Houlton Congregational Church on Court Street (next to the Telephone Company)
The Houlton Congregational Church is holding a special service of Celebration and Leave Taking on August 8th at 11AM as they meet for the last time after two hundred and ten years as a religious organization in our community.
UUHoulton will be joining them for the service and hosting a reception in their honor afterwards. Clergy, denominational representatives and a ten-member ecumenical choir will be participating in the service of celebration as we reflect on the role of First Church in Houlton’s history and what lies ahead. There will be a light luncheon in the parlor after the service. We invite members of UUHoulton to bring bring homemade desserts to accompany the food.
All are welcome!
As covid cases are on the increase in the state and the town of Houlton individuals may want to wear a mask to the service and take precaution by social distancing. The building will be well ventilated with masks and hand sanitizer available. The service will also be recorded and available to view on our church website and YouTube Channel the following week. Please note that there will be no zoom coffee hour this week.
Here is “A Brief History of First Church Houlton” that appeared in the service bulletin of our joint Bicentennial observation back in 2011. Our two congregations have a long and storied history together. Please join us for one more service.
A Brief History of First Church Houlton
Compiled by W. Sedgefield White for First Church bicentennial observation in 2011
The story of First Church and the story of Houlton are the same story; a story that is still being written today as we mark this bicentennial occasion.
The history of Houlton and First Church is directly tied to New Salem, Massachusetts, which is located in Hampshire County in the western part of the state. The New Salem Church was a congregational Church of the Puritan Orthodox tradition known in New England as the Standing Order. Since Houlton’s first settlers were members of the New Salem Church, it is no surprise that on October 10, 1811 this group organized the First Church of Houlton according to the congregational order.
Samuel Kendall was the first signature on the document. Kendall served as one of the deacons of the church providing leadership in the absence of a settled minister, which was often in the early years. Rev. Alpheus Harding was the minister of the New Salem Church and he corresponded regularly with Kendall and the fledgling Houlton Church. On May 9th, 1820, Rev. Harding, sent two tankards used for the “Lord’s Supper” which were used in New Salem. These are still in pocession of the Congregational Church here in Houlton and on display in our parlor today.
In 1831, Rev. Jos. B. Stevens was sent by the Maine Missionary Alliance to Houlton. He was instrumental in re-organizing the church, January 24th, 1833. New Articles of Faith and a Covenant were written and presented to the meeting by the Rev. Mr. Stevens. Both were adopted by the Church, which was called the “First Congregational Church of Houlton.” In 1835, after a visit and discussion with Rev. Alpheus Harding, a group of members in the Church decided to follow a spiritual path set forth by the Unitarians in Boston. This spawned the sister Church called the Unitarian Society of Houlton.
The churches were re-united on January 2, 1956 after the Congregational Church burned. Since the Unitarian Church was without a minister, Rev. Royal Davis, the minister for the Congregational Church, served the joined congregations for the first few years. The churches remained together until 1970 and at that time the Congregational members built their new church. Both Churches have continued to serve a vital need of the Houlton community since 1811. The formation and development of Houlton over the last 200 years is a shared history with both churches. Many descendants of the people who came from New Salem, Massachusetts are to be found in the Houlton community today. Have a great week-end everyone.
Practice patience and kindness.
In Ministry,
Dave
Last week’s service was recorded and is available via the UUHoulton YouTube channel:
Virtual Offering Plate
If you would like to send in your pledge or donation simply drop an envelope in the mail. The address is listed below. Thank you for your support!
UU Church of Houlton
61 Military Street
Houlton, ME 04730
I’m Not O.K., You’re Not O.K.—and That’s O.K.
When we read the news, we might find ourselves overwhelmed with “non-OK-ness,” but Sylvia Boorstein says there are ways we can work with that feeling.
I heard on the BBC World News that a supermarket chain in Great Britain now provides chaplains in their stores, available to meet with customers when they are shopping. In Leeds, the position is shared by a Buddhist nun, a Congregationalist and an ex-Hell’s Angel/now Methodist minister. There are, the report said, rabbis and imams in Jewish and Muslim neighborhoods.
I did not know whether to rejoice or despair. I thought, “Sure, that makes sense. Everyone shops, and everyone needs someone to talk to about what is meaningful to them, what touches their heart, what troubles them.” But I also thought, “What has become of us?” Are we, as Wordsworth said, “laying waste our powers” by doing nothing apart from “getting and spending” and never leaving the shopping mall? Or have we, more sadly, forgotten how to talk to the people we know? Have we all forgotten how to listen to each other, or even to ourselves, in a way that is meaningful?
