Roots of Peoples United Methodist Church
Part 52 New Ventures
For generations the women’s organizations of the church and the men’s groups had operated separately. In 1987 with dwindling numbers and the offer of a monthly meal from the United Methodist Women the United Methodist Men decided to meet on the same nights as the women, being fed by the women and then separating for their meetings. Bean Suppers also became a shared experience with men offering their services to cook and to help set up the hall. Christmas Fairs while still thought to be the women’s activity saw the men setting up a table with home made wooden goods for sale.
The first pictorial directory was commissioned, produced and made available to parishioners simply for having their pictures taken in 1981. Olin Mills, the first photographic company commissioned by Peoples for this project would make its money by selling pictures to parishioners. Photographers from Majestic Marketing of Cleveland, Tennessee in 1984 produced the second directory. The church returned to a contract with Olin Mills two years later followed by another contract with Majestic in 1990. Over the course of the next decade, Peoples would return to Olin Mills twice more. The Pictorial Directory is a collection of member families and individuals with pictures showing staff members who had served the church and activities that had taken place in church life. In looking at such collections it is rather amazing to see how quickly the life of the church and its members change.
One of the most popular seasonal publications that Peoples has produced is the Advent Meditation book. Produced for the Advent season the booklet is a collection of meditations produced by members of the parish. Contributors use the design of writing and organization found in Upper Room meditations. From the records it appears the first publication of this seasonal reading was 1987. People, both members and friends of Peoples have looked forward to these booklets annual publication. The variety of themes and the quality of the writing never seems to get old and remains as meaningful years later as when first produced and read.
Under John LaPointe’s direction and leadership, Peoples became involved in the operation of the Wayside Soup Kitchen. Several members of the church would be responsible for preparing the meal, setting tables and cleaning up whenever there was a fifth Wednesday in a given month. Sally Newell, Dave Hodgkins and Tom Nelson have all taken their turn as coordinator of our efforts with Wayside. Originally the Wayside Soup Kitchen was operated out of the Emanuel Baptist Church on High Street in Portland. Several years later a number of social services including the Wayside were merged into a facility known as the Preble Street Resource Center. While the numbers of volunteers from Peoples has shrunk considerably over the last 20 years, an active group of 10 to 12 still appear on the appointed date.
When Sunday School opened in 1988 staff members were all wearing the new Peoples United Methodist Church red and white sweatshirts. Andrea Harvey had made the suggestion along with Judy Arnold. Any church members found that they wanted to buy a sweatshirt also. Certainly wearing the sweatshirts beyond the doors of the church was good advertising and a way of showing your connection to the church. Rally Day that fall was set up like a Palestinian Market Place. The children had the opportunity to involve themselves in bead stringing, ty-dying of tee-shirts, weaving and eating of near-eastern foods. Young folks were enthused with the activity and the membership stayed strong. In order to continue affording children’s celebrations CeCe Laberge, a member of the Sunday school staff had the idea of coming up with a "crafty auction". The Sunday school staff and students as well as other donators contributed crafts for the October auction. The very first "Crafty Auction" raised $800 for the operation of the Sunday school. The "Crafty Auction" would continue to held in the fall each year for several years to benefit the operation of the Sunday school. In time reluctance on the part of some folks to continue to set this project up for the Sunday school led to the auction being taken over by the Trustees to raise general funds for the operation of the church.
Over times thousands of dollars have been raised and the church is especially grateful to Doreen Gay for the continuation of that activity.
Other activities of the Sunday school that year included to annual cookie bake. Youngsters would gather in the Ellis Hall kitchen and with the help of Sunday school staff bake many cookies that would be distributed on a pre-Christmas Sunday morning to the elderly housing on Broadway. More cookies than could be distributed at that location were taken by John LaPointe to homeless shelters for distribution. In December of 1988 the total number of cookies distributed totaled 1879. That figure set an increasing standard for the years to follow.
Another new venture that was begun was inspired by Meg Braley. Having young children, Meg, thought it might be appropriate to start a program called Junior Church.
