The Dio Log
News & Events in the Episcopal
Diocese of Maine since 1999
Volume 22, Number 23
December 3, 2020
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Jonathan Knock and his son, Caleb, of St. Mark's, Waterville enjoyed time together with the congregation outdoors making traditional Advent wreaths and reflecting on how the holidays may look different this year in order to keep everyone safe! (That's Co-Warden Marty Norris in the background!)
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We offer prayers upon the death of Rev. James Gill (Jim) on November 21. Jim most recently served in the diocese as priest-in-charge at St. Andrew's, Winthrop. He will be interred at a private burial officiated by Bishop Thomas Brown. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at a safer time. May his soul, with the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Read about Jim's life here.
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Let us pray for the work and dedication of the Kneeler Guild of St. Luke's Cathedral and the many hands carrying out their mission of having every parish and summer chapel represented by a kneeler. Each one takes more than 57,000 stitches, 300 square yards of stitching, a third of a mile of wool, and about two years of work!
View more kneeler photos here on Facebook.
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We pray that the Lord's peace be with the Rev. Linton Studdiford, who has received a diagnosis of advanced cancer. May the Lord's mercy rest upon him.
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St. John's, Bangor welcomes the Rev. Rebecca Liberty to serve as their transition priest-in-charge, leading her first service with them on December 6. She has served churches in Hong Kong, California, and Nevada, as well as locally, as the lead pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Bangor and as director of the Wilson Center for Spiritual Exploration and Multifaith Dialogue at the University of Maine. She's a discernment coach, consultant, and group facilitator, and author of the book, The Treasure Hunt of Your Life: Seeking Your Calling, Encountering God, Finding Yourself. Read the announcement in the Bangor Daily News here.
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We ask for your prayers for the Rev. Regina Knox, Priest-in-Charge of All Saints, Skowhegan, who is recuperating at home after a fall resulting in a broken femur and surgery. May the grace of God strengthen and sustain her as she heals.
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Please join in praying with the diocese using the 2020-2021 Cycle of Prayer available to download here and posted here on episcopalmaine.org.
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Prayers for the repose of the soul of the Rev. William Henry Murdoch Jr. (Bill) who passed away peacefully on November 15. Bill served as a priest in several locations including St. Giles, Jefferson and Church of the Good Shepherd, Houlton in Maine. He was a parishioner at St. Andrew's, Newcastle. A public memorial will be announced in the coming weeks. Bill's obituary is available here. May God comfort and strengthen family and friends who grieve his death.
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View Bishop Thomas Brown's sermon for the First Sunday of Advent (November 29) here. You can download a transcript here and find other past sermons and full services on YouTube.
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A “resource for exhausted churches” has been launched by a group of clergy to help parishes to deal with the impact of COVID-19 during Advent. AdventOnline.faith is a set of resources to be used each day by individuals and clergy arranged in five topics: music, scripture, tradition, art, and literature. Read more about its creation here in Church Times. Find more Advent resources and Advent offerings from churches in Maine here.
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Episcopal Relief & Development offers this new digital prayer tool to help grow our worldwide community of prayer. Prayers shared will come from The Book of Common Prayer, and a variety of sources. When you use this tool to pray, click on the "Amen" button at the end to be able to share the prayer with your friends and family on social media.
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Listen to Advent messages of hope from our clergy |
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Clergy of the diocese are sharing short Advent messages with us this season. Watch for messages throughout the season on our Facebook page! We will also broadcast those messages out each Monday on our Faith in Maine podcast. You can find the podcast on any of the standard players (iTunes, Stitcher, PocketCasts, etc.), and we now have a dial-in option to listen to the most recent podcast. Simply dial 207-223-6402.
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Difficult Conversations presented online by St. Peter's |
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Join in an online program "Love in a Time of Coronavirus" at 2:00 pm on Sunday, December 13. It's part of the Community Speakers Series organized by St. Peter’s, Rockland.
Presenter Manette Pottle will speak to her own experience of the losses, challenges, and unexpected gifts of the pandemic, and what she has learned about maintaining relationships. Attendees will be invited to share their own experiences in small groups followed by a short concluding discussion. Manette is a member of the St. Peter's community and a documentary film producer with a passion for justice and transformative story-telling.
The programs are free and open to the public. Join the discussion on December 13 here via Zoom. Note that the program begins promptly at 2:00, but you can join as early as 1:30 so that you will have time to adjust your device settings.
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News from our congregations |
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Bridging the Gap, a program of Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church, Augusta, was chosen to be a Lowe's Heroes Project. Lowe's spent Veterans' Day at Bridging the Gap's Warming Center. Joe (in blue), Aaron and Tammie spent hours installing plexiglass, a toilet, a bathroom exhaust fan and making movable plexi-shields. They are enormously grateful!
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St. John's, Presque Isle, St. Paul's, Fort Fairfield and Church of the Good Shepherd, Houlton enjoyed a Cluster Wide Fall Picnic in October. They enjoyed a wonderful turnout, lots of great fun, plenty of good food, and sunshine. View more photos here.
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Ann Miller of Trinity, Castine turned 100 years old on Saturday, November 21. Family and parishioners followed the town's new fire engine in a surprise car/truck parade past her house and joined in a presentation and singing of Happy Birthday on Zoom. Watch video of the festivities and read more here on WABI-TV. Happy Birthday, Ann!
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Let us share news about your church, ministries, and parishioners!
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Innovative new course for lay people begins January |
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Maine's Commission on Ministry invites lay people in the diocese to consider a new offering from the Bexley Seabury Seminary - because discernment is for all the baptized, not only clergy! Discerning my path for faithful living is a Zoom course that will help you explore your gifts and your call as a Christian.
The course employs an innovative communal process which invites participants into a time of deep listening and spiritual disciplines to uncover insights regarding individual gifts and passions. The course will take place over 6 months in synchronous Zoom meetings of small groups of 6-8 with a trained facilitator.
The course begins with orientation on Saturday January 23 and ends mid-June. Cost is $200 with applications to the Wolf Fund welcomed. Deadline to register is December 15. To register or if you have questions, please email Darreby Ambler.
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Visit the Holy Land every day in Advent |
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On December 1, the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) launched a Holy Land Advent calendar to offer a daily glimpse into the lives of Holy Land Christians and the humanitarian ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Start each day of Advent with a splash of joy by opening a door to a photo or a brief video and news from one of the Episcopal ministries in the region. Find the calendar at www.afedj.org/advent.
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New episode of the Way of Love podcast available |
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In the latest Season 4 episode of The Way of Love podcast with Bishop Michael Curry, he talks with Kory Caudill and Wordsmith. They are musicians supporting the Concert for the Human Family series – a project in collaboration with The Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community initiative. Listen here.
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