News for Clergy and Lay Leaders
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This newsletter sent to Churches, Priests and Deacons (active), Diocesan Council, Standing Committee and Chancellor, Senior and Junior Wardens, Treasurers, Parish Administrators, Jubilee Center and Camp Leadership, Trustees, Summer Chapel Leadership and Diocesan Staff
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Welcome Summer Chapel Leaders
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Please join us in welcoming leaders from summer chapels around the Diocese of Maine to this publication!
As the landscape of the pandemic changes around us, it's important that we all stay connected by sharing information, wisdom and experiences. We hope our summer chapel friends find this newsletter helpful and informative, and we are looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday's Town Hall meeting.
Please know that we try to keep our database accurate and up-to-date, but invariably, things change for summer chapels and our year-round congregations! If you have additions or corrections to your leadership information, please be in touch with
Canon Barbara Martin
.
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Bishop's Video Statement on Justice
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This week, Bishop Brown shared a statement regarding racial justice and the Episcopal Church in Maine.
Click here
for additional racial justice and reconciliation resources.
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Recently, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. The intent of the Act is to extend the time for which PPP money can be used and to lower the percentage PPP money required to be used for pay and benefits in order to qualify for debt forgiveness under the Program.
We are waiting for the Small Business Administration guidelines before acting on the Program changes. The changes will be communicated in a revised set of Frequently Asked Questions for PPP. The latest update to the FAQs was May 27th, before the Flexibility Act was passed and signed.
In anticipation of the revised rules, Canon Terry Reimer asks that churches, Jubilee Centers or Camp Bishopswood evaluate whether or not they could use additional PPP funds for the two pays in July. If so, please send Canon Terry Reimer
an email
with an estimated amount of needed funds.
The funds returned by churches and the funds allocated for Diocesan staff pay and benefit costs would be the source of additional PPP funds for those entities indicating need.
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Support Refugees with Refugee Sunday
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There are more than 65 million people forcibly displaced in the world today, and of this number, more than 21 million are refugees: children, women, and men forced to flee their home countries to escape persecution and violence. Each and every one of these 21 million is a person with a story, with a name, with hopes, and with dreams. Each is a beloved child of God.
By hosting a Refugee Sunday, you support a cherished ministry of The Episcopal Church in a time of great need, but you introduce your congregation – and even your wider community
– to messages of welcome and hope.
Interested in hosting a Refugee Sunday?
Click here
for the Refugee Sunday Planning Guide.
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Update from Diocesan Council
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Diocesan Council is a decision-making and governing body of the diocese that meets
between conventions. Clergy and lay representatives from each of the eight areas, as well as appointed leaders and representatives from finance committee, staff and other diocesan leadership, gather regularly in person and via Zoom to address the ongoing business of the diocese.
One of the expectations of representatives is to report back to the congregations in their area about the actions taken on their behalf. In an attempt to make that reporting more regular, complete and consistent across the diocese, we will now include a brief summary in this weekly business newsletter following each Diocesan Council meeting.
Click here
for a brief synopsis of the most recent meeting. If you have questions or would like more information, you are encouraged to contact your
area representatives
.
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Rev. John Balicki, Rector of St. Mark’s in Waterville, recently shared at a Town Hall meeting about their recent outdoor service. Rev. Balicki's thoughts are below:
"We have a Memorial Garden immediately off the sanctuary. Enclosed space is surrounded by two sides by the church building and the other sides by bushes or trees. We asked people to bring their own lawn chairs. Space to accommodate 35 to 40 people with six-foot separation.
Because we have access to power by running extension cords out the building, we could set up a portable speaker or do video. We used two microphones one for the singer and one for the celebrant. We adapted microphones we already had. Other readers had to project though all had bulletins to see text. By opening the doors to the garden and opening some windows, we could clearly hear the organ.
The congregation all had masks and said the responses and hummed during the hymns which were sung by one solo singer. The singer had a mask and was faced away from the congregation.
Congregants did not have to enter the church building and could walk directly to the garden from the parking lot. At the entrance was hand sanitizer and extra masks if needed and a greeter took them to an area to put their lawn chairs. There was access to the rest room through a side door which kept people in only a small portion of the building."
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Miss a Town Hall Meeting?
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If you missed a Town Hall meeting or would like to access the meeting video or resources discussed, the Town Hall meetings are archived on the Episcopal Diocese of Main website.
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The Importance of Self-Care
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Is there a pastoral "crash" coming?
Click here
to read an article about this and to learn about how to combat the burnout, overwhelm, and fatigue that come with ministering in these unusual times.
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Lift Every Voice and Vote
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You can find this event
on YouTube
on Sunday, June 14 at 3 or 8pm.
For more information, including speaker bios,
click here
.
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Do You Have Communications Questions?
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Do you have a communications question? Join Director of Communications Katie Clark for CommsChat, aka Communications Office Hours.
CommsChat is an opportunity to gather as a group to discuss questions about communications including: livestreaming, social media, digital ministry, and more. The discussion will be guided by the questions of those who attend.
Next week's CommsChat is Wednesday, June 17, 2:00 - 3:00 pm.
Click on the "Register Here" button if you'd like to attend-->
Please note these sessions are not recorded due to community contexts shared and questions asked.
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