Worship With Us Online
June 6, Morning Prayer
This coming Sunday, June 6, Morning Prayer will be celebrated on You Tube. The You Tube service will be available at 8:00 on the MDI Episcopal site: https://www.youtube.com/c/MDIEPISCOPAL
The Rev. Steve Muncie is the officiant, and The Rev. Holly Hoffmann is the preacher. Music provided by Dr. Daniel Pyle. This will be our last regular MDI YouTube service as we are returning to in-person worship on June 20.
Upcoming:
Worship With Us IN PERSON
On Sundays
(starting June 20 and early July) Starting June 20
10 am Services of Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer at Church of Our Father, St. John the Divine, and St. Saviour's.
Note: Worship at St. John's will be outdoors.
Starting July 4
8 am Services of Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer at St. Andrew's
Exact service schedule and clergy serving will be published weekly in our parish emails.
If you are interested in being a lay leader of Morning Prayer this summer,
please let Mother Holly and the parish administrator of your church know.
On Wednesdays
at Church of Our Father at 8 am Using the readings appointed for the day in the Book of Common Prayer, we will have a service of Morning Prayer followed by Eucharist starting every other week on June 2. (May 26 and June 2 will both be services of Morning Prayer followed by Holy Eucharist.)
One of the Daily Office readings is selected for the devotional Day by Day (Forward Movement) which is available in the church offices. All readings appointed for the day are available online at: https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/the_daily_readings.php?d=20&m=5&y=2021.
All are invited!
If you will be leading Morning Prayer this summer at your church on a Sunday, please try to join us for a refresher on leading this prayer service on a Wednesday morning. Note that Mother Holly is fully vaccinated.
We ask that you mask while indoors for worship to protect the most vulnerable. | | The MDI Covid Task Force Update 5/25: - Sunday, in-person worship resumes on June 20.
- Communion will be distributed in one kind only (blessed bread). The full grace of the sacrament is received.
- People will be required to wear masks when gathered for worship indoors.
- Worship leaders who are vaccinated can unmask only when at the lectern or altar.
- Unvaccinated people must remain masked at all times.
- Anyone singing will be required to mask.
- People will not be required to mask when gathered for worship outdoors at St. John's.
- People will be required to wear masks when entering the church offices and buildings.
- Coffee hours and receptions may be held outdoors only and may only offer pre-poured beverages and "grab and go" foods like cookies or plated foods.
- Groups from outside the parish will be using the church buildings again and will be required to mask when indoors.
- Small groups from inside the parish are requested to talk to the Priest-in-Charge about masking, if all people in the group are known to be vaccinated.
- Buildings will be cleaned as before the pandemic. Frequent hand washing and hand sanitation will be encouraged, especially before receiving Communion.
| | Adult and Youth Formation
Faith Formation at Home on MDI
Brad Berry and Chris Krenicki of Church of Our Father send home materials to support faith formation at home monthly for elementary and middle school aged youth. If you would like to receive these materials or be notified when in person events are happening here for youth in this age range, please be in touch with the parish office. Contact information is at the bottom of this email.
Pray, Play, Connect: A Fun and Prayerful Space for 6th-12th Graders across the Diocese
Third Mondays from 7:00-8:30 PM via Zoom - click here to join.
FMI: The Rev. Sara D'Angio White, Canon for Youth Formation here.
Teen Simple Daily Devotional https://d365.org/ This resource is used by teens across the country. It walks you through simple daily devotionals (sort of like meditations). You could use it any day, to strengthen you on your faith journey.
Wednesday Morning Bible Study on MDI meets each Wednesday at 10:30 am. If you would like to be added to the class mailing list please email the Rev. Stephen Muncie. We will be honored to have you join us for study and conversation on Exodus: Email Steve Muncie.
SAVE THE DATE: Confirmation Class for Adults and High Schoolers on Saturday, July 24 from 9 am - 2 pm
The Rev. Holly Hoffmann and the Rev. Steve Muncie will lead a day-long confirmation class on Saturday, July 24. The class is open for those high school aged and older who would like to learn more about The Episcopal Church and consider being Confirmed (or Received from another tradition in which you have been previously Confirmed) into the church when Bishop Brown is here for his official visit to MDI the first week in August. More details forthcoming! Contact Mother Holly if you are interested by clicking here.
Contemplative Prayer: How About Adding a Group Contemplative Prayer experience to your spiritual life this summer?
