The Portland New Church Is An Interfaith Community
The PNC is like a gathering place of many rivers.
We are fortunate to have a number of individuals and groups using the PNC building as a place of gathering. Though they are independently run and attended, the energy and love these people put into their offerings adds to making this a wonderfully diversified place of usefulness, creativity, and sacred community. Find below information on these offerings and visit our Calendar to see daily activities.
Portland New Church Services
On the 2nd Sunday of every month 10:00-11:00, our "Circle of Spirit Service" is led by Pastor Lorraine Kardash, consisting of music, prayer, reflection, and free-spirited communion.
All are welcome. Fellowship follows.
On the 3rd Sunday of the month, ​join us for the
"Higher Power Hour" from 10:00-11:00 AM with
Rev. Myra Robinson
It's not a church service... It's not an AA meeting...
It's what we make it: a safe place to question, to discuss, to contemplate and celebrate Higher Power​
On the 4th Sunday of the month (starting in January), we have an Art oriented gathering from 10:00~noon.
"Keeping the Channel Open", Creativity Sunday, with Pastor Lorraine Kardash. Feed your Spiritual Self through Art.
For more information, contact Lorraine by email:
The Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME) is a community of compassionate learning and service.
With 20 years of experience educating and ordaining interfaith leaders in New England and beyond, ChIME is an institution dedicated to serving communities by offering a opportunities for individuals to explore what it means to live with Integrity, Spiritual Presence and Prophetic Voice.
During a 2-3 year program of study, service, and community, the Interfaith Ministry program educates and ordains Interfaith Ministers, also known as community chaplains. The Clinical Pastoral Training Program (CPTCSM) provides spiritual care providers with opportunities for further developing chaplaincy skills. In addition to these core programs, ChIME offers a variety of workshops, Open Houses, and Interfaith Gatherings to invite the public to join us in exploring and connecting with the world in a deep and meaningful way.
For more information, visit https://www.chimeofmaine.org/ or email
This Winter SOULstice Ritual is designed for you to slow down, be present with yourself and your SOUL, celebrate and honor the sacred darkness of the season, while also opening up to the possibility of light that the Rebirth of the Sun brings.
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Hosted by Interspiritual Minister and "Minister of Connection" Rev Devin Green of The Connected Way™, this ritual will include music, readings, insights about the season and significance of Solstice, and time for personal reflection about your own experience of the dark and light, and connection with the community.
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​You can sign up for the event here. The cost is $33.33 but Devin values inclusivity so please reach out to her if the cost is too prohibitive.
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​Join the event to harness the power and magic of this Sacred SOULstice Season.
Devadas Kirtan
December 26, 2024 7:00-9:30 pm
Come chant and be happy!!! Please bring a cushion and blanket to sit on-there will also be chairs. Tickets in advance are 25$ Please Venmo @lisa-silverman-24 to reserve your spot. Other wise it will be 30$ at the door. Capacity is 75 people so please sign up early. Can't wait to chant with our amazing community during the holday break!! Please share with your friends.
About Devadas
Devadas is a kirtaniya, composer and artist hailing from Brooklyn, New York. He leads kirtans throughout the world and has recorded a wide variety of acclaimed CDs, including his latest releases, 3 Prayers and Radio Nada. In 2012, Devadas collaborated with indie-rock icon J Mascis to produce and record the film score for the feature documentary One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das. Devadas produced Nina Rao’s chant album, Antarayaami, and in 2016 launched the Lokah Peace Project, an online and ever-expanding video project aimed at inspiring reflection, empathy and harmony.
Namory Keita, Master Village Drummer
Drum Class / All levels
5:30-6:30 Monday evenings
Portland New Church
603 831 9609
Namory Keita, Master Drummer, is a sought after teacher and performer with a unique style and a wealth of traditional knowledge very rare to find outside the villages of Guinea. His resources include not only his wonderful ability to engage any audience but also his relationships with dancers and drummers locally and around the world.
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Visit his site:
Honoring our Grief
A circle for anyone who has lost anything
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What have you lost? We have all known loss and all carry grief, for so many things. Each grief has its own story, and we find comfort and strength in telling our stories. Solace is found in the connection of a sharing circle.
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Grief appears in many ways and can last for decades. What are you still grieving? or maybe never grieved? The death of your pet, a partner, a family member? The state of the planet? Your health or mobility? The lost dream of the life you wanted?
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We gather in circle to contemplate, share our stories and honor our grief. Come once or come every month.
All are welcome.
2nd Sunday of each month, 5 PM – 7 PM
starting October 13th at the PNC, 302 Stevens Ave
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RSVP at katrinaleathers13@gmail.com
Limited to 20 people each month
$10 - $20 donation
About Katrina:
Professionally, I am a spiritual counselor, interfaith chaplain and former therapist. I am also a hospice volunteer, cancer survivor, shamanic practitioner, and a mother of two young adults. I live in an old house with my partner and two dogs, finding joy in gardening and doing deep healing work with people.
For more information, see https://katrinaleathers.com
KMC Boston – Portland, Maine Branch
The Maine branch of Kadampa Meditation Center Boston aims to make meditation classes as accessible as possible, holding weekly classes on meditation and modern Buddhism that are open to everyone regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or faith. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to learn how to meditate or to benefit from it. We wish to inspire and empower people to reach their full spiritual potential, in order to be of greatest benefit to their family and friends and, by developing inner peace, be active contributors to world peace.
We hold weekly, drop-in meditation classes at Portland New Church on Tuesdays at 6:00pm with our Portland-based teacher Clare Morin, and workshops on Saturdays, often with our resident teacher from Boston,
Gen Kelsang Khedrub. Everyone is welcome! More info: www.MeditationInMaine.org
Marita Kennedy-Castro - Movement & Dance
Free *Your* Movement, Private Individualized Movement Lessons with Marita Kennedy-Castro.
