St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church
Blue Hill ~ Maine
April 9, 2019
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Welcome, welcome, little stranger,
Fear no harm, and fear no danger;
We are glad to see you here,
For you sing "Sweet Spring is near."
~Louisa May Alcott, "To The First Robin," 1840
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The Rev. Steve Hayward
was officially welcomed by Senior Warden, Bob Publicover, as our Interim Rector on Sunday, April 7th.
In Steve's sermon on that day, he mentioned another welcome-
the first robins of spring
to come shortly-and come they did! We are grateful for Steve's good humor, his deep spiritual commitment, his willingness to lead and participate in the life of St. Francis, and his ongoing friendship with all of us. Steve has laid a solid foundation for St. Francis as the search for our next rector goes forward.
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The following is a message from The Rev. Steve Hayward
An Interim Time
Parish life during an Interim period between settled rectors is often compared to the days when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to the cusp of the Promised Land. It is a time of moving forward, but not always in a straight line. Sometimes the way forward doesn’t seem especially clear. Sometimes it seems to move very slowly.
It is a time when new leadership often arises – as Joshua did to take the reigns from Moses. New visions of ministry appear as information is shared and new ideas emerge. And yet, with all the change that may take place, churches, like other communities, maintain a core “character”. Those who study such things tell us that when leadership changes, 80% of an organization remains the same. The other 20% is what comes into play. That, I think is comforting to both those who are anxious about savings important traditions, and those who want to bring something fresh to the work. The trick is to meld together something old and something new kind of like a marriage – something that requires patience and grace, love and understanding. It requires leaning on faith and listening for the Spirit. Our Discernment Committee has taken on the challenging task of helping us do all these things. It will be our part to help them do all this by participating in their efforts to hear from us. Soon they will be asking for our help.
It has been my privilege to travel this road with several congregations, and I can promise you both an experience that is exhilarating and challenging! However, with God’s help, it is a wonderful time of renewal and re-commitment to things we love most in life. With your help, the guidance of the vestry and its committees, and the hard work of the Discernment Committee, we will be ready to greet the next person whom God has long since chosen to lead St Francis into the future. May God bless us in the meantime that these months ahead may see us busily about being the Chosen People on the march!
Faithfully,
Steve Hayward
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Note: B
eginning May 19th and continuing through Sept. 15th, t
here will be two services
(8 am and 10 am)
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We Pray for
Allison
Ruth Allen
David Decrow
Daniel
Edward Dufresne
Dorine Harris
Kira Hartley
Dilys Hoyt
Jennifer Hulsey
Sam Hulsey
Kaden
Lee
Rayanne Kleiner
John Klinger
Sarah Mathews
Steve Merek
McKayla Peers
Corinne Pert
John Remick
Diana Robson
Ronan
Carla Rosensweig
Ed Rosensweig
Donny Smith
Gloria Smith
Marshall Smith
Peggy Vanderhoff
Scott West
and for the Swazey Family
(Michelle, Janet, Cheryl, Roxanne, Julia, and Lyn)
Those in the Armed Services
Abigail
James Crowe III
Andy Dittmer
Brian Haley
Sean Haley
Kyler Hall
Peter McGuyer
Kyle Carino Mings
Eric Partridge
Henry Shepley
Ben Stubbs
Those with April Birthdays
Lucy Bowick
Jim Briggs
Richard Brown
Lee Buck
Lindsay Decrow
Tony Everdell
Heather Ford
Maynard Getchell-Forbes
Sue Grindle
Kathleen Hayward
Brenda Higgins
Jack Joyce
Merry Newton
Tony Newton
Nancy Peers
Mary Semler
Nancy Stine
Carolyn Van Cise
Persis Williams
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Camdyn and Brighton Chung will be in the Blue Hill Consolidated school's production of Shrek Jr.
Tuesday night's performance was cancelled because of the heavy snow! Wednesday the 10th (tomorrow night) Shrek will be performed at 7 pm. Everyone is welcome!
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Gorgeous hand-painted Easter Eggs by Lois French
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(with thanks to Terri Stephens-Smith)
Welcome, everyone- parishioners, friends, and visitors to Holy Week
at St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church in Blue Hill!
