Roots of Peoples United Methodist Church
Part 44 Youth, Service and a new Pastor
Looking at the walls of the vestry, the MYF in 1977, saw them rigidly blank. Not to deface the plainness that existed on those walls, the young folks painted a series of panels with scenes of how they depicted The Creation. These panels were framed and mounted in a floating condition for all to see. This display of the talent of these young people, would grace the walls of the vestry for a number of years. During this time period all ages of youth of the church were asked to participate in church services and to share their love of the Lord with the entire congregation. Several of the teens were asked and did serve on most of the boards and committees of the church on a regular basis. Many older teens served as teachers or assistants in the Sunday school. In an era before the Safe Sanctuaries Initiative all events that involved children were presided over by at least two adults.
In reading the records it was during the year 1977 that the first mention of Meals on Wheels and Peoples involvement was mentioned. John Robinson and Vic Green were among the first to sign up to make home deliveries of meals for shut-ins. While not many people may have known it John Robinson was perhaps one of the best male visitors of shut-ins. He had a number of "friends" that he would visit on a regular basis, sometimes taking them out to events and more often just visiting and chatting. Most young people have a recollection of John by remembering the tall, graying usher with the tremendous smile and a handshake that he would share with them. How important those young men and women felt because John shared his warmth and care for them when they came or left church.
The first collections for the Food Pantry housed at the First Congregational Church were solicited at Thanksgiving time in 1977. While the appeal was to the entire Congregation
The Sunday school collections have always been the most significant with the eyes of young children lit up with the growing pile of solicited goods growing until the culmination on Thanksgiving Sunday. Peoples has continued to contribute to an increasingly used ministry. On several occasions during recent years a second appeal has gone out to restock the shelves to which Peoples has answered the call.
It has been rare that members of Peoples Church have been called away for missionary service, but in the late 1970’s, Janice and Earl Nicholson chose to serve through VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) on a Native American reservation in the state of Nebraska. While there Janice taught school and tennis to young men and women while Earl served as a business consultant to the tribal leadership. It was my privilege upon their return to the parish to submit their names for the Social Justice Award of the Maine Conference. They were chosen to receive this award in the early 1980’s at a banquet given in their honor. The banquet was given at the Maine Conference of the United Methodist Church held on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington. Yours truly was asked to speak and make the presentation on that occasion. It was certainly a thrill to serve in this capacity for two folks that were perhaps my mother and father’s dearest friends.
In early summer of 1978, a group of singers from Oral Roberts University made a stop at Peoples. The Epiphany Singers gave a concert in the sanctuary on the weekend of June 9 and sang again in the church service on that Sunday. Many of the church families housed the student singers for the weekend and some long time friendships evolved from that experience.
At about the same time a group of Scottish Exchange students came to spend three weeks with local families and to attend classes at South Portland High School. Art Tordoff, as advisor to the high school Key Club was in part responsible for housing them. 16 students were housed for three weeks with 16 different families. The time to set this up was very short, as they were to have gone to another high school in Massachusetts. For some reason that experience fell through. Not all of these students found their way to Peoples church, but at least two did. Sandra Mackie and Fiona MacPherson both attended church here during that time. Sandra stayed with the Tordoffs and has continued to have a "family" relationship with them since. The girls had the opportunity to speak about their native country, Scotland, in the Sunday school.
In 1979 we bid goodbye to Reverend Gene Koelker and his wife Betty, as they were now to serve the conference at Clark Memorial in Portland. The years that Gene and Betty had seen the membership stay steady and the Sunday school remained strong.
The new appointment was Linwood Arnold. He had previously served pastorates at Newport and South Berwick in Maine. Lin was a graduate of South Portland High School and had been an active member of the youth group at Elm Street, where his father served as pastor. Judy Baker also attended that youth group and in time became Lin’s wife. When they arrived at Peoples they were a young family with three male children; Matt, Tim and Pat. Their pastorate and I mean "their pastorate" was spirit filled with not only Lin’s input and activity, but that of all the members of that family. This is not to detract from the spirit of other ministerial families that have served the church, but it would be rare that so many members of a family became directly involved in the activities and health of the congregation.
