News & Events in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine |
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Volume 24, Number 9
May 5, 2022
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Register now for Spring Training on Saturday, May 14 |
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Join us for Spring Training 2022 next Saturday, May 14 from 9:00 am -12:00 pm online via Zoom. There will be a conversation between our own Bishop Brown, Bishop MacVean-Brown of Vermont, and Bishop Hirschfeld of New Hampshire, and attendees can take part in two of the following workshops of their choice:
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Creative Church Fundraising – The Rev. Sara Gavit and St. Anne’s, Calais
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Welcoming Children (Back) into the Pews – The Rev. Cn. Sara D’Angio White
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Earthkeeping in the Parish: How You and Your Congregation Can Respond to Bishop Brown’s Earth Day Proclamation – Diocesan Climate Justice Council and the Rev. Jenny Reece
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Diocesan Resolutions and Our Relationship with the Wabanaki People –Committee on Indian Relations
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Building Bridges: A Deacon’s Ministry, Bringing People Together –Heather Sylvester and The Rev. Kris Conley
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The Ministry of Planned Giving – Cn. Terry Reimer
Read full descriptions of the workshops here.
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Churches encouraged in committment to Creation Care |
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"As Christians, we believe that God exists in perfect relationship, and we believe that each of us is invited to share in that relationship. The biblical concept of right-relatedness tells us that not only are we to be in conscious relationship to our Creator but also to each other and to all of Creation. However, our relationship to God’s earth is not as God would have it; it is far from “perfect”. And now we are all – every human, every creature, every part of the earth itself – at a point where God’s beloved planet is in peril. Climate change is a crisis of unprecedented proportion in which we hear God’s call to each of us to respond as individuals and as members of his holy Church."
We are all encouraged to pray, commit, turn, and act in ways that strengthen our committment to caring for the earth. This includes signing and displaying The Episcopal Church's Creation Care Covenant and for all faith communities to appoint an "Earth Keeper".
"It is God’s call, given to us in Genesis, “to till the earth and to keep it” (2:15), and we accept this call with gladness and singleness of heart." Full letter available here.
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Committee on Indian Relations offers legislative update |
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We celebrate passage of LD 906! This legislation, signed into law by Gov. Mills, will take steps to provide clean drinking water to the Passamaquoddy people of Sipayik (Pleasant Point). Pictured here are the Rev. Lee Burns and Rev. Ted Kanellakis, both past chairs of the Committee on Indian Relations, holding a sign in support of tribal-related legislation at the Sipayik Rally for Clean Drinking Water in Augusta on April 11.
Meanwhile, the struggle continues for Wabanaki tribal sovereignty under federal Indian law, on a par with the other 570 recognized nations and tribes in the United States. See “Wabanaki Nations Statement Regarding LD 1626” here. |
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Join in a variety of diocese-wide gatherings in June |
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During the month of June, there are a number of diocese-wide opportunities to gather including celebrations of new ministry, ordinations, retired clergy gatherings, and a Deacon gathering. See the schedule below:
June
- 12 Celebration of New Ministry with St. Bartholomew's, Yarmouth and Amanda Gerken-Nelson
- 15 Communications Workshop: Social Media Basics for Churches
- 18 Ordinations, Cathedral Church of Saint Luke, Portland
- 18 Pride Parade, Portland
- 21 Retired Clergy Gathering with the Bishop, St. Mark’s, Waterville
- 22 Retired Clergy Gathering with the Bishop, Loring House and Emmanuel Chapel
- 22 Celebration of New Ministry with St. Alban’s, Cape Elizabeth and Joshua Hill
- 29 Quiet Day for the Deacon Community, Loring House and Emmanuel Chapel
In light of these abundant opportunities, we are not gathering on the 4th of June as previously announced. We hope to see many of you at these various events in June, especially the ordinations on the 18th at the Cathedral!
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News From Our Congregations |
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Funds raised by St. Luke's, Wilton for their annual Sunday School Lenten Project were donated to the Franklin County Children's Task Force. Here is parishioner Justy Nazar presenting them with a check for $900! |
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Bishop Brown and St. John's, Bangor, dedicated their new tower at a service last Sunday. (View recording of the service here.)Then they hosted a block party for the whole neighborhood! |
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Pam Ellis, a member of Church of the Good Shepherd in Rangeley, has been decorating Easter Eggs in the Ukrainian Pysanky tradition for her entire life. Pam shared her knowledge with parishioners and guests at a workshop after Palm Sunday services. Each participant was able to decorate several eggs after being instructed in the method of scribing the eggs with hot wax using a pinhead stylus, dipping the egg in dye, and repeating the process using different colors. Aren't these gorgeous?! |
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Saint Mary's, Falmouth will hold an Active Bystander Training on Sunday, May 22, from 4-6:00 pm either in person (43 Foreside Rd, Falmouth) or here on Zoom. Free and open to all. The presenter is the Director of PAC, Maine Clara Porter, MSW, who is a nationally certified instructor in Empowerment Self Defense with the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation and the Center for Anti-Violence Education with 20 years experience in the field.
