Worship Schedule St. John the Divine 315 Main Street, Southwest Harbor
244-3229
October 25, Pentecost 21
Morning Prayer
Church of Our Father
The Rev. William Hague
8:00 a.m.
Link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-fGpm4_aFoi0mNvMiXhSwg
Links to other churches:
Cathedral of St. Luke is https://zoom.us/j/6894391895
(website is stlukesportland.org for info)
National Cathedral in Washington DC is https://cathedral.org/worship/service-archive/
(website is cathedral.org)
St. John the Divine's sanctuary is open for meditation.
Please sign in and wear a mask.
If you need help or need to talk with someone, please call
Gen MacKenzie, 244-7313
Ted Fletcher, 266-8415 | | Summary of 201st Annual Convention
of the Diocese of Maine, October 16, 2020
Rita Redfield
If you were a delegate to this Convention and were not familiar with Zoom, you are now! For most of September and early October, the Diocesan Town Halls on Tuesday evenings, were devoted to Convention. As the series of meetings progressed we were taught the technology of how to attend the meetings, register, communicate with each other on chat, view all the participants, raise our virtual hands, gather in small virtual groups, and vote. All on our computers and I phones via Zoom.
Prior to Convention each of the Town Halls were devoted to a separate part of Convention to prepare us for the big event on the 16th. Information and discussion on the Diocesan Budget, Resolutions, and elections were all covered. One of the values of these Town Halls was the ability for anyone to attend without needing to leave their house. This allowed many more people in the Diocese to comprehend the process and become more familiar with the work of the Diocese. At the last Town Hall before the 16th, attendees were moved into area groups where elections were held for Area Representatives. Our Area #2 elected Rita Redfield for a second term of three years.
When the day finally arrived, your delegates, Bob Stanwood and Rita Redfield, successfully appeared among the 264 participants who were the clergy and delegates from 58 parishes and missions of the Diocese of Maine. Following an opening prayer and presentation of the Rules of Order, elections were held for Secretary of Convention, Standing Committee, and several uncontested positions. Information on those elected, budget, and details of the resolutions can be found at episcopalmaine.org, then link on Convention 2020.
Bishop Brown spoke about United Thank Offering, encouraging each of us to give thanks for our blessings by placing coins in our UTO box. He also mentioned the need for continued financial support of out parishes and missions even though not able to meet and worship in person. He commended the creative ways the congregations are gathering.
The 2021 Budget was presented for approval. One of the things pointed out by Rev. Lael Sorenson, when explaining one of the pie charts, was that even though it looks like the majority of the funds go to staff, when broken down into staff responsibilities, it is clear that most of that money goes into supporting the programs which benefit the people of the Diocese.
All 9 of the proposed resolutions passed with a substantial majority. Two of the resolutions regarded Clergy and Lay Compensation, two were endorsing the formation of a Justice Commission by Bishop Brown. and a Racial Justice Council. Three additional resolutions were in support of various aspects of social justice, including, racial justice, and white supremacy.
Marilyn Kitler, from our Partnership Parish, Church of Our Father, presented a well articulated objection to the design of one of the resolutions. Another resolution lent support of the Diocese to a bill before the Maine Legislature on the Indian Claims Act (LD2094). The final resolution addressed the "Forfiture of Union of Christ Church, Biddiford". The Church is now the site of a Jubilee Center, Seeds of Hope.
After three and a half hours, closing details, and prayer, the Convention was adjourned. The Bishop's address, usually part of the Convention, was given during the virtual Diocesan worship service on Sunday, October 18. Bob and I thank you for electing us to represent you this year.
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St. John's Calendar The full St. John's Calendar can be viewed <HERE>. | |
At St. John's
Keep in your prayers this week: Geoff Schuller, Bill Krueger, Doris McCorison, Gail Leland, Jeremy Harkins, Michael Shook, Joyce and Jim Risser, Loretta Schmidt, Susannah Jones, Theresa Mitchell, David Douglass, George Haborak, Fred & Dollis Sprague, Sara Winchenbach, Dorothea Mead, Ray and Susan McDonald, Richard Ramsdell, Cassandra Crabtree, Beth Pfeiffer, Dorothy & Jim Clunan, Bill and Barbara Loveland.
Remember to check out our website for MUSIC: www.saintsmdi.org Thanks to Stephen Sampson, Jayne Ashworth and Michael Shook, you may enjoy some piano music on the St. Andrew & St. John website. On the menu on the left-hand side of the home page there is now a link titled 'Music,' and clicking on that link brings you to recordings of piano pieces by Stephen Sampson.
Westside Food Pantry On November 1 we will open the Pantry for its 30th distribution season! Since Harbor House remains closed to outside groups, we will keep our operations at St. John Church. With church leadership, and input from people familiar with the building, we have developed a couple of options for accomplishing our distribution and registration functions inside the church building. Our goal is to minimize face-to-face exposure, move neighbors through the process as quickly as possible. New plexiglass shields at pickup and registration stations will be used to separate neighbors and volunteers from direct exposure to one another. It will be possible to move a limited number of people inside the building to protect from the elements and at the same time maintain face covering and social distancing protocols. It looks like we can achieve this in a manner similar to what is achieved in the Post Office or bank lobby.
With regard to the Thanksgiving Basket distribution. Given the need to safely assemble the Thanksgiving baskets, the Bar Harbor Congregational Church has launched registration for the baskets earlier this year. We will provide a registration form to our neighbors on "this side" to fill out and return to Bar Harbor by November 6. All baskets must be picked up in Bar Harbor this year. To compensate those who would be excluded from meeting this new deadline we will be distributing a Thanksgiving Special Voucher for $25 to each registered Pantry household. This expense is being funded 100% by an anonymous donor. I believe our neighbors will be happy with this arrangement.
Our all-important Annual Appeal Letter will be mailed on Monday, October 26. Barbara Campbell is once again hand-addressing the mailing envelopes to about 350 recipients.
We invite you to visit the new page for the Westside Food Pantry! On this facebook page you will find periodic announcements and information about the Westside Food Pantry. Please visit the page and like it. You can find it at:
https://www.facebook.com/WestsideFoodPantry/ | |
From the 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 worshiping 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. Cathedral of St. Luke Contemplative Prayer, a prayer of silence, is also known as centering prayer, listening prayer, breath prayer, and prayer of the heart. Join us on Thursdays at 4:30 as we open our minds and hearts to God. Join our Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/484179071 Meeting ID: 484 179 071 +1 253 215 8782 US +1 301 715 8592 US | |
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. St. Mary and St. Jude The Rev. Stephen Muncie is conducting a Zoom Bible Study on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m. He is using the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation of the Bible but you may use any translation you have on hand. For direct dial or URL information for this meeting, click here. Church of Our Father Music and Chatter: On each Wednesday at 5:30 pm there is a 30 minute program entitled "Music & Chatter". The idea is to keep us all involved and up to date. It can be seen on the MDI Episcopal You Tube channel. Click on the link below: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-fGpm4_aFoi0mNvMiXhSwg. | |
Community:
6) Lincoln Millstein has put together a Quietside newsletter -- very interesting: theqsjournal.com
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