Life Together Community (January 28, 2024)

 

*Photo: Women of Witness (WOW) at Houlton UMC on Jan 24th. 

There was a young French soldier named Louis Delcourt. 

During the First World War he overstayed his leave and, fearing disgrace, he decided to desert. He persuaded his mother to lock him up in the attic of their home and there she hid him and fed him for 21 years. But in August 1937 his mother died. There was no chance now of his remaining in hiding. So, he staggered along to the nearest police officer, where he gave himself up. 

The police officer looked at him in shock and asked him, "Where have you been that you have not heard?" "Haven't heard what?" asked Louis. "That a law of amnesty for all deserters was passed years ago." 

There is a difference between possession and enjoyment. Louis Delcourt had freedom but did not enjoy it because he did not know that he had it. In the same way, many Christians have a church home, but they are not enjoying it because they do not know the value of God's gift, the church. 

My prayer is that I may find deep contentment, joy, and a sense of purpose and wholeness in the life of the church. I pray that you too may find and enjoy all the treasures hidden in Christ through his new community. 

You are invited to join us for our service this Sunday. Hodgdon and Mars Hill churches gather at 9 am. Houlton church celebrates Family Worship at 11 am, followed by a Love Feast potluck luncheon afterwards. You can also worship with us online via the church's Facebook Live: 

• Hogdon UMC Facebook
• Houlton UMC: YouTube I Facebook
• Mars Hill UMC Facebook 

May God bless you and keep you. Stay well in God's grace. 

In Christ,
Pastor Victor

Have You Heard of “Backpack for Kids”?

Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. a group of men are busy filling backpacks with food. They are the Backpack for Kids (B4K) volunteers. More than a decade ago, Mr. Gerald Karnes and the men’s group at the Houlton United Methodist Church (HUMC) noticed that many children were suffering from hunger and started this program to reduce child hunger in the community.

B4K program offers families groceries for weekends. Fook backpacks include healthy food for kid-friendly meals like cereal, oatmeal, granola bars, mac and cheese, peanut butter, boxed juice, or canned soup. Currently, the HUMC volunteers deliver 30-40 food backpacks weekly to local schools, including ACAP, Houlton Elementary, Houlton Southside, Houlton High School, and Hodgdon Mill Pond School.

As an African proverb says, it takes a community to end child hunger. B4K program is going strong thanks to the generosity of our community. In particular, County Yankee Grocery, Hannaford, Houlton Rotary Club, Houlton Regional Hospital, and Littleton Baptist Church, along with individual donors, have always been a great support to this program. Mrs. Dawn Matthews and her students at Summit Academy so generously volunteer their time.

If you would like to get a food backpack, please contact your local school. There are also many ways you can help B4K program. You can volunteer your time, donate food or give monetary gifts. If you have any questions, please contact our B4K coordinators Drs. Linda Maraya and Chet Husted at 227-3497. Together we can fight child hunger, one child at a time. 

This Week at Our Church

 

Have you heard of WWJD?

I love to read a biography. Nowadays I am reading a biography of Timothy Keller, one of the mentors who helped shape my pastoral vision for the church. He dived so deeply into the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien. He read everything Tolkien wrote, including the Lord of the Rings. Keller didn't just get to know his writings, but he got to know how Tolkien's mind works. 

The longer I am in ministry, the more I think about my grandparents and my parents who served as pastors. I often ask myself, "What would my grandfather do in this particular situation?"

I believe our lifelong goal as Christians would be to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. My prayer is that we may come to know what Christ would have said in answer to a particular question or how he would have responded to a particular incident. May we always ask what would Jesus do (WWJD) and actually do what would Jesus have done. 

Worship 

It was a beautiful Lord's Day in the Aroostook neighborhood. If you haven't had a chance to join us, you can watch the services as well as read the service messages at the following links:

• Hodgdon UMC I Message
• Houlton UMC: YouTube I Facebook I Message
• Mars Hill UMC I Message

Fellowship 

The 2024 Church Directory is now available online (PDF format), as well as a paper copy. If your information has to be edited, please let me know.  

• Hodgdon & Houlton UMC directory
• Mars Hill UMC directory

Discipleship

We just started new Bible studies. Small groups are great ways to grow spiritually and to watch over one another in love. Come, and grow with us!

• Book of Nehemiah (12-week study)
• Hodgdon: Tuesday, 3:30 pm
• Houlton: Thursday, 6:00 pm
• Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism (10-week study)
• Women of Witness (Houlton): Wednesday, 10:00 am

And... Combined/Hybrid Prayer Meeting meets every Wednesday at 6 pm - at Houlton church or online via Zoom. 

Outreach & Evangelism: Handbell Choir at Madigan This Friday

Our handbell choir plans to have a mini-concert for residents at Madigan Nursing Home this Friday, January 26 at 3 pm. I am planning to livestream the concert for those who want to join us virtually via the Houlton UMC Facebook Live. Stay tuned!  

