As Ewing-Merrill describes it, they basically started from nothing, holding prayer meetings at their new home in the Oakdale neighborhood, sharing food, singing songs and hatching plans. With roots dating back to 1795, Methodism has a strong history in Portland, but recent years had seen a dramatic drop-off in participation and things were stagnating so badly that the congregation had sold their glorious building on Chestnut Street to developers who converted the former church into a high-end nightclub. One morning in the spring of 2014, I met up with him to hear more about his work.Īlthough a Maine native, Ewing-Merrill has only been in Portland since 2007, when he and his wife, Pastor Sara Ewing-Merrill, moved to the city to rebuild a Methodist congregation in the area. Pastor Allen Ewing-Merrill serves as the Executive Director of Hope Acts, a new secular not-for-profit organization in Portland providing a range of services to both recent immigrants seeking asylum and people recovering from addiction.
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