Community Worship THIS Sunday

New Light Community Worship
@ Hope.Gate.Way. (185 High Street -- Portland, ME)

Coffee & snacks at 5:30 pm
Worship at 6:00 pm


Get Real. That's God's invitation - an invitation to approach God and others with authenticity. We don't have to hide our struggles, disappointments, questions, doubts, and fears, and we don't have to avoid them. So let's get real - with God and with each other so we can truly walk together along the journey of faith.

Join us for uplifting music, interactive prayer stations, opportunities to reflect on the ancient words of Scripture, and the celebration of Holy Communion.

Invite a friend!

Third Annual Beach Worship

Beach Worship
Sunday, August 15th -- starting at 4:00pm
Pine Point Beach in Scarborough

Bring a frisbee, kite, beach ball, pail and shovel, or other favorite beach toys, along with a main dish, side dish, salad or dessert to share, and join others for an afternoon of fun.

4:00 pm -- Beach Fun!
5:00 pm -- Potluck Picnic, bring food to share, we'll bring plates, cups and silverware
6:00 pm -- Informal worship, including music, time to reflect on Scripture, and the celebration of Communion.

Join us for our 3rd annual beach worship, a favorite among New Lighters young and old! Bring a friend, family member or neighbor along for the fun!

Community Worship Gathering -- June 13th

New Light Community Worship Sunday, June 13th @ Hope.Gate.Way. Coffee and Snacks at 5:30 pm -- Worship at 6:00pm

During community worship this month we will celebrate Pentecost, a day often called "the Birthday of the church." You'll notice lots of red in our worship space, reminding us of the fire and passion of Pentecost.

If you can bring a red food to share...strawberries, watermelon, red velvet cake, apples, tomatoes, chips and salsa, or whatever else you can think of.

As always feel free to bring a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or relative along with you, for this exciting celebration.



Note: Ordinarily the New Light community worships on at Hope.Gate.Way. on the Second Sunday of each month. This will change for the summer, when we will be worshiping as a community on July 18th, and August 15th. We plan to resume our regular schedule in September, but mark your calendars for summer worship now!

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.

Good Friday at Hope.Gate.Way.

Friday, April 2

On Good Friday, we remember Jesus' suffering and death on the cross. It's a day for prayer and reflection -- in preparation for a joyful celebration of resurrection and new life on Easter.

Good Friday Prayer Stations - Friday from 8am-6pm
Stop by Hope.Gate.Way. (185 High Street, Portland) sometime during the day to experience the events of Jesus' final days. Be still. Read words from scripture. Light a candle. Reflect on a piece of art. Open your heard and mind to the story.

Good Friday worship gathering -- Friday at 6:30pm at Hope.Gate.Way.
Music, Prayer, the story of Jesus' crucifixion, and the extinguishing of candles.

Community Worship Gathering

Sunday, February 14th - 6:00 pm
Coffee & snacks starting at 5:30 pm
at Hope.Gate.Way.

What's love got to do with it? Pretty much everything if you pay attention to what Jesus had to say: love God, love your neighbor, and if you do one without the other, you pretty much missed the point...

Join us for worship on the evening of Valentine's Day for our monthly Second Sunday worship celebration. Good music. Good conversation. Prayer in various forms. A chance to reflect on the deepest things in life. It'll be a good time, guaranteed. We'll have coffee and snacks ready at 5:30 pm, and worship will start at 6. Bring a friend.

Christmas Eve Worship Celebrations

Thursday, December 24

4:00 pm

Candelight Worship celebration at Hope.Gate.Way. (185 High Street, Portland), with coffee, hot chocolate, Christmas cookies, and hot appetizers starting at 3:30 pm. Join us and help us extend hospitality to our neighbors.

6:00 pm

"Under the Night Sky" -- a starlight and candlelight worship celebration outside at Congress Square, corner of Congress Street & High Street. It could be a bit chilly, so make sure you bundle up!

Both of these Christmas Eve celebrations will be filled with wonderful music and all the joy of the Christmas story. Christmas Eve is the perfect time to invite family members and friends to join you to share this special night. Who will you invite?

Apple Picking and Worship Photos!

Members New Light had a great time this weekend picking lots of apples, making apple crisp, eating delicious pizza, and worshiping together. Check out this pictures!

Picnic and Baptism at Pine Point

Despite the weather we had tons of fun at our beach worship on August 2. Fun on the beach, good food, worship, and Daren and Katrina's baptisms in the ocean!!

Fall Retreat

Hey! We'll be heading out on the second annual New Light community retreat over Columbus Day weekend at the beautiful Rockcraft retreat center on Sebago Lake.

The weekend will include good food, engaging conversation, uplifting music, meaningful worship, fun games, plenty of laughter, quiet space for reflection, and free time to relax and enjoy one another in the beauty of God’s Creation.

The details...

Fri-Sun, October 9-11, 2009
- begins with dinner on Friday (6 pm)
- ends following lunch on Sunday

Rockcraft Retreat Center - Sebago Lake

Retreat Leaders: Ben & Melissa Yosua-Davis
Ben and Melissa are co-pastors in Haverhill, MA at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, and also starting a new faith community called The Vine, which is similar in some ways to New Light. Check out what they are doing at their website.

