Churches

Holy Week services

Congregational

BRIDGTON — The following is the schedule of church services during Holy Week (April 1 - April 8) for the First Congregational Church (UCC), 33 South Main Street in Bridgton. The church phone number is 647-3936 and the website is www.bridgtonucc.org. The pastor is Rev. Yael Lachman.

April 1 - Palm Sunday Service and Easter Egg hunt at 10 a.m.

April 5 - Maundy Thursday Service at 7 p.m. (This service reminds us of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples.)

April 6 - Good Friday Service at 7 p.m.

April 8 - Easter Service at 10 a.m. (Junior and youth choirs will perform as well as the senior choir.)

EAST SUMNER — Pastor Howard MacMullen invites the neighbors of the Congregational Church of East Sumner to join in the upcoming activities:

April 1 - Palm Sunday service with palm branches and the Church Choir, 9 a.m.

April 5 - Maundy Thursday Service at 7 p.m.

April 6 - Good Friday vigil from Noon to 6 p.m., service at 6:30 p.m.

April 7 - Annual Easter Egg Hunt in the Church yard sponsored by the Sumner Mother's Club from 10 a.m.-Noon. For more information, call Lee at 388-2181.

April 8 - Easter Sunrise service at 7 a.m. followed by breakfast; 9 a.m. regular service with Church Choir.

Other upcoming events include Senior Lunch and Bingo, third Wednesdays at Noon; Knitting group, third Wednesdays, 3-5 p.m.; Bible Study on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. and Food Bank for Sumner residents, first and third Mondays, 9 a.m.-Noon.

NORWAY — Holy week at the Second Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, 205 Main Street in Norway will be observed with a variety of public events for children, youth and adults.

On Sunday, April 1, worshippers at the 10 a.m. Palm Sunday service will be welcomed by the church school children, who will distribute palms to all. Music on Palm Sunday will reflect the traditional excitement of the day.

On Thursday, April 5, children and youth will meet in the church kitchen to make unleavened bread for a Maundy Thursday Potluck Soup Supper, which will be served in the dining room at 5 p.m. A service of Tenebrae and communion will follow in the sanctuary at 6 p.m. All are welcome to supper and worship.

On Friday, April 6, the members and friends of the Second Congregational church will participate in the Good Friday Walk, which will begin at 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Norway and proceed to South Paris. The group will stop at various churches along the route.

On Saturday, April 7, the Second Congregational Church will participate in the Norway Easter Fest from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. All children are invited to color eggs, face painting, crafts, games, scavenger hunt and a lunch time Café.

Sunday, April 8, concludes Holy Week with the joyous celebration of Easter. The Second Congregational Church is sponsoring a community wide Easter Sunrise Service which will be held at the Norway boat ramp at 6 a.m. Following the service, a continental breakfast will be served.

In case of inclement weather, the sunrise service will be held in the church sanctuary. At 10 a.m., in the sanctuary filled with lilies, spring flowers, beautiful stained glass, and joyous music, a traditional Easter Worship Service will be held. Children are encouraged to worship with their family and friends. The nursery will be open for infants and toddlers.

The Second Congregational Church, UCC is a member of the United Church of Christ. Are you looking for a new church home or just a place to visit? Do you live in the area or are you just passing through? Please join in for all or some of the Holy Week activities. An Open and Affirming congregation, all are welcome to worship, study and join in fellowship. For more information, please call the church office at 743-2290 or visit the website at www.seconch.com.

PARIS — The following are Holy Week activities at First Congregational Church in South Paris.

Sunday, April 1, is Palm Sunday (also known as Passion Sunday) and it is the beginning of Holy Week. The regular 10 a.m. service at church will be held. On Maundy Thursday, April 5, there will be the traditional evening service beginning at 5:30 p.m. with a humble, fish chowder supper provided as a gift from the Ladies Circle. Staring at 6:30 p.m. there will be a communion service featuring the scripture readings that tell of the arrest and suffering of Jesus. This is often referred to as a service of Tenebrae.

On Good Friday, April 5, First Congregational will join with many of the Oxford Hills area churches for the annual Walk of the Cross, which will start at 1 p.m. at the Norway Unitarian Universalist Church at the head of Main Street. Participants will work their way to South Paris, stopping and praying at the various participating churches along the way.

On Easter morning two services will be held — a sunrise service and the usual 10 a.m. worship.

