While God's help is only a prayer away, as God s family we must make sure we are always near to share the Wonder of God s Love.

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1 PHYSICAL ADDRESS 13 Hermit Thrush Drive Buxton, Maine MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 424 Bar Mills, Maine (207) One of my greatest joys as a pastor is to share the pure wonder of God s love and there is so much to share, it is truly without end. Yet, it is November and the beginning of the holiday season is knocking hard upon our door. Now, it may seem strange that I used the adverb, yet, however, is there for a reason, it signifies an implied time. For many, the start of the holiday season comes as a freight train entering a tunnel of emotion and trying hard to reach the clear light of day that comes with the season of resurrection, spring and the hope again when the tunnel is cleared. Although the holiday season is a joyous time of anticipation for most of us, it can be for others, a formidable time of struggle, stress, sorrow and depression with the remembrances of times past and even present that rush like that mighty engine through the annals of memory until they can all be put away again. Is there hope they ask? Yes, there is hope and this is where pure ministry and the wonder of God s love begins in the midst of our own pain, we reach out to others with understanding, compassion and sensitive care. No answers just care! Simply giving the presence of hope in Christ. It may be like Yet, an implied time or it may be a journey. I was reminded recently that during Antarctica's 9-month winter, the continent is engulfed in darkness and the temperature sinks to -115 F (-82 C). Flights are halted from late February to November, leaving workers at scattered research stations isolated and virtually cut off from outside help. Yet, during 2001, two daring rescue missions penetrated the polar winter and airlifted people with serious medical conditions to safety. We all feel helpless and cut off at times. It may seem that not even God can hear or answer our prayers for help. The psalmist David, in a time of deep trouble and pain cried out to the Lord, "I am cut off from before Your eyes" (Psalm 31:22). It can feel that way! Where are you God? But then, David discovered that the Lord had not forgotten him, and he rejoiced, "You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You" (v.22). Let me ask you, what circumstances make you feel helpless or hopeless today? Poor health, broken relationships, a family member in great need? The loss of loved ones? Remember, in Jesus Christ, God has pierced the dark winter of our world through His redeeming love. We are therefore never cut off from God s mighty power, His unending love and sustaining peace. While God's help is only a prayer away, as God s family we must make sure we are always near to share the Wonder of God s Love. Blessings, Pastor Chuck

2 Search Committee Update The Search Committee began meeting again on Tuesday, October 23 rd. After time off over the summer, we are regrouping to seek a candidate for the long term pastor position. Last spring, we conducted an exit interview with Rev. Malcolm Hall. The purpose of this meeting was to reflect on his experience with our church and to assist us in planning for our next full time pastor. On August 26 th, the church had its final church service and had a fond farewell with Pastor Malcolm and his wife Sue as they celebrated the start of their retirement. Rev. Chuck Reed and his wife Barbara were welcomed into our church family on September 2 nd as they begin their interim ministry with our church. Chuck will be an advisor to our search committee as we move forward. Our committee has worked on examining our church and worship life, our vision for ministry and reflected on our hopes for our next pastor. We are nearing the completion of our church profile which will be sent to prospective pastoral candidates when the time comes. In the meantime, we have a congregational survey for all to complete and return a soon as possible. The results of the survey will help us be more aware of the congregation s hopes and desires for their next pastor. The survey will be included in the bulletin, newsletter (please print the survey to complete it), and available at the church. We ask that you continue to pray for our committee and its work. We know that God has a plan for our church and its future. May we be open to His leading Susan Dunn, Chairperson Salute to All Veterans On Sunday, November 11, 2018, Bar Mills Community church will celebrate Veterans Day by hosting its annual Free Turkey Dinner following the Sunday worship service. Everyone is invited so feel free to bring your family and friends. Please RSVP at church, wwwbarmillscommunitychurch.org or call Sue This is a time for us to pay tribute to all our veterans past and present. We look forward to sharing stories and memories about the special vets in our lives and sharing a good meal. Hope to see you Sunday, November 11 th. Women s Friendship Circle The Women s Friendship Circle met on Sunday, October 21 st. We were looking forward to seeing a presentation from Sue Dunn about her trip to Ireland however due to the low attendance that was put on hold. We did get some business taken care of. Three decisions were made. 1. A vote was taken to donate $100 to Dresses Around the World which makes dresses for girls 4 to 14 and helps to prevent them from becoming victims of the underground slave trade. 2. Another vote to donate $200 to Church World Services to help provide necessities to the flood victims in the Southern United States. 3. The final vote was to donate $600 to the church to help pay for the new water purification system that will be installed soon. Many Thanks, Gloria Stevens

