Greetings and Happy March!
I'd like to tell you a short inspirational story. A real-life story. As some of you know my mom was suffering from a very bad infection. She became very sick and it caused her to have delirium. This delirium was so bad that she didn't recognize me, other family members, or even herself.

She forgot how to eat, and swallow and could not sleep. Her whole world was either role-playing her past or just nonsense communication.
I went to stay at the hospital with her when she became so sick that the medical staff couldn't get her to take the needed meds or food.

I brought my mom a bible. I asked her if she knew what it was. She told everyone it was her bible. She held onto that bible for the next twenty-four hours. About twelve hours after having her bible she started to make progress. She was trying food for me and taking her meds. She was able to close her eyes and sleep for twelve hours straight.

The doctor came in that next day and saw a positive change in her. He explained that she was on the road to recovery.

Now, there were many prayers, from different religions, cultures, and beliefs. But her healing started when she remembered her faith. The Bible was a symbol of her faith and her God. No, she didn't know who she was or I was but she did know who God was.
This is encouraging and shows me that once our faith becomes our truth, it stays in us forever. No matter what. Religion or practicing a spiritual path does not have to be perfect for It to reside in us.

Blessed Be, Rev. Angel Dowing

CHURCH NEWS!

Join us for church service and potluck immediately after church on Sunday, March 3rd, , Everyone is welcome. Even if you haven’t brought a dish to share there is always enough!

To include everyone in the business and administrative parts of the running of our church, we are now inviting members to our board meetings via Zoom. We will send you a link through email and hope you can join us.

There will be a special members meeting on Sunday, March 10th, at 1 pm. At this meeting, the members will vote on moving the time of the church service from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm in July and August of this year. Members will have the opportunity to make comments before the vote is taken. Please watch for the Zoom link in your email. This is an extremely important issue for our church and your vote counts! The regular Church Board meeting follows the members meeting.

As of 10/2023 Healing Light Spiritual Center and its grounds are 100% smoke-free. There will be no smoking of any sort on the property. We apologize for any inconvenience.

There are some committees that we would love our members to sign up for. If you can share even a few hours every month or so we will be forever grateful!

Our food pantry is running a bit low, please keep the pantry in mind when you are cleaning out your cupboards or shopping this month. We appreciate all who can give.

Rev. Angel is available for Hospital, Nursing Home, or in-home visits. Please see, or email Rev. Angel for more information. Thank you.

CHURCH SERVICE SPEAKERS, MEDIUMS, AND FACILITATORS
3/3: Stephanie Cartwright/ Facilitator, Linda MacCoy/Speaker, & Medium
3/10: Rev. Angel Downing/Facilitator, Melissa Gabriel/Speaker & Medium
3/17: Rev. Tara Gilmartin/Facilitator, Terri Kovac /Speaker & Rev. Alex Gilgan/Medium
3/24: Ellen Bubier/Facilitator, Janet Wardwell/Speaker, Lauren Powers/Medium
3/31 Rev. Tara Gilmartin/Facilitator

HAPPENING "NOW" AT THE CENTER!

Full Moon Drumming Tuesday, March 26th, 6:00 pm -7:00 pm. Please bring a drum if you have one, we do have a few drums to borrow. Donations accepted.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
A BIG THANK YOU to Janice Nelson Kroesser who continues to bless us from Spirit!
A BIG THANK YOU to Karen Sirois Costigan and Tena Braley for Cleaning the Center and Church.
A BIG THANK YOU to Suz Delgado for the donation of prizes for the Chili Cook-Off
A BIG THANK YOU to Diane Skolfield for keeping our website up to date.
A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helps with the activities, classes, and events.
A BIG THANK YOU to Tara for managing the storage units.
A BIG THANK YOU Diane for the donation of the Rumba.
A BIG THANK YOU to our church service facilitators, Stephanie Cartwright, Rev. Tara Gilmartin, Rev. Kendra Wescott, Ellen Bubier, and Rev. Angel Downing.
A BIG THANK YOU to those who have contributed money and/or supplies to our church. Most of these folks prefer to remain anonymous but Spirit knows who you are!
A BIG THANK YOU to our members and friends who support us. Without you, there would be no church.
A BIG THANK YOU to our Speakers and Mediums who serve our church throughout the year.
A BIG THANK YOU to our Board of Directors.

TO BE CLEAR, everyone who serves our church, no matter what the capacity, is a blessing to us. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Ongoing

Gallery Readings, The Gallery is the first Friday of every month from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. There will be 2-4 mediums available. We strive to give a message to everyone in attendance, however, we can not guarantee this. The cost of the gallery is $10. (Cancelled for November)

Mediumship Development Group, Sunday Afternoons, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Everyone is welcome, beginners through advanced. The group begins with a meditation and allows attendees to experience a variety of methods to open the lines of communication with the "Spirit World". Offered by donation, so feel free to join us, even if your pockets may be a little empty one Sunday afternoon, we'd love to have you.

The Pastoral Council will meet quarterly, the next meeting will be in March, on the 1st Sunday, March 3rd, right after church in the JNK Library.