Outreach & Evangelsim: Cooking Class 

As an outreach pilot program, we offer a fun and hands-on cooking class on Saturday, January 27, 2-4 pm at Houlton UMC. You will learn how to cook bibimbap (Korean mixed rice with meat and assorted vegetables). $10. RSVP by Wednesday (Jan 24). All are welcome.

  

Family Worship & Love Feast [Houlton]

Every fourth Sunday of the month (this Sunday, Jan 28, 11 am) Houlton church celebrates Family Worship. All generations come together to worship and have fellowship. Our all-age choir will be singing, "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" (in unison), and rehearsal will be in the choir room at 10:30 a.m. There will be a Love Feast potluck luncheon immediately after the service. You are invited.  

May we have the mind of Christ, through practicing the means of grace - worship, fellowship, discipleship, and evangelism, and the world will know we are "Christ-ians" by this. 

Have a blessed week. Love you all. 

In Christ,
Pastor Victor

Life Together Community (Jan 21, 2024)

 

*Photo: Houlton Riverfront Park (January 2024)

Peace to you. 

I once heard a story about a young man who was struggling. He had come to faith in Christ, but he just found himself drifting away, drifting in doubts and difficulties and losing his faith. And he went to see a wise older man, who lived in a cottage, and there was a fire, a coal fire. This young man told the older man about what was going on in his life. The older man didn’t say anything. But he just went to the fire and he took a red-hot coal, with tongs, out of the fire, and he put it on the hearth. And as the young man talked, he just allowed that coal to go from red-hot to black, dark. And then he got the tongs again and he put the coal back in the fire, and within a few minutes, the coal was red-hot again. He didn’t need to say anything. The young man left knowing exactly why his faith had gone dull (Alpha Course, “What About the Church?”).

I was the young man. There was a time when I was struggling and drifting away from God and his church. It was summertime, but spiritually I was in the midst of the winter season - cold, dry, numb. There was a small group of people, patiently waiting, loving, and walking along with me. Slowly and steadily, I was eventually able to get back on the path again. 

No matter where you are on life's journey, you are loved. You are welcome here in God's place. You are invited to join us for our worship service this Sunday. Hodgdon and Mars Hill church families gather at 9 am, and the Houlton family at 11 am. You can also worship with us online via the church's Facebook Live: 

• Hodgdon UMC
• Houlton UMC: YouTube I Facebook 
• Mars Hill UMC

May God bless you and keep you. God's sustaining grace be with you each day. 

In Christ,
Pastor Victor

Vision Meeting Updates

 

Peace to you. 

Pray that you are doing well in this cold weather. 

I just wanted to keep you updated on our vision retreat held last Saturday. 

Sisters and brothers in Christ, what I can tell you is that God is up to something among us! Attached are the vision meeting notes. 

I am planning to share more details during our Family Worship on Sunday, January 28. In the meantime, I would like you to think about the following two questions: 

1. What image or word comes to mind when you think of our church? 
2. How do you picture God's preferred future for our church? 

Please ponder over these questions and share your thoughts with me by replying to this email. 

I am looking forward to hearing from you. Please pray for our church as we continue to discern the way forward. 

I give thanks to God for each of you. Love you deeply. 

In Christ,
Pastor Victor

Life Together Community (Jan 7, 2024)

 

Church is family. 

Though our caroling at the Mars Hill nursing home was canceled, we gathered together for lunch fellowship. 

We sat around the large long table as one family. We celebrated Elizabeth's 16th birthday, as well as John's 93rd birthday together. We remembered the one in the ER and prayed for the one just bereaved of the child. 

We laughed and mourned together. We rejoiced and wept together. We shared our lives together. 

Our Christian fellowship is eternal. German Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "He who looks upon his brother should know that he will be eternally united with him in Jesus Christ." 

How comforting, how glorious news it is! Come and join us for our eternal Christian fellowship. You are invited to our worship service this Sunday. Hodgdon and Mars Hill church families gather at 9 am, and the Houlton at 11 am. You can also worship with us online via the church's Facebook Live: 

• Hodgdon UMC
• Houlton UMC: Youtube I Facebook
• Mars Hill UMC

Have a blessed weekend. See you Sunday! 

In Christ,
Pastor Victor

Church Directory Updates

 

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

May the Lord bless you and your family as you start this new year with Christ. 

We are updating the Hodgdon & Houlton church directory. Please open this link and see if your information is correct. If you would like to add or update your picture, please send it to me by replying to this email. 

As we enter into this new year, let us remember the names of our God in whom we put our trust. God is "Ebenezer" (He has helped us up to this point) and "Jehovah Jireh" (He will provide). The one who has helped us up to this point will provide and see to it in 2024!!

Grateful to embark on this journey together with you. Love you all. 

In Christ,
Pastor Victor