3 New Choir Members Needed A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-5 Are you a closet diva? - Is your favorite part of the day your time singing in the shower? - Do you shout it out in the car? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have a deal for you! We are a small group of dedicated music lovers with varying skills- most of the group do not have formal music training or read music. Each week the choir learns new songs and new vocal techniques. We could use some more voices and yours might just be the one we are looking for! The choir meets every Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 pm at the church. Rehearsals are only an hour long and we have a really good time learning what talents we have. Hope to see you soon! Christmas Tree Festival We are looking to deck the halls of the church with Christmas trees that represent local businesses, organizations, local clubs and yes even your family can bring in a tree to decorate to help get in the Christmas spirit. If your business/organization would like to join the festivities please contact Thought of the Month The Lord is My Shepherd A Sunday school teacher decided to have her young class memorize on of the most quoted passages in the Bible; Psalm 23. She gave the children a month to learn the verse. Little Ricky was so excited about the task but he just couldn t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the class was scheduled to recite the verse in from of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and proudly said, The Lord is my Shepherd and that is all I need to know.

4 Bar Mills Community Church Congregational Survey Please circle your top 3 answers The Pastoral Search Committee would appreciate your prompt responses. Thank you 1. Why do you and why do others attend our church? A. Sunday experience/ like the worship service B. The fellowship/community/friends C. Location/live nearby D. Welcoming and friendly people E. Love of the music F. Like the message G. Searching to grow in faith and grow closer in relationship in God H. Other 2. Where do you feel our church could use the most improvements? A. First impressions B. Connections with younger generations C. Building community D. Evangelism E. Teaching/ Bible study F. Worship G. Bigger volunteer base H. Other 3. What are your desired character traits of a new pastor? A. Winsome and persuasive B. Entrepreneurial and visionary C. Honest and trustworthy D. Thoughtful and pastoral E. Faithful and steadfast F. Gregarious and people oriented G. Intentional and focused H. Prayerful and wise I. Other 4. What top strengths would you like the new pastor to possess? A. Theologian/ Bible scholar B. Preacher C. Evangelist D. Administrator E. Counselor F. Teacher G. Pastor H. Director I. Visionary J. Involved in community K. Prophet L. Other Continued on next page

5 Bar Mills Community Church Congregational Survey Continued 5. In a sermon, which of these components are most important to you? A. Strong Biblical knowledge B. Application to everyday life C. Challenging of intellect D. Humor E. Length of sermon F. Spiritual nourishment G. Illustrations H. Challenge of the status quo I. Relatable from the pulpit J. Other 6. What are the most important leadership qualities our new Pastor must possess? A. Inspiring and challenging preacher and teacher B. Well-loved leader and vision-caster C. Mentor and intentional disciple D. Passionate about reaching young people and their families E. Skilled and knowledgeable administrator F. Attracts and draws in new members G. Inspires generous stewardship of members time, money and resources H. Deals with conflict well I. Other 7. If you could have only one of these, which ONE below describes the kind of pastor you would most like to have? A. Great leader B. Great preacher/teacher C. Person with a great heart D. Great relationship builder E. Great motivator F. One thriving to be like Jesus in his or her teaching and relationships G. Other Please share your thoughts and ideas that you wish the Search Committee to consider in seeking a new pastor for our church.

