The Dio Log

news & events in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine since 1999

Volume 22, Number 9
May 14, 2020

207.772.1953 I episcopalmaine.org
Prayers
Join us in offering prayers of thanksgiving and congratulations for Klara Tammany of Trinity Church, Lewiston who has received the 2020 James and Sally Carignan Award for Lifetime Career Achievement for her work with the Center for Wisdom's Women. Darby Ray, Director, Harward Center for Community Partnerships and Professor of Civic Engagement at Bates College presents the award and speaks of Klara's outstanding service in this video.
The Rev. Richard Rasner died in his native Ohio on May 3. He served as a deacon at the Cathedral of St. Luke in Portland and started and served as Executive Director of St. Elizabeth's Essential Pantry . We give thanks for Dick's life, and join our hearts with all who grieve his death. Read Dick's obituary here .

Let us pray for the Rev. Katie Holicky and the people of St. Paul's, Brunswick as they join together in ministry. Katie will serve as Assistant Rector for Children and Youth. Read more here .
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for Emily Keniston of St. Ann's, Windham . Emily has been called to serve as the Coordinator of Province One. The Executive Committee of Province I shares the news here .

We pray for the repose of the soul of Katherine Adams , ex-spouse of the Rev. Lael Sorenson . May God comfort and strengthen family and friends who grieve her death. A service in thanksgiving and celebration of her life will be scheduled at a later date. Read her obituary here .
Please pray for the Rev. Cn. Sara D'Angio White , Canon for Youth Ministry, who began leave on May 4 in order to be with her young family. We look forward to Sara's return later this year!
Voices among us
The Rev. Kerry Mansir of Christ Church, Gardiner was interviewed about providing the church's switch to online services. Central Maine churches getting creative to keep services going

John Hennessy , Director of Advocacy and Networks, speaks about the involvement of the diocese in purchasing and delivering 30,000 pounds of potatoes from farmers in Aroostook County, to those in need of food. Maine Acts of Kindness Potatoes 'from Heaven ' (scroll down to read)

Several parishioners of St. Bartholomew's, Yarmouth have had their ministries featured in the Press Herald during the pandemic:

Read the latest  Social Justice & Advocacy Engagement Update to learn how Bishop Curry and other faith leaders are calling on Congress to allocate over $4 billion to help Americans safely cast votes in November and how Bishop Brown recently teamed up with Bishop Robert Deeley (RC) to make recommendations to Senator Susan Collins to protect Mainers from food insecurity.
The Rev. Tim Higgins of St. Ann's, Windham talked to the Windham Eagle about the church's Facebook Live services. Area churches continue to provide services and community connections in innovative ways

The Very Rev. Ben Shambaugh of Cathedral of St. Luke, Portland and the Rev. Carolyn Eklund of St. Paul's, Brunswick are featured in this article discussing how the COVID-19 era is changing the way clergy minister to the dying and grieving.  The last responders: consoling the dying and grieving in the COVID-19 era
Around the diocese
Watch full online diocese-wide service this Sunday
A diocese-wide team have compiled a full service for this Sunday, including music and a sermon from Bishop Brown. Clergy and lay leaders will be provided with a downloadable video file on Friday, May 15 to use as they wish. The video will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube on Sunday morning at 10:00 am. Planning is also underway for a similar offering on Pentecost. Stay tuned for details!
Initial Approach to Regathering document available
Thanks to collaborative work across the Episcopal Church, and with ecumenical partners in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Diocese of Maine has compiled and shared a resource to help congregations plan for a time when in-person worship resumes.

In consideration of Governor Mills' announcement of a plan for gradually reopening Maine, the resource is meant to guide the thoughts, plans, decisions, and communications churches will have as they move toward “re-opening”. This is expected to be just the first step in what will possibly be a 12-18 month process of planning and changing.

Click here to download the document.
BTS Center hosts online book study beginning May 22
Join in reading and discussing Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy by G. Jeffrey MacDonald. The book study group is for anyone interested in how congregations with part-time clergy can thrive. The group will meet once a week for four weeks with the author joining for the final session.The co-facilitators will be Rev. Nicole Diroff, Program Director at The BTS Center, and Rev. Marguerite Steadman, Rector at St. John's Episcopal Church, Bangor.
Good news from our congregations
A team of retired and front line nurses at Saints Matthew and Barnabas, Hallowell , organized by Cindi Cunningham , gathered last week to make 215 masks for the hospital and surrounding care facilities. ( Pictured: Sharon Dow, Bonnie Fuller, Sue Gallant, Phyllis Buck, Diane Blais, Gloria Farrington, Lori Marchbanks, Phyllis Nichols, Linda Brown, and Mary Jean Dwyer)
The Church of Saint Mary, Falmouth was recognized as an extraordinary Blood Program Partner during the COVID-19 pandemic by the American Red Cross for holding weekly blood drives in April to replace the many drives that have been cancelled. Their goal was 72 blood donations, but they collected 110. This means that 330 lives were positively affected by these efforts!
Please send your good news to diolog@episcopalmaine.org!
Faith resources
Who needs a COVID-19 Spiritual Survival Kit?
What can we do to take care of ourselves and others during this difficult time? How can we rely on God to help us survive -- spiritually, physically, and emotionally -- and to do God's work in the world? ChurchNext is offering a free course (no need to have an account!) designed to help us manage this period of anxiety and social isolation. Four instructors offer approaches to maintaining spiritual, emotional, and physical health during the Covid-19 crisis.Learn more and sign up to begin here . 
Enable Episcopal prayer skill on Alexa
Did you know that one of the “Most Engaging Skills on Alexa” is an Episcopal Prayer Service? Developed by TryTank, a joint project of the Virginia Theological Seminary and the General Theological Seminary, the skill (as apps on the Amazon Echo are callled) plays a slimmed down version of the Daily Office. Interested in learning more or giving it a try? Click here for more. 
Explore the Way of Love with new video series
The Way of Love is a way of life. More than a program or curriculum, it is an intentional commitment to follow Jesus by following seven practices: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest. Episcopalians and others looking to engage the Way of Love and learn more about each of the individual practices are invited to Explore the Way of Love in a new series of short videos and accompanying primer cards from The Episcopal Church. The videos and primer cards are downloadable for use by parishes and individuals. Find these at episcopalchurch.org/traveling-the-way-of-love.
Join in praying for people to come to know Jesus Christ
Episcopalians are invited to join with other Anglicans in prayer from May 21 to May 31, 2020. Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus. Resources to help with Thy Kingdom Come are at www.thykingdomcome.global, but the simplest thing you can do is encourage clergy and congregations to “Pray for Five”. Christians simply think of five people who are not yet following Christ and pray for them from Ascension to Pentecost.