UMW has Italian Sandwiches for YOU

The United Methodist Women are once again planning to make Italian Sandwiches for Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5.

Please order your sandwiches on the next two Sundays at church because the UMW will not be able to fill orders on the day of the game. Order forms will be available in the Narthex before and after church.

Sandwiches once again this year will be $5, which not only gives you a great meal for your Super Bowl festitivies, but it also supports the UMW’s mission work.

A dialogue to honor MLK

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

This quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the foundation for a spirited evening of “getting to know each other” and “communication” at the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church on Sunday, Jan. 15.

The gathering was part of the nationwide America’s Sunday Supper, promoted by United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.

 Forty people gathered at our church for its version of America’s Sunday Supper and spent two hours learning more about each other and perhaps, a little more about each of themselves as a way to honor the birth and life of Dr. King.

Members of the CEUMC congregation joined with members of the Hope Gate Way United Methodist Church in Portland, along with guests from the Greater Portland community, to find a common means of communication to better understand our similarites in our shared society.

Following a welcome from Rev. Ruth Morrison, event organizer Steve Hill launched an exercise to help everyone better understand each other’s common threads. After pulling everyone together into a large circle, Steve began calling out general questions, such as “Do you speak a language other than English?” Anyone who could answer yes was invited to join inside the circle and offer a high-five to anyone else who could answer yes to that question. Other subjects for the sharing experience were “Are you a happy person?” “Are you an only child?” Have you broken a bone in your body?” “Have you marched in a parade?”

It turned out to be a perfect ice-breaking exercise and opened the door to acknowledging each other’s interests and backgrounds.

A lot of high-fiving took place after the question was asked, "Are you a happy person?"

Following a half-dozen questions and the corresponding high-five responses, the overall group was broken into three smaller groups with each being sent to a different part of the church. This is when a more thought-provoking dialogue began.

Each group was given a suggested list of topics to discuss and there was plenty of freedom to take each discussion in any direction. The groups opened their discussions with the simple question  “Where were you born and when?” Responses brought forth a clear geographic diversity with people explaining they were from San Diego, Chicago, Minnesota, Seattle, Florida, Boston, and, of course, right here in Maine. But then there were also people in the groups from Burundi, Moldova, Ethiopia, and Singapore. Those cultural differences led to more discussions, including the realization that there were as many similarites as differences.

Rev. Ruth Morrison asks a question in one of the evening's breakout groups.

Click here to read more of this story and to see more of the images from America’s Sunday Supper in Cape Elizabeth: Continue reading »

Mariah Parker

Song with a message

Adding some warmth to a frigid Sunday morning, Mariah Parker graced the congregation on Jan. 15 with a solo singing of Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” There was a message in the song and Mariah wanted to pass it on.

Thank you, Mariah:

Here are the lyrics: 

She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati

On a snow white Christmas Eve

Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat

Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline

It’d been a long hard year

She had a lot on her mind and she didn’t pay attention

she was going way too fast

Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass

She saw both their lives flash before her eyes

She didn’t even have time to cry

She was sooo scared

She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can’t do this on my own

 I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on

Jesus take the wheel

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder

And the car came to a stop

She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock

And for the first time in a long time

She bowed her head to pray

She said I’m sorry for the way

I’ve been living my life

I know I’ve got to change

So from now on tonight

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can’t do this on my own

I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on

Ooh, Jesus take the wheel

Ooh, I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on

From this road I’m on

Jesus take the wheel

Ooh, take it, take it from me

Ooh ooh wah ah ooh ooh ooh

The nativity scene was complete during the Family Service on Christmas Eve, accented by hanging stars throughout the sanctuary. (Photo by Mark Braun)

Star-filled remembrance of Jesus’ birth

On the night of Jesus’ birth, it was a gleaming star in the night sky that led shepherds and wisemen to the stable in Bethlehem. For our church’s celebration of Christmas 2011, the star once again was a focal point, but in this case, it was a sanctuary filled with stars that greeted Christmas Eve worshipers.

