Part 38 Youth Play a Role through Mid’60’s
Prior to 1939 the Methodist Episcopal Church churches did have a group for teens called the Epworth League. The name of this organization was used by some of the arms of the Methodist Church, but not all of them. Beginning with that year, the year of a major merger, that formed The Methodist Church those concerned with the youth programs of those churches that came together adopted the name, Methodist Youth Fellowship or MYF, as the name that would carry on. It still would be a few years before that name was adopted throughout the Methodist church system.
By the early 1950’s MYF at Peoples was underway. One of the first church activities of the decade that the Youth participated in was an annual Public Lawn Festival held on the grounds of the church and parsonage held in June 1954. George Darling, Ron Tripp, Evelyn McKenney, Laurel Hoyt, Mary Brown, Paul Frost, Joanne Lowell and Mary Brown were among the members of the MYF that put on a musical and dance program at the festival. George and Ron were among those that served on the planning committee for the event. Later it was reported that a new Youth Council was organized at Peoples with Laurel Hoyt, Ron Tripp, Joanne Lowell and Louise Worthen served as the officers. The Council also included adult advisors who included the Reverend Elbert Parkhurst, Mr. and Mrs. David Hoyt, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Darling, Mr. and Mrs. John Tordoff and Miss. Ruth Allen.
In 1955 two youth members of Peoples, Laurel Hoyt and Ron Tripp, held offices on the Greater Portland Youth Council which was an organization of youth that included Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians and Lutherans from the Greater Portland area. One of the major endeavors that the Youth Council sponsored was an Easter Sunrise Service each year at Fort Allen Park in Portland. While some churches were reluctant to allow local church youth to dance on the premises, the Youth Council did sponsor a dance at Trinity Episcopal for a number of years.
In part, because of his membership and leadership position on the Greater Portland Council, Arthur was chosen to participate in the United Nations Caravan in the fall of 1957. Several young folks from various denominations in Maine spent a week in New York visiting and studying the United Nations and its message to youth in general and Christian Youth in particular around the world. As part of his obligation, Arthur was invited to speak to a number of youth groups throughout Southern Maine.
For a number of years the youth of Peoples maintained a close association with the Greater Portland Youth Council as the leadership mentioned above eventually was replaced by two other young folks from Peoples, Arthur Tordoff and Paul Hahn. Memory has it that both participated in Easter Sunrise services one of which was held at St. Lawrence Congregational Church on Munjoy Hill, due to the fact that several inches of snow had made access to Fort Allen Park impossible. St. Lawrence today serves as a home for a number of theater groups. As late as 1963, Art Tordoff who was then serving as the advisor of the MYF was asked to give the message at the Eater Sunrise service.
The giving of this message was shared with Gary Chamberlain, eldest son of Reverend William Chamberlain, pastor at Peoples at this time.
Within the church the youth served in a number of capacities and sponsored a number of activities including lobster stew suppers. It was always a pleasant time when Peoples either hosted or went to meet with other youth groups usually in the Greater Portland area. Among the favorite groups to meet with were Clark Memorial, Peaks Island and Congress Street Methodist. Perhaps most memorable were the rallies that were had on the state level. One such gathering in 1956 had been in Wilton. Young folks were put up in homes for the weekend and enjoyed the short amount of time that we had with host families in Farmington, Livermore Falls and in Wilton.
The advisor for the MYF during these formative years was Miss. Ruth Allen. Miss. Allen had long been a member of the Peoples Church. She was very active in the church choir as well as serving in this capacity. Sometimes the members of the group would think that she was a bit too straight-laced. She certainly was a moral influence on us at a time when most of us were looking to expand our boundaries. As those of us who were influenced by Ms. Allen would today believe, her influence was perhaps what we needed. She was willing to take us almost anywhere to serve the Lord and to gain more confidence in ourselves even if we could not participate in some of the activities on a Sunday that were sponsored by other churches that we had get-togethers with.
Chris Darling (Ward) as President of the MYF reported that in the year 1958, the Senior MYF had sponsored “Canteens” for the Intermediate MYF, had given money to UNICEF, and had themselves taken part in a” Christian Convictions on Smoking and Drinking” program. Two years later the officers were Tommy LaGuire, Bertha Mandoff, Linnea Halko, young Malcolm Cass and Joanne Robinson. Most significant to this group were the number of Rallies that several members took part in. They mentioned in particular those that were held in Hallowell. Sally Taylor was the President of MYF in 1962. One of the activities that Sally mentioned that was most interesting was a series of programs that the Fellowship had in learning about other religious groups. They went to the Greek Orthodox Church, Temple Beth El, and Holy Cross as part of the program. Later in the year this group sponsored an International meal that was open to the church public. A German exchange student presented a program on Germany. A lot was included in the program in the fall of 1962 with developing a greater understanding of Methodist missions around the world.
