Message from the Vestry

Since the beginning of 2016, now nearly a year and a half, we have been blessed by our "supply clergy," Edward Dufresne, Steve Hayward, Vesta Kowalski and Jennie Reece. We have now lost Jennie, who accepted a full time position at a church in Rangeley. But we have recently added John Allison and Chuck Bradshaw. They have all enriched our worship and given us a great deal, each in their own way. But they, and we, agree that we must eventually move toward a more regular and sustained relationship with a priest.

 

In the longer run, subject to consideration by the parish as a whole, the Vestry has decided to recommend that we seek to retain a priest in charge on at least a half time basis by May of 2018. Achieving this goal will involve both the raising of money and the availability of a suitable candidate. We estimate that the cost of a half-time priest could be as much as $50,000 annually. This will obviously be a very big financial stretch for all of us, requiring an approximately fifty per cent increase in pledge income. The location of a suitable candidate is, of course, a less precise process than the determination of cost. But we are quite hopeful that our intentionality and determination will ultimately produce a satisfactory result.

Message from the Senior Warden-April 28, 2017

Charles Penniman, a theologian and educator, had a great deal of influence on the education program at my former church, St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  One of his precepts which has particularly stuck with me over the years is to the effect that the process of learning starts not with the setting of goals, but rather with identifying and addressing our circumstances.  As he put it:

 

"[W]e start with life (problems).  .  .   We specifically do not start within the straitjacket of goals where life is hinted. We start with life and [t]he goals fasten themselves on us."  

 

It is in that spirit, I think, that the Vestry has arrived at its determination to set as a goal the retention of a priest in charge within a finite period of time.  (See the Vestry's message, just above.)  We started the beginning of 2016 with "life," and the problems associated with a recently retired priest, a divided congregation, and a greatly reduced budget.  Since that time, I think, we have experienced the sense of exultation that can sometimes come from the simple fact of survival. The budget, while down, has actually exceeded our expectations.  We have also grown, adding several new members, and realizing in the process that we are still a community with something to offer and which is welcoming to newcomers.  And as we experienced the variety of benefits conferred on us by our supply clergy over the course of this past year and a half, we began to feel a need for, as the vestry put it after last September's retreat, a greater "priestly presence."  And so the goal has quite naturally "fasten[ed itself] on us."

 

As the Vestry's message makes clear, there is of course no guarantee that we will meet this goal exactly as we have outlined it today. Indeed, isn't that the very definition of a "goal?"  But the thought is that by expressing it and putting it up for the consideration of the parish, we can, in the weeks and months ahead, begin to put ourselves more firmly on a path to the future-a path on which we share a common vision and can join together in working to achieve it.

 

Woody Osborne

Senior Warden

      

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Mailing Address:  P.O. Box 305, Deer Isle, ME 04627