient to go ahead with, as Robert Frost allowed in his narrative poem, A Masque of Reason:

We don’t know where we are, or who we are. We don’t know one another; don’t know You; Don’t know what time it is. We don’t know, don’t we?Who says we don’t? Who got up these misgivings?Oh, we know well enough to go ahead with.I mean we seem to know enough to act on.

YES! WE KNOW well enough to go ahead with...to act on! Having staked our lives upon these ancient and hallowed writings, people of faith can make a life...sing songs...speak poems...love both God and neighbor, confessing themselves ever in need of God’s mercy while buoyed by the hope that we are cross-referenced to eternity...forever in God’s care! It’s our way of looking!

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The 2017 Flower sign-up sheets are ready for your assignments. Please consider the times you would like to remember or honor loved ones, share the joy of an achievement or anniversary, and give thanks to God by placing flowers on the altar on a given Sunday. This is the best time to find a date on or close to your special day. Thank you.

Flowers Our paraments are now Green, symbolizing growth and learning. The season following Epiphany (January 6) continues the theme of spreading Good News of Christ to the Gentiles, from its source in the Jewish community to all nations on earth. We began using Green on the second Sunday after Epiphany and will continue, except for White on Communion Sunday, until Ash Wednesday, March 1 this year.

Altar

Service of Comfort & Hope

The Service of Comfort and Hope will be held February 22 at 7 PM in the sanctuary.

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Born in FebruaryFebruary 1st

Lisa MetcalfCharlie Connellan

February 2ndBenjamin Lovejoy

February 3rdJulie Carter

Paige Henderson

February 4thKatherine LundMargo Jacques

February 6thKaren Smith

February 8thLisa DuchaineLia Langeveld

Matthew GalasynEliza Bartlett

February 9thCorleen Garland

Maryfrances Smith

February 14thTimothy Christenbury

February 16thJoseph BeginDylan Nutting

February 17thSusan Anton

February 18thCain Landry

February 19thRuth Shaw

February 21stJoan Gross

Sandy DurossRobert Guptill

February 22ndJessie Charles

Eleanor Raymond

February 24thJennifer Bartlett

February 26thMartha Gagne

February 27Cornelia Sawyer

Katherine Mehlman

February 28Shirley Gibson

E. Wendall FreemanJoshua Worster

2017

2017

2017

The MessengerFirst Parish Congregational Church12 Beach StreetSaco, ME 04072