It’s Time to Plan the Season of Creation! 

Yes, it is time for caring for Creation to be the focus of our worship in the Diocese of Maine!

This is a loving reminder to you that if you haven’t started yet, this is the perfect time to organize the liturgy for your parish for the five Sundays of the Season of Creation, as proposed by your Climate Justice Council and encouraged by the Diocese and our Bishop.

Some churches have already begun their planning. St Ann’s in Windham has planned a Bike (or Carpool) to Church Sunday during the Season of Creation. Recently, they invited the Bicycle Coalition of Maine to their parking lot to provide free bike checkups and bike safety training for kids. What a great idea! Why don’t you plan something similar?

The five Sundays are September 4, 11, 18, and 25, and October 2, 2022, otherwise known as the 14th -17th Sundays After Pentecost, or Propers 18-22.

The Scripture readings, collects, and prefaces can remain the same as in the Lectionary in general use in your parish. Or you can substitute a more creation-themed text from the Bible, or another creation-care themed reading, for one or more of the lectionary texts. You can choose hymns and prayers that focus our worship on the goodness of God shown in creation. You can invite your young people to take part in preparing your worship space with creation-care themed posters, vestments, hangings, altar cloths, and so on. Let your imagination run free!

What will make your Season of Creation powerful will be the interpretation and presentation of the Bible passages you read in church. How does the message of the Gospel speak to today’s experience of climate change? How do the prophet’s warnings and lamentations speak to us today about the need for environmental justice...

Click here to read the full letter from the Climate Justice Council and to access Season of Creation resources!

Identifying a Parish EarthKeeper

If your parish has not yet identified an EathKeeper, or a point-of-contact for Climate Justice work in your parish, please do! Your Climate Justice Council would like to know the names and email addresses of these EarthKeepers so we can share resources, connections, and encouragement. Please contact Emily Keniston, staff liaison to the Climate Justice Council, with the name and contact of your parish EarthKeeper, or with questions. Additionally, we would love to know if you are using the handmade wooden cross sent to your parish earlier this year. If so, and could send a picture or a message it would be lovely!

Happy 40th Anniversary, Tom Sumner! 

We have a big anniversary to celebrate this month: Tom Sumner, our Assistant Director of Finance and Insurance has worked for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine for 40 years! 

Tom started his career with the diocese with Bishop Wolf, and was initially hired to manage printings and mailings for the diocese and keep Loring House tidy and continued through the tenure of Bishop Chalfant. Tom says of those times that it was a pretty solitary role with evening work, and "that's when employees smoked at their desks, and the fireplaces in Loring House all worked!"  

Under Bishop Knudsen, Tom's role shifted to bookkeeping in the Finance Department, a ministry he enjoys, especially in working with people regarding questions around insurance, pension, and pay. Through Bishop Lane's tenure and now Bishop Brown's, Tom enjoys coming to work (or working from home during the pandemic) and enjoys a sense of satisfaction after a day's work. Join us in giving a hearty contratulations to Tom on his 40th anniversary!

Thank You, Sara D'Angio White!  

The Rev. Cn. Sara D'Angio White, Canon for Youth Ministry, is departing the diocesan staff to begin a new chapter.

Sara's focus on youth ministry with middle- and high school-aged people throughout Maine, working both with congregations and directly with the youth of the diocese has had a lasting impact.  

Called to motherhood, Sara and her husband, the Rev. Andrew D'Angio White, are parenting five children, including a 15-year-old who just recently joined the family this summer. Sara says, "I’m getting to put my hard won skills as a therapeutic parent to work, as well as my pastoral skills as a youth minister, and it’s exciting, and beautiful, and full of twists and turns."

Sara will be missed! Please join us in giving thanks for Sara's ministry among us, and in wishing her blessings in her new call. Sara's last day with the diocesan staff will be Friday, September 9th. 

Sign Up for the Virtual Choir! 

The Virtual Choir is returning to Diocesan Convention this year! To lend your voice, sign up here. The final selections of the two hymns are still being made, but we can tell you that they will be familiar, well-loved tunes with fresh, new lyrics, and the arrangements will allow for melody singing as well as part singing and a descant. 

Resolution Learning Session - Video Now Available! 

The deadline for submitting a resolution for diocesan convention is fast approaching (September 16th)! 

The Resolutions Committee hosted a learning session and workshop focused on crafting a resolution, the life cycle of a diocesan resolution, and a look back at the impact of previous resolutions passed in the Diocese of Maine on August 16, 2022. The recording of that session can be accessed by clicking here or on the video below. 

To view past convention resolutions and resolution-related resources, those are here on our Episcopal Maine website.

