Having a temple in Maine has been a hope of Hindus here for decades, said Deven Bhatt, president of Maine Hindu Temple, the nonprofit organization that orchestrated the purchase of the former Unitarian Universalist Church on Westbrook's Main Street.- John C.L. Morgan
Showing posts with label westbrook religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label westbrook religion. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2013
Maine Hindus Look Forward to Opening of Westbrook Temple
PPH:
Monday, April 2, 2012
Westbrook Churches Join Forces to Feed Hungry
PPH:
More than 60 volunteers from four Westbrook- John C.L. Morgan
churches and other groups set up assembly lines in the basement of the Trinity
Lutheran Church to put together and pack 10,000 meals through Outreach Inc.'s
Kids Care program. Outreach Inc. is an Iowa organization that works to provide
food, clean water and education for needy children around the world.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Local Church to Host Haiti Benefit Dinner
The Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church is hosting a dinner to benefit victims of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti on Saturday, March 6.
The dinner, which will consist of corned beef and cabbage, takes place at 6p and will cost $10 per person. Dr. Sam Broaddus of the non-profit healthcare provider Konbit Sante and Westbrook Police Chief Bill Baker will each speak at the event.
To reserve a seat, call (207) 854-9157.
- John C.L. Morgan
Related: Chief Baker Concerned for Haitian Friends (January 13, 2010)
The dinner, which will consist of corned beef and cabbage, takes place at 6p and will cost $10 per person. Dr. Sam Broaddus of the non-profit healthcare provider Konbit Sante and Westbrook Police Chief Bill Baker will each speak at the event.
To reserve a seat, call (207) 854-9157.
- John C.L. Morgan
Related: Chief Baker Concerned for Haitian Friends (January 13, 2010)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Westbrook Churches Spread Word About Community Resources
WCSH:
The group "Westbrook Cares Community Together" went door to door this weekend- John C.L. Morgan
with pamphlets in hand. They're spreading the word about programs that can help
people in the community, things like food pantries, substance abuse programs,
and the city's recreational activities.
Friday, April 4, 2008
The Church with No Frame
The church formerly known as St. Mary's is no more.
Legacy Publishing, a Westbrook-based publisher of "personal development products and services for families," secured permission from the Westbrook Planning Board on Tuesday to demolish the church to make space for a parking lot. And anyone driving on Main Street today can see they didn't waste any time, as the church is now a pile of rubble.
I guess the cultish plan to convert the former church to a spaceship is no longer in the works.
- John C.L. Morgan
(Update: The American Journal has a quick article about the demolition.)
Legacy Publishing, a Westbrook-based publisher of "personal development products and services for families," secured permission from the Westbrook Planning Board on Tuesday to demolish the church to make space for a parking lot. And anyone driving on Main Street today can see they didn't waste any time, as the church is now a pile of rubble.
I guess the cultish plan to convert the former church to a spaceship is no longer in the works.
- John C.L. Morgan
(Update: The American Journal has a quick article about the demolition.)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Department of Oops
Leslie Bridgers of the American Journal confirmed our scoop regarding the soup kitchen opening at the First Baptist Church on Main Street.
Alas, our best knowledge wasn't good enough, and the FBC's soup kitchen won't be the only one in Westbrook. According to Bridgers, the River of Life church on Bridge Street sponsors a Monday night soup kitchen.
Oops. I guess that's why we have, you know, professional journalists.
- John C.L. Morgan
Alas, our best knowledge wasn't good enough, and the FBC's soup kitchen won't be the only one in Westbrook. According to Bridgers, the River of Life church on Bridge Street sponsors a Monday night soup kitchen.
Oops. I guess that's why we have, you know, professional journalists.
- John C.L. Morgan
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday Letter: Lighthouse Christian Center
The congregants' excited moans and chants hit me as soon as the usher opened the door to the sanctuary of the Lighthouse Christian Center.
I was taken aback at first, because I thought I was ten minutes early for the 10:30a service and, thus, was prepared to partake in the usual methods of waiting for a church service to begin: Browse the service program, respond to the occasional greeting--you know, the usual stuff. Today, though, I quickly found a seat and tried to not look perplexed while I adjusted to the initial culture shock.
I've sat in a fair number of pews, but I've never witnessed the unabashed emotion and lack of self-consciousness the congregants of the Lighthouse Christian Center exhibited throughout the service. Most were standing, and almost all had one or both of their hands extended heavenward. Random yells of "Praise Jesus!" and "Hallelujah!" peppered the air, but they were often overwhelmed by the dissonant noise created by the handful who'd occassionally delve into glossolalia (a respectful way of referring to the phenomenon of speaking in nonsensical tongues). After forty minutes of hymn-singing (the verbal outbursts were only occasional while we sang, but they quickly picked up between each song), the music leader requested prayer requests.
