Rethink Easter

new light, new life, new love

Sunday, April 4th
at Hope.Gate.Way. (185 High Street, Portland)

9:30am -- Easter Worship Celebration

5:30pm -- Community Potluck and Worship Celebration

Grab your friends and neighbors and your favorite food item, and join us for a rockin' good time on Easter evening! We'll get together at Hope.Gate.Way. at 5:30, share food and laughter around the tables, and then head right into worship, with good music and a great message of life and hope and love.

Covenanting Potluck

New Light Community Potluck
and Conversation about Covenanting

Sunday, January 24th at 5:00pm
at Hope.Gate.Way.

What is Covenanting, you ask? Well, it's something new that we're introducing this January as an opportunity to grow deeper -- sort of our New Light alternative approach to membership...

In most churches, once you've been attending for a while, the pastor will encourage you to become a member. Usually there is a membership class, or a series of classes, to learn about the history and beliefs of the church, as well as to explore what it means to make the commitment of membership. Usually membership is a once-and-for-all deal -- you become a member of the church and stay a member until you withdraw your membership or transfer it to a different church.

We'd like to rethink membership, and look at the commitments we make quite differently -- less like membership in a club and more like commitments to community and spiritual practices that help us grow in our faith. That's where Covenanting comes in. Covenanting is an invitation to make commitments to practices that deepen our relationship with God, the New Light community, each other, and the world. If you feel like you are ready to make some deeper commitments, we want to invite you to learn more about Covenanting, which will not be a once-and-for-all deal, but rather something we reconsider yearly. The commitments you make are your own -- commitments to areas in which you want to be growing as a disciple of Christ in community with others who are part of New Light. Then, over the next year, there will be opportunities for us, as a community, to check in with one another to discuss and support each other in our commitments.

Not sure if you are ready or interested in covenanting? Coming to the dinner does NOT mean that you have to covenant. You can come, enjoy food, listen to conversation, and decide covenanting is not for you at this time. You do not have to come to the dinner, or covenant in order to continue being a part of New Light. This is merely an opportunity for people who want to make a deeper commitment to do so.

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

December 17th-5:30pm
at Allen and Sara's house (31 Sheffield St. Portland)

Our annual community Christmas Party is going to be a blast! We'll get together at Allen & Sara's house for a potluck dinner (bring an appetizer, salad, side dish, or dessert to share if you can). As usual we'll have a Yankee Swap, but the rules are very strict: do not buy anything. Make it, bake it, or regift it, but do not spend money on your Yankee Swap gift.

This year the fun gets even better: we're adding an UGLY SWEATER component. We are asking all party guests to wear your ugliest sweater. Feel free to be creative (you could always embellish if you don't have an ugly seater) or visit Goodwill to get a cheap one. This will be super fun if we all agree to be ridiculous together, and just think of all the awesome pictures we will get! Oh, and yes, there will be a fabulous prize for the ugliest sweater.

Feel free to invite all of your friends over for this exciting event, and remember, no regularly scheduled LIFE groups next week... just one big party on Thursday! Bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Bring your great-aunt Bertha. Or just bring yourself. But one way or the other, make sure you're with us for this festive event!

Worship at the Beach - Sunday, August 24

We're getting together for our monthly Potluck & Worship Celebration this Sunday, August 24, but this month it's got a little summer twist.

Meet up at Wanda & David's house (12 Ryefield Drive, Scarborough) at 4:00 pm -- or carpool from Allen & Sara's house (31 Sheffield Street, Portland) about 3:30 pm -- and weather-permitting, we'll head to Pine Point Beach.

Bring your own basic picnic dinner and (optional) something to share, as well as beach toys: Frisbee, ball, kite, shovel and pail, whatever. Oh, and bring friends, too -- they're always welcome! We'll have some fun on the beach, then share a picnic dinner together, followed by worship on the beach.

During worship we will receive an offering, which we'll use for a special Random Acts of Kindness event on Saturday, September 6. Please come prepared for this offering. It's always fun to give to God, and this time it's going to be fun to give away in a couple of weeks!

If the weather doesn't cooperate on Sunday afternoon, do not despair: we'll still have fun with some games, a picnic, and worship in Wanda & David's living room -- but sorry, no Frisbee-throwing in the house.

Potluck Dinner & Worship Gathering - Sunday, July 20

Our Potluck Dinner & Worship Gathering for the month of July is coming up Sunday, July 20, and we hope you're planning to be with us!

We'll meet at the Ewing-Merrills' house (31 Sheffield Street, Portland) at 4:15 pm and carpool to Shelly's house in Gray. Shelly has a big room in her finished basement that will be a great gathering place for food and fellowship. Shelly's got hamburgers and hot dogs for the grill all under control. Bring an appetizer, salad, side dish, or dessert to share!

After dinner, if the weather cooperates, we'll plan to have a big ol' campfire in Shelly's backyard, complete with marshmallows for roasting. (Rumor has it there will even be some graham crackers and chocolate, too -- which is pretty much a recipe made in heaven!)

Our monthly Potluck & Worship Gatherings are always a wonderful time to get together with the full New Light community. Come for the fun, and bring a friend along!

And while you're at it, mark your calendar for the August gathering, too: Sunday, August 24. We're thinking about a community trip to Old Orchard Beach or another fun summer gathering spot, for a little fun, a little food, and worship in the beauty of God's Creation. Stay tuned for more details about that one...