Maine Conference Annual Meeting 2026
Pilgrim Lodge 103 Pilgrim Lodge Lane West Gardiner, Maine
A WELCOME VIDEO FROM OUR
CONFERENCE MINISTER
Click the buttons below to learn more about:
Annual Meeting Schedule
(Children are welcome to attend Annual Meeting but we will not be providing childcare this year)
Friday, October 2nd
7:00 – 8:00 Ministry Partners’ set up in Quitobaquito
8:00 – 4:00 Ministry Partners’ Display Tables
8:00 Continental Breakfast
8:00 – 4:00 Registration table open inside Quitobaquito
9:00 Open Gathering
9:15 Plenary #1
10:00 Speak Out #1
10:15 Workshop Session #1
11:40 Gather for Lunch
12:45 Keynote (Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson)
2:15 Break
2:45 Plenary #2
4:15 Speak Out #2
4:30 Bible Study
6:00 Gather for Dinner
6:30 Q & A with Karen Georgia
7:15 Evening Festivities
Saturday, October 3rd
7:30 – 12:00 Registration table open
(Regististration closes at 12 pm)
7:00 – 8:00 Ministry Partners’ can set up
7:30 – 3:00 Ministry Partners’ Display Tables
7:45 Breakfast & Social Time
8:20 Call to Order 2nd Day
8:30 Plenary #3
9:30 Workshop Session #2
10:45 Workshop Session #3
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Head to the Farmhouse for Blessing of the New Conference Office
2:15 Social Time (Choir Rehearsal)
3:00 Plenary #4
4:00 Exchanging of Gavel
Adjourn Annual Meeting
5:00 Communion Worship
Go In Peace!
OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER
KAREN GEORGIA THOMPSON
The Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson is the General Minister and President and the Chief Executive Officer of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Thompson is the first woman and first woman of African descent to serve as leader of the denomination. She was elected at General Synod 34 in 2023. She is a writer, poet and theologian who has contributed to numerous publications.
As General Minister and President, Rev. Thompson is the spiritual leader of the denomination, representing the UCC ecumenically and speaking on behalf of the denomination. She is the leader of the denominational offices in Cleveland, overseeing the daily operations of the national offices which includes 115 staff persons and an annual budget of $22 million.
Workshop Options
Friday October 2nd
10:15 am – 11:15 AM
Critical Insurance Issues for Church Leaders/AI
Facilitator: Jeffrey M. McDonnell, CPCU Allen/Freeman/McDonnell Agency
An overview of insurance issues facing churches today, along with a review of the essential coverages every church needs.
Goals and Objectives: 1) Raise awareness of necessary insurances to protect ministries. 2) Provide useful risk management techniques to reduce the chance of loss at churches. 3) Answer questions church leaders have about opening their church homes to outside groups and trying new ministries while protecting the church from additional risk.
Drum Circle Workshop: One Body, Many Rhythms
Facilitator: Rev. Beth Hoffman, Pastor, First Congregational UCC, Eliot
Every person in a drum circle contributes a unique rhythm that helps create something beautiful together. No one carries the beat alone, and every voice, every hand, and every heart matters.
Join in an experience that celebrates authentic connection. Through simple rhythms, shared prayer, and joyful beats, we will experiment with how drumming can strengthen connections, build trust, and create a deeper sense of belonging. We share conversation about how this ministry can be adapted to your faith setting.
Everyone will have a chance to play a drum or a percussion hand instrument. Your own personal drum is also welcome.
No musical experience is necessary. Whether you have never touched a drum or have been playing for years, you are invited to take your place in the circle.
Space for this workshop is limited to 25 people.
Church World Service (CWS) Workshop
Facilitator: Adam Smedburg of Church World Service
Adam Smedburg of Church World Service (CWS) (https://cwsglobal.org/) is marking 80 years of global hope and humanitarian action, supporting vulnerable communities and refugees across more than 65 countries and 30 U.S. cities.
Come talk with me about our work and how your congregation can get involved or keep the momentum going. We will have actual kits to “make” while at this workshop.
Hearing God's Call, Discerning Next Steps
Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Malcolm Himschoot, MESOM Dean
Through hands-on practices with symbol and storytelling, we will explore our experiences, images, and models of ministry. What does it sound like to hear God’s call? What does it look like to test that call in the life of the church and beyond? If “the feet of the ones who bring good news are beautiful,” which way should we all be running?
Bio: Rev. Dr. Malcolm Himschoot, DMin (Transformational Leadership), has been an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ for 22 years, serving in national roles as well as parish settings in Minnesota, Colorado, and Maine. He currently co-pastors the Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono and is the author of the book Reading Secrets: A Queer Inheritance of Life and Scripture. As Dean for the Maine School of Ministry (MESOM), he coordinates the program for the Maine Conference UCC related to lifelong learning and leadership development through theological education for the life of the church.
A Tent of our own making - Karen Georgia Thompson
Facilitator: Karen Georgia Thompson
Karen Georgia will share with us the work of the United Church of Christ thus far around the concept of a “big tent”, that genuinely includes all beloved people from across the spectrum of experience and ideology, no matter who and no matter where. She will encourage conversation and invite wisdom from those attending.
Saturday October 3rd
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Call and Compassion for Lay People
Facilitator: Diane Dunton Bruni
Church congregations are getting smaller. Ministers are retiring and there are not enough clergy to fill their positions. Yet, we all have talents, skills and experience that can help build and sustain our church communities. This one hour workshop will help individuals reflect on their call and compassion in serving others and fulfilling the growing opportunities in our beautiful State. This is not a workshop focused on joining traditional communities but thinking differently about serving.