Nancy Bruce serving as President in 1963 reported that Sunday evening programs were based on five areas of Faith, Outreach, Witness, Citizenship and Fellowship. A retreat began the fall planning at Camp Mechuana, an idea that had been initiated in the previous year. Money was raised for St. Jude’s Hospital and UNICEF. The Methodist sub-district MYF met at Peoples and heard Father Murphy from Holy Cross speak about differences with the Catholic Church. Christmas gifts were sent to a school in Puerto Rico and later the Youth sponsored and held a Midnight Christmas Vesper service.
In the following year President of Junior MYF, Wayne Taulbee, reported that the Intermediate Fellowship was strong with about 12 regular members. They were involved in a number of activities and that the other members serving as officers were Kathy Johnson, Kathleen Curry and Jeff Lavigne. The Senior High MYF at this time was led by David Tordoff and supported by Martha Robinson, Pam Parmenter, and Sandy Allen. David also served on the State MYF Executive Committee. The Maine Annual Conference Youth Rally was held in Westbrook in that year. Rallies were also attended by Peoples Youth at Mechuana and in Gorham. Again raising funds for worthy causes was part of the year with funds going to ALSAC and UNICEF. The report that had been submitted by David closed with the following prayer:” Help us, oh Lord, for we must be the ones to set the example—by Your help, we can be the Light in school today, and in the World—tomorrow.”
The leaders of the Junior High Youth group during this period of time were Mrs. Edna May Ellis (Reverend Blake Ellis’wife) and Bonnie Craigs. During this same time the advisor of the MYF was Arthur Tordoff who had just graduated from college and was beginning a teaching career at South Portland High School.
In 1965 leadership of the Junior MYF was taken by Bob Ellis and later in the year followed by Ronald Diffen. At the Senior level the leadership was presided over by Glenn Taulbee and assisted by Dave Porter, Jean Ellis, and Vern Taulbee. It was reported that the major topic of discussion and study concerned the war in Viet Nam. Activities during this year included volunteer time at the Pride Training School.
This is a picture of the years of youth organization at Peoples in the middle years of the 20th Century. More of the history of the Youth at Peoples will be forthcoming in a later edition of this series, Roots of Peoples. Looking ahead we will next be looking at events that took place in the decades of the 1970’s.
Prior to 1939 the Methodist Episcopal Church churches did have a group for teens called the Epworth League. The name of this organization was used by some of the arms of the Methodist Church, but not all of them. Beginning with that year, the year of a major merger, that formed The Methodist Church those concerned with the youth programs of those churches that came together adopted the name, Methodist Youth Fellowship or MYF, as the name that would carry on. It still would be a few years before that name was adopted throughout the Methodist church system.
By the early 1950’s MYF at Peoples was underway. One of the first church activities of the decade that the Youth participated in was an annual Public Lawn Festival held on the grounds of the church and parsonage held in June 1954. George Darling, Ron Tripp, Evelyn McKenney, Laurel Hoyt, Mary Brown, Paul Frost, Joanne Lowell and Mary Brown were among the members of the MYF that put on a musical and dance program at the festival. George and Ron were among those that served on the planning committee for the event. Later it was reported that a new Youth Council was organized at Peoples with Laurel Hoyt, Ron Tripp, Joanne Lowell and Louise Worthen served as the officers. The Council also included adult advisors who included the Reverend Elbert Parkhurst, Mr. and Mrs. David Hoyt, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Darling, Mr. and Mrs. John Tordoff and Miss. Ruth Allen.
In 1955 two youth members of Peoples, Laurel Hoyt and Ron Tripp, held offices on the Greater Portland Youth Council which was an organization of youth that included Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians and Lutherans from the Greater Portland area. One of the major endeavors that the Youth Council sponsored was an Easter Sunrise Service each year at Fort Allen Park in Portland. While some churches were reluctant to allow local church youth to dance on the premises, the Youth Council did sponsor a dance at Trinity Episcopal for a number of years.
In part, because of his membership and leadership position on the Greater Portland Council, Arthur was chosen to participate in the United Nations Caravan in the fall of 1957. Several young folks from various denominations in Maine spent a week in New York visiting and studying the United Nations and its message to youth in general and Christian Youth in particular around the world. As part of his obligation, Arthur was invited to speak to a number of youth groups throughout Southern Maine.
