News & Events
News & Special Events at Union Church
We hold many events during the year that offer opportunities to gather, share a meal, enjoy a special holiday, and we always welcome those in the wider community to join us.
Upcoming Events
The Skit – High Hopes
On August 26th Nancy Bancroft presided at our Sunday worship using the theme of hope. Members of the congregation helped with the ministry to children
Summer 2020 Speaker Series
Our 20th Annual Summer Speaker Series 2021, Rekindling Our Love for This Living Earth, will take place again this summer as we welcome great thinkers, writers, and activists to participate in our 20th Anniversary celebration of earth. As with every series, 100% of proceeds go directly to charitable partners . . .
Blessing of the Animals 2019
The Annual Animal Blessing occurred August 21, 2019. About a dozen dogs received a blessing from Pastor Paula and some gifts for each were given.
Summer Events 2024
Union Church in Biddeford Pool presents its 23rd Annual Summer Speaker Series, featuring four special guests:
July 18: MONICA WOOD, Novelist, Memoirist, Playwright
August 1: PHILIP BERMINGHAM, Photographer
August 15: DR. MATTHEW EDNEY, Cartographic Historian
August 29: NICK FULLER GOOGINS, Author
We invite you to join us for two lively evenings that are sure to delight the entire family!
- Events will be in-person at Union Church, 3 Stonecliff Rd, Biddeford Pool, except the Aug 1 event which will be at the Biddeford Pool Community Center.
- The events will start at 7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
- Tickets for the series (all four events) are $65; individual event tickets are $20 each. Series tickets go on sale on May 15; individual event tickets will go on sale June 1.
- All guests must register in advance.
- As always, 100% of the proceeds benefit Union Church’s outreach projects.
- Donations in support of our nonprofit partners are gratefully accepted.
Thank you for your support. We hope to see you this summer!
Thursday, July 18: Monica Wood
Award-winning writer Monica Wood’s new novel has just been released: How to Read a Book, “an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives.” One early review described it as “a finely wrought story, gorgeously told, with deeply memorable characters.” (Kirkus, starred review). Her play, “Saint Dad,” debuted last fall before sell-out audiences at Portland Stage. Her memoir, When We Were the Kennedys, was a New England bestseller, Oprah magazine summer-reading pick, and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award. Her novel The One-in-a-Million Boy was translated into 20 languages and sold in over 30 countries.
Monica is the recipient of the Sarah Josepha Hale award for excellence in New England literary arts (2024), the Maine Humanities Council Carlson Prize for contributions to the public humanities (2019), and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Distinguished Achievement Award for contributions to the literary arts (2016). For More Info: Monica Wood
Thursday, Aug. 1: Philip Bermingham
Philip Bermingham, a distinguished portrait photographer based in Washington, D.C., is known for his artful images of politicians, diplomats, and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Philip’s recent publication, Portraiture: Philip Bermingham On the Job, offers a glimpse into the world of his photography and shares the stories behind his captivating portraits. Among his notable achievements, his portrait of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was chosen by the United States Postal Service to grace a “Forever” stamp. In addition to portraiture, Philip is known for his stunning photos of the Biddeford Pool landscape. Philip’s photographs (portraits and Biddeford Pool photos) will be on display at the Biddeford Pool Community Center this summer.
FMI: Philip Bermingham Photography
PLEASE NOTE: This event will be held at the Biddeford Pool Community Center, 2 Yates Street, Biddeford Pool. His photography exhibit will be open 4:30-6:45 PM Thursday, Aug. 1, just before his 7 PM talk.
Thursday, Aug. 15: Dr. Matthew Edney
Dr. Matthew Edney, Osher Chair in the History of Cartography (USM), will guide us on John Smith’s travels along the New England Coast in 1614, explore some of the reasons for mapping the English colonies in New England between 1630 and 1765, and trace the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s efforts to expand into present-day Maine. Dr. Edney will draw on maps from the vast collection of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at USM, the
Maine Historical Society, the rare book libraries at Harvard, Brown, and Yale universities, the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the National Archives of the United Kingdom. Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr. Edney came to the University of Southern Maine in 1995 to serve as faculty scholar in the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education.
FMI: Osher Map Library
Thursday, Aug. 29: Nick Fuller Googins
Author Nick Fuller Googins’ debut novel, The Great Transition, was published in 2023. Called “electrifyingly relevant,” it focuses on the near-future world as individuals, families, and countries cope with the aftermath of the climate crisis.
Googins’ short fiction and essays have appeared in The Paris Review, Men’s Health, The Boston Globe, The Sun, The Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere. He lives in Maine and works as an elementary school teacher. He is a member of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, as well as the National Education Association, and he is a founding member of the Biddeford-Saco Climate Action Team.
FMI: Nick Fuller Googins
Blessing of the Animals
Each year in the late summer, early fall, we hold a Blessing of the Animals at our church. We welcome all in the community to join us and bring their animal companions for a blessing. We collect donations to benefit the local Animal Welfare Society and other groups who care for animals.
Holiday Gatherings
We hold wonderful and fun suppers and parties to celebrate time together, including Mardi Gras, Cinco de Mayo, Easter Breakfast, and our Advent Fireside Chats. Friends from the wider community are always welcomed at these events.
Retreats
We have hosted retreats for Advent and Lent, a Women’s Spirituality Retreat and A Spirituality for the Second Half of Life
Mental Health Support Group and Wellness Group
We have offered opportunities for ongoing support and conversation around topics of wellness, living with or loving someone who is dealing with mental health concerns, and other gatherings to support one another in mind, body and spirit.
Previous Events at Union Church
Union Church has observed some important moments in recent years, including the Memorials of beloved members of our church community as well as the retirement of the long-serving Pastor Jan Hryniewicz.
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS
The Annual Animal Blessing occurred August 21, 2019. About a dozen dogs received a blessing from Pastor Paula and some gifts for each were given. . . .
The Skit - High Hopes
On August 26th Nancy Bancroft presided at our Sunday worship using the theme of hope. Members of the congregation helped with the ministry to children in a skit–High Hopes.
PASTOR JAN – 15 YEARS OF FRIENDS AND MEMORIES
On Sunday, January 17, 2015 Pastor Jan led her last Worship Service as Pastor of Union Church. Watch this memory-filled video in celebration of her years at Union Church
Marjorie Jamback
June 7, 1933 – December 4, 2019
On December 4th a dear friend of Union Church, Marjorie Jamback, died suddenly at the age of 86. Four years ago she gave this sermon in church.
Tom Bancroft
Union Church and the Bancroft family celebrated the life of Thomas R. Bancroft, who died in February 2020, with an outdoor Memorial Service on a beautiful summer day. Later in the day on that August 26, 2020 a Zoom Memorial Reception occurred so that nearly 90 friends from near and far could come together to celebrate his life and our collective memories of Tom.
Tom Bancroft gave a very personal sermon to us about his life journey exactly two years before we celebrated his life in the Remembrance Garden at Union Church where his ashes are now interned.