Recent Convention Appointments

Robert Ludwig, Music Director and Parish Administrator of Church of the Good Shepherd and member of the Diocesan Convention Planning Committee, has been appointed Chair of the Diocesan Worship Committee. Together with the Rev. George Sheats, Rev. Victoria Sirota, and Rev. Ryan Mails, the Diocesan Worship Committee will organize worship for Pre-Convention Town Hall Meetings, Diocesan Convention, Chrism Eucharist and Renewal of Vows, Ordinations and other diocese-wide services. The Worship Committee looks forward to providing leadership and resources for liturgical planning to the diocese. 

Seth Stewart, member of All Saints Chapel, Southport and member of the Diocesan Convention Planning Committee, has been appointed Assistant Registrar for Convention. This is a new role for the diocese. Seth will be assisting Canon Barbara Martin, Registrar, and Wendy Kopera in verifying Certificates of Lay and Clergy Delegates to Convention and Convention Registration.

Lisa Lindsay, Parish Administrator of St. Luke's, Wilton and Clerk of the Diocesan Standing Committee, has been appointed Assistant Secretary for Convention Resolutions, another new role for the diocese. Lisa will assist Canon Barbara Martin, Registrar, Karen Perka, Secretary of the Diocese, and the Hon. Marge Kilkelly, Chair of the Resolutions Committee, in tracking resolutions and amendments to resolutions during convention.

Register Now for Ignatian Retreat in Everyday Life

The Ignatian Spirituality Partnership of Maine invites you to practice the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life with a retreat beginning in early October 2022 and running through June 2023. It's for people who live in or near Maine, and there are options that would permit someone to be fully remote.

In this retreat, pray imaginatively with scripture and explore spiritual resources for decision making, growing closer in authentic friendship with Jesus and finding a greater awareness of God working in your life. Meetings will take place from 6:30 - 8:30 pm on the first Wednesday of every month online, and they also offer individual or group spiritual direction monthly (online or in person). It requires you to set aside 3/4 hour for prayer and reflection each day, which is the crux of the retreat.

Find out more and apply at IgnatianME.org or contact Jane Hartwell or the Rev. Holly Hoffmann. Space often fills up, so apply soon.

Project Resource - Happening this Fall! Register Now...

5 consecutive Sundays, September 11 to October 9, 2022

5:00 to 7:00 pm ET, via Zoom

Congregations, program groups, ministries, and committees of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine are invited to participate in "Project Resource" a vibrant new method for transformation in all areas of stewardship. Cohort groups are also encouraged to consider this program.

"Project Resource teaches culture and systems change around financial development in the worldwide Episcopal Church. Project Resource provides teaching, focus, and adaptable resources to equip clergy and lay leaders to develop their year-round annual stewardship campaigns and to plan, ask for, and receive major gifts."  

To find out more, or to register, please click here.

In order to make this worthwhile program accessible to interested groups, educational grants are available through the Wolf and Loring Funds, to cover all but the first $100 of the cost of participation. For more information about obtaining funding to participate (1 clergy person and 2 lay leaders, minimum per team), please email Canon Barbara Martin.

Northern New England Sacred Ground Circles Coming this Fall

This fall, Sacred Ground circles open to those in the dioceses of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will meet on Zoom. The first sessions of these circles will be held in October and each circle will establish its own rhythm for the rest of the sessions.  The circles are sponsored by the Diocese of Vermont's Anti-Racism Action Group, the Diocese of New Hampshire's Reconciliation Commission, and the Diocese of Maine's Racial Justice Council.

Those interested in participating should contact Franci Farnsworth.

Learn more about Sacred Ground, and watch an invitational video.

Three Facebook Portal Devices on Offer to Churches

The diocesan office has three Facebook Portal devices we would like to give to churches (at no cost to the churches). First come, first served! 

We purchased the devices to facilitate Facebook Live for worship services. The Portal no longer offers that service. However, it can still be used to connect with Zoom or Microsoft Teams (think vestry meetings!). 

To read more about the Portal devices, click here (keeping in mind this is a specific model, see below). 

All three Portal devices are the same and the following model: Portal from Facebook Smart Video Calling 10" Black Display Model- WD50JM.

To request one of the three devices, please email Canon for Communications, Katie Clark. 

Communications Office Hours

Are you interested in a working session regarding technology, social media, or how to communicate your message?

These are all topics for discussion at CommsChat - aka Communications Office Hours. The discussion each week is guided by the questions of those who attend. This is a non-mandatory, come-if-you'd-like open discussion session.

This week's CommsChat is on Thursday, August 25th from 11 am - 12 pm.

Click on the "Register Here" button below if you'd like to attend.