October 2025

Our Mission By God’s Grace, West Parish Congregational Church, United Church of Christ,

 is committed to Nurturing and Celebrating God’s Love

 in our lives, in the Church Family, in the Community and in the world

After the storm and some much needed rain, the colors are really popping in our little village

October, 2025 Newsletter

Steeple View

West Parish Congregational Church

United Church of Christ

Pastor’s Perspective

Happy fall! This is a season of transitions and lots of new things are getting started or re-started. Life is all about change and that is reflected in the changes we see taking place in the natural world with the leaves changing color and days getting shorter.

There is a fairly big change taking place in my life and, thus, the life of the church. Beginning in November, I will start work as a per diem hospice chaplain for Andwell Health Partners. This will mean that I will be going to ¾ time at the church (approximately 30 hours per week). I envision working three weekdays (and Sundays of course!) at the church and two days with Andwell. The Church Council will be meeting to discuss this and how some of my responsibilities will change because of my new schedule. You’ll be hearing more about this soon. I have sought out a part-time job to help relieve some of the financial pressure of the church supporting a full-time pastor. As you probably know, continuing to draw from our endowment principle is unsustainable long-term. My going to ¾ time will help to alleviate some of that pressure. I have always been interested in and called to chaplaincy and worked as a hospice chaplain for a couple of years when I served my former church. So I already have the experience of serving a church ¾ time while having a per diem (as needed) chaplain position.

Though some of my duties and availability at the church may change, what won’t change is my continuing to be present to you through worship, pastoral care, advising committees, administration, and all of my other pastoral duties. I am honored to have served as pastor at WPCC for over ten years now and I will continue to serve in that role first and foremost. I think that this change is something that will be beneficial to both the church and myself. If you have any questions about any of this I would be happy to talk to you about it!

As far as other things happening this fall at the church…there’s a lot! The Youth Hub, our afterschool program for youth in grades 7-12, will restart on Thursday, October 2nd. Our church is part of another “hub,” the Western Maine Children’s Ministry Hub, and our church team is developing a project that will foster intergenerational relationships in worship and faith formation. (you can find out more about that elsewhere in this newsletter). There will be a worship and sermon series in October on “Faithful Living for Chaotic Times” which will focus on the Micah 6:8 call to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” We will be talking about how we can remain strong and steadfast and where best to put our energies, as individuals and as a church, in these trying times. There will be a new UCC “Stillspeaking” bible study on the book of Genesis beginning on Wednesday October 15th at 4:30 PM. The study will be hybrid format, both in person and on Zoom. Please let me know if you are interested in taking part. Finally, Mary, Evan, and I will be traveling to Ireland during the last week of October, to visit our son, Ben, and his wife, Jess. Ben is running in the Dublin marathon on October 26th.

Fall is a time of change! And we are thankful for the ever-present God who never changes…and for the love of God in and through Jesus Christ. Blessings and peace to you and your family!

                                               Tim

The beautiful Garden for All at Valentine Farm

Potluck Supper Friday, October 3

Sweden pilgrimage of Tim and Mary

Tim and Mary LeConey just returned from a pilgrimage on the Kungsleden Trail (King's Trail) in Sweden. They hiked from hut to hut a total of almost 100 k (about 62 miles).

Hear about their travels at an All Church Potluck on Friday, October 3 at 6 PM. Bring a dish to share. 

Christian Education

Western Maine Children’s Ministry Hub

Our church has embarked on an exciting new project called the Western Maine Children’s Ministry Hub. We are part of a cohort of four churches in western Maine that will receive support, consultation, and funding for intergenerational ministry efforts. All of this is a result of a grant received by the First Church Bridgton UCC which allowed them to call a “minister for intergenerational innovation,” Spencer Law. Intergenerational ministry is relationships between people of all ages that happen in the church through worship, faith formation activities, outreach projects, etc. Our cohort–the “Peace” cohort–meets from September 2025 through June 2026. As

part of the Hub, our church will come up with a project to implement in the church that will help to foster intergenerational ministry. We will receive up to $15,000 for the project.

Members of our church’s team are Tim and Mary LeConey, Eileen Opie, Melinda Remington, Gretchen Motts, Patricia Boyle-Wight, and Liam LeConey. The Hub kicked off with an all-day orientation at First Church Bridgton on September 13th. The day began with a keynote presentation on “Faith Formation for All Ages” by Rev. Debbie Gline Allen. During the day, we learned a lot about what is involved with the cohort and began thinking about what our church’s project might be. As part of our work in the cohort, we will be attending a monthly workshop at one of the churches or on Zoom. Below are some pictures from the 9/13 orientation We are excited to take part in this project and look forward to the energy and possibilities that will emerge from it!

October Love Bowl

Will be for Neighbors in Need

Neighbors in Need (NIN) is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants.

In Maine, here is an example of a grant recipient.

