The E-pistle of Sunday, April 14th, 2024

The Third Sunday of Easter

Holy Eucharist Rite II

7:30AM in Emmanuel Chapel



Holy Eucharist, Rite II 

10:00AM in the Nave & Livestreamed

5:15PM Holy Eucharist

in Emmanuel Chapel

The Cathedral Church of St. Luke

in the

City of Portland

and the

Episcopal Diocese of Maine

Whoever you are,

and wherever you may be on the journey of the spirit, 

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

Welcome to St. Luke’s Cathedral



We are a community of faith with ancient worship and modern thought, catholic traditions and progressive theology. We proclaim a Biblical perspective for thinking people, a respect for reason, science, and a diversity of perspective. This empowers compassion and care for both the wider community and one another. Our commitment to welcome and inclusion is central to our mission modeled on the Kingdom of God and proclaimed by Jesus Christ. 

Sunday Morning Service Participants

Preacher

The Reverend Suzanne Roberts M.D., Associate Priest

Celebrant

The Reverend George Stevens, Interim Dean

Assisting

The Reverend Rebecca A. Grant, Deacon

Music Leader & Organist

Christian Clough, Canon for Liturgy & Music

Lector

Cecilia Marchetti

Prayers Leader

Richard Pitre

Ushers

Peter Bingham, Chester Bishop, Stan Kuziel, Gail Swanton

Verger

Randi Hogan

Crucifer

Alec Thorne

Live Streaming

Jack Swanton, Sam Allen

Contributing Ministries

The Cathedral Choir, Acolytes, Vergers, The Flower Guild, The Altar Guild, The Kneeler Guild, The Healing Team, Eucharistic Ministers

Music copyrights granted under OneLicense.net #A-713087. Sources: The Hymnal 1982, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Wonder, Love, and Praise, Voices Found, My Heart Sings Out, The Saint Helena Psalter, The Book of Common Prayer,, Enriching our Worship, The Holy Bible (NRSV). 

5:15PM Service of Holy Eucharist

Reflecting: Liz Parsons

Celebrating: The Rev. Dr. Ted J. Gaiser

Happening at the Cathedral Today

Join Luke's Garden

Meeting Today

Join Luke’s Garden, St. Luke’s LGBTQIA+ group, for their meeting today at 1:00PM on Zoom

The meeting will be a discussion about coming out; it’s history, significance, and what to do if someone comes out to you.

With questions, please email Orion Williams.

Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour - Please join us after the service for a time of fellowship in the upper hall through the doors to the left of the altar. All are welcome.



Interested in hosting? It is an important part of our parish life and provides us with a time for connection. Hosting is fun and easy, it requires bringing in a baked good and brewing coffee the Sunday of your choosing. Please consider signing up, a lot of gratitude comes with the job. Thank you!

Check the hosting schedule by visiting the link here.  

Please email Meredith Cough with your date.

The Biblical Study Team

What do Christians know, or think they know, about God’s being? What roles do faith and/or belief play in this system? What role does thinking or reason play? What role does feeling or emotion play? What Biblical references are essential to coming to conclusions about who or what God is? 

Biblical references open doors to new understandings by tracing the major prophets, the Pauline letters, and the Gospels. These many voices sing God’s praises as they trace the evolution of God’s character over time.

An essential clue to God’s being is given to us by tracing the 25 names God is assigned by the prophets and apostles. Join us to discover what God has told us about who he is, and therefore who we are. 

We meet in the Oratory Room from 12:00 until 1:30PM every Sunday. Bring your questions and your hopes. There are handouts and suggested readings for each session. Contact: Dr. Bob Hanson (207) 405-8250.

Community Announcements

Park Street Door Code

In order to maintain security efforts at the cathedral, the code on the park street entrance has been changed. If you have questions please contact acting junior warden Fred Fowler, The Reverend George Stevens, or call the parish office (207)-772-5434 if you are in need of the access code. Thank you for your understanding as we make efforts to keep our building safe and secure for all.

