Rest in Your church

My name is Sharon Batchelder, and I was born in Danforth, Maine. When I look back over my life, I see pain and hardship, but I also see the faithfulness of God. My story is not always easy to tell, but it is a testimony of how God has carried me, healed me, and given me hope.   Childhood and Early Struggles When I was only eight months old, my stepfather threw me down a flight of stairs. That fall left me with lasting damage. My whole right side was affected, almost as if I had a stroke. It took me sixteen years just to learn how to tie my own shoes. My stepfather was an alcoholic. He drank constantly, and with the drinking came anger, cruelty, and abuse. My mother had twelve children, though one died at birth. That left eleven of us growing up together, and life was not easy. My mother was afraid of my stepfather. I don’t know why she married him, but she did, and the fear never left her. He was a hard, cruel man. He abused us, and worse, he even harmed my older sister i...

After Denise's Powerful testimony, all church members came to her and prayed for her ✨ God’s Amazing Story in Denise Jutras’s Life What a wonderful testimony we shared yesterday through Denise Jutras’s life! I was so moved to see all our church members gather around her, praying with tears. That’s who we are— the Stetson Memorial Church family! 📖 Denise’s Testimony: Amazing Grace  (Full version Script)                                         Testimony video 🎤 Sermon: The Psalms, God’s Poem — Theopoetry 🌿 A New Sermon Series: The Psalms After finishing our “A New Journey” series, we now turn to the Psalms for the next two months. 👉 Why don’t we begin reading one chapter of Psalms each day as our prayer? 📅 Upcoming Events & Announcements Sept. 11 • Weekly Bible Study – 9:30 a.m. • Worship Committee Meeting – 11:00 a.m. followed by a potluck luncheon  S...

Bertrand Laurence played guitar for her testimony All church members came to her and to pray for her 9/7/25 A new day, a new beginning, a new blessing, a new hope. That is what my testimony will be—sharing what my life was like, what happened before God’s intervention, and how my life is today.   Growing Up I was born and raised in a city in Massachusetts, in a French neighborhood and schooling. Everything looked good on the outside, but behind closed doors it was another world. At home, my father was very strict. At the dinner table, we weren’t allowed to laugh or even speak. Punishments could be harsh. I remember being hit with a Navy belt or forced to kneel in a closet for an hour. My two older siblings left home as soon as they could, leaving me and my younger sister behind. By six years old, I had my first drink. By twelve, I was drinking and using drugs. By fourteen, I was hanging out with a gang. Anything to numb the pain. Much of my childhood is missing from...

  The Combined choir and bands         What a blessing to have a combined service with 103 people in our four churches!! We were blessed with the combined choir, band, handbell choir, worship dance, puppet show, and sweet fellowship. We are one family in one Spirit! What a blessing to have Pastor Kwan Lee, Helen Woods, and Shirley with us. What a blessing to welcome families we have been praying for a long time. What a blessing to have Jeanie Goode with us, even as her husband passed away yesterday morning. We could not count all the blessings God poured out today! Thank you for coming and being part of this special day! Personally, it seemed like my family reunion—with the original family in three churches and the new family in Patten! I’m so grateful we could worship all together. We are one family You can watch the service here:  Facebook Video Link  and read the message here:  Sermon Blog . Combined Church Conference 📍 Saturday, September 6,...

The joy of Carpooling Roberta, Hannah & Esther 📖 This is the Day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! 이 날은 주가 지으신 날 (Ee nah-reun joo-ga jee-euh-shin nal) 기뻐하고 즐거워하세 (Gih-ppuh-hah-go jeul-guh-wuh-hah-say) 🎶 Yesterday we had many things to celebrate! 1. Choir & Pick-up Choir We are grateful for our choir and the pick-up choir last Sunday! The choir sang the Hymn of Praise . Pick-up choir will sing the opening and closing hymns in front of the congregation. All are welcome to join! 2. Sermon Our “A New Journey” series is wrapping up this August. Next, we will begin a new two-month series called “My Psalm.” Here is the sermon (8/24/25) "From My Calling To Our Calling"  3. Penny’s Preaching in Hodgdon UMC We heard that all services went very well, including Delila’s special music! Thank you, Penny, for preaching in Hodgdon—you are a blessing to us and to all our churches. 4. Roberta Finnemore’s Testimony Yesterday, Roberta and her fr...

Nursing home service every third Sunday  at the Gardiner Stetson Memorial UMC 8.24.25 My name is Roberta Adams Moore—though some know me as Roberta Finnemore. I was born in 1940 in Patten, Maine, and I’ve lived a long life by God’s grace. Even now, at 85, I see that God still has work for me to do. These days, I live in a nursing home. Some might think that’s the end of ministry, but for me, it’s just a new beginning. God has opened doors here for His work. It started with small things—devotionals every morning with Wendy and Sharon. We prayed, sang, and studied God’s Word together. When Wendy moved on, I wanted to keep learning, so we asked Pastor Joyce and Houlton UMC to lead a Bible study every Friday. And now, every third week, we have a Sunday service right here in the nursing home. Through all of this, I feel part of Houlton UMC, even though I am far from my home church. Pastor Joyce once told me that I was like Moses in the nursing home. That touched my heart deepl...