I think there is a clue to listening in a way that makes communication meaningful. That clue, I believe, holds true in psychotherapeutic situations, in relationships with a spiritual teacher and in mindfulness meditation. I think it is a universal clue. It works everywhere. I have a story that points to this clue:
I was reading the morning newspaper on a recent trip to New York City from Philadelphia on the Metroliner express train and I found myself suddenly so overwhelmed by sad and frightening situations all over the world that I turned to the young woman next to me and said, “I need to take a nap now. Will you wake me in twenty minutes, please?”
“Yes, of course,” she said. Then she said, “Are you O.K.?”
“I’m O.K.,” I replied. “Are you O.K.?”
“No,” she said. “I’m not.”
Suddenly, my sleepiness was gone and she could tell I was alert and listening. “I read the news earlier,” she said, indicating the newspaper in my lap. “And I’m scared.” We talked. We talked some about politics, but mostly we talked about how hard it is to carry on in life as if you are fine when actually you are feeling frightened or hopeless. The more we talked, the more revived I felt.
Then, as I thought the conversation was ending, she said, “I’m worried about my job, too.” She had recently accepted a position she saw both as a validation of her skill level and a challenge to it. “I think I can do it. But this is a big deal, this meeting in New York. A lot could go wrong. I’m worried about not doing it well.”
I just listened. I didn’t need to be knowledgeable about her job. I just needed to listen. I thought about how we all have concerns for the world and concerns for ourselves, simultaneously. After we parted at Penn Station, I realized we’d never told each other our names. It didn’t matter. By connecting, we had consoled. It was enough.
The clue is, Are you O.K.?
None of us is. The Buddha explained that as the truth of suffering. Having been born, we are all subject to the pain of loss, of grief, of sadness or even plain disappointment. Life is difficult. Even our joys, in their temporality, remind us of impermanence. Like the French poet Villon, we lament, wistfully, “Where are the snows of yesteryear?” We know that all the yesteryears are gone.
Psychologists would also reassure us of the appropriateness of our “non-O.K.-ness.” Each of us carries the gifts of our heritage, our family and our culture, as well as its wounds. It can’t be otherwise. A psychologist friend of mind once said, “If you wanted it perfect, you came to the wrong planet.” I am imagining this understanding, tacit or spoken, as the cornerstone of all healing relationships.
“Are you O.K.?
“No. Not really. How about you?”
“Not me, either. But I’m O.K. to talk about it. It makes the journey less lonely. Let’s talk.”
And, we can talk to ourselves kindly. I tell mindfulness practitioners to listen to the tone their inner voice uses to comment on their experience. I ask them to consider whether, if they had a friend who spoke that way, they would keep that friend. The moment in which people discover they are not holding themselves in compassion, not speaking kindly, is often startling and always sad. That awareness is sometimes enough to cause the critic’s voice to soften, and the soother’s voice to be heard.
ABOUT SYLVIA BOORSTEIN
Sylvia Boorstein is a psychologist and leading teacher of Insight Meditation. Her many best-selling books include Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake and Happiness Is An Inside Job.
Joys & Concerns
When one of us is blessed we are all blessed.When one of us experiences sorrow we all feel the pain.
UU cherries on the altar
JOYS
Have you noticed the free vegetables on the corner of Military and Kelleran at Cathy and Marty’s house? One zucchini can feed a family of six…
CONCERNS
Covid numbers are trending up around the country and other parts of the world. The virus continues to mutate and the Delta variant is particularly difficult to monitor and combat. Please remain diligent.
Please continue to send in joys and concerns during the week to revdav@mfx.net and I will post them on the Support Page.
The joy or the sorrow of one is shared by all. May our hearts be as one on this day. Let us carry each thought or concern expressed in our heart and may the light of our love and compassion transform suffering into non suffering and ease the difficulties of life. We radiate love and the light that we are. Blessed are we all.
Prayer List
For those recovering from COVID-19 in the state of Maine
Local emergency personnel and hospital staff
For our state and national leaders as they respond to the current coronavirus crisis
For those working for social justice and societal change
Pray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nation
Prayers for the heat wave in the American West and wide spread drought conditions
Prayers for those affected by the floods in Europe, India and China
The Four Limitless Ones Prayer
May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.
May we be free from suffering and the root of suffering.May we not be separated from the great happiness devoid of suffering.
May we dwell in the great equanimity free from anger, aggression and exclusion.
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