The Reverend George Stevens

To Run His 11th Boston Marathon Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Monday, April 15th (Patriot's Day), The Reverend George Stevens, our Interim Dean, will be running in his 11th Boston Marathon!

We offer our prayers of support and encouragement to George on this tremendous undertaking.

This past Sunday, Bishop Brown offered a blessing to the Rev. Stevens (pictured below).

George will be running in support of Dream Big! which is a charity that empowers girls from low income situations by enabling their participation in sports.

To support George in his efforts, you can visit his page here.

The Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Brown (Bishop of Maine) offers a blessing to The Rev. George Stevens (Interim Dean), in preparation for his marathon.

Photo Courtesy of Nancy Mawhinney

Cathedral Office Limited Availability Next Week

This coming week, April 15-19, the cathedral office will have limited staffing, as the Rev. George Stevens will be away with his family, and Avery Levesque-Schott, parish administrator, will be attending the Episcopal Communicators Conference.

We will check email and respond to voicemails when available.

Thank you for your understanding.

To email the parish office click here.

To email The Reverend George Stevens, click here.

Eco Tips from the

Public Policy and Environmental

Action Team (PPEAT)

Did you know that minute particles of plastic have been found in even the most pristine snow cover in the Antarctic and in the milk of breastfeeding mothers? Plastic has been shown to cause a number of cancers and to interfere with our reproductive systems and the development of our children.

In addition to reducing your household’s use of plastic, there are a number of steps you can take to advocate for plastic reduction on a larger scale.

• Urge your members of Congress to pass the REDUCE Act Act (H.R. 5564/S. 2844), a bill that would put a fee on the sale of new, virgin plastic resin used to make single-use products. This could begin a wave of positive change, shifting industries to use recycled plastics or alternatives when creating single-use products as well as funding plastic waste reduction and recycling projects.

• Sign the Anglican Communion UN team’s letter in support of a UN Global plastic treaty. The letter argues that plastic is particularly damaging for people living in poverty and explains why we should continue to reduce production and accelerate a just transition away from single-use and harmful plastics.

Christian Education at the Cathedral

Interested in Christian Education? In the coming weeks the vestry will be beginning work on creating a fresh job description for the Interim Director of Religious Education at the Cathedral of St. Luke. 

If you’re interested in helping shape this new position, please contact Interim Dean the Rev. George Stevens.

Looking For Individuals to serve as Treasurer and

Junior Warden

The cathedral is looking for individuals interested in serving in the positions of treasurer and junior warden.

If you are interested in serving as treasurer please contact The Rev. George Stevens or Tim Wilkins, with any questions.

If you have interest in either of these positions please email The Rev. George Stevens or Senior Warden Sam Allen.

The Healing Team Schedule

The Healing Team will serve on the following Sundays in April and May. Prayers of healing may be requested in the small chapel to the right of the communion rail after or during communion. Healing Team members offering prayers of healing are:

April 14, 2024  Betsey Deleuse, Mary Strnad

April 21, 2024  Elise Magnuson, Judd Hume

April 28, 2024  Sara Schmalz, Peter Carleton

May 5, 2024.   Sara Schmalz, Oscar Mokeme

Ongoing Opportunities & Announcements

Join the Young and The Restless

We are St. Luke’s 20s-30s-year-old ministry. We are an active group at the cathedral which also gets together outside of the church.

Join us as we go hiking, ice skating, play trivia, or just enjoy each other’s company! If you are new to us, welcome! We meet every Tuesday at Maine Beer Company in Freeport for Trivia from 6-8.

 Other events happen sporadically throughout the month, however trivia is a great opportunity to meet us if you’re joining us for the first time. Contact Shana Rose to stay up to date with group activities and information.

Join Luke's Garden

LGBTQIA+ Group

Luke's Garden is the cathedral's LGBTQIA+ group which meets every 2nd Sunday of the month following coffee hour.