This would not be a program for infants, but children, generally 4 to 7 years of age that might not sit well during the whole of a regular church service. Children would be excused from church service about the time of the offering or after a children’s sermon to go downstairs or to Ellis Hall. There the intent was that these children, separated from infants, might develop a positive and rewarding church experience. Children would learn to share ideas and prayers. They would also learn to minister to each other. There were 4, 3 person groups of adults that would rotate in administering the Junior Church. Volunteers usually included parents of the children who would be in that age group and any other parishioners that were willing to volunteer.
Some of the activities started earlier in the decade of the 1980’s continued under the astute leadership of Belle Graney. While mentioned in an earlier episode in the life of Peoples Church, support of the local Cambodian refugee population continued with housing, employment, food, and medical services still being coordinated. Support of the Heifer Project was a part of the routine mission activities of church and Sunday school. Meg Quieor served as the coordinator for those efforts in the late 1980’s. Several members of the congregation took part in the annual CROP Walk in the spring of 1989.
Young and old alike took part in this joint mission project with other area churches. The route for the CROP Walk began and ended at St. Albans in Cape Elizabeth. The route travelled along Shore and Cottage Roads to Highland Avenue in South Portland. The route crossed to Stillman Street over to Sawyer to Cottage and back to St. Albans where a prayer service was held and goodies served after the walk.
Peoples, through the leadership of the Sunday school and UMW, also found 1988 as the first year of a continuing relationship with the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky. Each year good and new toys are collected and are gathered at the Hanging of the Greens night in the church sanctuary. Children bring the collected toys to the Chancel area and place them under the Peace Tree. UMW takes the responsibility of boxing the toys and sending them to the mission.
Having changed the frontal look of the church in the earlier 1980’s the old sign which had served the church since moving to Broadway and which had been donated by Ken Webber was no longer easily visable. Permission was granted to remove it and the Men’s Club commissioned Scarborough Sign Company to carve and install a new one in front of Ellis Hall. Jim Darling was one of the principal advocates for the sign which has now graced the lawn in front of Ellis Hall for nearly 20 years. From the record it appears that the design of the sign was created by Dan Doughty. John Robinson, John Campbell and Clyde Ward were instrumental in seeing this project to completion.
1988 was also the year that Pastor Lin led a contingent of 10 parishioners on a trip to the Holy Lands. Many folks from other churches were on that trip. Those who took the trip and those who continued to be inspired by their stories for years thereafter felt the inspiration gained by being in the presence of those Holy places. Each time that Pastor Lin would baptized a child or an adult after his return he would anoint them with water from the Jordan River.
Some exciting changes took place through the Worship Committee headed by Marlene Tordoff. There were 12 folks that were on the committee which included representatives from the music programs, ushers, tract supervisor, junior church and nursery and the altar and communion stewards. For Mother’s Day orders were taken for carnations that would be placed on the altar for mother’s living and deceased as well as sisters, sisters-in-law and friends. Carnations would be taken after the service and given to the person in whose honor they had been dedicated. For Father’s Day several fruit and vegetable baskets were filled with vegetables and fruits in honor of fathers of the present as well as the past. These baskets were then taken to group homes such as Youth Alternatives for their use. The names of the women on Mother’s Day and the men on Father’s Day were listed in the church bulletin. The last time the United Methodist Church published a full-size hymnal was in 1989. The worship committee led the way at raising funds for the number of hymnals we would need. Enough was raised through dedications that nearly 200 were purchased as well as special editions for the organist and large print editions for sight impaired folks. Enough money was raised that a continuing fund was available for several years in case any needed replacement.
As one can see many activities were instituted and brought life in many forms to the inner and outer being of Peoples Church. This series of episodes in the life of Peoples has been primarily through the research of one person with the help of those that have primarily held the positions of historian or leadership in the church before. I encourage anyone and everyone to submit their recollections for publication. We have been working on this endeavor since 2003, the sesquicentennial year, and hope to complete the work within another year.
