Somesville Union Meeting House
United Church of Christ, Mount Desert, Maine
OUR MINISTRIES
Our church outreach and ministry changes to meet the needs of our community and our world. After only offering online worship or programs due to the coronavirus crisis, we are now beginning in-person worship & activities. See "Events" and "Spiritual Growth" pages.
Prayer
Prayer celebrations and concerns are shared during worship on Sunday mornings. Personal, family, community and national and global issues are lifted up in thanksgiving or petition. Worship also contains unison or responsive prayers, including "The Lord's Prayer."
The Pastor and Church Leaders are willing to pray with and for you. Prayer concerns may be written and sent or emailed to the church.
Mission & Advocacy
A tithe, or 10% of receipts is earmarked for Mission - local, national and international. As a United Church of Christ congregation, half our mission funds support the denominational "Our Church's Wider Mission." Other recipients are determined by the Mission Committee each year.
SUMH supports the local Food Pantries, Acadia Home for Students, Bar Harbor Thanksgiving Baskets, Emmaus Center Homeless Shelter, Next Step (domestic violence), Beth Wright Cancer Center, OUT-Maine, Non-Violent Communication, Heifer Project, One Great Hour of Sharing and many other efforts.
Little Free Library
Our Little Free Library, located at the edge of the parking lot between the Parish House and Sanctuary, near the bottom of the ramp, was set up at the beginning of April 2020. Ann Benson is our volunteer Librarian.
Books are free for the taking. You may also donate books (non-violent, non-sexually explicit, no conspiracy theories).
VISION STATEMENT
We, the members and friends of the Somesville Union Meeting House, United Church of Christ, proclaim to be a church body where faith, love, and learning are alive. We strive to be intentionally inclusive, proudly progressive, and creatively spiritual, as we work together to become biblically and theologically literate, spiritually vital, joyful followers of the Way of Jesus Christ. We seek to attract and keep new members to share in this journey, which we hope will enable them to grow with us to a stronger faith and belief in Jesus Christ and in their relationship with God. We recognize that people's values and needs differ, and we must be understanding, trusting, and respectful of one another. We also understand and agree that as faithful followers of Christ, our spiritual journey never ends, as we learn to identify and use our gifts to benefit others - in our church, our community, and beyond. In doing so, we will consciously open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, to empower us to carry on the ministries of Jesus Christ. This is our vision for a vital, spiritual, meaningful future for the gathered community of faith known as the Somesville Union Meeting House, UCC.
Christian Nurture
Sunday School for children is offered "on demand" after the first part of in-person Public Worship. Adult education opportunities include "Conversations on Race," screen-shared documentaries, Lent & Advent Study, book discussion, Bible Reflection at the Alcyon Center and other short-term groups.
Music - Christina Spurling, Director
Christina Spurling, MM, has been our Music Director since May, 2017. She serves as pianist, accompanist and Choir Director. She also is Coordinator for the Quietside Music Festival each summer.
Choir Members have been using technology such as the Acapella app to form a "Virtual Choir," and a "Hymn Leader" sings the lyrics for Sunday worship. Adult Choir is active in the fall, winter and spring, which rehearses before worship at 9:00 am on Sunday mornings. Choral selections represent a variety of styles from the Renaissance to the present, including classics, spirituals, and contemporary anthems in a popular idiom.
Our musical instruments are a Mason & Hamlin "A" Series grand piano, purchased in Nov. 2009, and a Rodgers 205 pipe/electronic organ donated in 2010. A private donation subsidized the cost of the piano, and a grant from the Maine Conference UCC for "Resourcing the Local Church" helped pay for moving and installing the organ.
Spurling is accompanist for worship. She is available for private piano lessons. Email somesvillechurch@gmail.com
(photo credit Nan Lincoln, MDI Islander 8-13-19)