Pittsfield’s 45th Egg Festival 2017
July 10th – July 15th, 2017 Pittsfield Maine
The Central Maine Egg Festival has traditionally been a celebration of the brown egg industry and is held annually in July at Manson Park. Activities are held in and around the downtown area for the five days preceding the festival, with a parade and the Kiwanis Karnival held on Saturday. Local civic groups collaborate by participating to host events or as vendors in Manson Park. The Kiwanis Karnival is a highlight of the event. The week’s fun also includes an Early Bird Breakfast, cheesecake and quiche contest (judged by Pittsfield’s Town Councilors), a lively street dance, music in Hawthorne and Manson Park, craft fair, fireworks and parades. Be sure to look for the rainbow flag as Pittsfield’s own Rev. Scott Jones walks each year in solidarity in support of the LGB community.
This may be the last official Egg Festival for Pittsfield as many residents are requesting the creation of a new theme for the entire July event. So be sure to visit Pittsfield this week to join in the festivities. And if you have any ideas about a fun theme that will appeal to the community and engage economic development, please contact one of Pittsfield’s Town Councilors. At THIS LINK
In the meantime, for more information about the Egg Festival:
http://centralmaineeggfestival.org/events.php
Let the Light Enter
The Dying Words of Goethe
“Light! more light! the shadows deepen,
And my life is ebbing low,
Throw the windows widely open:
Light! more light! before I go.
“Softly let the balmy sunshine
Play around my dying bed,
E’er the dimly lighted valley
I with lonely feet must tread.
“Light! more light! for Death is weaving
Shadows ‘round my waning sight,
And I fain would gaze upon him
Through a stream of earthly light.”
Not for greater gifts of genius;
Not for thoughts more grandly bright,
All the dying poet whispers
Is a prayer for light, more light.
Heeds he not the gathered laurels,
Fading slowly from his sight;
All the poet’s aspirations
Centre in that prayer for light.
Gracious Saviour, when life’s day-dreams
Melt and vanish from the sight,
May our dim and longing vision
Then be blessed with light, more light.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) was active in both African Methodist Episcopalian and Unitarian Universalist churches. She was a prolific writer and poet, as well as a leader in the abolitionist movement. She helped slaves escape through the Underground Railroad and wrote frequently for anti-slavery newspapers, earning her a reputation as the mother of African American journalism.
As we enter into reflection about our Nation’s independence, may we ever be mindful of the blessings and responsibilities of freedom. May we seek to embrace the light, and be blessed by the light.
Happy Independence Day,
~ “Twinkle” Marie Manning
Photo Credit: the window and chalice at First Universalist Church of Sangerville and Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
How We Gather + On Being + Sue Phillips!
So excited for Sue Phillips! She is joining the How We Gather team which addresses social isolation and spiritual poverty among millennials. And On Being joins the effort as core partners. On Being is a social enterprise with an award winning radio show at its heart that opens up the animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?
http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9ab8e3135a56f9b5acb9c04dd&id=d8d73be44c
Churched?
More than a social club, Church can be one of our spiritual homes. Intentionally it can be where we find the most sacred place of belonging, where our inner light recognizes and is recognized by those in our presence. It is where our whole-broken selves, our gifts and our flaws, are accepted and rejoiced in. It can be where our Beloved Community resides and grow from. Where, with our chosen actions and activities, we can bless and be blessings to each other, and to our larger community. Not just the principle or ideal of “belonging” but the active creation and cultivation of an environment that allows genuine belonging to occur. The place where we bear witness to each other, are held tenderly in difficult times and are accompanied during celebratory occasions. It is where we not merely know of each other, but, rather, have the opportunity and responsibility to really know each other.
This applies wherever you gather in spiritual community, by whichever name you call it.
Join us! in Sangerville and at TwinklesPlace for services!
this is what a Minister looks like
As ordained interfaith clergy, I am honored to claim my place among female ministers in solidarity with Baptist Women in Ministry where each week they introduce and feature a female minister.
On Facebook over the past week I have felt my heart leap with joy as my clergy colleagues of many denominations and Faiths have joined in this movement.
Remarkable women. Amazing ministers. Beloved friends.
Sisters in Service to that which we each call Holy.
May our ministries reveal the true nature of our hearts.
May we support and mentor each other.
May we be of good service to those seeking.
May we say “yes” every day to our callings.
May we usher in ways of being that honor our souls.
Sending love,
~ Twinkle
Best Wishes to Sue Phillips!!!
We received an email from our New England Regional Lead, Sue Phillips, with the message that she is moving on from the UUA to become a Ministry Innovation Fellow at Harvard Divinity School.
Sue was the key person behind many of our denominations most creative innovations, including spearheading the FAITHIFY crowd funding platform that was launched at General Assembly 2014 and to date has more than $1 million pledged to over 200 campaigns. The UU Talks entrepreneurial project “Twinkle” Marie Manning is the founder of was one of those successful FAITHIFY campaigns and will ever be grateful to Sue for making that possible.
What a wonderful exemplar of innovative leadership Sue Phillips has been for us. May we follow her example of following our passionate callings. And may we heed her advice to be committed to each other and to our Faith. 
❤️
🙏🏼
To view her letter, click the link below:
Faith Rocket 2017-2018 Themes
Theme-based Ministries – Monthly Themes for 2017-2018:
July-August: Ways Of Knowing
September: Resilience
October: Vulnerability
November: Blessing
December: Giving And Receiving
January: Resistance
February: Earth
March: Evil
April: Miracles
May: Freedom
June: Beauty
July/August Revolution
Sharing the light of our Faith
As we begin to engage in our theological conversations, may we find courage to reveal the windows we find most illuminating, and honor those most illuminating to others, as we share the light of our faith.
image from: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IAmUUPage
Response to Partial Government Shutdown in State of Maine
Relief efforts are being put in place to help those impacted by the State of Maine’s partial government shutdown.
Below is a memo posted by State Senator Shenna Bellows.
To the state workers in my district who cannot sleep tonight because they literally do not know where their next paycheck is coming from:
1. If you need food, contact me. We will not let anyone go hungry during this time.
2. If you need credit to meet a bill, the State of Maine Credit Union has announced a zero percent loan to replace paychecks in this time.https://www.mainestatecu.org/…/state-of-maine-employee-loan/
3. If you need temporary employment, there is at least one local farmer offering temporary work to help with planting.
4. If you need childcare or summer programming, the Boys and Girls Club is floating the children of state workers for free in these weeks.
5. If you need anything at all, email me at shenna.bellows@legislature.maine.gov, and I will do my best to help you find options.
And I will be in the legislature every day until the small group of radical House Republicans come to their senses. I voted for a budget I hated because I believe that people should not have to suffer for the ideological purity of a few. And yet people will suffer. I am so very sorry.
Governor LePage’s message: