Staff Writer
HOULTON — Marc Fuller, the new pastor at the First Congregational Church, likes what he’s seen so far in both the church and in the community.
Pioneer Times Photo/Sarah Berthiaume
NEW PASTOR — Rev. Marc Fuller is the new pastor at the First Congregational Church in Houlton. He’s pictured here with “Pastor Mac,” a puppet who makes regular appearances during children’s services.
“We’ve met some amazing neighbors and the church has been very supportive,” he said in an interview last week. “I’ve attended my first meeting of the Southern Aroostook Ministerial Association, and I was very impressed with how well they all work together.”
His wife Mellissa echoed those thoughts.
“There’s not a more friendly, eager group of people than those we have here at the church,” she said. “We consider ourselves very lucky to be here.”
The couple moved to Houlton this fall from Center Lovell, a town near Fryeburg, filling a vacancy left when the church’s longest-serving leader, Rev. Dale Holden, retired late last year.
The Fullers considered vacancies at churches all over New England and New York, but decided they wanted to stay in Maine. Houlton seemed like a good fit since some of Mellissa’s family lives nearby, so they packed up their belongings and their four cats (two of which are Hurricane Katrina survivors) and headed north. They said they’ve enjoyed exploring their new home.
“I love the size of this town. I think it’s perfect,” admits Mellissa. “It really does feel like home.”
The couple spent five years at their former church in Lovell and, before that, roughly five years at a church in Ohio after Marc completed training at Bangor Theological Seminary. Marc taught his first sermon in Houlton Oct. 7.
But doesn’t fill the pulpit alone. He recruits a special helper for his children’s lessons — a fluffy-haired puppet dubbed Pastor Mac.
“Marc, being almost 6’ 7”, realized that he needed a way to bridge the gap between his six feet, seven inches and three feet,” says Mellissa with a smile. “So, he came up with the idea for the puppet and Pastor Mac does all the children’s sermons and he also does a little newsletter for the children.”
Marc, who makes no claims on being a professional ventriloquist, says Pastor Mac has visited both children in the hospital and seniors in the nursing home.
“It’s become a useful tool to distract kids from whatever they might be going through, just to give them a little comfort,” he said. “And it makes the older folks smile, too.”
One of their goals at the High Street church: reaching out to others in the neighborhood.
“The question I want to throw out to those who live in this area of High Street is: ‘What could this church do for this neighborhood?’,” he said. “My feeling about church is that it’s wonderful to have services on Sunday, but when the services are over and you go back out in the world, the point is to be able to make a difference. … We want to know what people in this area really need.”
Mellissa said they also want to stress that the church is open to anyone.
“We’d love to have lots of new faces,” she said. “Everybody is welcome no matter what. No one will be turned away.”
First Congregational Church, UCC, is located at 45 High St. Sunday services start at 10:30 a.m. For more information, contact the church at 532-2392.