One of the active committees of the late 1970’s was the Social Concerns Committee. In 1978 and 1979 the following programs were sponsored by this committee: "Diet for a Small Planet" which was a program designed to help folks with proper eating habits. This was followed later by a banquet that was given to all the Mothers in the congregation on Mother’s Day. It was this committee that started the practice of giving a carnation to all the mothers in church on that day. Perhaps the two programs might have seemed at cross-purposes yet both of these programs were well attended and received.
A program titled, "On Prejudice", was centered around a film that had been produced by Bill Cosby, who also was the principle narrator. This was also the era when substance abuse became a primary concern among young folks and this committee was then also responsible for putting together a family night program on the subject.
The Missions committee also coordinated a variety of programs, which included a series of speakers on local and foreign missions of the Methodist Church. A smorgasbord meal was a feature of one of the nights. On another occasion, Janice and Earl Nicholson gave a slide/talk on their time spent with the Santee Sioux in Nebraska. On yet a third occasion a group of women from the Greek Orthodox came to demonstrate and encourage us to participate in learning Greek dancing. Within the realm of missions programs the first mention of the Methodist Redbird Mission was during this time frame. The United Methodist Women adopted a connection with Redbird as did the Sunday school. The program at church centered around toys as gifts that would be collected as Christmas time, then boxed by the UMW and shipped to Kentucky. Thus began a long tradition of sharing with that area of the country on a regular basis.
It was at this point that Peoples prepared for a long period of time without having to worry about who our pastor would be. Lin would be with us for 17 years. One of the legacies of Lin would be the number of folks that would enter the ministry during his tenure. We will spend some time with those folks and their names in a future episode of this history. In our next episode we will take a general look at some of the significant events of the 1980’s to set the stage for the era.e had previously served at Newport
Part 44 Youth, Service and a new Pastor
Looking at the walls of the vestry, the MYF in 1977, saw them rigidly blank. Not to deface the plainness that existed on those walls, the young folks painted a series of panels with scenes of how they depicted The Creation. These panels were framed and mounted in a floating condition for all to see. This display of the talent of these young people, would grace the walls of the vestry for a number of years. During this time period all ages of youth of the church were asked to participate in church services and to share their love of the Lord with the entire congregation. Several of the teens were asked and did serve on most of the boards and committees of the church on a regular basis. Many older teens served as teachers or assistants in the Sunday school. In an era before the Safe Sanctuaries Initiative all events that involved children were presided over by at least two adults.
In reading the records it was during the year 1977 that the first mention of Meals on Wheels and Peoples involvement was mentioned. John Robinson and Vic Green were among the first to sign up to make home deliveries of meals for shut-ins. While not many people may have known it John Robinson was perhaps one of the best male visitors of shut-ins. He had a number of "friends" that he would visit on a regular basis, sometimes taking them out to events and more often just visiting and chatting. Most young people have a recollection of John by remembering the tall, graying usher with the tremendous smile and a handshake that he would share with them. How important those young men and women felt because John shared his warmth and care for them when they came or left church.
The first collections for the Food Pantry housed at the First Congregational Church were solicited at Thanksgiving time in 1977. While the appeal was to the entire Congregation
The Sunday school collections have always been the most significant with the eyes of young children lit up with the growing pile of solicited goods growing until the culmination on Thanksgiving Sunday. Peoples has continued to contribute to an increasingly used ministry. On several occasions during recent years a second appeal has gone out to restock the shelves to which Peoples has answered the call.
