Transitions in life can be difficult, filled with uncertainities, paths we might not want to follow, but also a time to decide on priorities and determine if a transition is one in which we hope to find comfort and peace.

Over the past few months, this is what members of our church have faced. This also is what the Rev. Gwyneth Arrison has faced.

Transitions.

As of July 1, Pastor Gwyneth is our new full-time minister. She also becomes the new full-time minister of the South Portland Thornton Heights’ and Peoples’ United Methodist churches. Her appointment by Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton and the Cabinet of the New England Conference establishes the Lighthouse Cooperative Parish in which she will serve all three churches while all three churches will continue to maintain separate identities and worship styles.

Major transition!

Pastor Gwyneth had been the part-time minister at Thornton Heights since 2022. The Cooperative Parish plan came about, in part, when our minister, Kathleen Decker Szakas who was part-time, received a full-time appointment to the Union UMC in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. At the same time, Peoples Minister Tom Frey announced his retirement, setting in motion the plan to have a full-time minister serving our church, Thornton Heights, and Peoples.

Pastor Gwyneth recently reflected on the three-church parish with one full-time minister:

“I think each of the three churches need to be able to clearly answer the following questions. Why do we need Jesus? Why do we need the church? Why do we need this church? The answers to these questions are very outwardly focused as they infer that our primary mission is for those who are not yet in our church. Most churches in New England are dying and the result is that we tend to become more protective so we don’t lose what we do have. And that means we become more and more inward focusing, the exact opposite of what the church needs to be fruitful. Most churches say they want to change this trend . . . to grow rather than die . . . but haven’t really considered the sacrifices that it will take. Because of this, church planters will tell you it’s often easier to start a brand new church than try to renew a dying church. However, if all of the Lighthouse churches embrace new identities as part of this Cooperative Parish, real renewal may be possible and I’m excited about that! This will involve trying new things and inviting others into positions of leadership and allowing them to do things differently. It will involve showing one another a lot of grace!”

Transitions

Gwyneth’s path to beoming the eventual full-time minister of a three-church parish has been as extreme and unexpected as one could ever anticipate.

“I didn’t grow up in the church,” she said. “I became a follower of Jesus while I was working as a mechanical engineer up in Rockland. Jamie (her future husband) first brought me to church when we met at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It’s a much longer story but I really came to know Jesus through a Disciple Bible Study at the United Methodist Church in Camden. I went from an agnostic to a disciple of Jesus and began serving the church in many ways. But at the same time I began to question whether God calls women into pastoral ministry. God answered an impossible prayer that confirmed I needed to say yes to God’s call to become a pastor. A year later I headed off to seminary for four years before serving my first church, Peoples in South Portland.”

Pastor Gwyneth served at Peoples from 2005-2011. She also has served United Methodist churches in Bath, Maine and Merrimac, Massachusetts.

For 10 years before switching careers, Gwyneth was a project engineer in the maintenance department at FMC Corporation in Rockland, known for making carrageenan, a food ingredient from seaweed.

“I needed to bring new technologies into the plant and get a bunch of older mechanics to buy into those changes,” she said. “I worked on projects such as starting a pump alignment program and vibration analysis. I installed new epoxy foundations for centrifuges, pumps and other equipment . . . Most of the other engineers were chemical engineers because this was a food processing plant. That made for an interesting dynamic and kind of feels similar to playing bassoon in a symphony orchestra where strings are the primary instrument!”

And Gwyneth knows of what she speaks — she plays the bassoon in the Augusta Symphony Orchestra and also with the Casco Bay Wind Symphony.

Throughout the past decade and longer, our church has had committees, seminars, workshops and other avenues to find ways in which to bring more people through our doors. Pastor Gwyneth is geared up to continue that challenge.

“My passion is bringing renewal to the United Methodist Church in New England,” she said. “And I believe that has to start with a passionate relationship with God through Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is in the business of changing lives, which means welcoming all people just as they are and providing opportunities for God to do the transforming work in each of us. I’ve tried to lead the churches I’ve served in bringing spiritual vitality through preaching and bible studies, creating a strong sense of hospitality for newcomers, empowering the whole church to be in mission in ways that make a difference in the community, and getting this good news of Jesus to people in the world who are not in the church and who have left the church.”

Over the past month, a group of members from our church, Thornton Heights, and Peoples have been meeting for three hours on Saturday mornings as a Transition Team to work out details on how the three churches will operate with one minister, dealing with worship, pastoral care, administration, mission, discipleship, and more.

