St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church
Blue Hill ~ Maine
March 22, 2019
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Everyone needs that friend that calls and says,
"
Get ready, we’re going on an adventure!”
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The Calendar
Sunday Services
10 am
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Choir Practice
***
Everyone is encouraged to attend...
This Sunday, March 21,
The Rev. Cn. Michael Ambler, Canon to the Ordinary will preach and celebrate and be available for discussion during Coffee Hour
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We Pray for
Ruth Allen
David Decrow
Daniel
Edward Dufresne
Dorine Harris
Kira Hartley
Dilys Hoyt
Jennifer Hulsey
Sam Hulsey
Joseph
Kaden
Lee
Rayanne Kleiner
Sarah Mathews
Steve Merek
McKayla Peers
Corinne Pert
John Remick
Diana Robson
Ronan
Carla Rosensweig
Ed Rosensweig
Donny Smith
Gloria Smith
Peggy Vanderhoff
Scott West
and for the Swazey Family
(Michelle, Janet, Cheryl, Roxanne, Julia, and Lyn)
Those in the Armed Services
James Crowe III
Andy Dittmer
Brian Haley
Sean Haley
Kyler Hall
Peter McGuyer
Kyle Carino Mings
Eric Partridge
Henry Shepley
Ben Stubbs
Those with March Birthdays
Julie Boardman
Mary Boyd
Libby Buck
Ambrose Chung
Suzanne Decrow
David Falck
Steve Hayward
Fred Heilner
Prudy Heilner
Ed Manuel
Carolyn Nowodzinski
Pam Peters
Maren Rosborough
Peter Smith
Colleen Spangler
Jillian Weed
Gerald Wheeler
Bob Wilson
We Pray for the repose of the soul
of Julie Nicholson and for her family and friends
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St. Francis traditional Lenten Salt Bowl
is available any weekday morning (Tuesday-Friday) and on Sunday,
This has become a tradition as a meaningful way to bury our thoughts and concerns on little papers and bury them in salt.
Drive up and come in for a few quiet moments. All of those messages are never read and will become the fuel for the fire which precedes our Saturday evening Easter Vigil Service.
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Roxanne Jansen and her NZ husband, Kevin,
recently returned from three months in New Zealand, as you may recall from her photo of a NZ Christmas parade float for our December edition.
Roxanne has written an article giving discerning observations on the March 15th shooting attacks at two mosques in New Zealand.
This excellent article is expected to be published in an upcoming issue of the Weekly Packet.
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Connie Hegarty sends along this adorable very short, "deer" clip...turn up your volume. (Below)
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Thank you, Rev. Claudia
On Sunday, March 6, we had a wonderful celebration of our rector, Rev. Claudia Smith, and her eleven-plus years of ministry at St. Francis by the Sea.
We were happy, sad and even a little bit silly! Our rector will be greatly missed. She has contributed so much to all facets of the life of St. Francis Church-and well beyond.
We send her off with our love and best wishes for a well-earned retirement full of fun, good travels, and meaningful ministry- whatever directions that may take.
Below is a letter from Rev. Claudia and some photos of her special day as she encouraged us to begin to see St. Francis with a fresh set of lens.
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St. Francis
Church
is "adventuring" into the future with good memories and much optimism for St. Francis' future. We are truly a healthy, inviting church traveling together on a special journey.
*Bob will update our St. Francis website
Transition
tab as it happens. The website can be accessed at the bottom of every eClare.
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The search process moves forward this Sunday as we welcome the
Rev. Cn. Michael Ambler, Canon to the Ordinary
who will preach, celebrate, and be available during Coffee Hour for questions and discussion as St. Francis begins to move forward in the discernment process of selecting our new rector. Please come and be part of this.
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Thank you, Kevin Hunt, 2019 Fair Chair
A
First Word
from Kevin:
"As the 2019 Fair Chair, I want to announce that this year’s fair
“Chair Emeritus” is Suzanne Decrow.
After 29 years of
Junque for Jesus
Suzanne’s commitment to the St. Francis Fair is unsurpassed and with that, her unselfish gift to our peninsula has been shared year in and year out by so many."
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And an update from Suzanne:
Dear St. Francis Family,
We have been so blessed to be a part of this congregation over the years but had no idea how blessed we were until David was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2018.
The outpouring of love and prayers in the form of food, a Christmas wreath, cards, emails, phone calls, visits, etc. etc... have been overwhelming and heartwarming.
David had surgery on December 18th and was hospitalized until January 19th.
It has been quite the journey and it continues with chemo treatments starting on March 19th.
We have been extremely fortunate to have the best of medical care for this cancer at Brigham and Women's and Dana Farber in Boston.
David's recovery will be taking a while but we will be back with you sitting in that front pew as soon as it is possible!!
Our love and gratitude to you,
... Suzanne and David Decrow
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An update: David completed his first round of chemo several days ago and and they were off and running -back to Sugarloaf!
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The Rev. Edward Dufresne
has written a beautiful love letter and given eClare permission to link it to his website.
Seen in the above photo with "Diana the Huntress", Edward's letter is wonderful not only of the relationship between him and Elizabeth, but also Edward's perspectives of his on-going battle with cancer and his life as he and Elizabeth are experiencing it together.
Edward and Elizabeth continue to contribute mightily to the life of St. Francis Church and to all of us who know this special couple as our friends.
The link to Edward's website and his love letter to Elizabeth is below. Many of us have been readers for several years of Edward's inspirational writings and you will see the opportunity to subscribe if you wish.
Click below:
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All of you Souper Saints
may now bring all of those one-quarts of your home-made soups to the church. Space has been made available in the kitchen refrigerator's freezer and can hold up to 18 quarts!
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Dear Friends,
I am writing this on a Sunday morning, two weeks after my final day as your rector. Please forgive my taking so long to thank you for the terrific send-off you gave me. In part the delay is because I have been hustling to get my new home in South Portland ready for the move; but in part it has taken this long to process all of the emotions retiring as your rector have triggered.
Your farewell celebration was truly lovely and I thank you. Although I know many of you contributed in a myriad of ways, I would be remiss if I didn’t identify a few of you in particular for your roles in making the day so meaningful. First, thank you to Bob Publicover for coordinating the day’s activities and sharing the messages written by the Vestry and the Bishop. Many thanks to the Carlton Russell for composing a special Celtic Blessing just for me and to Lorna Russell and the choir for performing it so well. A big thank you also goes to Mary Boyd (and the minions that assisted her) for organizing a truly wonderful coffee hour feast. Nora Schroeder gets a special thank you as well; not for just escorting me out at the recessional (her “job” since she was a very small girl) but also for giving us all the permission for one last good cry. And finally to all of you who contributed to the very generous “purse” I was given to help me get resettled. Trust me, it is greatly appreciated and already has been put to good use.
I don’t know if the title “Rector Emeritus” is a real thing. But I love that the vestry bestowed that title on me in their farewell proclamation because of the way it speaks to the fact that we will always be connected if in no other way than at the level of the heartstrings that bind us together regardless of location. Please know that my life has been deeply blessed by my years as your rector and you will be in my prayers always.
With deep and abiding affection,
Claudia Wyatt Smith+
Rector Emeritus
(photos of the day!)
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Links to Websites of
Special Interest:
From our church office: We have a St. Francis Facebook Page. Link below... "LIKE" our page and keep up to date on all the news and happenings!!!
NAMI Maine
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