St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church
Blue Hill ~ Maine
June 4, 2020
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Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song and all about you will be beauty . There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail
-traditional Navajo song
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As a people of faith, we need to start with prayer.
What do we pray for in this moment? Peace? Perhaps. But the peace as it has been has not been peaceful for far too many.
Do we pray for it go back to the way it was? No. What we call normal isn’t good enough for most.
Do we pray for the streets to quiet down? Maybe. But if the streets weren’t clogged with people as they have been we wouldn’t be talking about it as we are, we wouldn’t be at the precipice of change.
Do we pray that everyone be patient until the pandemic is over? That is exactly what the British said to Gandhi as the Indian freedom movement accelerated while World War 2 raged. (It was an inconvenient time for the British Empire to have colonial troubles).
I think here in Maine, on this little peninsula where either you or a piece of your heart lives, what we need to pray for is a change of heart. We need to pray for the strength to repent of the unearned privileges most of us posses. We need to pray for the courage to face what actual justice looks like.
Rarely in the course of human events have people given up privilege, rank, status, or wealth voluntarily. Collectively we rarely give up our advantage over others. Individually, human beings are almost always generous, heroically self-sacrificing towards people we know and love. But for the other? The stranger, the foreigner, the one who looks/sounds/smells/acts different? There are deep, perhaps evolutionarily advantageous reasons to withhold our kindness and generosity from those not of our tribe. But that is not the moral way, certainly not the Christian way.
For love to happen, for the Kingdom of God to take hold, for justice to roll down like waters, we need to follow Jesus Christ who is the perfect example of self-sacrifice. He gave up the privilege and status of being the Son of God on the behalf of the most wretched of the wretched: us.
There is a vigil today in Blue Hill, a march in Guilford tomorrow, and another in Augusta at 2:00 on Sunday. Organizations need money. Members of Congress and editors of all sorts need letters. Many books need to be read. And we all have prayers to give. We are a church. We are here to support you in your discernment of how you are called to respond to that which demands a response and we are here to discern how we act together. Start with prayer.
“First we pray for the poor, then we feed the poor. That is how prayer works.” Pope Francis.
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A Statement from Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry on President Donald Trump’s use of a church building and the Holy Bible
June 1, 2020
The following is a statement from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry:
This evening, the President of the United States stood in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, lifted up a bible, and had pictures of himself taken. In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes. This was done in a time of deep hurt and pain in our country, and his action did nothing to help us or to heal us.
The bible teaches us that “God is love.” Jesus of Nazareth taught, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The prophet Micah taught that the Lord requires us to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.”
The bible the President held up and the church that he stood in front of represent the values of love, of justice, of compassion, and of a way to heal our hurts.
We need our President, and all who hold office, to be moral leaders who help us to be a people and nation living these values. For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
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Sunday Worship Service
Zoom, 10 AM
Wednesday Evening Prayers
Zoom, 6 PM
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*Please continue updating the prayer list
Although eClare brings together a lot of the "lightness" of St Francis Church, the main reason for its existence is to communicate the life events of our church and parishioners. This especially includes the prayer list. Email our church administrator, Barbara Brady. She is now working remotely and she receives emails through the church web address.
As always, if you wish to add another person's name to the prayer list, please be sure you have that person's permission.
