09/03/2026
As we continue our Capital Campaign for the renovation of our Farmhouse for the Conference Office, we have heard testimonies from folks who have donated to the Campaign. The testimony below is from Rev. Diane Bennekamper:
This summer marks 50 years of living in Maine for me! Over the course of those decades, I’ve had a lot of contact with the Maine Conference UCC….and I have observed many changes in the Conference – some welcome and some not. One thing that has never changed is our need for the Conference and adequate support for the staff to do the work of the Conference.
Since most of us don’t look too much beyond our own church, the Conference may mean very little other than the place someone in your congregation calls when you need a new pastor. Here are some things that come to mind when I think about the Maine Conference: >those of us “in the south” traveling all the way to Presque Isle for a Conference Annual Meeting and worshiping in the Presque Isle Church; >between interim assignments, leading Holy Week worship at the Calais Congregational Church while they were between ministers; >holding a circle of hands in Honduras with a mission group from West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel as they blessed the completion of construction on a home for a local family; >mourning with others the fire that destroyed the First Parish Church in S**o, as we had the High Street Church in Auburn – both congregations still providing vital ministries while they rebuilt; >gatherings at Pilgrim Lodge - that wonderful, peace-filled place that has inspired generations of people young and old; >congregations large and small working faithfully at being the hands and feet of Jesus in their communities and beyond; > the connection that the Conference gives us to the wider church that not only provides resources for congregational use, but also offers us opportunities to support national and international needs – such as the recent emergency appeal for earthquake victims in Venezuela. (By the way, did you know that the UCC’s Minister for Global Advocacy and Education is a product of one of our congregations? Rebecca Choate was raised in our Auburn Church.)
What are your church/Conference memories? How has the Conference supported your congregation through times of stress and times of celebration??
We are one community spread out in many different directions, so often not even knowing one another, but safe in the knowledge that we are ONE – united in the mission of the church.
I don’t remember just when the Conference Office moved from Portland to Yarmouth, but recall the decision to be more centrally located in the State with the move to Augusta. Now we are well into preparing a new physical home on sacred ground – the farmhouse at the entrance to Pilgrim Lodge. It suits us at this point in the life of the Conference and we all need to do our part. I remember thinking when I heard that the goal was $150,000 that there were 150 people in the Conference who could each give $1000 and all would be done…..or maybe 300 people who could give $500….or maybe 600 who would each give $250??
How has your life been influenced by your local church? You and your church are connected – north, south, east and west – with the other churches in our Conference, and through the Conference to the whole of the United Church of Christ. It’s a bargain! Let’s make the place where our staff members serve us a welcoming and comfortable location to keep us connected!
Diane Bennekamper, former Conference Moderator and Pastor Emeritus at the Congregational Church in Cumberland