Practicing Gratitude
Facilitator: Carol Kerr
“I will never apologize for embracing joy and beauty — even when the world is falling apart — because joy and beauty are my fuel for activism.” — KAREN WALROND
This workshop will introduce and encourage people to engage in the spiritual practice of gratitude.
It is a practice that is found throughout world religions and embeds very deeply in Christianity. It has also been found to be very effective for mental health and reducing depression and anxiety. As the Maine UCC focuses on activism and justice in our state, country and world we must also build practices that regenerate our souls and inspire our outlook on life. Not only because it makes us feel better but, the practice of gratitude has been shown to make us build upward and outward in creativity, energy and community.
This workshop will introduce the practice of gratitude. Some practices will be with scripture (e.g. the 23 Psalm is a gratitude map for life.). We will look at Saint Ignatius’s prayer of Examine. Also, I will introduce the concept of Post Traumatic Growth which is the recognition of growth that may come from tragedy.
There will be choices of ways to practice with worksheets, practical guides, and time to try out a few.
Our Crisis of Incarceration
Facilitator: MPAC – Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition
This Visual Journaling workshop is an opportunity to explore within your heart and soul, and to discover ways to express feelings and emotions using the inner language of imagery.
We will gather in a quiet room with centering music. No artistic ability or experience is required. Journals and art supplies will be provided. Registration in this workshop is limited to 12 people in each of two sessions.
Disaster Ministries -Inform, Prepare, Support, Recover
Facilitators: Rev. Jacquelyn Thornton and Rev. Sue Burgess, CDRC
Come join our workshop to find out what we can offer you and your church to prepare for a local, regional or statewide disaster event. Learn about the available resources before, during and after an emergency event. Also learn about the Long Term Recovery work we do to help those affected by disaster in other states. Find out about becoming a part of the Disaster Ministries Team or the newly forming Emotional and Spiritual Care Team
Energy Costs for Churches
Facilitators: Rachel Evans, Pastor at Dover-Foxcroft UCC, and Sam Saltonstall, partner at The Neighborhood in Bath.
Light and Power – Practical and Spiritual Resources for Congregations Developing Sustainable Energy Practices.
This workshop will offer practical tools, spiritual principles, and stories from congregations embracing sustainable infrastructure. We’ll explore:
– The UCC’s Creation Justice congregation covenant, and faith-based principles for sustainability.
-A check-list for next steps with your buildings.
– Tips for protecting sensitive solar electric equipment from lightning strike (this actually happened in Dover-Foxcroft).
– How to work with local planning and permitting processes.
– Lots of experience from the field.
– Your congregation’s commitments and hopes.
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM
Filling the Silences: Tales Told 'Round the Table
Facilitator: Rev. Sarah Pringle-Lewis
What happens when we look into the white spaces of scripture? The biblical narrative is often ruthlessly brief when it comes to women, leaving us with names without backgrounds and grief without an outcry. Women like Sheerah, Keturah, Jehosheba, Rizpah and others are calling us to tell their stories. Join Rev. Sarah Pringle-Lewis for a creative, collaborative workshop to step into the margins of the text. We will use our sacred imaginations to fill the unwritten silences of our biblical ancestors through prose, poetry, and song. Bring your holy curiosity, your creative heart, and your willingness to imagine!
Making Art is Spiritual Practice
Facilitator: Rev. Diane Wendorf, former minister of North Parish UCC, Sanford, currently a member of Eliot First Congregational UCC
…So let’s make a simple Japanese inspired watercolor journal to begin our practice.
We will walk together through the making of the journal…a spiritual practice in itself…and then…with scriptural guidance we will make our first (and maybe second third and fourth) entry in our new journals.
It won’t take long to make the journal…promise. There will be plenty of time to begin a practice in the simple wonder of creating with watercolors.
No experience needed. All skill levels are welcome. All supplies provided.
Worship Voices
Facilitators: Members from The Neighborhood
The Neighborhood in Bath encourages lay leadership in worship as a practice of discipleship. The creative process relies on two teams: Worship Voices and Worship Lab.
Worship Voices is a team of about twenty people who volunteer for one of six roles in our Sunday ceremonies: 1) Host, who opens, guides, and closes the ceremony (usually, the Pastor), 2) Pray-er, who offers opening and closing prayer (Pastor offers pastoral prayer), 3) Reader, who reads sacred text, 4) Visual Artist, who designs the slideshow and other visual elements, 5) Musician, who accompanies singing and provides incidental music, and 6) Good News Bringer, who preaches the Gospel. A team member is scheduled for each of these roles week-to-week.
Worship Lab is a team of about six Worship Voices who meet on zoom weekly to examine the scriptures and themes for worship and to design the flow of the Sunday ceremony. Special Sunday guests are encouraged to attend as they develop their contributions. Worship Lab is a time of connection, study, reflection, sharing and creativity that feels like the beating heart of community.
In this workshop, Worship Voices will share their experience of The Neighborhood’s process, and invite discussion of the great variety of creative practices in local congregations.
Pension Board
Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Paul Ramsey, Director, Church Relations and Philanthropy for the Pension Board
This workshop will provide an overview of the Pension Board. You are welcome to ask any questions that you may have.
Sense of Place
Facilitator: Elizabeth Charles-McGough
Sense of Place: Exploring our relationship to the land of the Maine Conference UCC and our Wabanaki Neighbors.
In this workshop, we will explore how the landscape of the property of the Maine Conference UCC at Pilgrim Lodge tells a multitude of stories about the history that has taken place in these woods and waters. At the same time, we’ll examine how our Christian faith tradition intersects with the history of the land and the people who have inhabited this space over millennia. With this foundation, we will reflect on how our connection to these stories informs our relationship with our Wabanaki neighbors.