Norridgewock
Congregational and Smithfield Baptist Churches
Nate Richards and
Bert Brewster Pastors
Lenten Study Groups –
2015
“Why Do Bad Things
Happen To Good People?”
Lenten Meetings to
begin on Ash Wednesday at 7pm at Norridgewock Church
Nate and Bert and
Other Clergy Participating…Bert to offer the Sermon
Dates, Time, and Speakers for this years Lenten Study
Groups
February 18th Wednesday
7pm Norridgewock Ash Wednesday
25th Wednesday 7pm Smithfield Introductory Session
Nate and Bert Leading and members
of Nate’s church bring their
concerns to the table.
March 4th Wednesday 7pm Norridgewock John Vogel leader
Rev. Jonathan Vogel is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America. He recently concluded over twenty-two years of
ministry in parish settings and now serves a call as a full-time Chaplain
within the Spiritual Care Department of Maine General Medical Center. At the
Alfond Center for Health Jonathan seeks to provide support to the patients,
their families, and hospital staff, meeting each person where her or his faith
journey may be, acknowledging that we are each made up of mind, body and
spirit. Jonathan, his wife Rebecca, and two sons live in China, ME. They have
previously lived in Connecticut, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania.
11th Wednesday
7pm Smithfield David Gant leader
Reverend David Gant…Director of Spiritual Care …Is a pastor
ordained in the Metropolitan Community Church and has led churches in
California, New Mexico and Florida. David has been in Maine for 8 years and
worked with MaineGeneral Home Care and Hospice before taking on the role of
Director of Spiritual Care at the hospital. The Spiritual Care Department
attempts to visit with every inpatient in the hospital and provides spiritual
care coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “I love working with all of the
chaplains at MaineGeneral and providing Spiritual Care Services to the
wonderful people who come to the hospital as patients. Every patient and family
that I meet is a blessing to me and each interaction nourishes my soul..”
David is serving his 2nd year on the Board of
Directors of the United Way of Kennebec Valley and is a Co-Chair of one of the
United Way Allocations Committees. In 2008 David was named “Caregiver of the
Year” while working at Beacon Hospice and is committed to treating each
patient; body, mind and Spirit. David’s interests are varied and he has been
involved in a myriad of activities including: serving as a volunteer chaplain
for the Albuquerque Police Department, providing counseling services for The
Religious Coalition of Reproductive Choice, participating in the HIV Health Services Planning Council and
being a co-chair for Equality begins at
Home.
18th Wednesday
7pm Norridgewock Pam Gross leader
For the past four years Pam has
served as a Staff Chaplain at Maine General in Augusta, initially for Oncology
and Critical Care patients, and then at Thayer hospital, serving all units,
including surgery, behavioral health, maternity/pediatrics, imaging. She has
been a member of palliative care teams, a proponent of interfaith chaplaincy,
and facilitator of patient support groups. Pam developed and presented programs on
end-of-life, Advance Directives and meditation. Pam is an Ordained Unitarian Universalist
minister and educator and served Maine based congregations for over 19 years.
Pam was a chaplaincy resident at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. Her Strengths include
patient advocacy, an ability to connect meaningfully across diverse patient
populations, and a stalwart supporter and caregiver to medical staff.
25th Wednesday 7pm Smithfield Bert Brewster/Ray Anderson
Finding the Two Churches:
Smithfield Baptist Church…where Bert is Pastor …is located just off of rt’s 8 and 137 at the
head of North Pond in Smithfield Maine.
The Church is on Lake Shore Drive.
Easiest way to get there from Augusta is to take 95 to the Oakland
Waterville exit…go toward Oakland on Kennedy Drive (137…) Follow 137 to where it turns right on Rt.
8…follow 8 between North and East Ponds…come down the long hill …you see North
Pond in front of you and bear left at the General Store…the Church is just over
the hill. You could take 27 out of
Augusta to rt. 8 going back toward Smithfield Norridgewock and follow 8 until
you reach the village and make the left on 137.
Church phone is 362-5891…Bert and Carol’s phone 465-7060.
Norridgewock Congregational Church…where Nate Richards is
Pastor is located at 36 River Road in Norrdgewock Maine. Again you could take 95 to the second
Waterville exit…Upper Maine street going
through the shopping centers…after exiting take a left going west on Upper Main
or 139 and follow it until you come to Norridgewock…when you come down the hill
into town you will stop at a light that lets traffic cross over on rt 8 to
Skowhegan…go straight on through town to the second light and take a right
across the new bridge…at the end of the bridge take a right and the church is
just a short distance from the turn. You
can also take rt. 8 through Smithfield and on through to Norridgewock…where 8
enters town take the left that takes you up the towns main street to that light
that signals the left across the bridge to the church.
Nate and I developed the idea behind and format for these
programs because we have both experienced the pain of those who struggle to
discover where God is in their suffering.
Both of us have had our own experiences with these tough
questions in our own lives and in the lives of those we serve as pastors.
Our title for the series comes from the book by Rabbi Harold
Kushner in which he chose to wrestle openly and in print with is own very
personal struggle…understanding the pain and suffering he and his family and
especially he as a Rabbi felt at the untimely and difficult death of his young
son to a wasting disease of accelerating aging.
Rabbi Kushner expressed what historically people of all
faith’s have wrestled with and that is the place God has in our lives when we
experience suffering and pain that seems to be beyond our ability to cope,
manage or find meaning.
We both know that a variety of explanations of God’s place
in human pain have been given as people have wrestled with the age old question
of Theodicy.
We know the pain of those who feel abandoned by God in the
throws of deep depression. We know the
answers Job’s friends offered him as he lay scraping his sours…and answers that
some still offer today…that he/we must have done something to displease God
that has caused our suffering. We both
have worked with and listened to those who struggle with their anger at God for
the pain and difficulty in their lives and who chose to blame God and push God
away in their frustration. We know too
the new understanding and courage gained by those who have accepted their
suffering and gained new insight in to the meaning and purpose of life as they
have embraced and entered the “dark wood” where insight lies waiting for the
courageous searcher.
Our hope is that we and all who share in these Lenten
meetings will be blest by God to grow in our own personal faith and encounter
with God in all of life the good and joyous…the pain filled and difficult.
We plan to structure the meetings in the following way…An
opening and introduction…followed by prayer and scripture and possibly
music…then introduction of our topic and speakers…we hope our leaders will take
about 15 to 20 minutes of presentation then open the floor to discussion of the
topic…we then want to end the meeting with prayer that we all take part in
…offering those attending the chance to voice their own prayer concerns and us
the chance to pray for them.
Again many thanks to all of you who have been willing to
help us address these very difficult but also very important matters of faith.
Bert and Nate
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