“I want to remind you,” Pastor Gwyneth said, “that Methodism started as a renewal movement mostly led by Laity. And since then, it’s seen its biggest times of growth (in numbers and fruit) when it was lay led. It was in the 1930s when the church became more focused on buildings and solo pastors that I believe death started to set in. I would like to see the church once again become much more focused on lay leadership and participation by all members rather than relying on one Seminary trained leader. But to get there together, we need to be in relationship.”

Pastor Gwyneth explained there will be a “meet and greet” after worship at our church on Sunday, July 13, to start the sharing process. ‘I’ll share some of my story,” she said, “and invite people to ask questions. I hope you can attend.”

Starting with Ralph Miller in 1981, our congregation has heard sermons from nine different ministers, each with different styles, deliveries, and focus on scripture. Pastor Gwyneth’s approach will likely follow some similar paths, but as we have learned from the past, we will learn that her style is her own, just like it was with Ralph Miller, Walter Brown, Steve Notis, Larry Dial, Ruth Morrison, Casey Collins, Priscilla Dreyman, Mary Jane O’Connor-Ropp, and most recently, Pastor Kathleen.

“I generally preach a sermon series,” Pastor Gwyneth explained, “because I find it helps the congregation focus and to be excited about future messages. But my preaching is very centered in the scripture. I try very hard to be faithful to the text and I have quite a long study process (exegesis) before I even look at a commentary. But my preaching is also very personal and relatable. It’s important for us not to just understand what the text meant to the original hearers, but how God is speaking to us today through the same text. Often I find I am preaching to myself and just inviting the church to listen in!”

Something we all too often forget to realize — ministers want to know how their sermons struck a chord or left doubt what the message was meant to offer.

“It’s not enough just to hear a nice sermon and go on your way,” Pastor Gwyneth said. “God is in the business of transformation, so I try to invite a response from each message. I love to hear stories from people about how they were impacted by a message, how God touched their hearts and what they’re going to do about it.”

Throughout June, while Pastor Kathleen was dealing with her own transition, in addition with her son’s graduation from high school and being involved with Annual Conference, more members of our congregation than usual were asked to step up and help to plan and participate in Sunday worships. With one minister serving three churches, that commitment will become even greater.

“What I have enjoyed most about Thornton Heights is how open they are to trying new things, or even things they have tried in the past but didn’t seem to work. For a pastor, this is the greatest gift. So I hope each church will be excited to courageously dream God’s dreams for us. I want the laity (and clergy) from each church to be active in ministry — that includes even those who are home-bound. In many churches, 10 percent do 90 percent of the work. I’d like to see 90 percent serving in some way that furthers God’s mission for us in our community. Those who are already doing too much, I hope you can learn to say ‘no’, and invite, coach, and empower others to say ‘yes’! “

Beyond her ministry, Pastor Gwyneth has many interests and passions, many of involve sailing and kayaking. “When I’m on the ocean,” she said, “I have a way of connecting with God”. In addition to playing the bassoon with different organizations, she also is a photographer and painter.

Before serving her appointment at Thornton Heights, Gwyneth, her husband and youngest child took a sailing sabbatical on their boat “SV Adventure”, traveling over 6,000 miles from Canada to Florida, including Nova Scotia and the Bahamas.

She and her husband Jamie have been married for 33 years and have a diverse family. She said she and her children feel very strongly about supporting LGBTQ+ people and especially in the church.

“My youngest Alex (now going by the name ‘Clover’ and they/them pronouns) is heading for New York University in January. My middle child, Dena (who goes by ‘Ollie’) will be a senior at Carnegie Mellon University studying Computer Science. And my oldest child, Micah, is traveling around the country in his van rock-climbing and working remotely. All three are amazingly gifted and caring individuals.”

Pastor Gwyneth’s first service in our church will be Sunday, July 6, at 10:30 a.m. Throughout July and August, during the crucial transition time, she will preach in all three churches each Sunday. Services at Peoples will begin at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 at Thornton Heights, and 10:30 at CEUMC. Schedules for the fall are still being worked out.

“I can’t design three completely different services every week,” she said, “but I do realize each church has some unique elements of worship. I will be my authentic self with each church and some will like my style of worship and leadership, and others won’t. That’s okay, because as I’ve said, the church is the people, not the pastor. As long as we keep our focus on Jesus, we’ll all be okay.”

The transition has begun!