Part 52 New Ventures
For generations the women’s organizations of the church and the men’s groups had operated separately. In 1987 with dwindling numbers and the offer of a monthly meal from the United Methodist Women the United Methodist Men decided to meet on the same nights as the women, being fed by the women and then separating for their meetings. Bean Suppers also became a shared experience with men offering their services to cook and to help set up the hall. Christmas Fairs while still thought to be the women’s activity saw the men setting up a table with home made wooden goods for sale.
The first pictorial directory was commissioned, produced and made available to parishioners simply for having their pictures taken in 1981. Olin Mills, the first photographic company commissioned by Peoples for this project would make its money by selling pictures to parishioners. Photographers from Majestic Marketing of Cleveland, Tennessee in 1984 produced the second directory. The church returned to a contract with Olin Mills two years later followed by another contract with Majestic in 1990. Over the course of the next decade, Peoples would return to Olin Mills twice more. The Pictorial Directory is a collection of member families and individuals with pictures showing staff members who had served the church and activities that had taken place in church life. In looking at such collections it is rather amazing to see how quickly the life of the church and its members change.
One of the most popular seasonal publications that Peoples has produced is the Advent Meditation book. Produced for the Advent season the booklet is a collection of meditations produced by members of the parish. Contributors use the design of writing and organization found in Upper Room meditations. From the records it appears the first publication of this seasonal reading was 1987. People, both members and friends of Peoples have looked forward to these booklets annual publication. The variety of themes and the quality of the writing never seems to get old and remains as meaningful years later as when first produced and read.
Under John LaPointe’s direction and leadership, Peoples became involved in the operation of the Wayside Soup Kitchen. Several members of the church would be responsible for preparing the meal, setting tables and cleaning up whenever there was a fifth Wednesday in a given month. Sally Newell, Dave Hodgkins and Tom Nelson have all taken their turn as coordinator of our efforts with Wayside. Originally the Wayside Soup Kitchen was operated out of the Emanuel Baptist Church on High Street in Portland. Several years later a number of social services including the Wayside were merged into a facility known as the Preble Street Resource Center. While the numbers of volunteers from Peoples has shrunk considerably over the last 20 years, an active group of 10 to 12 still appear on the appointed date.
When Sunday School opened in 1988 staff members were all wearing the new Peoples United Methodist Church red and white sweatshirts. Andrea Harvey had made the suggestion along with Judy Arnold. Any church members found that they wanted to buy a sweatshirt also. Certainly wearing the sweatshirts beyond the doors of the church was good advertising and a way of showing your connection to the church. Rally Day that fall was set up like a Palestinian Market Place. The children had the opportunity to involve themselves in bead stringing, ty-dying of tee-shirts, weaving and eating of near-eastern foods. Young folks were enthused with the activity and the membership stayed strong. In order to continue affording children’s celebrations CeCe Laberge, a member of the Sunday school staff had the idea of coming up with a "crafty auction". The Sunday school staff and students as well as other donators contributed crafts for the October auction. The very first "Crafty Auction" raised $800 for the operation of the Sunday school. The "Crafty Auction" would continue to held in the fall each year for several years to benefit the operation of the Sunday school. In time reluctance on the part of some folks to continue to set this project up for the Sunday school led to the auction being taken over by the Trustees to raise general funds for the operation of the church.
Over times thousands of dollars have been raised and the church is especially grateful to Doreen Gay for the continuation of that activity.
Other activities of the Sunday school that year included to annual cookie bake. Youngsters would gather in the Ellis Hall kitchen and with the help of Sunday school staff bake many cookies that would be distributed on a pre-Christmas Sunday morning to the elderly housing on Broadway. More cookies than could be distributed at that location were taken by John LaPointe to homeless shelters for distribution. In December of 1988 the total number of cookies distributed totaled 1879. That figure set an increasing standard for the years to follow.
Another new venture that was begun was inspired by Meg Braley. Having young children, Meg, thought it might be appropriate to start a program called Junior Church.