Formally incorporated in 2005, Mano en Mano | Hand in Hand is the “go-to” agency in Downeast Maine for Latino/Latina, immigrant, and farmworker issues.  As a 2010 Neighbors in Need grant recipient, Mano en Mano provides a wide variety of direct services in English and Spanish. The three general programmatic areas are:

• Educational Services & Scholarships comprise the bulk of our programming and the heart of our mission.  From free English classes, to college scholarships, to one-on-one tutoring and after school support, Mano en Mano believes that education is a tool that can make dreams possible and realize social justice.

• Outreach & Community Events ensure that Mano en Mano can effectively reach and serve their constituency while building bridges between various and diverse communities.

• Affordable Housing provides farmworkers who want to settle in Milbridge, ME with an opportunity to live somewhere that is safe, decent, and designed with their needs in mind.

              September                                November                                December

Book Group

Book group will meet Tuesday, October 7, at 7 PM at Jim and Jane Chandler's home, 65 Camp Road, Bryant Pond. We'll discuss the book The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. This hilarious story is about a recently widowed man and his 3 sons who hire a housekeeper who "Cannot cook but doesn't bite," according to her ad. The setting is 1909 in Montana.

November 4th we will meet at Jan Stowell's home and discuss The Berry Pickers by Maine author Amanda Peters.

December 9th (not the first Tuesday due to conflict with the church getting ready for the Christmas Fair) we will discuss How to Love a Forest, written by Ethan Tapper, a recent speaker at Mahoosuc Land Trust's annual Monarch Festival.  Jim and Kay Rector will host.  

Friday Morning Playgroup

WPCC successfully welcomed the first official weekly playgroup gathering for Bethel area tots and their caregivers on September 26th in the Garland Chapel. In attendance were five toddlers all around the age of one and a half, one three-year-old and a seven-year-old big sister, along with two grandmothers, three moms, and a dad. A good time was had by all and we look forward to many more fun Friday mornings in the future.

October Calendar 2025

Wed., October 1: Men’s Breakfast, 8 AM; Pastoral Relations, 9:30 AM

Thursday, October 2: 4H Youth Hub at the Congo Cafe, 2:30-4:45 PM

Friday, October 3: Tots playgroup for parents/grandparents, 9-10:30 AM; All Church

Potluck at 6 PM with a report from Tim and Mary LeConey and their

recent pilgrimage to Sweden.

Sunday, October 5: Worship with Communion “Faithful Living for Chaotic Times” series,

10 AM (also livestreamed on YouTube Live)

Tuesday, October 7: Prayer Group, 8:45 AM at church/on Zoom; World Service

Committee, 10 AM, Book Group at Jim and Jane's home at 7 PM.

Thursday, October 9: 4H Youth Hub at the Congo Cafe, 2:30-4:45 PM 

Friday, October 10: Tots playgroup for parents/grandparents, 9-10:30 AM

Saturday, October 11, 1:00 PM Buck's Ledge Community Forest Day celebration

of Trail for All

Sunday, October 12: Worship “Faithful Living for Chaotic Times” series, 10 AM

(also livestreamed on YouTube Live)

Monday, October 13: Indigenous Peoples’ Day 

Tuesday, October 14: Prayer Group, 8:45 AM at church/on Zoom;

Trustees, 6:30 PM on Zoom

Wed., October 15: Stillspeaking Bible Study on Genesis, 4:30 PM at church/on Zoom;

Church Council, 6:30 PM on Zoom

Thursday, October 16: 4H Youth Hub at the Congo Cafe, 2:30-4:45 PM 

Friday, October 17: Tots playgroup for parents/grandparents, 9-10:30 AM; Maine

Conference Annual Meeting at Pilgrim Lodge (Rev. Tim and delegates attending

 through 10/18)

Sunday, October 19: Worship “Faithful Living for Chaotic Times” series, 10 AM (also

livestreamed on YouTube Live) 

Tuesday, October 21: Prayer Group, 8:45 AM at church/on Zoom; Deacons, 10 AM 

Wednesday, October 22: Stillspeaking Bible Study on Genesis, 4:30 PM at church/on

Zoom; Music Committee, 6:30 PM on Zoom

Thursday, October 23: 4H Youth Hub at the Congo Cafe, 2:30-4:45 PM 

Thursday, October 23–Saturday, November 1: Rev. Tim on vacation 

Friday, October 24: Tots playgroup for parents/grandparents, 9-10:30 AM

Sunday, October 26: Worship, 10 AM led by Jane Chandler (also livestreamed

on YouTube Live)

Tuesday, October 28: Prayer Group, 8:45 AM at church/on Zoom

Thursday, October 30: Sr. College “To Your Health,” 4:30 PM

Friday, October 31: Tots playgroup for parents/grandparents, 9-10:30 AM

    Finally, some rain is falling on our parched fields and mountains! Happy Autumn!

Our Congo Craftsman doing some repairs at the Church, thank you!

First is Rich DeCarolis and Joe Aloisio,

Second one is Jim Chandler, Jeff Martin and Bob Iles replacing rotten sills by dining room. 

Ed Ryan play’s the Viola for Church,

accompanied by Liz Smith on the Piano