“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit” – Romans 15:13

Now What?

Easter Sunday has come and gone. We have sung “alleluia”. We have smelled the Easter

flowers. We have shouted “Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!” We have felt the joy of

celebrating the powerful love of God as we gathered to proclaim the resurrection on East-

er morning. Now what?

This is really the question that guides our faith, isn’t it? How will our life continue to be a

response and a celebration of the joys of Easter? How will we share the teachings of Jesus

so that others may find new joy in proclaiming “alleluia”? How will we reflect the hope

found in Christ out into our community and world? How will our faith in the Risen Lord

be a living faith that is seen throughout our life?

There are far too many possible answers to these questions – answers that will vary from

person to person as we all have different gifts, talents, and ways of being in the world.

But what we are called to do is ask, each and every day, how will my life this day be the

answer?

As we now continue through this Eastertide Season, basking in the joy, peace, and hope

found in the glories of Easter, may we hold these questions all throughout the year, and,

by the power of the Holy Spirit, may our lives become the answer.

In Resurrection Hope,

Josh

Rev. Josh Fitterling

MEETING HOUSE CHIMES

First Congregational Church, PO Box 350, Wiscasset, ME 04578

(207) 882-7544 www.uccwiscasset.org fccw@myfairpoint.net

Minister: Rev. Josh Fitterling Music Director: Leela Koilpillai

Sexton: Mary McKinney Office Administrator/Editor: Pam Frenier May 2017

Thank You!

Good Evening,

I felt the need to send a heart felt thank you for the flowers and the card that was left for the jail staff here at Two Bridg-es. The lilly's and the card have been placed in the Shift Commanders office for staff to appreciate. It is a nice feeling to know that mem-bers of the com-munity appreciate the work that the officers here do and your display of appreciation goes a long way with the staff.

Sgt Maxim

Two Bridges Regional Jail.

Vitality Committee Update

On Easter Sunday, 12 Easter flower plants were delivered

out into our community as a tangible sign of our gratitude

for the service of those who were working on the holiday.

Recipients included first responders, caregivers, and even

local restaurant staff. All who received a plant were sur-

prised and grateful that we remembered them on this East-

er Day! Thank you to all who provided flowers and all who

delivered!

Curious about what we might do next? Want to help us re-

inforce and strengthen our church's connection, visibility,

and relationship to our wider community? Please join us for

our next meeting on Tuesday, May 9th at 6:00pm in the

Parlor. All are welcome!

---

Rev. Josh Fitterling, Minister

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Easter Sunday

Thank you all so much for cooking, at-tending, bidding, and donating to the Feed Our Scholars recipe auction pot luck dinner. Including all the very gen-erous donations received, over $1000 was raised for Feed Our Scholars to help feed hungry children in the Wis-casset schools.

Thank you also for all your donations of school and hygiene kits and items for the emergency clean-up buckets for the CWS kit program. A big thank you to the Doughty family who compiled and donated 5 additional emergency

clean-up buckets! These buckets are sent to areas across the U.S. that are affected by floods, tornados, and other natural disasters and are so needed this year. The kits and buckets will be delivered to Maine’s “depot” area at Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland the 1st week in May. They are then sent to the CWS headquarters warehouse with all the donations from Maine churches.

Thank you all again for all your help with these worthwhile projects. We appreciate all you do!!

Church World Service

Plans are moving along nicely for Sum-merfest which this year is Saturday July 22nd, (the 4th Saturday in July).

We have most of the Captains and soon will have a sign up poster in Fel-lowship Hall for you to volunteer in the area that interests you.

Please remember as you are doing your

Spring cleaning that we are gratefully ac-cepting items for the Yard Sale, Treas-ures, Books, Toys, Jewelry & other ac-

cessories; and the Woodbutchers would really appreciate any wooden items that all you talented people could build for their table.

This is our 34th annual Summerfest and all the proceeds are donated to lo-cal outreach programs. Come and join the fun!

Summerfest 2017

Oktoberfest Coordinator Wanted

Want to help keep a tradition alive? Want to help raise funds to benefit our church's annual budget? Want to provide a fun (and delicious!) ex-perience for our church and the wid-er community? Oktoberfest, tenta-

tively scheduled for Saturday, Octo-ber 14th, is in need of a volunteer

to coordinate this event. Could it be you? If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact

Beth Maxwell at 207-882-6180 or at emaxwell@myfairpoint.net. Thank

you for your prayerful consideration.

Church Work Day! - Saturday, May 6th from 9am - Noon

Join your Trustees as we roll up our sleeves and help keep our church

beautiful! Work will include staining, landscaping, closet cleaning, and more odd jobs around the church. Bring your work gloves, favorite tools, and a willing spirit as we

come together to work. Coffee and donuts will be provided! Thank you

in advance!

Help Wanted ! We Need You!