This would not be a program for infants, but children, generally 4 to 7 years of age that might not sit well during the whole of a regular church service. Children would be excused from church service about the time of the offering or after a children’s sermon to go downstairs or to Ellis Hall. There the intent was that these children, separated from infants, might develop a positive and rewarding church experience. Children would learn to share ideas and prayers. They would also learn to minister to each other. There were 4, 3 person groups of adults that would rotate in administering the Junior Church. Volunteers usually included parents of the children who would be in that age group and any other parishioners that were willing to volunteer.
Some of the activities started earlier in the decade of the 1980’s continued under the astute leadership of Belle Graney. While mentioned in an earlier episode in the life of Peoples Church, support of the local Cambodian refugee population continued with housing, employment, food, and medical services still being coordinated. Support of the Heifer Project was a part of the routine mission activities of church and Sunday school. Meg Quieor served as the coordinator for those efforts in the late 1980’s. Several members of the congregation took part in the annual CROP Walk in the spring of 1989.
Young and old alike took part in this joint mission project with other area churches. The route for the CROP Walk began and ended at St. Albans in Cape Elizabeth. The route travelled along Shore and Cottage Roads to Highland Avenue in South Portland. The route crossed to Stillman Street over to Sawyer to Cottage and back to St. Albans where a prayer service was held and goodies served after the walk.
Peoples, through the leadership of the Sunday school and UMW, also found 1988 as the first year of a continuing relationship with the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky. Each year good and new toys are collected and are gathered at the Hanging of the Greens night in the church sanctuary. Children bring the collected toys to the Chancel area and place them under the Peace Tree. UMW takes the responsibility of boxing the toys and sending them to the mission.
Having changed the frontal look of the church in the earlier 1980’s the old sign which had served the church since moving to Broadway and which had been donated by Ken Webber was no longer easily visable. Permission was granted to remove it and the Men’s Club commissioned Scarborough Sign Company to carve and install a new one in front of Ellis Hall. Jim Darling was one of the principal advocates for the sign which has now graced the lawn in front of Ellis Hall for nearly 20 years. From the record it appears that the design of the sign was created by Dan Doughty. John Robinson, John Campbell and Clyde Ward were instrumental in seeing this project to completion.
1988 was also the year that Pastor Lin led a contingent of 10 parishioners on a trip to the Holy Lands. Many folks from other churches were on that trip. Those who took the trip and those who continued to be inspired by their stories for years thereafter felt the inspiration gained by being in the presence of those Holy places. Each time that Pastor Lin would baptized a child or an adult after his return he would anoint them with water from the Jordan River.
Some exciting changes took place through the Worship Committee headed by Marlene Tordoff. There were 12 folks that were on the committee which included representatives from the music programs, ushers, tract supervisor, junior church and nursery and the altar and communion stewards. For Mother’s Day orders were taken for carnations that would be placed on the altar for mother’s living and deceased as well as sisters, sisters-in-law and friends. Carnations would be taken after the service and given to the person in whose honor they had been dedicated. For Father’s Day several fruit and vegetable baskets were filled with vegetables and fruits in honor of fathers of the present as well as the past. These baskets were then taken to group homes such as Youth Alternatives for their use. The names of the women on Mother’s Day and the men on Father’s Day were listed in the church bulletin. The last time the United Methodist Church published a full-size hymnal was in 1989. The worship committee led the way at raising funds for the number of hymnals we would need. Enough was raised through dedications that nearly 200 were purchased as well as special editions for the organist and large print editions for sight impaired folks. Enough money was raised that a continuing fund was available for several years in case any needed replacement.
As one can see many activities were instituted and brought life in many forms to the inner and outer being of Peoples Church. This series of episodes in the life of Peoples has been primarily through the research of one person with the help of those that have primarily held the positions of historian or leadership in the church before. I encourage anyone and everyone to submit their recollections for publication. We have been working on this endeavor since 2003, the sesquicentennial year, and hope to complete the work within another year.
posted by Arthur Tordoff | 6:18 AM
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