$100 per person suggested contribution
- includes two nights’ accommodations and six meals
- Do not let financial concerns be a factor in whether to attend — assistance is available (seriously!)
- Reduced rates for children. Childcare provided.

If you want to see some highlights from last year's retreat check it out here!

Questions? Contact Allen or Sara.

Community Worship-September 13th

Sunday, September 13-Apple Picking and Worship

We will meet in the afternoon and go on an apple picking adventure. After apple picking we will return to Allen and Sara's to make apple crisp and have some delicious pizza's.

Following dinner we will share in worship together.

Stay tuned for more information about times and carpooling to the apple orchard, but plan on joining us and as always bring a friend!!

Worship on the Beach-August 2

Picnic and Fun starting at 4pm
Worship at 6pm

Join us on August 2nd for some awesome beach fun at Pine Point in Scarborough. Bring some picnic food to share (bring your own drink) and we'll have a wonderful feast.


Beginning at about 6pm we will transition into a very special worship celebration, on the beach, including the baptism of New Light's own Daren and Katrina!! Come to enjoy worship, and support them on their special day.

Stay tuned for more information about the day, including carpooling to Scarborough!

Hope.Gate.Way. Consecration

Sunday, June 14th-6pm
at Hope.Gate.Way

On this special night Chestnut UMC and New Light will meet together for a special worship celebration to officially consecrate-bless and dedicate- our new launching pad for ministry. Rev. Mike Davis, our District Superintendent will join us for this event, as well as other guests who would like to join us for this exciting occasion.

Refreshments will be served both before and after the worship celebration; we'll need everyone's help in preparing them.

Brian McLaren comes to Portland!

This Sunday, we will join with our neighbors of Immanuel Baptist Church (156 High Street) for a combined worship service at 10:30 am, featuring widely acclaimed author Brian McLaren, one of the leading voices in the conversation about church in a changing culture. Here is the schedule for the day's events, to which we are invited:

9:15 am Adult Forum with Brian McLaren: "Everything Must Change"

10:30 am Worship with Brian McLaren preaching: "Spiritual Formation and Social Action"

12:00 noon Lunch (please let Allen or Sara know ASAP if you plan to attend)
1:00 pm Forum with Brian McLaren: "Faith & the Biblical Narrative"

New Light worship will be a little different this week, as we anticipate many people will join Brian McLaren in worship at IBC. However, the New Light community will still meet at 6pm at Hope.Gate.Way. to enjoy some Leonardo's pizza, and some excellent music together.

Easter Potluck and Worship

Easter Potluck Dinner & Worship Celebration

Sunday, April 12

5:30 pm at Hope.Gate.Way.

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. Rumor has it we may repeat last year's popular feature: The Great Easter Egg Challenge!

This year's Easter Potluck Dinner & Worship Celebration is not to be missed!

Good Friday Worship Gathering

Friday, April 10th at 7pm
Hope. Gate. Way. -185 High St. Portland

Join us as we encounter the story of Jesus' last hours. We will reflect on the biblical story, sing songs, and meditate together on its meaning for our lives.

Weekly Worship Starts March 1st!

Good News! New Light Worship has gone weekly.

No more waiting a whole month to enjoy a wonderful worship service with your favorite people.

As we begin our journey through Lent in preparation for Easter plan on joining us weekly for worship at 6pm at Hope.Gate.Way (185 High St. Portland). Show up at 5:30 for snacks and gathering.

As we continue to grow, and transition to weekly worship in our new space, think about bringing a friend along!!

Be The Change

During Last Month's Worship Gathering we watched this cool video. I have been listening to the song ever since. It's a great message.

This Sunday is our next worship gathering. We'll be at hope.gate.way in the midst of the construction. More coming soon about what our focus will be....here's a hint...February 14th....God is _____. The L word, but not the mushy kind.

Community Worship Gathering

This Sunday, February 15 at 6:00pm
at Hope.Gate.Way. ~ 185 High Street

We hope you will join us for this month's Community Worship Gathering, this Sunday evening at 6:00 pm. As always we'll have coffee and snacks ready at 5:30 pm, with worship beginning at 6:00. Come and bring friends! Our Community Worship Gathering is your opportunity to gather with the full New Light community. Maybe there are people who are part of another LIFE Group whom you haven't seen for a while, so come and let's be together as a community.

This month our time of worship will focus on love, and will feature some excellent musicians. As always, feel free to bring friends along.

Community Worship Gathering- This Sunday

Community Worship Gathering
This Sunday, January 25 at 6:00 pm
at Hope.Gate.Way. ~ 185 High Street

We hope you will join us for this month's Community Worship Gathering, this
Sunday evening at 6:00 pm. We've just begun renovations in our new space
called Hope.Gate.Way. (185 High Street), but our contractor says we will be
able to meet there! We'll have coffee and snacks ready at 5:30 pm, with
worship beginning at 6:00. Come and bring friends!

Our Community Worship Gathering is your opportunity to gather with the full
New Light community. Maybe there are people who are part of another LIFE
Group whom you haven't seen for a while, so come and let's be together as a
community.

This month we'll think about how we can be instruments of God's love, hope,
peace, healing, compassion, and justice in the world. Mahatma Gandhi said,
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." What does that mean
for us? What does it mean for our life together as a community in this city
which God loves? What does it mean as we strive to be global citizens in a
world filled with suffering?