Published in the July 20, 2017 edition
Jackson Shaffer, 13, scrapes paint off a shed in preparation for painting during Aldersgate Methodist Church’s recent mission trip to rural Maine. Read more about their work in this week’s issue of the Transcript. (Courtesy Photo)
By BILL LAFORME
NORTH READING – Members of North Reading’s Aldersgate Methodist Church have returned from their annual service trip to help people in need in northern Maine. Pastor Rachel Fisher told the Transcript that the group of 25 – ranging from ages six to 84 – traveled about seven hours north to perform home repair type service projects for locals in need, many elderly or disabled. The recipients of the service work are vetted by the Down East Maine Mission, added Fisher, also noting that this area, Washington County, is the poorest in New England.
The congregation has been running the summer service trip for 13 summers. When up in the Machias area, a couple of hours north of Bar Harbor, Maine. Their first summer up north, congregants rehabbed a cabin at a local church campground that they still use to this day. Fisher described the service work as “mom and pop” level projects such as decks, porches, some roof work, and scraping/painting, with a handful of experienced carpenters and others “who really know their stuff” generally on the trip. Along with working on the homes, some of the travelers reportedly prepare meals for the group or help care for the children.
“We really like it. It feels like a big extended family. Everybody’s got a role,” said Fisher, recalling how for the first mission trip back in 2002, only eight people went, including her oldest son and her husband. Another family on that first trip now reportedly has college-age kids, added Fisher.
The group also had some free time that they spent in nearby destinations such as the Quoddy Lighthouse, Campobello Island, and a highly regarded local chocolate shop/factory operated from a woman’s house in Lubec, Maine, on the Canada border. Given the sporadic phone reception, Fisher also said that the group spent a good portion of their evenings enjoying activities like games and puzzles. “It’s nice because we get to spend that time together, with no TV,” said Fisher. “It feels pretty balanced.”
On this latest trip, Fisher recalled how church members did work for two elderly couples, as well as a young clammer in her late 20s who had faced a dilemma of whether to go out to get clams that day so she could make her car payment, or whether to get her abscessed tooth treated. Fisher recalled how despite her struggle, the woman also wanted to give the church members a bucket of clams for their work – even though that bucket basically contained a full day’s pay for her.
Along with their annual projects in Maine, Fisher reported that in North Reading, a crew of volunteers have occasionally performed similar work for people in need, in some cases people who need some specific repair made in order to keep their homeowners insurance.
Fisher also said that Aldersgate will resume its monthly community breakfasts starting on September 9. A number of the Maine volunteers also volunteer at the breakfasts, she added.
To help pay for the building materials used on this trip, the church has a page on GoFundMe.com under “2017 Maine Mission Trip” where they are still hoping to cover about $800 in costs as of Wednesday. Locals are welcome to make donations via the GoFundMe page, or they can also send a donation to the church at 235 Park Street in North Reading.
“We’re demonstrating that God loves them and thinks they are important,” said Fisher.
