Williston-West Church

Seems like there is a lot of bad news around us. All this talk about bombing Iraq to get Saddam Hussein while forgetting that more than 80% of the casualties will be women and children who have already suffered immeasurably. The plight of the Palestinian people grows worse as overwhelming political and military might continues to allow settlements to squeeze an indigenous people from ancestral land. While here at home we have another lunatic loose who is randomly shooting innocent people. It is a long list and discouraging to say the least so what is a person to do?

You could say that the problems of this world are so big that what we do will make no difference anyway. That is the easy way out and often the self-indulgent way which is the choice of many. The fact remains that we are not little islands separated from the mainland of this world so that everything we do does make a difference. There are choices we all have to make in life that effect us and people around us.

Like you, I am sometimes overwhelmed and discouraged when I sense the magnitude of human suffering in our world and simply want to throw up my hands and shut it all out like it doesn’t really exist. There is temporary solace in that kind of escapism but we do not escape the knock on the door of our hearts to at least do something.

I recently became a mentor to a 14-year-old boy who is incarcerated at the Long Creek Youth Development Center. He is a bright, handsome, articulate young boy who looks no different than our own children. He has had some real bad breaks in his life and is now accepting responsibility for his behavior that put him in the Youth Center. That is a very good thing and I hope that in some small way my time with him will expedite his return to a normal life. Somehow I think it will.

Little things like this can make all the difference in the life of a young person so I encourage you to take the problems of this world seriously but not to be overwhelmed by them. You may not feel called to do what I do but we are all called to connect to this world with the gifts we have been given. It is the road to successful living

Ralph Waldo Emerson left a wonderful definition of success that if followed by more of us would profoundly change the world and it is made of little things that we can all do!

If you are looking for that place to ‘plug- in’ to success and can’t find it alone or need some guidance on that path let me know. We have lots of opportunities through the church where you can make a real difference. That’s what it’s all about!

The Trustees have been busy starting work on the budget for the church for 2003. Among other responsibilities, the budget is one of the most important. We are using a process developed last year where a Trustee is assigned a specific committee and then meets with the chair of that committee to develop a budget for upcoming year. The chair is urged to look at the past year’s budget and to think about expenses, pay raises, repairs, or any other items that may need to be considered next year. While we tend to focus on expenses, there are also opportunities for committees to provide income to the church as well as to their specific committee activity. Several committees may want to consider bake sales, yard sales, etc that will provide funds for missions, Christian Education, music or to the operating of the church.

This year will see the departure of several Trustees who will need to be replaced by dynamic and talented new members. If you have interest in how the finances of the church work, have skills in management, finances or personnel, we would love to have you and your church needs you.

Please contact either myself, Eric or the Nominating Committee if you think you might be interested.

As many of you readers may now have ascertained, a small group of us made the trek to Sugar Loaf, USA (quite different from Jonesport, USA) to attend a two-day conference with other UCC faithful from around our great state.

We each agreed that we would submit our experiences, hopefully each unique to the November newsletter to share with the readers, members and friends. The weekend was eventful, not the least of which was gale force winds and torrential rain for a few hours.

The weekend started with jann and I arriving at our rented condo for the weekend that we were to share with our fellow conference attendees. As we opened the door and found our way through the darkness to the light switches we realized that there were three bedrooms, no bunk beds, and a master bedroom with a private bath. I won’t share the details of the ensuing discussion where we tried to justify taking the large private suite, but suffice it to say –"first come – first serve"!

We didn’t meet-up with Eric and Betty until later that evening (after being greeted by a wagging Katie) and we were told that Phil and Melissa would arrive the following day since they were battling the flood at their new home.

The State conference is a well-attended event with a mix of people from across the state. There seemed to be a large number of people over the age of 70 in the room, but they were balanced by an energetic group of youngsters who were having a great time. The experience of the process that is unique to the Congregational church and the UCC is beautiful to behold. My pride was reinforced in being a life-long member of a worship community that values individuals and all are given a chance to speak.

What to tell you about wasn’t difficult for me. I know that my other attendees will share the process we all experienced in participating in drafting a resolution to be later voted-on and subsequently submitted to our political leaders on behalf of the Maine Conference. While that was one of the highpoint for me I want to share a workshop a little more personal.

