Conference Minister’s Corner Acting Associate Conference Minister, Linda Hirst, 7.29.26 I have a collection of rocks. It’s not a great collection; just some random rocks from places I have visited over the years. Rocks from Nova Scotia. A rock from Scotland while hiking. Even plain old rocks along the beach here in York, Maine. I use these rocks from time to time as sermon illustrations, devotions, children’s messages, and on women’s retreats (I bet you have too.) They hold different...

Conference Minister’s Corner Conference Minister, Gordon Rankin, 7.23.26 Earlier this morning I recorded a video for the Faith, Freedom, and Common Good series that the New Hampshire Council of Churches has been producing. It was to be a two-minute-long, invitational video. My focus topic was the separation of church and state. That should be easily doable, right? While I spoke unscripted, so I can’t provide a verbatim account, here is what I think I said: The very first constitutional...

Conference Minister’s Corner Associate Conference Minister, Linda Hirst, 7.15.26 While driving my youngest son and a couple of his friends to Pilgrim Lodge for a Middle Schooler week (Pilgrim Lodge is Maine’s counterpart to Horton Center), they were excitedly talking about camp and who they’d see again and all the great stuff they were going to do. I said something like, “You guys really like PL don’t you...” And all three laughed and said, "Yep! At Pilgrim Lodge we’re the cool kids!” Middle...