Supper to support Jacksonville church repairs

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Members of the small Jacksonville United Methodist Church in East Machias have a daunting task before them.

The sanctuary of their church was built in 1858, and remodeled in 1895.

The old church “stands, with some changes, in the same spot it did back then,” Thornton Land of Gardiner Lake wrote to me.

He had called earlier this month to report church trustees are undertaking a capital campaign to begin repairing the historic building.

The first fund-raiser in this major undertaking is an all-you-can eat haddock chowder supper at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at the church, located on Route 191, 1.4 miles north of Route 1, in East Machias.

The campaign’s purpose is “to replace beams in the floor that have deteriorated over the years,” Land wrote.

“It is a large floor, over a crawl space, in the sanctuary, and will need extensive repairs,” he added.

And that is what makes this restoration “particularly difficult,” he told me during our earlier phone conversation.

“The crawl space is that, literally and figuratively,” he said. “You can’t even squat down there. Plus, it’s complicated by heating ducts.”

The church has 30 to 50 “regular attendees on Sundays,” he explained, with that number increasing during the summer months.

Though small in number, the church hosts a “fellowship soup lunch from about Thanksgiving to about the end of March,” he wrote.

“Free homemade soups are served, with crackers and dessert. Donations are gratefully accepted, but not required.”

One day each week, those who are having difficulty providing for their young families can come to the church’s “We Care Baby Center,” and find “baby things for infants to 3-year-olds,” Land wrote.

And the church also organizes the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” program, in which young people from across the United States come to the area to repair homes “for those financially or physically unable” to do that themselves.

If you are unable to attend the chowder supper, but would like to help this small congregation repair its historic church, donations can be mailed to Jacksonville United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 59, East Machias 04630.

More information about the supper, or the campaign, can be obtained from Land, 259-3761, or Howard Welch, 255-1089.

Hampden Academy Dollars for Scholars has a terrific way for area young women to find the perfect prom dress.

The 1st Annual Prom Dress Resale is noon-4 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at Hampden Academy Library.

Jane Allen wrote that the idea behind the fund-raiser is “for girls to be able to purchase a prom dress at a reasonable price.

“We know that most girls only wear their prom dress once, and then it sits in the closet forever.”

So, from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 19, bring the prom or semiformal dress, or dresses, you are no longer wearing, to the Academy’s library, where they will be taken on consignment.

All dresses will be sold for $40.

If your dress sells, you receive $30, with the remainder benefiting the Dollars for Scholars program.

Alley explained that “this is only one of many fund-raisers” sponsored each year by the program.

Such events “help the students earn money towards their college scholarships, as well as helping in the community.”

By the way, ShopGirl thinks this is a great idea!

Women, Work and Community Center’s special musicale, “Women in Motion,” celebrates not only that organization’s 25th anniversary, but Women’s History Month as well.

“Women in Motion” is 7 p.m. Friday, March 19, in Widen Auditorium on the University of Maine campus in Presque Isle.

There is no charge to attend, but donations at the door will be gratefully accepted to help provide services for Aroostook County women.

WWC secretary Sue Pinette reminds readers that, for seven years, WWC “has sponsored the Celebrating Women of Aroostook calendar honoring County women.”

But, this year, “we will be celebrating women in a different way,” she wrote, with an event “featuring the talents of local women and girls.”

The musicale will showcase creative abilities through dance, performance readings and music, from Bach to Broadway.

Cake will be served during intermission, and gift bags given to all who attend.

Formerly the Displaced Homemaker’s Program, WWC, since 1978, has provided training, advocacy and assistance to Maine women and families by helping them enter the work force, furthering their education, starting small businesses or moving forward in their lives.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.