Bread For The World Offering of Letters Spring 2017

Again, thanks to all who participated in our spring offering of letters to our Sen-ators and Representatives in support of Bread for the World! Fifty-six letters! Every bit counts.

We are working on Earth Day, April 22nd. Presentation for the Church with Anna Fielder of Mid-Coast Conservan-cy. Pastor Josh is in contact with Anna.

Also, aiming at a fall presentation, we are planning a community program on Domestic Violence with Mary Hanley of New Hope for Women, one of the

groups that your Summerfest has sup-ported for many years.

Heads up! The all Church U.C.C. Strengthen Our Church offering will be on June 4th this year. More information will be provided during upcoming ser-vices

Please all, contact us with your con-cerns, suggestions, and interests.

Church In Society Committee: Kim Hatt—Honorable Chairperson, Ruth Maxwell and Tom Beane.

Thank you all for your support! ~Tom Beane

P.S. Kim Hatt is a Champion Blueberry Muffin maker! Thank-you Kim.

Bible Study Continuing in

May!

Exactly what happened after the resurrection? Come and ex-plore the events following the res-urrection as rec-orded in the Gos-pel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There are two opportuni-ties each week to join us!

Sundays—7-8pm (beginning Sun-day, May 7th)

Or

Wednesday 11am—12noon (beginning Wednesday, May 10th)

This is a drop in Bible Study so come when you can! Any ques-tions, please con-tact Rev. Josh (207-882-7544 or joshfitter-ling@myfairpoint.net)

PASTORAL RELATIONS/TRANSITION TEAM

The goal of our committee is to maintain an open and healthy relationship between the pastor and members of our congregation. It is important for us to receive regular feedback. Please share your “joys and con-cerns” at any time. All conversations are confidential.

Committee members are Betty Applin, Bob Bickford, Gary Lewis, Jon McKinney, Libby Mooney, Nancy Roby, Jan Whitfield and Ginny Withee

Happy

100th

Birthday

Ruth !

Thank You!

A huge thank you to Zoe & Dan Bigley, Lisa Hargreaves,

Jan & Steve Whitfield and Linda & Fred Winterberg for

hosting the Meet and Greet gatherings. Thanks also to

everyone who took time from busy schedules to attend

one or more event. Each gathering was well attended

and proved to be a perfect opportunity to chat with Pas-

tor Josh in a relaxed informal environment.

Midcoast Association of the United Church of Christ Spring Meeting

Saturday, May 20th 10:30 am – 2:00 pm

Welcoming the Stranger: Refugees, Immigration and Sanctuary

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”

Come learn about the situation in Maine right now.

Hear the experience of faith communities that are welcoming refugees.

What does our faith teach us as we look at the situation around us?

What are the tensions that are present? How can we respond?

First Congregational Church, UCC

55 Elm Street, Camden

www.camdenucc.org

All are welcome!

For more information Rev. Allison Smith allisoncgsmith@gmail.com

If you are interested in going to this Spring Meeting please let either Pam

or Josh know in the office. The Camden Church would like to know the ap-

proximate number as they will be providing a small lunch for all.

Lois Shiels Steve Hatt Ellery Downing

Jackie Lowell Steve Whitfield Audrey Robertson

Kim Hatt Ann Dunlevy Marguerita Fairfield

Linda Adams Wally Roby Sylvia Mason

Wally Roby

Celebrates His 90th Birthday

On Sunday, May 28th

You are Invited to stop in to wish him

A

Happy Birthday

At an Open House

At

163 Federal Street, Wiscasset

Spring Directory Update Information

Please return to Pam by May 7th, Thanks!

Household Information

Household Mailing Name (Bob & Sally Smith):____________________________________________________

Household Address:_______________________________________________________________________

Home Telephone_________________________________________________________________________

(Spouse, partner, parent, person living with you.)

Individual 1 information (you) Individual 2 info (children or others, use another page)

First Name_________________ Nickname_________ First Name________________ Nickname___________

Middle Name __________Last Name ______________ Middle Name ____________Last Name____________

Family Relation:______________________________ Family Relation:_______________________________

Birth Date:__________________________________ Birth Date: __________________________________

Marriage Date:_______________________________ Marriage Date: ________________________________

Cell 1:_____________________________________ Cell 2:______________________________________

Occupation: ________________________________ Occupation: __________________________________

Work Phone 1: _______________________________ Work Phone 2:_______________________________

Email 1_____________________________________ Email 2_____________________________________

Emergency Contact Information (could be a child, parent, friend, etc. please do not use your partner as I should have that

info)

Name: ______________________________________ Relationship:________________________________

Address:

________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________Cell: _____________________________________

Email _________________________________________________________________________________

If there is any other information that you would like in our records please add that below.

Motherhood

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in

your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once

for herself and once for her child no matter how old they

are. ~ Happy Mother’s Day! ~