The First Week of August


The First Combined Women's Retreat in Houlton, Hodgdon, Mars Hill, & Patten UMC 

 Peace be with you all! God is good! All the time!

United in the Spirit

I can't believe it, but last Sunday, all four of our churches read Psalm 121, and the three pastors didn't even coordinate with each other! Victor and I didn't even know we were using the same sermon picture. It's truly amazing—we are all united in one Spirit!

I believe there is a reason for the Han family to be serving four churches while our denomination and the New England conference are pursuing a "Cooperative Ministry." Aroostook County has so many strengths that support this ministry. We are all connected, and we need each other!

Administrative Meeting & Combined Service

Last Sunday, our Administrative Council met (minutes are attached). Even with a small group, we made a big decision: we voted to hold a combined Sunday service with our sister churches on every fifth Sunday!

This month, we're excited to host a potluck luncheon for everyone. The other churches are ready to come and support Stetson Memorial UMC with music, their specialty food, and, most importantly, love! Praise the Lord!

Women's Retreat Recap​

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Here is the video for the retreat: https://youtu.be/VhKzRAqI5Zg

Yesterday, we had our first combined women's retreat for all four churches. We had four different guest speakers from each church share their faith stories, and we shared our churches' stories. We cried, hugged, and laughed together. We got to know each other better through worship, small groups, fellowship, making crafts, lunch, and games! We made crosses with four different colors representing our four churches. Hodgdon church won the game, but Roberta still shouted, "Patten Go! Patten Go!" I can't wait for next year! πŸ˜Š

Upcoming Events

Thank you, Ted and Bob, for cleaning the downstairs for over four hours yesterday. We are ready for our Spaghetti Supper tomorrow (August 7th from 4:30-6:00 pm)! Please pray for this wonderful ministry.

This is a busy week! If you have items for the yard sale, please donate them before Friday.

Please note: No clothing donations.

If you would like to help with setting up and cleaning up, you are welcome to join us:

  • Friday morning at 9:00 am

  • Saturday morning at 8:30 am and 2:00 pm

Sermon Notes

Here are the sermon notes from last Sunday. Apologies for the media quality; we are working on the livestreaming.

https://restingodsword.blogspot.com/2025/08/from-wanderer-to-witness.html


Blessings,

Pastor Joyce 

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