For a number of years the youth of Peoples maintained a close association with the Greater Portland Youth Council as the leadership mentioned above eventually was replaced by two other young folks from Peoples, Arthur Tordoff and Paul Hahn. Memory has it that both participated in Easter Sunrise services one of which was held at St. Lawrence Congregational Church on Munjoy Hill, due to the fact that several inches of snow had made access to Fort Allen Park impossible. St. Lawrence today serves as a home for a number of theater groups. As late as 1963, Art Tordoff who was then serving as the advisor of the MYF was asked to give the message at the Eater Sunrise service.
The giving of this message was shared with Gary Chamberlain, eldest son of Reverend William Chamberlain, pastor at Peoples at this time.
Within the church the youth served in a number of capacities and sponsored a number of activities including lobster stew suppers. It was always a pleasant time when Peoples either hosted or went to meet with other youth groups usually in the Greater Portland area. Among the favorite groups to meet with were Clark Memorial, Peaks Island and Congress Street Methodist. Perhaps most memorable were the rallies that were had on the state level. One such gathering in 1956 had been in Wilton. Young folks were put up in homes for the weekend and enjoyed the short amount of time that we had with host families in Farmington, Livermore Falls and in Wilton.
The advisor for the MYF during these formative years was Miss. Ruth Allen. Miss. Allen had long been a member of the Peoples Church. She was very active in the church choir as well as serving in this capacity. Sometimes the members of the group would think that she was a bit too straight-laced. She certainly was a moral influence on us at a time when most of us were looking to expand our boundaries. As those of us who were influenced by Ms. Allen would today believe, her influence was perhaps what we needed. She was willing to take us almost anywhere to serve the Lord and to gain more confidence in ourselves even if we could not participate in some of the activities on a Sunday that were sponsored by other churches that we had get-togethers with.
Chris Darling (Ward) as President of the MYF reported that in the year 1958, the Senior MYF had sponsored “Canteens” for the Intermediate MYF, had given money to UNICEF, and had themselves taken part in a” Christian Convictions on Smoking and Drinking” program. Two years later the officers were Tommy LaGuire, Bertha Mandoff, Linnea Halko, young Malcolm Cass and Joanne Robinson. Most significant to this group were the number of Rallies that several members took part in. They mentioned in particular those that were held in Hallowell. Sally Taylor was the President of MYF in 1962. One of the activities that Sally mentioned that was most interesting was a series of programs that the Fellowship had in learning about other religious groups. They went to the Greek Orthodox Church, Temple Beth El, and Holy Cross as part of the program. Later in the year this group sponsored an International meal that was open to the church public. A German exchange student presented a program on Germany. A lot was included in the program in the fall of 1962 with developing a greater understanding of Methodist missions around the world.
Nancy Bruce serving as President in 1963 reported that Sunday evening programs were based on five areas of Faith, Outreach, Witness, Citizenship and Fellowship. A retreat began the fall planning at Camp Mechuana, an idea that had been initiated in the previous year. Money was raised for St. Jude’s Hospital and UNICEF. The Methodist sub-district MYF met at Peoples and heard Father Murphy from Holy Cross speak about differences with the Catholic Church. Christmas gifts were sent to a school in Puerto Rico and later the Youth sponsored and held a Midnight Christmas Vesper service.
In the following year President of Junior MYF, Wayne Taulbee, reported that the Intermediate Fellowship was strong with about 12 regular members. They were involved in a number of activities and that the other members serving as officers were Kathy Johnson, Kathleen Curry and Jeff Lavigne. The Senior High MYF at this time was led by David Tordoff and supported by Martha Robinson, Pam Parmenter, and Sandy Allen. David also served on the State MYF Executive Committee. The Maine Annual Conference Youth Rally was held in Westbrook in that year. Rallies were also attended by Peoples Youth at Mechuana and in Gorham. Again raising funds for worthy causes was part of the year with funds going to ALSAC and UNICEF. The report that had been submitted by David closed with the following prayer:” Help us, oh Lord, for we must be the ones to set the example—by Your help, we can be the Light in school today, and in the World—tomorrow.”
The leaders of the Junior High Youth group during this period of time were Mrs. Edna May Ellis (Reverend Blake Ellis’wife) and Bonnie Craigs. During this same time the advisor of the MYF was Arthur Tordoff who had just graduated from college and was beginning a teaching career at South Portland High School.
In 1965 leadership of the Junior MYF was taken by Bob Ellis and later in the year followed by Ronald Diffen. At the Senior level the leadership was presided over by Glenn Taulbee and assisted by Dave Porter, Jean Ellis, and Vern Taulbee. It was reported that the major topic of discussion and study concerned the war in Viet Nam. Activities during this year included volunteer time at the Pride Training School.
This is a picture of the years of youth organization at Peoples in the middle years of the 20th Century. More of the history of the Youth at Peoples will be forthcoming in a later edition of this series, Roots of Peoples. Looking ahead we will next be looking at events that took place in the decades of the 1970’s.
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