With the Congregational church worshiping at 9:30 a.m. “The rent is sufficient to contribute some to our bottom line and to cover additional expenses for utilities,” Hei said. The first renter was a registered nurse who uses some space in the building to train caregivers who must be licensed by the state, he said. The new church’s first service in their new space is at 1 p.m. Timothy Varney, pastor of Illuminate Church, and his wife Cindy talk about how they will now share space with First Congregational Church in Brewer. Three years ago, the congregation decided to go from a full-time to a part-time pastor and get the building in shape for renters. While the couple was figuring out how to build a congregation from scratch, the First Congregational Church in Brewer, founded in 1800, was struggling to keep its doors open, with most worshippers twice the age of the Varneys.įive years ago, the church listed the building for sale but received no serious offers, according to Hei, who has attended the church for 23 years. “We figured that’s not us,” Cindy Varney said.īut in 2020 they started the process to become church planters and started praying for a suitable building. They stopped in at the denominational office in Portland and were told: “We’ve been praying for church planters” – people who start new churches. In 2018, the couple visited Maine looking for a retirement home. But as retirement loomed, he said God reminded him of his childhood dream. “I got prayed for and never had that rash again.”īy the time he turned 18, Timothy Varney had seen enough of church politics to dissuade him from becoming a minister. “We had a guest speaker at church,” Varney said Thursday. Varney said a healing service at his father’s church cured him. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDNĪt the time, he would break out into a rash when he ate dairy products. Illuminate Church will sponsor an Easter egg hunt Saturday afternoon and hold its first service at 35 Church Street at 1 p.m. Pastor Timothy Varney and his wife Cindy have started a new church, Illuminate Church, and will share space with First Congregational Church on Church Street in Brewer. He decided he wanted to be a minister when he was 8 or 9 years old. Timothy Varney was one of those Mainers who was in church every Sunday because his dad was the pastor at Berwick Full Gospel Church.
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