…from the Dean of the Maine School of Ministry—
Rev. Dr. Malcolm Himschoot

June Intensive/WorshipFest June 7th
All pastors, worship leaders and music ministers interested in renewal through worship are invited to join in learning for a one-day program, June 7th, in person at Pilgrim Lodge. This one-day component of the program is called WorshipFest! and it is meant for all who want to creatively energize and expand what is possible in worship. The one-day registration is $25, or for overnight starting on Friday June 6th, $100.
Students are welcome to take the June Intensive hybrid course, Embodied Worship in Today’s Churches, with Rev. Dr. Leslie Foley. The class will meet partly online and partly in-person over two weeks. Tuition cost $450, partial scholarships available
For more information, please see: https://www.pilgrimlodge.org/camps/maine-school-of-ministry/

Fall Classes Upcoming
–Preaching as Prayerful Communication – with Rev. Dr. AbbyLynn Haskell and Rev. Jim Gertmenian
–Old Testament Psalms, Wisdom Literature, and Prophets – with Rev. Dr. David Cleaver-Bartholomew
More info TBA.

Special Course Available to Lay/Licensed Ministers Referred by COM
“Theology and Practice of Ministry in Your First Parish.” Taught by Paul Shupe, this class meets twice a month in the evening with a cohort of working preachers. To register for the Sep-May academic year, deadline is June 2. Sessions will be scheduled according to the calendars of participants.
Please contact Dean Malcolm Himschoot if your Committee on Ministry wants to enroll a lay or licensed minister in this year-long program. Tuition cost $350, partial scholarships available.
For more information, please contact: mhimschoot@maineucc.org 

For more information, go to maineucc.org/mesom/

Download and/or print the most current list HERE

2025 Fellowship Dues for the Maine Conference will be $19.87/member.   Conference Dues fluctuate year to year by the federally-established COLA rate, unless changed by special vote of the Conference at Annual Meeting.  

2025 Fellowship Dues for the Cumberland Association are  $2.10/member.  (Many churches do add Conference and Association Dues together to make one line item for their budgets, but we want you to know how the dues are actually assessed.)

2025 Fellowship Dues for each church are calculated on the number of members reported as of December 31, 2024.  Membership MUST be reported to the UCC via the UCC Data Hub by each church.  If you do not file your statistics with the UCC data hub, your church’s dues will be calculated on the most recent statistics filed.  Data hub reporting is done in January or February each year. The Maine Conference Midweek News, which comes out on Wednesdays, will feature directions during January and February–or go to the Conference website: maineucc.org.

2025 DUES for both Association and Conference will be invoiced to churches in the Spring, and are due May 15th.

Debra DeLong is our Cumberland Association Treasurer. All Maine Conference and Cumberland Association dues  (also Scholarship Fund donations) should be sent to Deb at her address -152 Puritan Drive, Westbrook, ME 04092. Her email address is djgdelong@gmail.com. Checks should still be made payable to the Cumberland Association but mailed to Deb’s home address.  

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the standard mileage rate for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) is 67 cents per mile for business miles driven.  Please check IRS.gov for 2025 rate.  The tax-deductible mileage rate for volunteers (not employees) driving in service of charitable organizations:  $.14/mile (set by federal statute, not the IRS, and does not change annually).