For more than a month before Christmas, Ruth Dufresne and her Sunday School classes, along with assistance from others, cut out stars of many sizes and added glow-in-the-dark paint. The stars were then draped from high wires across the sanctuary, giving Christmas Eve services the appearance of a midnight sky with hundreds of points of a special illumination.

If you were unable to attend Christmas services, the stars will remain in the sanctuary for the next few weeks for everyone to see and enjoy.

The candlelight singing of "Silent Night" was one of the most poignant moments of the Christmas Eve early service -- as it always is. (Photo by Mark Braun)

Adding to the theme of the stars in the sanctuary, Stephen Bither played “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” throughout the Family Service, while Gail Parker added organ music at all services.

For the Christmas morning service, members of our congregation brought traditional family breads for everyone to enjoy after worship. Thank you to Judith Hill, Jane Beckwith, Kathie Hackett and Rev. Ruth Morrison, along with others, for bringing breads.

Because of the special occasion of celebrating Christmas on a Sunday morning, a number of individuals attended the service in pajamas. It made for a wonderful family-type worship and breakfast afterward.

Bryan Connelly enjoys some family breads after the Christmas morning worship. (Photo by Mark Braun)

Enjoy these wonderful images of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, thanks to photos contributed by Mark and Margaret Braun.

Merry Christmas!

Eliza Green was one of the angels. (Photo by Mark Braun)

Click here for more Christmas images: Continue reading »

Thank you to everyone who contributed gifts to this year's Giving Tree. All requests were fulfilled and Christmas gifts were delivered to clients of My Sister's Keeper and the Family Crisis Center. Merry Christmas to all!

Celebrate Jesus’ birth at three services

Christmas at the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church will be celebrated at three services — two on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas morning.

The first Christmas Eve service will be at 6 p.m., focusing on families and featuring the traditional Christmas pageant. This year’s pageant will have a theme of stars and angels and the sanctuary has been decorated in a way you must see to believe. It is a true spectacle, thanks to the efforts of Ruth Dufresne and the Sunday School classes.

Ruth Dufresne and one of her Sunday School classes prepare stars for the Christmas services.

Sunday School classes have prepared plenty of Christmas decorations that will transform the sanctuary into a real life Silent Night.

Carrying spirit through the Cape

Continuing its tradition on the Sunday before Christmas, a group of carolers from the church traveled throughout Cape Elizabeth on Dec. 18, singing carols and spreading joy and good will.

In additional to singing at several residences, the carolers stopped at the Cape Memory Care Residence and offered four traditional carols while residents ate their dinners.

It was a heartfelt evening, both for the carolers and for those who opened their homes to receive the carols.

Merry Christmas!

Rev. Ruth Morrison receives a hug from Ginny Jordan after the CEUMC carolers sang at Ginny's Cape Elizabeth home.

Jane Beckwith puts some finishing touches on a Christmas gift basket at Tuesday's UMW gathering.

Christmas cheer for church family

As has become its tradition at Christmas time, the United Methodist Women of our church spent Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 13, thinking about members of our church family who will have a difficult time getting out during this festive season.

As a result, the UMW gathering prepared 13 gift baskets for its program “Sweets for Shut-ins.” The baskets, filled with candies, fruit, cookies, breads, cakes and assorted other holiday treats, were then delivered throughout the community. Additional holly baskets were taken to other church members.

Linda Wakefield and Gloria Kierstead tie up baskets for distribution.

Under the direction of Kathie Hackett, the women meticulously prepared each plate of treats and then enclosed them in colorful cellophane. As much as this annual project is intended to bring cheer to home-bound individuals, it clearly brought just as much cheer to those who prepared the gifts.

Thank you UMW for your thoughtful and generous spirit!

Click here for more images of the UMW event:

Continue reading »

Preble Street's Mary Beth Sullivan addresses the church on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Crucial needs during season of giving

During both services on Sunday, Dec. 11, Mary Beth Sullivan, a multicultural case worker at the Preble Street Resource Center, delivered a poignant story to the congregation — the plight of the homeless in downtown Portland.

