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eClare
St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church
Blue Hill Maine
February 9, 2023
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(Coming soon to a location near you!) | |
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The Winter Storm of 2023
Yes, we did have wind chills of
(minus) -50 degrees!
From our Senior Warden and The Vestry
"When I received a request that St. Francis open as a warming shelter for the weekend, we got an email out announcing this and asking for workers to take shifts. I did not need to make one phone call asking for workers; they called me to volunteer. Lisa Durkee from the Congregational church offered to partner with us and signed up for a shift as did a number of her parishioners.
Many took shifts including Allan Sandlin and Gretchen Nagy who had just pulled into town on Thursday to be our interim Rector. They took over the night shift on Saturday night!
Others who "manned" the center were:
Marty Hamblin, Maribeth & Greg Payne, Tom Bjorkman, Judy McGeorge & David Williams, Lisa Durkee, Sarah Everdell, Kate Mulrenin, Katie MacLeod, Tyler Knowles, Allan Sandlin & Gretchen Nagy, and the LaLondes.
Many others offered to be backup support, provided food and brought cots and bedding. Mary Hartley came in the door like a whirling dervish with 3 loads of bedding from the Blue Hill Inn and Turnstile, Prudy and Fred Heilner bought out all the local grocery stores and filled the kitchen with snacks and fruit. David McBeth (Heath Wall's father-in-law) offered pots of chili and the following people offered many other supports: Ruth Ryan, Annie Atwood, Arthur Greg, Anne Sexton, Sarah Schneider, Kathy and Dennis DeSilvey, Tim Seeley, Judy Rountree, and Ray Yardy
Even though we had no guests during our 48 hours, we received many blessings and will be ready for the next time.
Bless you all for stepping up.
Milissa
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Our Prayers
Amelia, Andrea, Art, Arthur, Fr. Brent, Mary Boyd, Holly Bixby, Bill Casale, Christina, Cynthia, Newt Curtis, Diane Dumond, Edward Dufresne, Charles Farinelli, Giffy Full, Catherine Husted, Jill, Kayla, Kira and John Klinger, Keagan, Alix Kirkpatrick, JoAnn Krestan, Michelle Liberty, Lisa Looke, Steve Marek, Fred Marston, Liz Mathewson, McKayla, Lorelei McKinnon, Merry Newton, Sophia Partridge, Greg Payne, Susan Reddy, Ronan, Rya, Donny Smith, Marshall Smith, Peggy Smith, Fred Stine, Carolyn Taylor, Judy Thomas, Tom, Holly Whelan and Persis Williams.
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A big welcome to The Rev. Allan Sandlin and Gretchen!
St. Francis is truly blessed to have Allan...not new, but returning---to St. Francis Church. Fr. Allan was the first full time Rector for St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church after coming to Hinkley Ridge in Blue Hill as Vicar in 1994. He will be with us for the foreseeable future as interim Rector.
A note from Rev. Allan: The season of Lent begins on Wednesday, February 22nd. Please join us for the Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist at Noon or at 5:00 pm.
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The Rev. Donna Downs has been terrific!
From Donna:
Dear St Francis,
I have been searching for a scripture passage which would best express how thankful I am to have supplied at your church over the past several months. Alas, I did not find one that would let you know how much my time with you meant. However, the words Light and Love, fill my heart when I think of all of you. Father Allan was so correct in saying in his sermon last week that you are light. You are a faithful, resilient community of loving people. Thank you for all that you do and for who you are.
Thank you for a lovely coffee hour last Sunday, the hand- made card and gift certificate. The card will be hanging in my study to remind me of my time with you.
I know that I will be worshiping with you at times. I look forward to seeing you out and about.
Prayers for your journey ahead. May the Spirit of God always be with you.
In Christ’s Love,
Donna
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We gathered together for a Coffee Hour to honor Donna Downs' ministry to St. Francis..thank you, Vestry! | |
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From Marty Hamblen-
Floral Easter Baskets are for sale to benefit St. Francis by the Sea! At $15 each they must be pre-ordered by March 15 for pick on Palm Sunday, April 2. All the beautiful baskets will be at St. Francis in the community room for pick up after the Palm Sunday service. Special arrangments may be made as well by calling Marty Hamblen at 207-479-8933.
Checks should be made out to St. Francis and mailed to the office. Please put "Flower Committee Easter Basket Sale" in the memo line.
Order a beautiful basket for yourself or someone special in your life.
Please call Marty with your order or send an email to seawhispermdi@gmail.com.
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Many of us have been concerned about Anna and Emma Brown who have been teaching and studying in Turkey. We continue to hear so much about Turkey's recent devastating earthquake.
-from Charity Chung
"I heard from Anna! They are still in Izmir, which is quite far from the area affected by the earthquakes. They are both okay but she says the whole country is in shock and mourning. She said to let you know that they are fine and that you can still email her at her old email address if you ever feel like it…annadbrown@yahoo.com.Wonderful news that they are well!"
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Sadly, we have lost Brinley Hall
Although Brinley and his wife, Rooney, left our area years ago, his presence has remained a big part of the life of St. Francis Church...whether hanging out with the Holy Mowers (before and after their work!) being a welcoming sight every Saturday at The Farmers Market, and greeting all of us every Sunday, Brinley was an active parishioner of the church. Brinley and Peter Smith were up to mischief more than we needed to know! We send our love to Rooney and all of their family for their loss.
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Gifts to Fr. Brent and his family
We are missing Brent and Windy and the girls and we all pray for Brent's healing. And we give thanks for the special gifts the Was family has brought to St. Francis Church. As you may have read, a monetary farewell gift of $300 will be given to Fr. Brent from St. Francis Church. If you wish to contribute to Brent, do so by sending a check made out to Fr. Brent Was and send it to the church office. Call Barbara (374-5200) if you need further information.
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...and finally
The Real Hero of the Big Storm is Barbara Brady!
Look closely at the photo on the left!
Our Barbara was not about to leave her chickens out in the "minus-degree temps".
Here are her beautiful chickens (aka:"The Girls") warm and content.
-from Barbara, "I opened the door and they walked right in". (No, they did not lay any eggs!)
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