The First Universalist Church of Turner Center, 450 Turner Center Road, has announced its guest speakers for April.
On Sunday, April 17, Pat Hunter Gardiner will deliver her sermon theme for Easter Sunday, “Resurrections,” a celebration of the many ways in which rebirth comes every spring. Gardiner is a graduate of the Chaplaincy institute of Maine in Portland, where she was ordained as an interfaith chaplain in 2010, according to a news release from the church.
Prior to that she served as a Unitarian Universalist religious education director for more than 25 years, first at the Kennebunk, and then the Brunswick, Unitarian Universalist churches, and as interim Director of Religious Exploration at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Augusta.
Gardiner is a professional storyteller and author of the Harvey and Stella Stories of Downeast Maine. A volunteer cook, she and other congregants serve the downtown homeless and neighbors of the Calvary United Methodist Church in Lewiston. She is also a volunteer companion at the Center for Wisdom’s Women in Lewiston.
Sam Chandler will be the guest musician on Sunday, April 24. The service that day is “Centering Within Chaos.” He will play starkly different types of music such as jazz, classical and pop, separated by readings, with the goal of illustrating that with preparation and intention, complicated and intrusive states of mind can be overcome.
Chandler is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and educator. He seeks the connections that can be made with individuals and communities through music and is always looking to expand his knowledge and repertoire of music to better achieve this goal. As an educator, Chandler has found joy connecting children with their own innate abilities.
He can be seen playing music both locally and abroad as a jazz pianist, songwriter, and keyboardist mostly in projects that focus on new original compositions. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Piano Performance from the University of Southern Maine and began as music director at First Universalist in Yarmouth in November 2017.
Services are from 10 to 11 a.m. with a coffee social following service. All are welcome.
For more information, visit firstuniversalistchurchofturnercenter.org.
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