One woman requested prayer for a young girl who'd died in a car accident in Caribou. And three women walked to the front of the sanctuary so the musical leader could lay her hands on them while she prayed for their ailments. A heavy-set man in a dark suit positioned himself behind the first woman in line. His knees were bent and his arms were extended by her sides. I didn't understand the man's role until the second woman abruptly collapsed into his arms, and he gently lay her onto the floor. I have to admit, I was this close to laughter when the collapsed woman remained on her back with her eyes closed and her arms rigidly extended toward the ceiling for a couple of minutes. When it was her turn, the third woman began to weep and yell (this wasn't the first or only time a congregant had wept or yelled, by the way) about Jesus this and Jesus that.
Prayer concluded, and the pastor of the church, Rev. Barbara Libby assumed the pulpit. Her sermon for the day was entitled "Two Men Named Lazarus," and it tackled the idea of wealth as sin. Rev. Libby's take was that wealth by itself is not sinful, but a love for money is. She referred to numerous biblical passages about Lazarus of Bethany and Lazarus the beggar and other passages regarding wealth and poverty, but I was too slow with the pen to jot them down. Besides the biblical passages, Rev. Libby injected a few pop-culture references, personal experience, and some humor into the relatively short, mildly repetitive sermon.
The sermon concluded and most of the approximately thirty-five attendees shuffled downstairs to have lunch together.
- John C.L. Morgan
I was taken aback at first, because I thought I was ten minutes early for the 10:30a service and, thus, was prepared to partake in the usual methods of waiting for a church service to begin: Browse the service program, respond to the occasional greeting--you know, the usual stuff. Today, though, I quickly found a seat and tried to not look perplexed while I adjusted to the initial culture shock.
I've sat in a fair number of pews, but I've never witnessed the unabashed emotion and lack of self-consciousness the congregants of the Lighthouse Christian Center exhibited throughout the service. Most were standing, and almost all had one or both of their hands extended heavenward. Random yells of "Praise Jesus!" and "Hallelujah!" peppered the air, but they were often overwhelmed by the dissonant noise created by the handful who'd occassionally delve into glossolalia (a respectful way of referring to the phenomenon of speaking in nonsensical tongues). After forty minutes of hymn-singing (the verbal outbursts were only occasional while we sang, but they quickly picked up between each song), the music leader requested prayer requests.
One woman requested prayer for a young girl who'd died in a car accident in Caribou. And three women walked to the front of the sanctuary so the musical leader could lay her hands on them while she prayed for their ailments. A heavy-set man in a dark suit positioned himself behind the first woman in line. His knees were bent and his arms were extended by her sides. I didn't understand the man's role until the second woman abruptly collapsed into his arms, and he gently lay her onto the floor. I have to admit, I was this close to laughter when the collapsed woman remained on her back with her eyes closed and her arms rigidly extended toward the ceiling for a couple of minutes. When it was her turn, the third woman began to weep and yell (this wasn't the first or only time a congregant had wept or yelled, by the way) about Jesus this and Jesus that.
Prayer concluded, and the pastor of the church, Rev. Barbara Libby assumed the pulpit. Her sermon for the day was entitled "Two Men Named Lazarus," and it tackled the idea of wealth as sin. Rev. Libby's take was that wealth by itself is not sinful, but a love for money is. She referred to numerous biblical passages about Lazarus of Bethany and Lazarus the beggar and other passages regarding wealth and poverty, but I was too slow with the pen to jot them down. Besides the biblical passages, Rev. Libby injected a few pop-culture references, personal experience, and some humor into the relatively short, mildly repetitive sermon.
The sermon concluded and most of the approximately thirty-five attendees shuffled downstairs to have lunch together.
- John C.L. Morgan
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Virtual Pew
Here are links to the churches in Westbrook that have a presence on the World Wide Web:
First Baptist Church in Westbrook, 733 Main Street
First Evangelical Free Church of Maine, 355 Bridgton Road
Pride's Corner Congregational Church, 235 Pride Street
Parish of St. Anthony of Padua, 295 Brown Street
Trinity Lutheran Church, 612 Main Street
Universalist Church of Westbrook, 719 Main Street
Vineyard Christian Fellowship, 715 Bridgton Road
Westbrook Baptist Church, 573 Main Street
Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, 810 Main Street
- John C.L. Morgan
First Baptist Church in Westbrook, 733 Main Street
First Evangelical Free Church of Maine, 355 Bridgton Road
Pride's Corner Congregational Church, 235 Pride Street
Parish of St. Anthony of Padua, 295 Brown Street
Trinity Lutheran Church, 612 Main Street
Universalist Church of Westbrook, 719 Main Street
Vineyard Christian Fellowship, 715 Bridgton Road
Westbrook Baptist Church, 573 Main Street
Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, 810 Main Street
- John C.L. Morgan
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