Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – The Grant Memorial United Methodist Church congregation recently welcomed two new leaders to their family.
Ron Chaffee, who was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick and grew up in Calais, is the church’s new senior pastor, while Wesley Lavigne, originally from Concord, N.H., is the new associate pastor.
Both Chaffee and Lavigne started working at the church July 1.
After graduating from Calais Memorial High School, Chaffee went to a small college in Aurora, Ill. where he studied pre-med.
“Thank God I flunked out and people are safe from this surgeon,” joked Chaffee. “I wound up in the U.S. Air Force during the later part of the Vietnam War conflict, did some growing up and then went back to school under the GI Bill. I attended the University of Maine at Orono to become a high school science teacher. After about nine years’ of teaching, the Lord called me into something different and I went to the Bangor Theological Seminary.
“While I was in seminary, I was preaching in churches on weekends as a lay speaker. Eventually I realized there was more to it than just officiating a worship service,” he said. “I went to a local pastor’s school and received an appointment at Danforth United Methodist Church and still pastored at the Wesley Community Church.”
From there, Chaffee went to Orland and North Bucksport United Methodist Churches.
“Then I went to Milo, Brownville Junction and then to Old Town and Stillwater,” he said, “and then I left my comfort zone and went to Salem, Mass. I loved being in Maine but felt that the Lord really wanted me in Salem. I was like a fish out of water, but I eventually found my way into the water. I was there for two years before coming to Presque Isle.”
Chaffee and his wife, Susan, have three sons and four grandsons.
After studying criminal justice at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., Lavigne worked as a police officer, a probation and parole officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, and later as a child abuse and neglect investigator.
“I met my wife, Kim, who’s from Presque Isle, while I was in New Hampshire, and that’s how I came to move here,” said Lavigne. “I wanted to build a house in Loudon, N.H. but everything was so expensive down there, so we moved to Kim’s hometown at the end of 2003.”
Since arriving in Aroostook County, Lavigne has been a school counselor in Fort Fairfield and is presently working at Zippel Elementary School in Presque Isle.
“I also go to Presque Isle Middle School one day a week,” said Lavigne, who received his master’s degree in school counseling from Husson University. “My appointment at the church is half-time, and I started that process back in New Hampshire where I was a lay speaker. I also coordinate the Portage Lake Congregational Church and have been doing that for a couple of summers, and have been an active member here since 2004.”
This is the first time the church has had an associate pastor. In his new role, Lavigne will help focus on the children and youth ministries.
“Having some experience in the school system and working with kids,” he said, “gives me a good foundation. We really want to provide an opportunity and a place where kids can grow in their spiritual journey through Christian worship.
“We offer Sunday School for children ages pre-K through grade eight, and we’re looking at ways to meet the spiritual needs of our high-schoolers,” said Lavigne, who is taking courses through Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. “We’d like to bring a group down to Soulfest in Guilford, N.H., for example, as well as bolster our junior and senior high youth groups.”
In addition to working with the church’s youth, Lavigne will have some of the responsibilities as the senior pastor.
“Wes will still do some of the same things that he did as a lay leader in that he will officiate worship services, some of which when I’m away and others while I’m here, and sometimes we’ll co-lead services,” said Chaffee. “There will be times when I’m away that Wes may be called on to officiate a wedding or funeral service, do visiting, and things like that.
“The associate pastor position grew out of a need for the church to push youth and Sunday School programs. Wes will still be doing all of the things that he does at school and still be a Dad and husband, but he really wanted to answer a call to do something in ministry, and we wanted to keep him at this church,” he said. “A year before this all came about, a church committee investigated the possibility but we didn’t have the funds. This year, the funds became available. It’s been a dream that has been cooking and now it’s coming to life and I think we’ve got an excellent person to shoulder that.”
Chaffee said he and his wife have been treated very well since arriving in Presque Isle.
“The hospitality up here is tremendous,” he said. “Everyone has made us feel very welcomed. I needed to get back closer to my parents who live in Calais so I could give my sister a hand. Their health is failing so I initiated the request. I loved the people in Salem and I know the Lord had me there for a particular purpose, but now I have a different purpose.
“I think my purpose here in Presque Isle is still formulating,” said Chaffee. “In Salem, finances were in shambles. That’s not true here, but most churches would like to see giving increase so that may be a place where I can help. I also love to preach and I love to teach the scripture, so that’s something that I really pour myself into. I really want to get folks on board in becoming prayer warriors; it’s a part of our tradition that has not always been emphasized. There’s a lot of ways I can help make a difference in the life of this church. There’s a reason for me being here … I just need to wait and see what His reason is.”
While the leadership faces are new, the areas of focus remain the same.
“We want to be a mission outside of the walls of the church whether it be through helping at the homeless shelter, a food pantry, or active in social justice issues,” said Lavigne. “Our motto is ‘Open Hearts. Open Doors. Open Minds.’ I think our congregation truly follows that motto, and I’m looking forward to helping them meet their spiritual needs.”
Services at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. There are 506 church members with an average weekly attendance of 165. For more information, call 762-9531 or log onto www.gmumc.net.