It has been rare that members of Peoples Church have been called away for missionary service, but in the late 1970’s, Janice and Earl Nicholson chose to serve through VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) on a Native American reservation in the state of Nebraska. While there Janice taught school and tennis to young men and women while Earl served as a business consultant to the tribal leadership. It was my privilege upon their return to the parish to submit their names for the Social Justice Award of the Maine Conference. They were chosen to receive this award in the early 1980’s at a banquet given in their honor. The banquet was given at the Maine Conference of the United Methodist Church held on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington. Yours truly was asked to speak and make the presentation on that occasion. It was certainly a thrill to serve in this capacity for two folks that were perhaps my mother and father’s dearest friends.
In early summer of 1978, a group of singers from Oral Roberts University made a stop at Peoples. The Epiphany Singers gave a concert in the sanctuary on the weekend of June 9 and sang again in the church service on that Sunday. Many of the church families housed the student singers for the weekend and some long time friendships evolved from that experience.
At about the same time a group of Scottish Exchange students came to spend three weeks with local families and to attend classes at South Portland High School. Art Tordoff, as advisor to the high school Key Club was in part responsible for housing them. 16 students were housed for three weeks with 16 different families. The time to set this up was very short, as they were to have gone to another high school in Massachusetts. For some reason that experience fell through. Not all of these students found their way to Peoples church, but at least two did. Sandra Mackie and Fiona MacPherson both attended church here during that time. Sandra stayed with the Tordoffs and has continued to have a "family" relationship with them since. The girls had the opportunity to speak about their native country, Scotland, in the Sunday school.
In 1979 we bid goodbye to Reverend Gene Koelker and his wife Betty, as they were now to serve the conference at Clark Memorial in Portland. The years that Gene and Betty had seen the membership stay steady and the Sunday school remained strong.
The new appointment was Linwood Arnold. He had previously served pastorates at Newport and South Berwick in Maine. Lin was a graduate of South Portland High School and had been an active member of the youth group at Elm Street, where his father served as pastor. Judy Baker also attended that youth group and in time became Lin’s wife. When they arrived at Peoples they were a young family with three male children; Matt, Tim and Pat. Their pastorate and I mean "their pastorate" was spirit filled with not only Lin’s input and activity, but that of all the members of that family. This is not to detract from the spirit of other ministerial families that have served the church, but it would be rare that so many members of a family became directly involved in the activities and health of the congregation.
One of the active committees of the late 1970’s was the Social Concerns Committee. In 1978 and 1979 the following programs were sponsored by this committee: "Diet for a Small Planet" which was a program designed to help folks with proper eating habits. This was followed later by a banquet that was given to all the Mothers in the congregation on Mother’s Day. It was this committee that started the practice of giving a carnation to all the mothers in church on that day. Perhaps the two programs might have seemed at cross-purposes yet both of these programs were well attended and received.
A program titled, "On Prejudice", was centered around a film that had been produced by Bill Cosby, who also was the principle narrator. This was also the era when substance abuse became a primary concern among young folks and this committee was then also responsible for putting together a family night program on the subject.
The Missions committee also coordinated a variety of programs, which included a series of speakers on local and foreign missions of the Methodist Church. A smorgasbord meal was a feature of one of the nights. On another occasion, Janice and Earl Nicholson gave a slide/talk on their time spent with the Santee Sioux in Nebraska. On yet a third occasion a group of women from the Greek Orthodox came to demonstrate and encourage us to participate in learning Greek dancing. Within the realm of missions programs the first mention of the Methodist Redbird Mission was during this time frame. The United Methodist Women adopted a connection with Redbird as did the Sunday school. The program at church centered around toys as gifts that would be collected as Christmas time, then boxed by the UMW and shipped to Kentucky. Thus began a long tradition of sharing with that area of the country on a regular basis.
It was at this point that Peoples prepared for a long period of time without having to worry about who our pastor would be. Lin would be with us for 17 years. One of the legacies of Lin would be the number of folks that would enter the ministry during his tenure. We will spend some time with those folks and their names in a future episode of this history. In our next episode we will take a general look at some of the significant events of the 1980’s to set the stage for the era.e had previously served at Newport
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