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The Dio Log
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news and events in
the Episcopal Diocese of Maine
since 1999
Volume 19, Number 20 ~ October 6, 2017
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Bishops of the Episcopal Church gathered for a week in the Diocese of Alaska earlier this month.
Bishop Lane's video offers a glimpse into their visit, including a blessing of the landscape of a former gold mine, a visit to St. Jude's, North Pole, and singing in a huge pot of moose head soup where bishops and spouses were welcomed by the local community.
At the close of the meeting, Bishops offered a word to the Church. They wrote, in part, "God calls us to listen to each other with increased attention. It is only with unstopped ears and open eyes that our hearts and lives will be changed. It is through the reconciling love of God in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit that we and the earth itself will be healed." Read it all
here.
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What's New in the Episcopal Church in Maine
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Praying in Days Like These
At our diocesan staff meeting on Tuesday, Canon Ambler noted that we seem to have entered an "era of disasters." We don't know what's happened overnight, but we're afraid to open the paper to find out - because we know it will be bad. Harvey, Irma, Maria, Mexico City, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Las Vegas - disasters pile up so quickly that we can scarcely keep up, let alone respond. We're simply not prepared for disasters on this scale. In such a time, it's easy to become discouraged, even despairing. How do we respond to all these disasters?
Our first impulse is to pray, and I want to affirm that impulse. Sometimes all we can do is lament our loss: pour out our hurt and grief, asking God for mercy. That's a good place to begin.
Yet prayer is more than asking. Prayer is also listening: listening for God's response and for God's invitation. As we pray, God we may hear God inviting us to join in the work of reconciliation, to give of ourselves and our abundance. We may feel overwhelmed and frightened, but we are not helpless.
God is with us, right here, right now. Let us turn to God in prayer.
Bishop Steve
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Giving is a form of prayer, and I commend to you Episcopal Relief and Development. On their webpage (www.episcopalrelief.org) you will find a heading, "What YOU CAN DO." Click on that and a dropdown menu will open with several options. One is GIVE. There you will find options for giving. Another is VOLUNTEER. There you will find READY TO SERVE, a place where you can volunteer to help rebuild once disaster areas have recovered enough to receive volunteers. Episcopal Relief and Development works closely with the local dioceses. It has a four star rating from Charity Navigator, the highest rating. It is the way our churches in the disaster zone are asking us to help.
Prayers for...
The Rev. Christine Bennett, deacon at St. Mary's, Falmouth, upon the death of her husband, Lawrence, 79, on September 22. His obituary may be found
here.
Voices among us...
On September 25,
Bishop Lane and fellow bishops from Alaska, Arizona, Ohio, and West Virginia send
this letter in expressing their concern about the implications for the people of their respective states were the Graham-Cassidy bill to pass to their U.S. Senators.
Watch
Bishop Lane's welcome to Convention
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Around the Diocese...
Materials 198th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Maine
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Cross Insurance Center, Bangor
CONVENTION MATERIALS:
or its parts
REGISTRATION:
R
egistration fee through October 11: $35.00
PRE-CONVENTION HEARINGS:
Links to on-demand
St. Martin's, Palmyra
Trinity, Portland
UTO INGATHERING
An ingathering to the United Thank Offering will be included in the closing worship. Churches are encouraged to hold an congregational ingathering and bring checks for the offering at Convention.
Need ideas about how to promote UTO giving? Please be in touch with our diocesan UTO Coordinator Sherri Dietrich at [email protected].
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Upcoming in Maine and Beyond
Donna Beegle to speak on the challenges of fighting generational poverty on October 18 in Portland
Expert on poverty, both first-hand as a child of migrant farmers and as a scholar, Dr. Donna Beegle will visit Maine on Wednesday, October 18. She will offer a keynote at First Parish Church at 425 Congress Street in Portland at 11 a.m. followed by a panel of local activists working to alleviate hunger and poverty in Maine. No registration required.
In the afternoon a training, "Breaking the Iron Cage of Poverty and Hunger" will be offered. Because there is a 100-person limit for this session, registration is required. The program, offered by the new Food Studies Program at the University of Southern Maine, is free and open to the public.
Learn more and register for the afternoon training
here.
Music with John Bell, musician and songwriter from the Iona Community
Friday, October 20,
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.,
"Singing about Jesus Between Christmas and Easter"
Saturday, Oct 21,10:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.,
"Music for Rediscovering the Psalms"
Both sessions will be held at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, 150 Black Point Road (Rte 207),
Scarborough, ME.
This event is sponsored by many churches and Maine's Episcopal musicians. If you can help by arranging a home stay or if you can offer hospitality, contact
[email protected] by September 30.
Trinity, Portland's 7th Annual Butterfield Series, October 25
Trinity, Portland, offers seventh annual Butterfield Memorial Series on Wednesday, October 25 at 6:30 p.m. This year's speaker is Linda Orsi Robinson, a Maine nurse midwife who has served in Congo with Doctors without Borders and
set up the first midwifery in American Samoa.
Linda has been teaching in Malawi this last year and will return to Africa after this presentation.
Doors open at
6:15 p.m. and the program will begin at
6:30 with a reception and book signing to follow.
This is the seventh year for the Butterfield Memorial Series providing compelling speakers free of charge for the community.
(Goodwill donations are always gratefully received as they help Trinity to perpetuate this great series.) Click here for a flyer.
Clergy events in 2017 and beyond...
Please mark your calendar and save the dates. Updated information will be available soon and posted on the diocesan web calendar; registration is required for all events except Ordination. FMI: Barbara Martin
[email protected]
2017
Two clergy gatherings with Bishop Lane
Thursday, October 5
Cathedral Church of Saint Luke, Portland
Fellowship at 9:30 (morning hospitality provided); meeting convenes at 10 a.m.
Bring your own brown bag lunch, adjourns at 2:00PM
Saturday, October 14
St. Martin's, Palmyra
Fellowship at 9:30 (morning hospitality provided); meeting convenes at 10 a.m.
Bring your own brown bag lunch, adjourns at 2 p.m.
Clergy Day
Tuesday, November 7, location TBA
2018
Clergy retreat
Sunday, February 25 - Tuesday, February 27
Samoset Inn, Rockport (residential retreat; no commuters, please)
Clergy morning with the Bishop; Chrism Eucharist/Renewal of Vows
Tuesday, March 20, Waterville
And down the pike...
Saturday, April 28: Spring Training Day (clergy program included during the training day)
Tuesday, June 5: HOLDING: Clergy Day
Saturday, June 9: Ordination(s): Cathedral
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