Thursday, April 18 – 7 p.m.
Maundy Thursday Service
will be held to commemorate Jesus’ last supper with his friends (John 13:34). Following the ancient tradition, based on Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet, the congregation will be offered the option to participate in having their feet washed as well. The service ends on a poignant note as the congregation recites Psalm 22 in unison “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as the altar and all decorative furnishings are removed and the lights go dim; communicants will leave in silence.
Friday, April 19 Noon and 5 PM
Two Good Friday Services
The Noon Service
will be held to commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion. Join us for a deeply meaningful service of
The Stations of the Cross.
We welcome The Blue Hill Congregational Church and North Sedgwick Baptist Church to join us.
This service enables participants to walk the final steps of Jesus on his way to the cross, without ever leaving their seats.
At 5:00 p.m.
we will have an
Episcopal Liturgy
S
ervice.
The Passion Gospel is read, followed by the solemn Collects which date back to the 3
rd
and 4
th
Centuries. The service concludes with brief devotions and a final prayer.
Saturday, April 20 – 7 p.m. Easter Vigil
.
The service begins in darkness as the new light of Christ’s radiance is ignited marking Jesus’ passing over from death to life. It is by this light that the sacred story of God’s saving acts are told, and prayers and praises are offered. Drawing on this ancient tradition therefore, this service becomes the first Eucharistic celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter.
Sunday, April 21– 10 a.m. Easter Sunday
.
A Festival Eucharist will be held as the high point of the week. Jesus’ resurrection will be celebrated with word, special music and flowers symbolizing Christ’s new life among us.
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St. Francis traditional Lenten Salt Bowl
will available any weekday morning (Tuesday-Friday) this week and next.
Drive up and come in for a few quiet moments. 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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From our Parish Administrator Barbara, and The Flower Committee:
EASTER ALTAR FLOWERS
Easter Flower forms can be found in the Narthex and downstairs in the Parish Hall.
Please complete the form and leave it in the church office,
collection plate or mail it in. All donations are greatly
appreciated. Deadline for inclusion into the bulletin is
Tuesday, April 16th.
Barbara can be reached Tuesday-Friday from 8 am-Noon (374-5200)
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Rev. Persis Williams
sends a big "thank you" to the family of
Marty Hamblin
-for taking on her sidewalk shoveling for the last of the snowy days...which will be when??
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Thank you, Rev. Ginny Peacock,
for wonderful preaching, leading several Adult Forums, and being a meaningful participant in many discussions during recent Coffee Hours!
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From the Discernment Committee, the following letter:
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St. Francis By-the-Sea Episcopal Church
Blue Hill, Maine
April 9, 2019
Dear Friends,
The Discernment Committee has met with the Rev. Canon Michael Ambler and is beginning the process of looking for a new priest. Presently we are focusing on the website and the process of exploring and explaining who we are as a church and as a community. The guidelines that we are following are from the Maine Episcopal Diocese, “A Guide to Clergy Transitions”.
Our first major undertaking is to get an understanding of what the congregation wants and needs in terms of a new priest. To that end, we will be sending out a questionnaire in the next few weeks that has been used in the Episcopal Church for decades. Interested candidates also fill out the same questionnaire, and the hope is to find someone with compatible goals, values, and religious views.
We are presently planning on three get togethers for the parish to discuss the questions. The first is a potluck on
Friday, May 17
th
at 6:00 p.m. The second is an adult forum after church on Sunday, May 19
th
, and the third is a pizza night on Friday, June 7
th
at 6:00 p.m
. The hope is that as many as possible will attend at least one gathering if not all three.
Please feel free to contact anyone of the Discernment Committee members with questions or comments. They are
Ruth Billings, Charity Chung, Heather Ford, Sue Grindle, Peter Gilchrist, Kate Mulrenin, and Robert Publicover. I am acting as the Chair.
Many thanks to them for all of their hard work.
And many thanks to all of you for your support and involvement.
Faithfully,
Sarah Everdell
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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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