Pastors of Peoples Number 8

Pastors of Peoples Number 8

1949-1953 Lawrence Porter Reverend Porter was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 27, 1893. He attended public schools in that community until he contracted typhoid fever at the age of 13. The epidemic seriously affected his father and took his sister. Upon his recovery it was deemed necessary that he go to work to support the family. At age 20 he was called to the Christian Ministry and enrolled at the academy that prepared students for Taylor University. He completed the work expected of 8th grade through high school in three years time. He met his wife to be, Geneva, while at Taylor. Upon her graduation for the University and his from the academy they were married. The two came to Maine and like so many others appear to have started his ministry at Columbia Falls located in the old Eastern Maine Conference. When transferred to Eddington he began his academic career at the University of Maine in Orono followed by completion of his theology degree at Bangor Theological Seminary. While serving as Pastor in several locations at one time or another Rev. Porter served three churches in South Portland; Elm Street then later Peoples from 1949-53 and Thornton Heights from 1959-63. In between the latter two South Portland placements he served as the District Superintendent for Southern Maine. Reverend Porter had a special place in his heart and ministry for the youth. While working on his own education at UMO he served as full time director of the Wesley Foundation on the campus and later he served as dean of youth institutes at Kent’s Hill and Bucksport. He continued his work with and inspiration to young people until and after his retirement in 1964. Even after retirement he continued to serve a tiny parish in Buxton until 1971. Mr. Porter was active in all of the communities that he served. In Boothbay, for example, he began a prayer society among the fishermen that eventually led to the formation of the Spruce Point Church. In South Portland he was a member of both the Kiwanis and Masons. For 17 years he served as the President of the Maine Bible Society and was a director of the Christian Civic League. He had a passion for the preservation and operation of small churches. In addition to Spruce Point, Reverend Porter was also responsible for reopening an abandoned Methodist Church in Whitefield as well as shepherding the Chicopee Church in Buxton after his retirement.
Reverend Porter and his wife Geneva had three children; Norman, Maurice and Glendon. All were grown by the time the Porters served Peoples. Norman followed his father into the ministry. In a eulogy given by Norman for his father upon his death in October of 1975 he quoted the following poem: " Servant of God, well done!, Thy glorious warfare is past; The battle fought, the race is won, And thou art crowned at last."
During the time that the Porters were at Peoples the church membership grew. The Sunday school was overflowing. Within a short time of his departure and while he was District Superintendent the mortgage on the church was burned indicating that the church was paid for in only 10 years! He served in the capacity of District Superintendent of the Portland District from 1953-1958.

1953-1957 Elbert Parkhurst Reverend Parkhurst came to us from the Troy, New York Conference. Earlier in his career he had served several parishes in Maine. He had actually entered ministry in 1930 as a probationer in 1930 serving the town of Eastport. Before leaving for the Troy Conference in New York he served in Patten, Eliot, Southport, Damariscotta and Long Island, all by the year 1938. He and his wife, Betty, two sons and a daughter were with us when the parsonage was next door to the church, where Ellis Hall now stands. That building in the early 1970’s was moved to 388 Broadway when construction was to get under way. He was very interested in music and formed a small orchestra of seven or eight members that held rehearsals in the Cass living room. They seldom performed, but had a lot of fun making music together. He was good at organizing events, and while here staged some of the most elaborate Christmas pageants ever. During their years with us he and his wife, Betty, celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary, and the churchwomen arranged a celebration in their honor. In 1957 he returned to the Troy Conference.e was good at organizing events and while here staged some of the best and most realistic Christmas pageants ever. e was very interested in music, and formed a small orchestra of seven or eight which held rehearsals in the Cass living room. They seldomedTe and his wife Betty

1957-1963 William Chamberlain Bill had to be the tallest of any minister to serve at Peoples. He stood six feet six inches in height and when preaching from the pulpit seemed to tower over all. Bill had first become a full member of the Maine Conference in 1953 and began his ministry in Eliot for 3 years (This appointment was served before he became an ordained elder.) followed by York for another 3 years. In 1957 he came to Peoples with his wife Marjorie better known as Midge. As tall as Bill was "Midge" seemed to be that short. They had three children the oldest of whom Gary, followed Bill into the ministry and who later became a Professor of Biblical Studies at Dubuque University in Iowa. Gary’s two siblings were John and Pam. Before Gary’s university experiences he served churches in Orr’s Island, Searsport, Cape Elizabeth and Rockland. It was interesting to read that Gary’s placement at Rockland in 1975 was only three years after his father had served the same parish. The youthfulness of Bill and Midge encouraged a great amount of family growth in the church and the number of youth in the congregation also increased. After the Chamberlains left Peoples he became the Secretary for the Interboard Council. In 1969 he took a leave for the conference then served as Chaplain and Assistant Superintendent of the Harwood School in 1970. In the 1970’s the Chamberlains served appointments at Rockland and Caribou. Reverend Chamberlain returned to the Southern District as superintendent and served from 1977-1979. Mr. Chamberlain was appointed to the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church where he served from 1980-1984. After a long and distinguished career Reverend Chamberlain retired in 1985. In 1997 when we were celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the present sanctuary, the Chamberlains returned from their retirement home in Arizona and participated in the celebration.

1963-1971 S. Blake Ellis Blake came to Peoples in 1963 after having served in South Eliot and Brunswick. Having come from a career in radio, Blake brought with him a wonderful singing and speaking voice. These were the years of the Viet Nam conflict and Blake and his family served his God in many ways of trying to bring about peaceful solutions to conflicts both in and without the church. Edna Mae, his wife, involved herself in nurses training and educational programs while they were here and two of their three children attended South Portland Schools. Nancy, Jean and Robert were the names of the children. It is for Blake that Ellis Hall, our all-purpose building, was named. That building was completed in 1972, by that time Blake had been called by the conference to serve as the Southern Maine District Superintendent. Following his six years in that role, Blake moved on to the Fairfield Church and then in semi-retirement helped develop a small congregation in Yarmouth followed by his retirement in 1983. The Ellises purchased a house on Upper Margaret Street that had formerly been owned by the Staples. Louis Staples had been a long time pastor in the Maine Conference who had completed his career in retirement as assistant pastor in visitation at Peoples. In retirement the Ellises have been active in community affairs as well as being among the founders of the Portland area Archangel (Russia) project. The Ellises made many trips to Archangel as well as helping to host people from Archangel on their visits here. For many years the couple could still be seen around town, usually walking, and at bean suppers here at Peoples. For many years after retirement Blake’s booming voice could be heard in the choir of the First Congregational Church. The Ellises in more recent times had lived in a condo in Brunswick. At this writing in 2009 Blake was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and attended to faithfully by Edna Mae.