Mother Regina Christianson and the Rev. Dr. Jenny Reece are gathering those who have or would like to learn a centering prayer practice every Friday at 1:00 p.m. at the Oranbega Retreat Center in Orland, Maine, starting on Friday, June 18. Beginners are always welcome, as are the more experienced, so long as they have "beginner's mind"! If you are interested please call or email Jenny and she will give you directions to Oranbega. 207-952-2363, jreece@oranbegacenter.com or revdrjmr@gmail.com
Participation via Zoom will be available for those who live too far away to come to Orland for an hour on Fridays. To receive a link, use the above contact info. May your summer be richly blessed with prayer and meditation! | | | IMPORTANT NEWS and DATES! | | | Attention Church Leaders, Volunteers with Youth and Family Ministry, Eucharistic Visitors:
Safe Church Training Due by July 15. "One of the important responsibilities we share is to keep each other safe--especially the youngest and most vulnerable among us. That is why for many years, The Diocese of Maine has required that people who work with children or with shut-ins have training in "Safe Church" practices: how to maintain appropriate boundaries, and what the danger signs are when someone might be transgressing those boundaries. Safe Church training is available to all Maine Episcopalians, and we hope that these convenient, online formats mean that many people will be able to learn how to help keep everyone safe. While it is available for all, current Safe Church Training certification through the Safeguarding Online program and the State of Maine's Mandated Reporting Online training is required of "...all Diocesan employees, volunteers, and others acting on behalf of the Diocese, as well as all clergy of the Diocese and persons otherwise accountable to the Diocese…." If you haven't been trained in the last four years, please re-do it. Be sure to read through the requirements carefully, completing both Part A and Part B. Click here to visit the diocesan website for more information and links to the two online training sites. These records are due to the parish office by July 15. One of the tasks when the bishop is on an official visit is to check that each parish's Safe Church Training is up to date. Thank you in advance and be in touch with Mother Holly if you need pastoral support while completing the training. | | | Partnership Parish Directories are available!
Members of the three parishes are welcome to pick up the Directory. Please stop by during parish office hours or contact the parish administrator to schedule a time. Contact information is at the bottom of this email.
Parish Annual Meetings: Save the Date!
Church of Our Father: Sunday, June 20 after 10 am worship, in person and on Zoom (contact the parish administrator and watch for an email with the Zoom link)
St. Andrew and St. John: Monday, June 21 at 4 pm
St. Saviour's: Sunday, July 11 after 10 am worship, in person only
| | Music & Chatter LAST EPISODE was this Wednesday!
You can still view this episode of the MDI-Episcopal YouTube channel: Just click here!
Thank you, Tony and Joanne Sousa, for this offering to the community during the pandemic. | | Mother Holly's Office Hours - suspended for June
while she is in Omaha, Nebraska for graduate studies. For pastoral emergencies, call her at 207-244-8144
and leave a message,
if you do not reach her immediately.
She will respond to pastoral emergencies while away
and arrange for follow up with local clergy as needed. | | | | Fun & Fellowship
St. Andrew and St. John has music available on their website by Stephen Sampson at any time. You may go to their website by clicking here then click on the Music tab on the left side of the page | | | Devotional Materials to Support Prayer at Home - Forward Movement has the daily office (morning prayer, noonday prayer, evening prayer, or compline) on the Forward Movement Daily Prayer website.
- There is also a daily podcast, A Morning at the Office, with various people leading the prayers and reading the scripture lessons for the day.
- The popular daily devotion Forward Day by Day is posted each day online, and it too is available as a podcast.
- Hardcopies of the Day By Day readers are available by contacting the church office or stopping by when the parish office is open.
| | | Urgent Message about email, phone and text scams.
Neither the Rev. Holly Hoffmann nor any member of the church staff or leadership will solicit gifts, specifically gift cards, via email, phone or text directly. Neither will we ask if you are "free now" and request only an email or text response. Always check the actual email address from the sender to see if it matches Mother Holly's email and do not respond to the email, text or call. Please report these emails as phishing/scam attempts and block the sender or caller from your inbox or phone . If you are in doubt, or need more information, please contact the parish office. We will return your call. | | | Community Resources
Everybody Eats Free Community Meal is a project whose goal is to provide free, healthful and wholesome meals to the Ellsworth community. Visit their Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/Everybody-Eats-A-Free-Community-Meal-568143769902367/.
Open Table MDI exists to inspire strong, loving, and inclusive communities by bringing people together to share in nourishing food. For more information visit their website here.
AA recovery groups, online and in person, in Downeast Maine can be found by clicking here
An AA group meets in St. Saviour's Parish Hall in small groups on Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays at 7 pm. | | | |
