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.
Susan Letcher, Music Director
Susan Letcher grew up in Southwest Harbor and Somesville. She double-majored in music and biology at Carleton College and obtained a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.
She taught college courses in Costa Rica and New York before returning to MDI in 2017 as a professor of botany at College of the Atlantic.
She has 40 years of piano performance experience, including seven years as a church accompanist in Connecticut and New York. She lives in Bar Harbor with her daughter. Email somesvillechurch@gmail.com
(photo credit Nan Lincoln, MDI Islander 8-13-19)