The Board of Deacons is a twelve member board elected to three year terms. This board works closely with the Pastoral team to ensure our services of worship meet the physical and spiritual needs of our congregation. At the heart of "Deaconship" is a willingness to serve, in fact the word Deacon comes from the Greek word "diakonos" which translates to servant or minister Our Deacons handle such responsibilities as making all necessary preparations for the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism and assisting the Pastor in their administration. They also appoint and direct numerous ministry teams to meet the needs of the church.
Congregationalists have always highly valued education. In fact, congregationalists founded both Harvard and Yale. This leadership board defines the goals and objectives for Christian Education in the church and works with the Superintendent to establish policies and procedures regarding Sunday School. They also appoint and direct ministry teams as well as oversee programs with respect to the educational mission of the church.
Congregationlists firmly believe in the power of the laity. In fact, when the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Colony they had no ordained minister. All of the worship services were lead by Elder William Brewster until an ordained Pastor arrived several years later. Honoring our tradition of lay leadership, nine long time members of the church are asked to serve as Elders. They provide wisdom, advice and counsel to the Senior Pastor. Elders are also available to assist in administering the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism.
The Board of Missions is called to put faith in action with responsibility for benevolence activities, community service and organizational outreach. Missions supports Vision New England, other national missions, as well as different international missions in other countries worldwide through The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC). EOCC lends international support through participation in Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child shoe box project with gifts and Christian literature to children in many nations. A mission that has been taking place in this church since 2002.. Missions lends support to Karen Greenlaw who travels to Dominican Republic and Haiti each year to provide supplies and medical support to those countries. Missions supports The Congregational Christian Council of Maine, as well as the Maine Sea Coast Mission in Bar Harbor. Other missions include the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen, the Bread of Life Food Cupboard, Spruce Run, and the seminary at Husson College. We have a thanksgiving food basket ministry, a Christmas food & gift ministry, the Angel Tree ministry which services children of prisoners at Christmas, a Visitation and Prayer Shawl ministry to the ill and homebound, as well as other missions. Our meetinghouse is used by non-profit organizations such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and Meals for Me all free of charge. For interest and information about the Missions Board, please contact any of the current members of the Board or attend our meetings the first Sunday of the month.