Guided, embodied-movement lessons assist you in accessing greater connection to your own authentic movement exploration, somatic awareness practice and freedom of physical expression.
For details & appointment contact Marita: https://embodytherhythm.com
Traditional Dance of Guinea, West Africa with Marita Kennedy-Castro.
Learn foundational movements, cultural and historical context, style and choreography of Guinean traditional dance in this upbeat dance class for Beginners, honoring the source and original teachers of this form. Fridays 9:00-10:15am
Details: https://embodytherhythm.com
WholeHeart Yoga Center
Mindful and gentle yoga honoring the heart and wholeness of yoga. Our studio is mostly online now, with our Monday morning class both online and in PNC space. We also hold outdoor yoga events in spring and fall.
Find more at https://wholeheartyoga.com
Maine Sacred Harp Singing Group
The Maine Sacred Harp singing group meets at PNC on the 2nd and 4th Sunday afternoons most months, from 2-5pm. We gather to sing in 4-part harmony from traditional shape-note tunebooks. Since this is a system of music notation originally created to teach the musically illiterate to sight-read music, it is perfect for beginners as well as experienced singers, and we welcome all. It is participatory rather than performance-based, and anyone who is curious is encouraged to come, listen, and try it out. Any questions? Email us at: sksandberg@gmail.com
Chris Reed
During open Studio sessions, those with previous experience in a medium of choice have the freedom of working on their own project while receiving one-on-one supportive feedback and demos as needed. Perhaps you want to fine-tune a particular aspect of a landscape painting or break new territory with an abstract composition. This class will open new doors in developing your unique creative path.
Each class will begin with a short meditation for heightening awareness while minimizing inhibitions associated with the creative process.
For further info., including all group classes in oil, watercolor, pastel, and charcoal, and inquiries about future classes at The New Church, please visit:
https://www.christopherdreed.com/group-classes
Private drawing and painting lessons are also available for the beginner, intermediate, or advanced level. For more info. to book a time at The New Church, please visit:
Rev. Myra’s “Higher Power Hour” is at 10:00 on the third Sunday of every month.
As an ordained Interfaith Chaplain, Rev. Myra’s approach is broad-based, has no dogma or agenda, other than to explore different expressions of each person's individually defined spirituality. In fact, one doesn’t need to “believe” to recognize that our innate human drive to search for meaning may lead to a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Rev. Myra Robinson (she/her), is an experienced Interfaith Minister; certified in Clinical Pastoral Education, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), and suicide prevention. For the last three years she was on the Faculty at The Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME). She is also an accomplished musician and Sound Healer. Her focus is empowering people with the Affirmantra Method (she created in 2015) and saving the planet “one mantra at a time.” FMI on Rev. Myra’s offerings visit www.SOulMotivated.com
Circe Moss MacDonald’s business is Ritual Lab: Ceremonies for People and Planet, offering ceremonies and rituals to support spiritual well-being in the community; all ages and backgrounds welcome. We sing, express gratitude, play, reflect, grieve, and transform together. Ritual Lab is for folks who yearn for more connection in their lives.
An Eco-Chaplain, Water Priestess, and Ceremonialist, Circe regularly conducts seasonal ceremonies at The Portland New Church, the University of Southern Maine, and around the Mid Coast region to celebrate nature and help people metabolize grief about climate change, based on teachings of the StarHouse and the work of Joanna Macy and Matthew Fox.
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Having earned two ordinations; the first as a Transdenominational Minister at The StarHouse in Boulder, Colorado in 2003; the second as an Interfaith Chaplain from The Chaplaincy Institute of Maine in 2019, Circe has been conducting wedding ceremonies, memorial services, and rites for passage for 20+ years. Contact Circe here.
Circe is also a massage therapist, offering bodywork at Arcana in downtown Portland, and a puppeteer in the Mayo Street Arts community.
Rev. Todd Glacy - Sacred Sound and Living
My primary passion is the exploration of music and sound as a medium for inner and outer spiritual work, creative expression, and community building.
As a facilitator I have offered a variety of events and workshops at PNC including: Gong Journeywork, Community Kirtan, Ocean of Om, Ecstatic Dance, Community Drum Circles and Electronic Multi-Media immersions (to name but a few).
Rev.Todd Glacy
207-229-9965
Supporting LIfe's Journey
Gurdjieff Movements in Maine is a group of seekers who practice the Movements, a series of sacred dances, dynamic postures, gestures and other physical actions developed by George Gurdjieff, the spiritual teacher who in the early 20th century developed the Work, or Fourth Way, system of spiritual inquiry. The Work includes a broad variety of practices — meditation and contemplation exercises, reading and communal study, inner tasks and attention efforts in daily life — but the Movements are central to its understanding and transmission.
The Movements were developed out of Gurdjieff’s extensive travels in central Asia, India, Tibet and northern Africa, where for millennia a broad variety of sacred dances have enjoyed profound refinement in the Sufi, Buddhist and other traditions. These are employed as experiential engagement with universal truths as well as tools for individual development, self-observation and self-understanding.
For these sessions at the Portland New Church, we will practice several Movements, accompanied as always by live music which was composed by Gurdjieff and the Ukraine-born composer Thomas de Hartmann, his close companion. The Movements reveal infinite levels of subtlety and insight as one continues to practice them, however these sessions are designed to be accessible to all, and first-time practitioners are welcome.
The meetings will be Mondays at 11:30-1:30 from May 6th--July 8th, then shifting to Wednesdays at 6:30-8:30 PM from July 17th--August 28th
For more info contact: forbes.larry@gmail.com