All are welcome!

For additional information contact Orion Williams

Events and Resources

in the Wider Community

Portland Rossini Club Concert on April 28th



Join the Portland Rossini Club for their concert on April 28th at 3:00PM.

The concert will feature students of Laura Kargul, Director of Keyboard Studies at the University of Southern Maine's Osher School of Music.

To learn more about this event and the Rossini Club, visit their website here.

Harmony Unveiled:

Nurturing Nicaragua's Future Together



Date of Event: Tuesday, May 7

Location: St. Nicholas Church, 350 Rt. 1, Scarborough, ME 04074

Time: 7:00PM

We hear and read about Central America and think we know something about the people, and about immigration, in specific, and yet oftentimes what we’ve been told turns out to be questionable. Come hear firsthand experience from someone who has been living and working in Nicaragua for over 35 years. Sarah Woodard has extensive experience working among those less advantaged in support of economic development, food security, and access to affordable healthcare.

Renaissance Voices Concert on Friday, May 10th

Join Renaissance Voices under the direction of maestro Harold Stover

(St. Luke's parishioner) for their next concert on Friday, May 10th at 7:30PM in the Cathedral Nave.

Musical selections include works by John Dowland, Thomas Morely, Edward Elgar, Selections from the Great American Songbook and more.

To learn more about Renaissance Voices and to purchase tickets for this upcoming concert, visit their website here.

Looking For Land to Support Solar Farm

The Reverend Ted Gaiser of St. Nicholas, Scarborough is working with Revision Energy and a Michigan based non profit called Solar Faithful on developing a solar farm that faith communities can buy into. This will enable them to access energy from a renewable source and save them significant money in the process. They are exploring a few properties but are still looking for other options. Here are the requirements:

1. About 5 acres
2. Relatively flat land close to the road.
3. Unshaded and not in a designated wetland area.
4. Land close to 3 phase power lines (as opposed to single phase)
5. Land that is mortgage free.

The benefit to the lessee is that the leased property will realize between $1,500 - $2,000 per acre of rent per year which is between $7,500 to $10,000 of rent per year (25 year lease).

If you or someone you know has land meeting these requirements and are interested in selling or leasing it, please contact Sarah Braik.

Screening of the "Philadelphia 11"

Documentary to be Held in Portland

The full-length documentary, "The Philadelphia 11," which tells the remarkable story of the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church, is coming to the Nickelodeon Theater in Portland's Old Port on Tuesday, 14 May at 7 p.m.

The screening will be followed by a panel that includes with one of these 11 pioneers: Merrill Bittner. Merrill will be joined by Portia Hirschman (retired priest from Maryland who is active at St. Mary's in Falmouth), Nancy Moore (sponsored for ordination in Maine and rector at Christ Church in Norway), Vicki Smith (sponsored for ordination in Maine and has served in several other dioceses, currently rector at St. Martin's in Palmyra), and Sukie Curtis (retired and active at St. Bartholomew's in Yarmouth). 

I hope you can be with us on Tuesday, May 14th for this exciting event.

To learn more about the film visit the webpage here.

Weekly Ministries

• The Food Pantry is open from 8 am to 11 am every Thursday.



• St. Elizabeth's Jubilee Center is offered every Tuesday from 8:30 am to 11 am.

• Noon prayer is offered every Wednesday via Zoom.

• The Tuesday 12:10 Eucharist is offered every week in Emmanuel Chapel in-person and on Zoom.
• Compline is offered weekly on Friday from 8-8:30pm on Zoom. 

Click on the Episcopal Maine Logo above to learn about all that is happening in the wider Diocese.

https://episcopalmaine.org

stlukesportland.org

(207)-772-5434

Physical Address:

143 State Street, Portland, ME 04101

Parking Available at:

134 Park Street, Portland, ME 04101

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 4141, Portland, ME 04101