In place of the morning’s sermon, Mary Beth told the story of Preble Street and its daily attempts to deliver “positive, unconditional” services to people who have very little or, in some cases, nothing.

She told the stories of many of her clients, and clients of coworkers. In each case, there were individual struggles, uncertainty, and poverty – people in need of the very basic necessities in life. But in the end, she told how the people at Preble Street strive to provide “moments of grace in action.” And in many cases, she said, “sweet miracles happen every day.”

She also told story that in April, Preble Street, the Florence House for women and the teen center for the first time served 1,000 meals in one day. But by this past October, serving 1,000 meals a day was becoming a common practice.

Our church and many others have supported the ongoing efforts of Preble Street and its case workers, but the need is increasing. A special offering was taken during Sunday’s two services and as Rev. Ruth Morrison pointed out, “So much of what we do and give at Christmas has little to do with the Christ Child. This (Preble Street) has everything to do with the Christ Child.”

Christmas carolers from our church standing on the porch of Vicki and Jeff Kennedy's Real Estate office.

Singing in the season

More than a dozen members of our congregation took part in the first Cape Elizabeth Business Alliance’s Christmas Tree lighting on Friday evening, Dec. 9.

While families walked from one area business to another, taking part in cookie decorating and other festive activities, our carolers greeted participants for more than an hour.

For the first part of the evening, carolers stood on the front porch of Jeff and Vicki Kennedy’s real estate business and then moved across the street to the tree lighting at Key Bank.

With Santa and a large number of families present, the white lights on the tree came on at exactly 7:15 while the CEUMC carolers sang “O Christmas Tree.”

All members of the congregation are invited to take part in another caroling event on Sunday, Dec. 18. We will travel around the Cape, knocking on doors and singing carols. Please join us at the church at 4 p.m. to start the car caravan. We will gather afterward for a pot-luck supper.

At the Crafts Table, Rev. Jim Young was pitching containers of hand soaps "to wash your sins away."

Enjoying high spirits of the season

The success of the 2011 Jolly Snowman Christmas Fair can be measured in many ways. But perhaps none is better than this: With an hour still remaining before the fair closed, the kitchen had sold out of lobster rolls and hot dogs.

Bon appetit, fairgoers!

On a day of sunny skies and mild temperatures, the Cape and surrounding communities turned out in large numbers for the Cape Elizabeth UMC’s largest fund-raising event of the year.

The Candy Table did a steady business throughout the day.

There were candies and crafts, cookies and pies, wreaths and handmade sweaters, fudge and a room full of hidden treasures. There were tables filled with jewelry, stained glass, get-away weekends, carpentry services, and a wide range of other special gifts for the silent auction. And, of course, there was the lobster roll luncheon at which all 72 lobster rolls were eaten with a high degree of satisfaction.

The Silent Auction drew plenty of attention for a range of items.

Audrey Jordan was busy throughout the day selling Christmas wreaths, a total of more than 70 by the end of the day. Jaymie Chamberlin and a band of helpers kept the baked goods and food table stocked with enticing treats while Gail Parker and Rev. Marilyn Robb did the same with the Candy Table.

Will and Eliza Green enjoyed some candy treats.

Rev. Jim Young was one of the pitchmen for the Crafts Table and selling containers of small hand soaps was his specialty. “If you purchase one of these,” he told potential buyers, “they can wash your sins away.” He had some buyers.

Ayn Allmendinger and Jaymie Chamberlin bring out more treats for the Baked Goods table.

 As with every Jolly Snowman Fair, the real success of the day was the volunteers who set up, prepared presentations, sold, counted, and most importantly, offered fellowship whenever possible.

And, of course, it all would not have been possible if it hadn’t been for the planning of fair organizer Stephen Bither. Thank you, Stephen!

The season has begun — and the spirit is very much alive.

Click here for more images of the fair: Continue reading »