BIDDEFORD — Union Church in Biddeford Pool presents its 21st Annual Summer Speaker Series at the church at 3 Stonecliff Road in Biddeford Pool (COVID protocols permitting), as well as virtually via Zoom. The four-event series features special guests from The Telling Room on July 14, Kerri Arsenault on July 28, Susan Conley, Aug. 11 and Meg Weston, Aug. 25.

“Union Church is delighted to continue its two-decade tradition of presenting compelling speakers, this year showcasing authors and artists whose stunning work explores creative expression in its many forms including storytelling, memoir, fiction, poetry and photography,” said series spokesperson, Anita Coupe.

The Telling Room is a nationally recognized literary nonprofit designed to empower youth through writing and shares their voices with the world. Kerri Arsenault is the award-winning author of the bestseller, “Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains,” which was awarded the Maine Literary Book Award for Nonfiction and the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award. Susan Conley is the author of five critically acclaimed books including best-sellers “Elsey Come Home” and her new novel, “Landslide,” a New York Times Editors’ Choice. She is also co-founder of The Telling Room. Meg Weston is a poet, writer, and photographer, with a reverence for the earth and an obsession with volcanoes, lecture organizers say. She is co-founder of The Poets Corner, retired president, Maine Media Workshops + College, and former president of the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram.

The series is open to the public and tickets are now on sale online, $60 for the series and $20 per individual event, all of which take place on Thursdays beginning at 7 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets visit: News & Events – Union Church (unionchurchme.com)

Organizers say all the series proceeds benefit Union Church’s Mission Projects, this year’s goals including Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center, the Biddeford Food Pantry, the Saco Meals Program, Ever After Mustang Rescue, Apex Youth Connection, and the Ecology School in Saco, as well as helping local individuals and families in need.