“But be filled with the Spirit, as you sing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts. Ephesians 5:19 The Power of Hymns The hymns are an important part of our worship services. The hymnal carries us through the seasons of the church year, and […]

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis on Thursday proposed that caring for the environment be added to the traditional seven works of mercy that Christians are called to perform, taking his green agenda to a new level by supplementing Jesus’ Gospel call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the sick. Francis made the ambitious […]

For all the freedom that summer offers — for all the lazy mornings and late nights and drives to the lake — I welcome the steady, constrained days of fall. There’s something comforting about falling back into a routine, something secure. Summer’s unrestricted schedule, when kids bounce in and out of doors and from their […]

ORR’S ISLAND — On Sunday, Rev. Samuel Hartman will preside over the service Sunday at All Saint’s Chapel, located at 9 Cooper Lane, off Harpswell Islands Road/Route 24 on Orr’s Island. Services take place at the church at 9 a.m. Sundays, through Sept. 25. For more information about the church and its services, call (207) […]

HARPSWELL — The Rev. Al Niese of Brunswick will be the celebrant at All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Chapel on Bailey Island on Sunday, Aug. 28. The service begins at 9:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome.

STERLING, Ill. A Rock Falls man is using paintball to teach life lessons. Charles Larry, owner of Extreme Crossfire Paintball, has set up his mobile paintball arena at Lawrence Park on Mondays and Thursdays to give youths a positive place to hang out. Larry has been drawing between 15 and 35 kids at the XCP […]

BATH The congregation of the Bath Swedenborgian Church at the intersection of Winter and Middle streets has announced that Rev. Dr. Reuben P. Bell has accepted their call to serve as their new pastor. According to the church, being both a doctor of medicine and a doctor of philosophy, Bell has experience attending to a […]

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35 Solitude Many years ago my church installed a state of the art phone system. The phone in the church library had a button on it that read “press […]

BRUNSWICK As part of the Year of Mercy celebration declared by Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Catholic Diocese of Portland is holding the first-ever Mass for Educators at St. John the Baptist Church in Brunswick on Sunday. Bishop Robert P. Deeley will lead the Mass and welcomes all educators — regardless of their faith — […]

I grew up watching Billy Graham’s evangelistic rallies on TV. And I’m a huge fan of the outreach, Samaritan’s Purse, launched by his son, Franklin Graham, to bring lifesaving medicine, provisions, and shelter to the world’s poorest people. So I was excited to hear that Franklin was coming to Augusta to lead Christians in praying […]