6 What is Love? The Bible tells us that love is from God and that God is love. The neat thing about God's love is that it's not a feeling to him, he can't fall out of love with us. He loves us even when we're not loveable and when we're grumpy or doing bad things. He loves all of us no matter what. The tricky part is loving others like God loves us. God's love is much different than the mushy kissy stuff that you see on TV or all around you. It's not bad to be mushy with your family but sometimes it s harder to show other people how you love them. We can't just go around kissing everyone to show them our love! There is a special kind of love we can have for others, it's called agape love. This doesn't have to be mushy love, just see people as God would see them. Pretend for a day that you have special glasses on and that everyone you see you love just because God loves them, like the way you love a mom or dad, brother or sister. I'm sure you'll run into somebody you don't think deserves your love or you just don't want to love at all, but God loves them and if we love God we are supposed to love them too. Who exactly are we supposed to love? *Love God *Love yourself *Love your family *Love your friends *Love your neighbors *Love your enemies What are some ways that we can love God? It's not as hard as you think. How do you show others you love them? We talk to them, try to get to know them better, listen to them, and sometimes we do things for them. We

7 can do all these things for God. We might not be able to touch Him but we can pray to God, read the Bible and learn about him, obey Him and do the things he asks us to do. We are also supposed to love ourselves. This doesn't mean that we should think we're better than everybody else. We get this from a Bible verse that says do for others as you would want them to do for you. This means we should take care of ourselves. Things like looking before we cross the street, eating our vegetables, and getting a good sleep at night are ways we can do that. Remember that if you're a Christian the Spirit of God lives inside us and he wants us to treat ourselves with respect. Loving our family is hopefully pretty easy. Even though we get mad at our parents sometimes because they don't let us do something, we still love them. Just remember that you are part of a family and nothing will ever change that. You should always be able to depend on each other and they'll be the ones to tell you the truth before anyone else. Loving our friends should be easy because we pick the people we want to be friends with. The thing is, sometimes when we disagree with our friends we think we don't have to be their friend anymore, but God's love would ask us to forgive them and try to work things out. Do you know who your neighbors are? Neighbors aren't just the people who live next to you but are everyone you might run into. I don't want to encourage you to run up to strangers but think about helping others with love. By helping an elderly lady who needs help with her groceries, returning a wallet found on the street, or even praying for people on the news that are in trouble are just a few ways to love a neighbor. I hope you don't have any enemies but there will always be someone that you don't get along with or believes the opposite of what you believe. There are many, many people that don't believe in God and that purposely do things that hurt him and God still loves them. Loving people that bully us or our friends seems impossible, but it's not with God's help. By asking for God's help we will be able to love our enemies easier when we just can't do it on our own. Learning to love like God takes a long time and takes God's help. It's easier to love than to hate, so have lots of fun learning to love God and everyone around you!

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15 Up Coming Events November 2018 Veterans Day Dinner Sunday, November 11, :30am (after worship service) Christmas Marketplace Friday, November 30, :00pm 7:00pm Saturday, December1, :30am 2:00pm Veterans Memorial Bridge, Portland, Maine Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Daylight Saving Time 2018 ends on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 2 a.m. local time. At that time you should set your clocks and watches back to 1 a.m. 10:00 am Worship Service/ Sunday School 6:00 pm Women s Bible Study :00 pm AA Meeting 11:30 am Take- Out Lunch 4:00 pm Choir Practice 7:00 pm Garden Club 10:00 am Worship Service/ Sunday School 11:30 am Veterans Dinner 6:00 pm Women s Bible Study :00 pm AA Meeting 6:30pm Council Meeting 4:00 pm Choir Practice :00 am Worship Service/ Sunday School 6:00 pm Women s Bible Study 7:00 pm AA Meeting 7:00 pm Thanksgiving Eve Service Buxton Center Baptist Church 938 Long Plains Rd., Buxton Happy Thanksgiving :00 am Worship Service/ Sunday School 6:00 pm Women s Bible Study 7:00 pm AA Meeting 4:00 pm Choir Practice 4:00 pm-7:00 pm Christmas Marketplace