I participated in a workshop led by a pastor of a small church on Deer Isle called "Spirit of the Drums" About twelve of us assembled in a small room in a circle with a variety of drums and other interesting noisemakers in the middle. The attendees were a mix of male and female and one woman was accompanied by her seeing-eye guide dog. I had come prepared and brought my own drum.

The leader of the workshop began by asking us to all close our eyes and he began to softly beat a slow rhythm and asked us to breathe slowly and reach a place of relaxation. Within a couple of minutes he stopped and we began a discussion about sounds and rhythms around us everyday. Some pleasant – the sound of birds, the fall of footsteps of our loved ones, the breeze in the trees; and some not so pleasant – honking horns, traffic, clanging of machinery. We talked about the rhythms of life and the use of drums in ancient worship. The two other pastors in the group offered ways in which they used drums and rhythms in worship services at their churches.

The leader of the workshop began to pick-up each drum he had brought along with other instruments and then handed them out to each of us. He began a rhythm and one-by-one we each joined-in with our instrument and in minutes we were all joined into a song that we had made.

This experience was communal and stirred something almost primal in each of us. Even the dog lying quietly on the floor lifted her head and seemed to be listening and feeling the sounds.

These drums and sticks and bells are beautiful in their simplicity and their ability to join a group of strangers into a community. At the completion of the workshop we all had to say how we were feeling as contrasted with how we had felt when we walked-in and sat down. People used words like "calm", "relaxed" and "together" and "joined".

The use of drums and sounds that we might not traditionally think of hearing in church can be very powerful. I left that group excited about the possibility of our church using drumming from time to time in various ways. I imagined a slow and soft rhythm of a heartbeat filling the sanctuary some Sunday as we sat waiting for the opening prayers. I imagined some Sunday a work-shop with the children in Sunday school making instruments and playing a song the following Sunday at "Children’s Time".

This workshop showed me that young and old, conservative and liberal can enjoy the sounds and feeling of the drums and that we can use drums to bring ourselves to a place of calm reflection and meditation – ready for worship.

I think it was Margaret Mead who said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world… Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has."

These words reverberated through my consciousness as I stood among the delegates to the 71^st Annual Meeting of the Maine UCC Conference the weekend of September 27^th-29^th. As one of your representatives from Williston-West Church, I listened to the voices of the youth, the elders and those in between share how grace is filling the sanctuaries, kitchens and meeting spaces of the small and large churches as one by one we are building ripples of hope from our churches--- into our communities and ---into our global world.

For me, this was most evident on Saturday afternoon during the Pilgrim Lodge Mission Report. While unfurling a 1 ¾ mile newsprint filled from corner to corner with tiny, colorful, painted fingerprints of the children who attended camp this year--- the staff talked about how the youth had adopted an orphanage in Zimbabwe as their mission project this year.

Each fingerprint represented one of the 800,000 children in Zimbabwe who were orphaned this year due to the devastation of the AIDS epidemic in that country. After witnessing the plight of these poor children, Dr. Farag and his wife, Grace, developed the Simbaredenga Newstart Children's Home.  Through this dream they dared to hope to make some small difference against the staggering tragedy of these children’s lives. Through letters and pictures, the children befriended one another making the world just a little bit smaller.

In addition, the youth of Pilgrim Lodge raised $7,000 dollars. Dr. and Mrs. Farag were present at the Annual meeting to accept the check and they stated that the money will go toward the building of a vocational school through which the Simbaredenga Newstart Home will be able to give the orphans a trade, so that as they grow they will be able to give them hope beyond the walls of the shelter.

Or perhaps it was most evident when from inside the walls of our own shelter, a group of people--- teens of draft-age, grandmothers, grandfathers, parents, pastors and patriots, one and all, loyal to the United States of America --- spontaneously gathered to discuss the Iraq crisis. From out of that discussion, a Resolution "opposing any pre-emptive or unilateral military strike on Iraq" and "supporting the efforts of the United Nations to affect a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Iraq" was brought to the floor on Sunday morning. The resolution was passed with grateful support from the floor enabling the Maine UCC Conference to stand with the Maine Council of Churches, the General Synod of the UCC and churches around the world "to call upon President Bush and our elected officials to work internationally to secure global stability".