Ordination Program: Rev. Dr. Janet Decker offers an Independent Spiritualist Minister Ordination Program. If you have considered being ordained perhaps this is a good time to begin. To learn more about it click the following link: https://intermetu.com/ord-502-independent-spiritualist-ordination-program/

Yoga Classes with Michelle Spencer are available. If interested please call the church. 207-217-2697 or 207-269-2142 (Landline only, no text)

Storage Space Available! We have vehicle, boat, motorcycle, sled, and ATV storage space available for rent. Rent is $35.00 a month for car/truck/small boat rental, and $20.00 a month for motorcycles, sleds, and ATVs. Large boats taking up more than one space are $35.00 per space. We offer seasonal and year-round rentals. Please call, or text, 207-217-2697 or 207-269-2142 (Land line only, no text) to make arrangements. All rentals are on a first-come-first-served basis.

Please bring in pictures of your feathered, furry, finned, or scaly family members to share on the Pet Picture Board.

Food Pantry If members, friends, community, etc. need help feeding and caring for their families, they are more than welcome to pick from the available items. Also, those who are blessed can donate non-perishable foods and personal items

Food Pantry For Pets. If members, friends, community, etc. need some help feeding and caring for their pets, they are more than welcome to pick from the available items. Also, those who are blessed can leave dog and cat food and treats, fish food, lizard kibble, and pet toys...all pet-related items will be welcome.

As we continue to grow our Healing Light Spiritual Center we hope you will consider donating your time and/or monetary help. If you want to donate time please contact any Board member, they are listed at the end of every newsletter. If you would rather contribute monetarily, you can do it by clicking here: https://www.healinglightetna.org/events or you can give donations to one of the pastors. All contributions, whether time or money, are always very gratefully appreciated!

There has been a good response to our FB postings, newsletters, and advertising. The feedback has been favorable and considering we are located in the tiny town of Etna, Maine this is terrific. Our goal is to put Etna and the Healing Light Spiritual Center "on the map", so to speak, but we need your help. If you are on FB we invite you to "Like" our page, Healing Light Spiritualist Church of Etna, ME https://www.facebook.com/Healing-Light-Spiritualist-Church-of-Etna-ME-146077428893201/ Then please SHARE, SHARE, SHARE our events. Share them on your FB page and on any FB group of which you are part. This helps us spread the word!

Reminders

Healing Light Spiritual Center and its grounds are 100% smoke-free. There will be no smoking of any sort on the property. We apologize for any inconvenience.

As much as we like seeing the faces of your furry family members and love the smiles they bring to our faces, as of April 1st, 2023, only Service Animals, not therapy dogs only Service Animals, will be allowed in the center and at our church services. There is only one exception and that is on our Blessing of the Animals Day. On that day animals will, of course, be allowed in the center if the weather keeps us from holding the event outside. We have adopted this policy for 2 reasons. Many people are afraid of dogs and we do not want people missing out on our church services and events because there may be a dog present. The second reason is that many people have allergies to animals and we don't want anyone to be uncomfortable. We thank you for your understanding.

Please keep in mind we are continuing to make an effort to keep everyone who comes to church and church center events safe. If you are feeling sick, have a fever, have any changes in breathing, any changes in smell or taste, or have a runny nose then please do not come to church. Masks are available for anyone who wants one. There is hand sanitizer on the counter as you enter the building and on the Healing Book table as well as other places throughout the building, we ask that you please use it. The bottom line is, please do not come to church or events if you or someone close to you is feeling unwell. Thank you!

All events are updated regularly on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Healing-Light-Spiritualist-Church-of-Etna-ME-146077428893201/events/?ref=page_internal

You can access the minutes for our Board of Directors meetings by clicking this link: https://www.healinglightspiritualistchurch.org/minutes

If you are a member in good standing you can request to see the church's financial statements by sending an email to HealingLightEtna@gmail.com

If you are a member or friend of HLSC we invite you to put your business cards on our business card wall.

The church phone numbers are 207-217-2697 or 207-269-2142 (Landline only, no text). You may still call any of the pastors or board members personally. Their contact phone numbers are listed at the end of the newsletter.

The back row of chairs is designated as Healing chairs for those folks who have difficulty getting up and down or walking up front to sit in a Healing chair.

If you have been coming to our church for a while and would like to become a member you can find out about our "membership requirements" on our website: https://www.healinglightspiritualistchurch.org/ or talk to one of the pastors or board members.

You can send prayer requests and/or "suggestions" from our website. You will find the form on the “Contact Us” page. https://www.healinglightspiritualistchurch.org/

If you would like to serve as a speaker and/or a medium during one of our services please see one of the pastors or email HealingLightEtna@gmail.com. Thank you.

The pastoral council and the church board of directors are open to hearing suggestions that may improve our church service and make it an even more inviting time of peace and healing. Please feel free to approach us or send us an email if you have a suggestion. You can email HealingLightEtna@gmail.com or contact individual board members. Contact information is below. There is also a suggestion box on the counter.

If a friend forwarded you this newsletter and you would like to be on our email list please send an email to HealingLightEtna@gmail.com

Thanks for reading and most of all, thanks for being part of our church, and please do share this newsletter!

Rev. Janet Decker, Rev. Tara Gilmartin, Diane Jackman, Terri Kovac, and Rev. Angel Downing

Rev. Janet Decker, President
Email: janet.decker9@gmail.com
Ph: 207-404-1845

Rev. Tara Gilmartin, Vice President and Trustee
Email: gilmartin_tara@yahoo.com
Ph: 207-884-4558

Diane Jackman, Secretary
Email: dianejackmanskolfield@gmail.com

Rev. Angel Downing, Acting Treasure and Trustee
Email: downingmom5@gmail.com
Ph:207-951-3121

Terri Kovac, Trustee
Email: katmama40@yahoo.com