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We Pray for:
Art
Harry Bissell
Kaylee Bland
Julie Boardman
Craig
Holly Colt
Ellen Day
Edward Dufresne
Diane Dumond
Brinley Hall
Dorine Harris
Kira Hartley
Kaylie Holland
Jane Hooper
Keagan
Alix Kirkpatrick
JoAnn Krestan
Pam MacDonald
Sam and Jane Nesbitt
Diana Robson
Dennis Robertson
Ronan
Carla Rosenzweig
Sarah Semler
Scott
Ed Shoemaker
Sophie
Cathy Smith
Donny Smith
Marshall Smith
Peter Smith
Gloria Smith
Fred Stine
Brenda Swazey
Brad West
Martha York
Those with June Birthdays
Mark Boechat
Marie Bissell
Tim Boggs
Camdyn Chung
Betty Creighton
Judith Dullnig
Lois French
Mary Gallant
Cindy Garlick
Brinley Hall
John Higgins
Made Heilner
Tyler Knowles
Lucy Byrd Pegau
Bob Publicover
Miguel Reinoso
Terri Stephens Smith
Fr. Brent Was
Jean Wheeler
Ray Yardy
Those in the Armed Services
Abigail
James Crowe III
Andy Dittmer
Brian Haley
Sean Haley
Douglas Hamilton
Kyler Hall
Peter McGuyer
Kyle Carino Mings
Eric Partridge
Henry Shepley
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From a brief exchange with
Bishop Chilton Knudsen
"These are hard and scary times indeed.
Keep the prayers coming, and pass along my love and thanks to others at St Francis. +Chilton
*Bishop Chilton is a former Bishop of Maine, a friend of St. Francis Church, and is currently Assisting Bishop of the Diocese of Washington D.C.
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From Outreach Chair, Sue Grindle-
The Eagles' Nest Clubhouse in Ellsworth is a peer based mental health recovery program designed to empower its members toward individual and shared goals through relationships and participation in operating the Clubhouse. St. Francis has helped this organization in the past by donating art supplies for one of their craft projects. Now, in anticipation of re-opening under safe guidelines, they are in need of other supplies. Since the clubhouse has been closed, no dues have been collected. Therefore there are no funds available for the following: kitchen trash bags, paper plates, toilet paper, and general cleaning supplies. If anyone could donate any of these items, it would be greatly appreciated. The Clubhouse is located in Ellsworth next to Finn's Restaurant. Staff is present Mon. - Fri. from 9:00 to 5:00 (207) 389-3300. Thank you!
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From our Senior Warden, Milissa La Londe
Dear Friends,
Everywhere I turn these days I am faced with the uncomfortable reality that I have work to do. If I am to be honest, I must admit that I don't really understand what "white privilege" is or how I live within it. I don't have a clue what it feels like to be on guard wherever I go, or the myriad ways in which my society is organized to lift me up while keeping others down.
I choose not to protest in person but will dedicate time each day to opening my eyes, my ears, my mind and my heart; to read and watch and listen and learn, so that some time soon I can be a bit more cognizant of ways in which I contribute to inequality and inequity.
I have work to do. Please pray for me as I will you.
Milissa
and a link from Milissa's sister-
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice - Equality Includes You
https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234
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Where is Love?
(thoughts in a suffering world)
In God’s eyes,
we are equal.
God IS Love,
thus we are Love.
Feel the anger,
Not the hate.
Past sins hurt, then and now.
Turn them, show others
Love wins out
if we let it.
Receive, and then
give it away.
Be still, listen.
Learn while you are here.
One person, reaching out,
will be a first
Loop in a chain,
to hold together
all that was
meant to be tied.
Build, don’t rip apart.
Smile, don’t look away.
Reach out, give what you can
Yourself to give is best.
Ask for forgiveness, be humbled.
We can do better,
but we need a heart
for it to start,
and an open soul
for the Spirit to fill,
which filling overflows
to where the Spirit will.
(Connie Hegarty, wonderful musician, former St. Francis parishioner who now lives in Connecticut but still very active in the hearts of St. Francis Church and, most especially by the choir)
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Sent to us from Jo-Ann Krestan
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Inspiration!
From Bill McKinley, an eClare reader and friend from Massachusetts
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Thoughts about wearing face masks from Roxanne Jansen
I
n Japan, wearing a mask has been and continues to be culturally and socially endorsed. When I lived in Tokyo, it was not unusual to see people wearing masks on the trains, subways, and streets as well as inside buildings. The idea was to protect others (including all those perfect strangers!) if you felt you might be catching a cold or were feeling even the least bit unwell. There was certainly no stigma to wearing one, it being a widespread practice recognized as benefitting all in this populous nation.
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A walk on the beach from one of you!
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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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