Or perhaps it was most evident during the presentation of the Resolution on Access to Health Care for All by the Commission for Witness Life; or during the award ceremonies wherein the Conference recognized the work of individual churches for their unique programs in nurturing our youth, in providing shelter to the battered, in building safe homes for the elderly. Or perhaps it was in the remembrance of the people of faith doing the quiet, less glamorous work of balancing the budgets, maintaining the furnace, writing the committee minutes or putting together the newsletter. Indeed, the thoughtful, committed people in our pews and in our communities are changing the world.

September 30, 2002. Boston Fleet Center. Paul McCartney. What more could an aging hippie ask for? When I saw the Beatles in Shea Stadium in 1965 it was with my 11-year-old sister, Rita (a concert we could barely hear due to the screaming hordes). This time I saw Paul with my 25-year-old daughter, Erin, as we spent a great day together followed by the incredible concert - a 3-hour flashback into my past. I was astounded at the myriad of memories passing through my consciousness in the course of the evening. Paul McCartney has been playing songs that have created the soundtrack to my life (and, I am sure, for many others) for the last 40 years. The amazing thing is that this 60-year-old man could still sound as good as he did when I first heard him.

Now this is not meant to be a concert review; nor is it meant as an opportunity to share the dark side of my past with you. It is an opportunity to talk about now, about aging gracefully and not letting go of the things you enjoy.

Why should it be a surprise to me that Paul McCartney could still perform good Rock & Roll? Perhaps it is all the press talking about ‘Geezer Rock’ (if you haven’t heard the expression it refers to the 50 and 60-year-old musicians still playing Rock music.) In reality I was looking at a man who was good at his job when I first heard him in 1963, and now has added 40 years of hard work on top of that. Sounds like skill and experience to me.

Attitude, exercise, and a willingness to push your limits just a little further that you think they can go are necessary ingredients to happily living a long life. I read an article in the paper this week about a 94 year old carpenter building a new altar for a church in 4 days! (and a beautiful oak altar, it was!)

Do what you love and don’t make excuses. Paul McCartney was lively, animated and a non-stop dynamo for 3 hours. When the band left the stage for a break, he switched to an acoustic guitar for several solo songs, then switched back when the band returned. (Oops, it’s becoming a review again!)

I have been a runner for many years. For the last 15 I have run track, doing the shorter sprints. I’m not a natural, and "it don’t come easy" (a Ringo Starr song). But I know two things:

1) If I push myself I will get better, regardless of my age and
2) Pushing myself will only help keep me healthy as long as I keep it reasonable (although moderation is not second nature to me!)

"Nothing matters less than the score at halftime", was a phrase I heard once, obviously referring to football. It goes for life as well. Sticking to the theme of the Beatles, John Lennon once wrote, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." I'm not entirely sure if I am prepared for what comes after old age, but I am still curious to see what comes next.

PRESQUE ISLE - Philip S. Chase, husband of the late Margaret C. Chase, died Oct. 14, 2002 at a local healthcare facility. He was born Sept. 16, 1904 in Brooklyn, N.Y., a son of Albert P. and Helen Owen Chase.

He spent his formative years in Westfield and Monclair, N.J., and Shanghai, China. After graduating from Montclair High School, he worked for the Hanover National Bank, then for Wheeldex Manufacturing Co., both in New York. He and Margaret ('Peg' or 'Peggy') then retired to Vermont, where they spent many happy years together.

In 1976, they moved to Portland to be near their son and daughter-in-law, Philip, Jr. and Marilyn. They were both active members of the Williston-West United Church of Christ. Mr. Chase was a longtime volunteer at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Early in his career, he was a member of Troop B, 102nd Calvary, Mounted, National Guard of the United States. He rode in the inaugural parade for President Herbert Hoover.

Surviving him are a son and daughter-in-law, Philip S. Chase, Jr. and Marilyn Hoyt Chase of Fort Fairfield and Limestone; stepgrandchildren, Jonathan and Suzanne Sprague of Brewer, Christopher Sprague of Damariscotta, Susan and Jack Schwarz of Malvern, Pa., Robin Sprague of Bangor; and three great-grandchildren, Kristina Sprague, and Will and Neil Schwarz.

Mr. Chase's body has been donated to the university of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, Biddeford. A memorial service was held at the Williston-West Church of Christ, 32 Thomas St., Portland, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20th, 2002. The Rev. Dr. Eric Kelly officiated.