Union Church of Meredith Neck

08/24/2026

Our summer worship season came to a close this past Sunday with a final service led by Michael Mortenson. Thanks to all who attended services this year for being an important part of our little community.

We hope you will check back here or at our website-- www.unionchurchmeredith.com-- in the spring for the announcement of next year's schedule, and to learn which ministers and musicians will be joining us each week during the 2027 season.

Have a wonderful year, and we'll hope to see you all again next summer!

08/17/2026

Leading the 10 AM worship service this week at the Union Church will be New Hampshire Native Michael Mortensen, who has lived in the Lakes Region for the past 45 years. He is a retired journalist who worked as a reporter and then editor at the Laconia Citizen and later at The Laconia Daily Sun. He is a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire and preaches regularly at Trinity Episcopal Church in Meredith, of which he is a member. Mortensen graduated from Marquette University, where he took several theology and philosophy courses while earning his degree in journalism. The title of his sermon will be “Interruption or Call?”

The Opening Hymn will be “O for a Thousand Tongues“, and the Hymn of Reflection is “For the Beauty of the Earth.” The service will close with the hymn “Lord Whose Love Through Humble Service.” Accompanying the hymns will be pianist Kyle Dumais, who has performed at several events in the Lakes Region. He attends Gordon College and is majoring in Music Education.

Special music will be provided by “The Sweet Bloods.” They are an acoustic music duo based in Meredith, New Hampshire. Phil and Janet Sanguedolce are well known in the Lakes Region and perform an eclectic mix of classic rock, folk rock, classic country, blues, reggae, and calypso.

Greeters will be Union Church Trustees Karen and Chuck Thorndike and beautiful flowers by Liz Lapham will adorn the altar.

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08/10/2026

The Union Church of Meredith Neck is pleased to announce that Rev. Ann Cady will be leading the worship service on August 16th. Rev. Cady is a 2000 graduate of the New Seminary for Interfaith Studies in New York City and was ordained by the Interfaith Temple there. She currently serves as one of four regular ministers at the Chocorua Community Church. She has also preached at the Freedom Community Church and for many years served as a summer chaplain at the YMCA Family Camp located on Sandy Island.

She is a retired Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, holding two master’s degrees; one in psychology, counseling, and guidance, and the other in pastoral counseling. She has been an active lay leader in the Episcopal Church and a member of St. Andrew’s in Tamworth.

The Sermon topic will be “Trust God’s Plan” with Scripture Lessons from Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 and Matthew 14:22-33. The Responsive Psalm will be “85- 8-16.”

Hymns this week will be “Jesus Calls Us, Living for Jesus,” and “I Surrender All.” Playing piano music to accompany the hymns will be Kyle Dumais.

Returning to the Union Church of Meredith Neck as the guest soloist will be Amy Weston. Amy is well known to local musical theater lovers as she as appeared as a leading actress in many musical productions throughout the Lakes Region. We are pleased to have her lovely voice grace our little church this week.

Greeting those attending will be Lissa and Rick Goodby and the beautiful flowers which will adorn the altar are grown and arranged by Liz Lapham.

08/03/2026

The Union Church of Meredith Neck is pleased to announce that the Rev. Dr. Jim Howard will lead the morning worship service on Sunday, August 9 at 10 AM.

Rev. Dr. Jim Howard (aka Nelson Howard, III), is a native of Wellesley, MA, who retired in 2015 from serving the First Congregational Church, UCC, in Pembroke, NH. Dr. Howard holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Claremont School of Theology. He served at four UCC churches in southern California, then churches in Jaffrey and East Derry, NH; Kittery and Portland, ME; and Marshfield, MA. Since retirement, he has sung in the choir and taught classes at his now home church, First Congregational UCC of Hopkinton, NH. He has also led classes at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Concord, NH. In addition, he is a mentor in the Thresholds decision making program at Hillsboro County Dept. of Corrections. He and his wife Carol live in Pembroke, NH and have three grown children and four grandchildren.

His sermon on Sunday is titled “This is the Time of Mercy.” The Opening Hymn will be “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” and the Hymn of Reflection will be “Come Down, O Love Divine.” The service will close with the singing of “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” Organist Kyle Dumais will provide piano music to accompany the hymns and Amy Weston will be the soloist.

Amy is well known to local musical theater lovers as she as appeared as a leading actress in many musical productions throughout the Lakes Region. We are pleased to have her lovely voice grace our little church this week.

Welcoming those attending will be Liz Lapham, and the beautiful flowers which will adorn the altar are grown and arranged by Liz.

07/27/2026

The Union Church of Meredith Neck will welcome Pastor Sue Davidson to lead the worship service on Sunday, August 2nd. The title of the sermon will be “Behold! God Is Here.”

For the past twenty-four years Pastor Sue has been a United Methodist licensed pastor. She served as the Pastor of the Center Conway United Methodist for Church for 20 years and retired from the ministry in July of 2021. She has served in extension ministry as Hospice Chaplain with Visiting Nursing Home Care and Hospice of Northern Carroll Country and Western Maine.

Returning as guest soloist this week will be Emily Getchell-Lacey Guzzo, who is a PSU graduate with an Elementary Education Degree and Music Minor. Emily is well known in the Lakes Region Theatre world, as she has had leading rules in several musical productions. In addition, she has been a guest soloist in many area churches.

Pianist Kyle Dumais will accompany the hymns which will be “All My Hope is Firmly Grounded” and “We’ll Understand it Better By and By,” Greeting those attending will be Union Church Trustee Carrie Chase and Shawn Chase. Beautiful flowers courtesy of Liz Lapham will adorn the pulpit.

