UPDATE FROM DEACONS, Dec 4, 2025:

MCPC has provided food donations to Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP) for many years. They have a robust support from the wider community and are recipients of numerous grants.

The Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS) in Lewiston, however,  is dependent upon local contributions like MCPC for its food bank survival. We learned from MEIRS worker Levi (the young man from Angola who shared a MEIRS Minite for Ministry last summer) that the  small Friday morning food bank routinely runs out of food and folks are limited to one item.

At the November meeting, Deacons decided to focus our donations of non-perishable food items to MEIRS. Further, one of the Deacons’ goals for 2026 is to encourage the members and friends of MCPC to get into the habit of purchasing needed non-perishable food items for MEIRS – whenever we do our own food shopping!

At this point the key non-perishable food items for MEIRS are:

• bags of white rice (especially 5 lb bags)
• all purpose flour (e.g. 5 lbs) 
• bags of dried beans (ideally 2 or 3 lb bags if available): eg Great Northern white, , pinto, black, bean soup mixtures, yellow Mayocoba beans & lentils
• pasta (spaghetti, penne) and pasta sauce
• cans of tomatoes (especially larger 28 oz size): diced, crushed
• peanut butter (ideally medium-sized jars) 
• cans of tuna fish 
• white sugar and spices (black & red pepper, garlic, onion, cumin, coriander basil, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt)
• Also diapers (all sizes) are appreciated.

The Deacons thank you for prayerfully considering the above. If you have questions, please check with Dick Reese or Marci Clark.

Responsibilities and Actions of the Board of Deacons can be found in the MCPC Administrative Manual, Section 5.
Current Deacons are listed below, with their pictures and Class.

Send a message to the Deacons using the form, below.
After review, your note will be delivered to the appropriate Deacon(s).

The office of deacon is one of sympathy, witness and service. The board of deacons shall have the responsibility to minister to those in need, to the sick, to the friendless and to any who may be in distress. The board shall assume such other duties as may be delegated to them from time to time by the session.

Pictured below, L-R.
Class of 2025: Paul Brown, Mary Ellen Miller, John Ingram
Class of 2026: Nancy Aliberto, Jane Parry
Class of 2027: Marci Clark, Laura Martin, Dick Reese

Book of Order (The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church USA) G-2.0201
Deacon Defined: The ministry of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness, and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress. Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this ministry.