Email addresses in the form of your_user_name@mainebrethren.org are available for free.  Just contact Philip Newcomer to set one up for you.

Please note that this is only an email account, you will still need to supply your own internet access. One advantage of using the MaineBrethren.org email address as opposed to the one you get with your internet access (your_user_name@juno.com for example) is that if you change internet service providers, your email address does not have to change also.

Since I have the email system set up through Google, an email address @mainebrethren.org is actually a Gmail account using the mainebrethren name.  You will get Gmail’s great spam filtering, webmail access, chat, and all the goodies that go along with a Gmail account if you desire.

You could also have it set up to just forward messages to another email account.

Technical details: Mailbox storage space: over 7 GB; Protocols supported: POP3, IMAP; Webmail access provided by Google at http://mail.mainebrethren.org.

Each set includes a total of 13 CDs and includes the sessions from both speakers:

• Brethren and Mennonite Differences (Charles Lehigh)
• Understanding Human Behavior (Frank Reed)

Let me know if you would like me to make a set for you.
- Philip Newcomer
(email: filupn<at>gmail.com, cell: 207-798-1450)

Mp3 CDs of the weekend may also be available; contact me if you’re interested.  The sets from previous years are still on my to-do list.

Here are some photos of the event.  Click on a thumbnail image to see a larger version.

Photos by Philip Newcomer

We are excited to be sharing God’s love through singing and teaching of His word.   As a chorus, we desire to direct our ministry to those who find themselves in situations where they cannot get out to church services… primarily those that would be in prisons and nursing homes.

Our first opportunity (for those 18 years and older) was to sing at a county jail in Augusta.  (At this particular facility, inmates stay generally less than a year.)  After uniformed prisoners arrive, a short message is presented between periods of singing… while a guard watches over the setting.  Following the meeting, there is often a short opportunity for interaction, plus we have been able to distribute Bibles and tracts.  A second service is scheduled right afterwards so that it’s a more controlled environment where not so many are present at once.  Each time we share with approximately one-seventh of those incarcerated at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility.  Most are quite attentive, soaking in the message and enjoying a change of routine from their refined quarters and sense of boredom.  Looking into the empty faces of some and hearing expressions of appreciation for our efforts in coming makes one realize a need is being met.  An occasional tear may slip down as it jars memories of past religious experiences.  One commented that it sounded beautiful and reminded her of the church choir when she was growing up.  Another said he appreciated the “meat” received, instead of just “fluff”.

We also have had the privilege of ministering at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in Portland where minor offenders are confined.  The Younger ones of us appreciate the opportunity to be involved in this outreach as 16 year olds  and up are able participate.  Here we also sing and have a short message.  Afterward several of the teenage boys linger to chat as ‘unit leaders’ permit.  Last time we went, neatly half of the residents in that facility attended our meeting.  Praise the Lord for openness in opportunity to leave tracts and books at this place!

One thing that I’ve found interesting is that almost every time we’re there, they request,” Joy to the World”.  What a privilege to announce that Jesus provides real freedom and joy to those in bondage!  Our desire is to have more interaction with the youth, but the females are hurried off to their quarters (to avoid their socialization with the boys there) before our sisters have a chance to connect with, share concern, or befriend them.  Pray that the Lord’s will would be done…They are asking people to become mentors to individual youth there.  Is this where the Lord is leading???

“For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink.  I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”   ( Matt.25:35&amp;36)

Many nursing homes around us are grateful for some music.  We are privileged to have sung at several different ones… Brunswick Housing Authority, where several of our Brethren folks are employed, is an elderly, independent-living facility where we have sung several times, since the chorus has started. The residents enjoy the opportunity to meet the worker’s church family.  It is a real joy to see the smiles on their faces, the requests pouring out for the old hymns, and the people joining in with the songs.  The (a Cappella) harmony is a treat and they would like for us to come more often.

At one of the nursing homes we visited, we were happy to see an especially large turn out, as well as staff stopping by the door to listen for a moment.  Our prayer is that we have touched and ministered to more than just the residents.

This particular time, one older fellow came in later, and caught my attention as he was smiling, singing, and even whistling along with us! Afterwards when I talked to him, he told me that he was a “hopeless atheist”.  I was taken aback, and upon asking him why, he replied that he did not know… he just always was.  Of course, I know nothing of this man or even (to be blunt), if he was really with it, but I do know that there are many needs around us.  Nursing homes are often the last place those folks will live here on earth, so the opportunities there are crucially important.  Please join us in prayer that these people would see Jesus’ light, and accept Him while they still have breath!

Thank you for your interest in, support of, and prayers on the behalf of the Maine missions!

02/21/2008
DURHAM — An interstate group of volunteers is rebuilding a workshop destroyed by fire earlier this month. The effort began with a concrete slab Tuesday morning, with some helpers arriving after a 12-hour drive from Pennsylvania. The two-story workshop had walls and insulation in place by lunchtime Wednesday and volunteers estimated that the building would be complete by Friday, transforming a heap of ashes into a brand new building in less than two weeks.

A crowd of more than 40 men, women and children paused for a song and a prayer before a meal.

“God is great and God is good and we thank Him for our food,” they sang.

Fire leveled the 20 Swamp Road woodworking shop owned by James Gould on Feb. 9. Durham Fire Chief William St. Michel said the blaze began in the area of the furnace. Gould used it for his contracting and woodworking business.

The new workshop arose next to piles of snow blackened by fire debris. Gould expressed gratitude for the help he was receiving, from customers understanding delays in work while the rebuilding was going on to neighbors helping with the effort.

Mark Bucher of Lisbon had volunteers stay at his house and saw the giving of time as a reflection of religious faith.

“I think it’s Christianity working the way it should,” he said.

Local people and volunteers from Pennsylvania belong to the Church of the Brethren. Gould worships at the Pleasant Street church in Brunswick. Some of the Pennsylvania volunteers have helped with victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana with construction projects.

Shane Conant of Lisbon said that volunteers with different specialties and decades of experience took part in the work.

“It’s not very often that you get a crew like this,” he said.

The timing of the project helped. Many contractors are booked up with jobs from the spring until the following December.

Greg and Jill Keeney of Durham helped coordinate the efforts and meals. Greg Keeney said that the majority of volunteers come from the Church of the Brethren with others from the community helping out, too. A neighbor has dropped off food and another has housed volunteers.

“Everybody’s doing the thing that they’re good at to make it happen,” Keeney said.

Gail Card of Bowdoin said her son-in-law planned to help today. She is not a member of the Church of the Brethren, but praised the work they have done. In the fall of 2007, church members from Lewiston put new shingles on the roof of her home.

“They’re people of faith and really put it into action,” she said. “They’re not just looking out for each other. They look out for others as well as themselves. It’s a wonderful, wonderful fellowship of people. It really is. They really care for people.”