More information and directions to the church are available at www.unionchurchmeredith.com.

Send a message to learn more

07/20/2026

The Union Church of Meredith Neck is pleased to welcome Rev. John Hughes to lead the July 26th worship service. This service marks his completion of 51 years of preaching. John is an engaging storyteller and explains theological concepts in a way that is both understandable and memorable. He has been a part of the Union Church community for more than 25 years.

Prior ministries have been at the First Congregational Church of Billerica, MA, and the First Parish Church, Congregational, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. When serving those churches, he frequently brought youth groups to the Conway church for ski weekends.

Raised in Fall River, MA, John graduated Pre-Med from Lafayette College in Easton, PA before receiving his degree in theology from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, MA. John and his wife Marilyn have raised six children and are now enjoying their ten grandchildren.

The title of Rev. Hughes' sermon will be "Why We Don’t Understand". The opening hymn will be "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah", the hymn of reflection will be "The Summons", and the closing hymn will be "Shine, Jesus, Shine".

The soloist this week will be John Irish, who has over 20 years of touring and recording experience. His repertoire includes solo acoustic guitar and vocals as well as classic rock and blues. He will have youth guests with him to help us "make a joyful noise" throughout the service, and the pianist will be Kyle Dumais.

Greeting those attending the 10 A.M. service this week will be Linda Haskins. All are welcome to attend the inter-denominational service.

07/15/2026

The Union Church of Meredith Neck is pleased to welcome Rev. Dr. Vickie Wood Parrish to lead the July 19th worship service. Rev. Dr. Parrish is a retired Methodist pastor and a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and DePauw University School of Music. In recent years she has been coordinating pastor services at several United Methodist churches including Ashland, South Tamworth and Tuftonboro. For 13 years she served as Pastor at the Gilford United Methodist Church where she was deeply involved in many actives ranging from playing piano at theatrical productions to starting a hand bell choir, as well as serving as a Girl Scout and Brownie Troop leader. Before that she served at churches through northwest Pennsylvania. She is now fully retired and spends her time pursuing Music genealogy and recreating Hogwarts in Lego.

Vickie’s sermon is titled “A Successful Harvest”, and the Scripture Reading will be from Matthew 12:24-30. Mary Rivers will provide the music to accompany the hymns. The Opening Hymn will be “Soon and Very Soon”; the Hymn of Reflection, “Savoir Like a Shepherd Lead Us”; and the Closing Hymn will be “Standing on the Promises.”

Guest soloist will be Soprano Marla Welker, who has sung with such opera companies as the New York Grand Opera, Abilene TX Opera, and Stamford State Opera performing such roles as Gilda in Rigoletto, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, and Musetta in La Boheme. Her career has also included numerous concert appearances in the New York Metro Area as well as heard in performance on New York Classical radio station WQXR. Originally from Kansas City, Marla is delighted to be a resident of the Lakes Region.

Welcoming those attending will be Carrie Chase and Shawn Chase. More information about the Union Church and directions to the church are available at

07/08/2026

There has been a change to the schedule for the second service of the season. Here is the updated announcement:

The Union Church of Meredith Neck will hold the 2nd service of their summer worship season on Sunday, July 12. Residents and visitors are welcome to attend the inter-denominational service beginning at 10 AM.

Church Trustees Rick Goodby and Liz Lapham will lead the service with a discussion based on the popular book by Robert Fulgham titled “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” First published in 1986, the book is focused on the fact that the fundamental lessons for a good life—like sharing, playing fair, cleaning up, and being kind—are learned in kindergarten and are often forgotten by adults.

Pianist Kyle Dumais will provide the music to accompany the hymns. The Opening Hymn will be “Be Though My Vision”, the Hymn of Reflection will be “Breathe on Me Breath of God”, and the Closing Hymn will be “For the Healing of the Nations.” Kyle has been playing piano for nine years and draws his inspiration from jazz and blues music. He is a graduate of Belmont High School and is a student at Gordon College. This week he will also be the soloist.
Greeting those attending will be Union Church Trustee Charlene Malek, and the beautiful flowers which will adorn the altar are grown and arranged by Liz Lapham.

06/29/2026

The Union Church of Meredith Neck will welcome Rev. Bradley Wolff at their Sunday Service on July 5th beginning at 10 A.M. Pastor Wolff is a graduate of Tufts University and Hamma School of Theology at Wittenberg University. He has served three churches as a called Pastor in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire, as well as teaching social studies at Newfound Middle School and Ashland Elementary in the Lakes Region. He also served as adjunct professor at Plymouth State University. He is a frequent guest pastor at churches throughout the Northeast, as well as an engaging presenter of historical programs. Brad and his wife Karen make their home in Moultonborough and are active members at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity in North Conway, N.H.

The sermon is titled “7th Day Surprise” and the hymns will be “Come Thou Almighty King,” “Sing the Almighty Power of God,” and “America the Beautiful.” Pianist this year will be Kyle Dumais. Kyle has been playing piano for nine years and draws his inspiration from jazz and blues music. He has performed at several events throughout the Lakes Region.

Welcoming visitors to the inaugural service will be Union Church trustees Lissa and Rick Goodby. Guest Soloist will be Alivia Rowe.

The Union Church is located at 258 Meredith Neck Road and welcomes residents and visitors to attend the inter-denominational service beginning at 10 A.M.

08/22/2025

What lovely flowers graced the table in front of the pulpit on Sunday!