For the early service, meet at the church parking lot and go together to Brimstone Corner on the East Oxford Road at 5:45 a.m. sharp. Sunrise is scheduled at 6:11 a.m. By meeting at the church participants can be in communication should weather cause a change in plans. (In the event of pouring rain, as an example, the service will be held in the church. Let's hope for a beautiful morning.) After the service return to the vestry for a breakfast provided again by the Ladies Circle.

Lutheran

PARIS — Trinity Lutheran Church, 34 Buckfield Rd., South Paris is announcing its Holy Week schedule.

Please join in April 1 at 10:15 a.m. for Palm Sunday when the children will help distribute the palms.

On April 5, Maunday Thursday, they will have a potluck supper at 6 p.m. and then have a brief service afterwards, (sign up sheets for hot dishes and salads are available); those wishing to help prepare the sanctuary for the Good Friday service can do so after the service.

On April 6, the Good Friday annual cross walk will be held, beginning at the Universalist Church, Main St. in Norway and finish at the Lutheran Church. Good Friday services will begin at 7 p.m.

Finally, April 8, Easter Sunday will begin with breakfast served from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. (Sign up sheets are available for those wishing to attend.) The service will begin at 10:15 a.m. There are also sign up sheets for flowers if anyone wants to bring them in honor or memory of someone. There will be no coffee hour after the service. All are welcome.

 Baptist

WEST PARIS — The West Paris Baptist Church is pleased to have Bruce and Jean Tyner here on Saturday, March 31, with a potluck supper starting at 5:30 p.m. This will be followed by a Show and Tell of their trip to Alaska in 2010. Pastor Scott Randolph says he has a movie for the children too young for the Tyner evening.

The church will also share Easter Sunday with the North Paris Federated Church with sunrise service at the Littlehale farm at 7:30 p.m. and Easter breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at the West Paris Church. Regular service will be at 9:45 a.m.

There are great things happening in this little church so put these on your calendar and come enjoy yourself. For more information, call Pastor Scott at 674-3205 or 376-6854 or Ted Jones at 515-0362.

Universalist

PARIS — Anita White will be the speaker on April 1 at the South Paris First Universalist Church on Pine Street. The title of the 10 a.m. worship service is "Two Buckets and A Donkey.”

Music is under the direction of pianist Linda Stowell and Sunday School is under the direction of Renee Wales. Coffee and fellowship will follow the service and all are welcome. Child care is available.

WEST PARIS — If April is anything like March, people may be questioning Mother Nature’s plan, however, most have no complaints. The unseasonal temperatures warm us through as do the worship services at the First Universalist Church.

Services are presented with a combination of Worship Service Committee members and guest speakers. All are welcome to attend; services are 9 a.m. every Sunday until mid-June.

April 1 - “A Frost Pocket of Goodness” led by The Reverend Jennifer Wixson, M.Div., from Bangor Theological Seminary. Reverend Wixson, an itinerant Quaker minister, is a writer, social activist and former pastor of the Winthrop Center Friends Church. She resides in Troy, where she keeps bees and raises Scottish Highland cattle.

April 8 - Easter morning will begin with a brief sunrise service at 6 a.m. at the home of MaryAnn Brown (at the end of Perham Rd., off High Street in West Paris), with breakfast immediately following at the church. At 9 a.m. the service theme is “Pysanky Prayers” led by Cindy Reedy, teacher and third generation Unitarian Universalist.

Cindy also crafts Pysanky eggs, the Ukranian-derived art of painting eggs with ornate designs and symbols using beeswax and color. The art form pre dates Christianity; they are now known as Pysanky Easter eggs.

April 15 - “Where is God: finding the presence of spirit within our lives,” led by The Reverend Sarah Shepley, who is an ordained interfaith minister in Maine’s western hills. She is also a graduate of the Portland School of Art and has been a professional artist in mixed media for over 20 years.

April 22 - This is Earth Day, and the day’s service is for the Earth child within all. The service is led by the Worship Committee and will include stories, quotes, songs, and artwork on display which was created by students from the Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris.

April 29 - Fifth in a series of the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large” led by Joan Beal. A UU for over 35 years, and member of the Norway Unitarian Universalist church, she is a retired teacher and currently working as a museum educator.

New members will also be welcomed at this service. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the First Universalist Church, please contact Marta Clements.

For more information about the church and services, please call Marta Clements, 674-2143. You can also visit http://www.uua.org/ to learn more about Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

Union

LOCKE MILLS — The Locke Mills Union Church will have a sunrise service at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday, April 8, Easter Sunday. Breakfast will be at 6:30 a.m. and the regular church service at 9 a.m. Everyone is welcome.