what, if any, lessons I have learned.  Most obviously, I suppose, I have relearned both the value and fragility of a church community.  Reminiscing this past Sunday with Vesta, I found myself recalling the outset of 2016:  Ginny had just retired, and a number of parishioners had left us, leaving
a significantly reduced budget in their wake.  We were staring in to a decidedly uncertain future.  The fragility of a church community in rural Maine was all too apparent.  All it takes is for a handful of people to leave, and a precarious vulnerability shortly emerges.  Now, as I look back on
that January of 2016, I also appreciate the resilience and spirit that has persisted at St. Brendan's.  I wonder, though, what it is about a small church community that makes it so seemingly vulnerable.

Jane and I have now lived year round on the island for seven years.  Attending the Fourth of July parade this past week brought home to me
the extent to which we have become some part of our island community.  And while, as I have noted previously, loss and change assuredly occur within this broader community, there is not the sense of vulnerability I sometimes experience at St. Brendan's, where the inevitable frictions in human relations can be so damaging.  Several things come to mind. 
First, of course, there is the simple fact of size.  In a larger community
the inevitable differences among people can be more effectively managed. 
If someone doesn't like you, there are presumably others who do. 
I need not get along with everyone in order to belong.

But I wonder, also, whether there is somehow more felt to be at stake
in a church community; whether for many of us in this setting, it is more important to be liked, to be agreed with, to get our way?  More important that things stay the same?  I'm not sure, but I think there is something to this notion.  And if there is, perhaps we need to keep it in mind as we
move ahead.  Belonging to a church community requires at least some sublimation of self in favor of the community as a whole.

___________________

 

Over the past year or so, I have learned the value of meditation.  In years past any effort in this direction met with fairly quick failure at the hands of my impatience and restlessness.  Now, however, I find it of great value.  One of the prayers we frequently use in our Monday afternoon sessions goes as follows:

 

Spirit of comfort and longing,

enfold my fear,

unclothe my pride,

unweave my thoughts,

uncomplicate my heart,

and give me surrender:

that I may tell my wounds,

lay down my work,

and greet the dark.

Amen.

 

So, as we move forward together, let us unclothe our pride, unweave our thoughts, and uncomplicate our hearts.

 

Woody Osborne

Senior Warden

 

             




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Pete Dane
[email protected]

Mickey Jacoba
[email protected]


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Reminder: Time to Update St. Brendan's Directory

Since last year's update, there have been several changes and additions to
St. Brendan's Directory.  Please review your information and let Liz Alley know of any changes in your information, such as address, e-mails, phone numbers (summer/winter) etc.

A copy of the 2016 Directory will be available for review following Sunday's service at coffee hour. If you have questions about the information currently in your listing,  Liz can be reached at 348-6240 during office
hours Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 12-5 or via e-mail: [email protected].

Thank you!