Thursday, March 19, 2020

Fwd: weekly email from St. Andrew & St. John



Events and News
from the Parish of
St. Andrew & St. John

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Worship Schedule

St. John the Divine

315 Main Street, Southwest Harbor
 

St. John's Worship Service
is suspended thru March 31st

 

The Sanctuary will be open for private prayer, meditation and quiet contemplation.
 

For your safety we recommend no more than
10 people gather at one time in the sanctuary.


 

 

 

 


St. John's Calendar

The full St. John's Calendar can be viewed <HERE>

 


All meetings have been cancelled until further notice.

 

Suggestion for the day:
Reach out to one person today who may be particularly isolated.
Reach out via phone, text, or email.




Keep in your prayers this week:

Jeremy Harkins, Michael Shook, Keith Storm, Joyce and Jim Risser, Loretta Schmidt, Susannah Jones, Theresa Mitchell, David Douglass, George Harorack, Lee Pike, Fred Sprague, Sara Winchenbach, Dorothea Mead, Ray McDonald, Richard Ramsdell, Cassandra Crabtree, Beth Pfeiffer, Dorothy & Jim Clunan, Bill and Barbara Loveland. 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At St. John's


Meditation on Tuesdays at 4:00 at St. John's has been suspended until further notice.

 

Westside Food Pantry

Upcoming distribution Sundays are as follows: April 5 and 19, May 3 and 17.  The first Sunday distribution hours are 12 noon to 2 PM, the second Sunday hour is 12 noon to 1 PM.  Distribution will be held in Harbor House.

 

 

  

 


 

 

 

 

From the Diocese of Maine{Diocese of Maine}

As a Parish of the Diocese of Maine, we are part of a church family that extends from Kittery to Fort Kent, and connects us to the rest of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.  We share ministry with our Bishop and with every worshipping community.
If you are not subscribed to the Diocesan twice monthly email newsletter, the DioLog, please click [here] to subscribe.  If you are subscribed, don't forget to open it and read it every time!  There is a lot going on in every corner of the Diocese, and you wouldn't want to miss anything.
 
Dear People of God called to be the Diocese of Maine,
 
In my video message posted online last Saturday, I referred to Jeremiah's words in the Book of Lamentations; he felt as if the world around him was crumbling, and yet he proclaimed the truth that God's mercies are new every morning. 
 
Our world has changed dramatically, almost overnight. Anxiety and confusion buffet us on all sides, and we're left wondering what to do, and how to live each day amidst the uncertainty. So, how shall we live? We shall preach and live Jesus Christ crucified and risen. It's who we are! 
 
Of course this is a terribly unsettling moment, but it's also a glorious invitation to be both citizens of the world and citizens of the commonwealth of God. And although they're not always recognizably compatible, today it's crystal clear: for us to care for the world, to slow the spread of this virus, we must act in new and uncharted ways. This is a moment to be a follower of Christ, to care for our neighbor, to step-up if we are healthy, and to rest if we are vulnerable.
 
Last night in a special announcement, Governor Janet Mills outlined significant recommendations and signed a Civil Emergency Proclamation in responding to COVID-19 in Maine. Our responsibility now as the church is to the common good of all - rooted in Jesus's great commandment: to love God and to love our neighbor. For us to fulfill the great commandment, the Episcopal Church in Maine must take unprecedented action: 
 
Effective immediately every faith community in the Diocese of Maine should suspend in-person worship, formation programs, and governance meetings until further notice (as of today, the Centers for Disease Control recommends against gatherings of 50 or more for the next eight weeks). However, we are not closing our churches: in fact, I encourage our congregations to explore options for providing limited access to our buildings for individual and private prayer (within the safe parameters of CDC guidelines). Nor are we stopping our work as followers of the Risen Christ: We strongly encourage online gatherings and ask that you please let us know if your church plans to live stream worship and prayer by emailing diolog@episcopalmaine.org. We want to share the list of churches in Maine who are responding in making this new way to worship accessible to all.
 
Our ministries, especially in pastoral care and outreach, are in much need and must continue: we are working on resources and recommendations to be shared on how parishes can best respond safely during the COVID19 outbreak, especially to our friends who are in 12 step recovery programs, and those whose daily bread comes from pantries and meal programs.
 
Tomorrow evening about 100 clergy and lay leaders in the Diocese of Maine will gather online for prayer and conversation in a Town Hall. I will then be assigning diocesan staff members to be responsible for communicating weekly with every congregation's clergy person and/or warden. In proactively and regularly emailing you, we hope to address your congregation's mission and stewardship-related concerns. Along with your leaders who exercise oversight (the Standing Committee, the Diocesan Council, Trustees of Diocesan Funds) and the members of my staff, we will share communications with you every Wednesday via email, video, and online messages for the foreseeable future. 
 
Although practicing socially distancing we will in fact be walking "hand in hand" together as we remember and lean on Jeremiah's message of strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow. 
 
Faithfully in Christ,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Right Reverend Thomas J. Brown
Bishop of Maine
tbrown@episcopalmaine.org 

 
 


MDI+ Episcopal Churches:

 

Confidential Prayer Chain: Unlike our published prayer lists, prayer requests that come into the Prayer Chain remain private to the prayer chain itself, which will pray devotedly for one week unless an updated request is made. If you'd like to know more about this or our Pastoral Care Team, please contact our office administrators.


 


 


 

 

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Stephen Sampson, Music Director
Michele Daley, Parish Administrator (244-3229)
Sr. Warden, Gen MacKenzie (244-7313)
Jr. Warden, Ted Fletcher (244-5225)
The Church Office is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 - 2:30 (244-3229)
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Our mailing address is:
St. Andrew & St. John Episcopal Church
315 Main Street
PO Box 767
Southwest Harbor, ME 04679

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