You will gain awareness and tools to safely and effectively intervene when you witness incidents from microaggressions to threats of harm based on race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration or housing status, and other factors. Learn methods for managing adrenalin, assessing situations, and engaging other bystanders all with the goal of increasing the safety of the person or group targeted. Explore the concepts of calling in vs. calling out and ways to assist that respect the autonomy and choices of the person(s) targeted. For more information, please contact admin@smary.org.
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Earth Day 2022 was observed during the 10:00 am service at the Cathedral of St. Luke, Portland on April 24. Pictured are Dean Benjamin Shambaugh with parishioner and climate activist, Shana Rose, who gave the sermon. |
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St. Giles, Jefferson thanks Sherry Flint, co-founder of Inn Along the Way, for here fabulous presentation. Watch the recording of this presentation here to learn more about the Inn.
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The latest episode of the Faith in Maine podcast was released last week. In "Keep Listening: An Easter Message", we continue our series focusing on the four themes from Bishop Brown's 2021 diocesan convention address: Listen, Connect, Adapt, Hope. You can listen at faithinmaine.org
or download it wherever you get your podcasts.
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The Rev. Dr. Jenny Reece, Chair of the Climate Justice Council and Director of the Oranbega Retreat Center, offered an Earth Day sermon to the congregation of St. Brendan the Navigator, Deer Isle.
She says, "So we were given this earth not just to enjoy it plucking fruit from trees and living in a primitive way, the tilling God wants implies agriculture, civilization, art, making things. ...We have to make, we must till, cultivate, use our gifts to find nourishment from the environment. But the tilling is only half of it. We also have to keep it."
Read the full sermon "To Till and Keep the Earth" here.
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The Rev. George Sheats of St. Michael's, Auburn gave the opening prayer for the Maine State Senators at the State House on Tuesday, April 19.
"...We pray that they always seek to act in the way of justice, mercy and compassion. Give them the strength and wisdom to guide our state working in cooperation and for the good of all the citizens they represent..."
George says it "was so much fun"!
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A recording of the diocesan communications workshop on email newsletters that was held on April 27th is available here for anyone who was unable to attend.
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Read Church Pension Group's spring newletter, CPG Connect here, which addresses parity between lay and clergy pensions, needs of nonbinary clients, and board member's perspective on their mission and work.
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Waterville church holds Earth Day litter cleanup walk
Members of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Waterville gathered April 24 to take part in an Earth Day litter cleanup walk in St. Mark's neighborhood of Eustis Parkway, North Street Playground and North Street Recreational Area Trail...
Read more
www.centralmaine.com
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Brunswick-based program focused on race is extending
A Brunswick church is working to expand conversations on race in the broader community, a discussion that continues to receive legislative pushbacks. "There was this feeling among the people at St. Paul's (Episcopal Church) that the work was...
Read more
www.pressherald.com
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We pray for the Rev. Barbara Briggs and the congregation of St. Margaret's, Belfast. They will hold a Celebration of New Ministry this Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 pm. May God bless their ministry together! Clergy are invited to vest and process (white stoles). May God bless their ministry together!
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Join us in offering prayers of thanksgiving for the return of Rev. Cn. Michael Ambler, Canon to the Ordinary, from his first quarter sabbatical. Welcome back, Michael! |
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May the soul of Elaine Susan Falender, wife of our diocesan chancellor Gordon K. Gayer, who died peacefully in Cape Elizabeth on April 21, 2022, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Read Elaine's full obituary here.
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We offer prayers for Deacon Deborah McKean who died on Saturday, April 23. She served at St. John's in Thomaston. The family expects to hold a memorial service next spring.
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Let us pray for the repose of the soul of Rev. Kenneth Lindsey who died on Thursday, April 28 in Pittsfield, Maine following a brief illness. Rev. Lindsey had been a priest for over 40 years, serving in parishes in Maine and New Hampshire. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 11 at 11:00 am at St. Martin's, Palmyra. Read his full obituary here.
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The memorial service for The Rev. Ed Greene will be held 11:00 am at Grace Church, Bath on Saturday, May 21. Clergy are invite to vest and process (white stoles). Please remember Ed and his family and friends that day. |
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Bexley Seabury Seminary offers advocacy course |
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"Advocacy 101 for Individuals and Teams" a six-week course offered by Bexley Seabury Seminary runs May 15-Jun 25. This online course is taught by John Hennessy, Director of Public Advocacy for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine. Cost is $200.
Sometimes we need to work to address issues from an institutional or systemic perspective. This course is designed to help individuals or teams (two or more members of a community) to move from understanding their theological grounding for social action to developing and implementing a plan for change.
Sessions Overview:
WEEK 1: Faith and Citizenship - Advocacy and Lobbying
WEEK 2: Faith-Based Advocacy - Understanding the WHYs
WEEK 3: Responding to a World that Breaks your Heart
WEEK 4: Discovering your Dreams or Visions
WEEK 5: Creating a New Narrative
WEEK 6: A Call to Action - Creating a Faith-Based Advocacy Campaign
Course participants will meet live via Zoom on Wednesdays at 7pm ET.
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