E-Pistle of Thursday December 22nd, 2022

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Come Home for Christmas

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a most blessed and Happy New Year.


Dean Shambaugh


Christmas is coming! Despite winter storms and any number of other distractions, Christmas is just a few days away. With glad tidings of great joy, your cathedral is ready to give you a very Merry Christmas. Covid may still be with us but St. Luke’s is back. Poinsettias are up. Candles are ready. The manger is up and pageant parts are cast. The choir, organ, and brass getting ready, programs are being photocopied, and a full schedule of Christmas services set to go. The light is shining in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. Whether in person or on-line, I invite and encourage you home for Christmas. Come, bring your family and connect with your parish family, and with God. 


Read an additional Christmas Message from Dean Shambaugh


Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Christmas message 2022: ‘Love always’


Please click the link provided to read the full transcription of Presiding Bishop Curry's whole Christmas Message.


A Vigil for the

Homeless of Portland


Last night, 12/21, Dean Shambaugh and other clergy, community leaders, and advocates, joined together in Monument Square to remember the lives of 51 of our homeless brothers and sisters who passed away this year on the streets of Portland. We pray for healing for all of their friends and family who mourn their loss during this holiday season. May God comfort and love them in this difficult time.

May we as a community join together to love and care for one another more deeply and be advocates for those who need help in times of great difficulty.


Celebrating Hanukkah

and condemning Anti-Semitism

As our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate Hanukkah and as we recognize Jesus as a Jew and a faithful follower of Judaism, we strong condemn against all forms of antisemitism, which tragically seem to be on the rise, and are contrary to our Christian Faith. 


The Episcopal Church’s General Convention has passed Resolution 2022-C001: Regarding Anti-Semitism and Palestinian Christians, Resolution 2018-A230 Condemn Unjust Scapegoating, Resolution 2018-D089 Condemn Racist Language and Address Past and Current Discrimination, Resolution 2009-A142 Recommit the Church to Anti-Racism and Request Annual Diocesan Reports, Resolution 1997-D055 Reaffirm Interfaith Dialogue and Acknowledge Prejudice Against Jews, Resolution 1991-D122 Distinguish Between Criticism of Israeli Policy and Anti-Jewish Prejudice, Resolution 2018-B003 Reaffirm Jerusalem as the Shared Capital of Israel and Palestine, Resolution 2015-A062 Address Christian Anti-Judaism in Liturgical Texts, and Resolution 2012-A058 Address Christian Anti-Judaism. Click here to find these resolutions.


Here at St. Luke’s we have made specific efforts to modify and add explanations to texts related to the Passion Narrative and other gospels which have historically been read as anti-Semitic. The dean has served on the Maine State Attorney’s Anti-Semitism taskforce, is a regular member of the Portland area Multi-Faith group and works with local rabbi’s on many local issues. 

Christmas Services

Note that regardless of weather, all services will continue in person as scheduled. For those who wish to stay home, all of services will be live streamed on Youtube Live and Facebook Live.

A Christmas Eve Family Service

December 24th | 5:00 PM

Location: The Cathedral Nave

A Christmas Eve Family Service with the Bishop of Maine featuring our Christmas Pageant followed by Holy Communion.


Youtube Live | Facebook Live.

Learn About Service Details 
Service Bulletin

A Candlelit Christmas Eve Service


December 24th | 10:00 PM

Location: The Cathedral Nave

A Candlelit Christmas Eve service led by Bishop of Maine, with Dean Shambaugh preaching and music offerings from the St. Luke's Cathedral Choir and Festival brass. Prelude begins at 9:30



Youtube Live | Facebook Live.

Learn About Service Details
Service Bulletin

Christmas Day Service


December 25th | 10:00 AM

Location: The Cathedral Nave

Join Us Christmas Day, December 25th, at 10am as we welcome in the birth of Christ with a service of Holy Eucharist and Dean Shambaugh celebrating and preaching.



Live | Facebook Live.

Learn About Service Details
Service Bulletin


St. Luke's Community Announcements

Cathedral Office Closed from Christmas to New Years


In observance of the holiday season the Cathedral office will be closed from Christmas to New Years Day. There will not be an E-pistle published on Thursday, December 29th, however there will be a an E-pistle with the Sunday Service bulletin and announcements published on Saturday, December 31st.


If you need to mail end of the year donations to the Cathedral, please use our mailing address of P.O. Box 4141, Portland, ME 04101

Thank you for your understanding and have a wonderful holiday season.

Annual Meeting & Vestry Nominations

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation is scheduled for January 29, 2023 at 11:30 am. This year’s meeting includes the presentation of the budget and the election of a Senior Warden for a two-year term, three vestry members for three years and one vestry member for one years, and five delegates to Diocesan Convention. On January 29, Anna Christie (senior warden), Peter Bingham, Jamie Cough, and Gayle Anglin (vestry members) will be rotating off. Per our bylaws, the outgoing vestry members and officers and Dean form a nominating committee. This committee received nominations from the congregation in November and will bring proposed candidates to the vestry at its December for approval, which will then be put on a slate for the annual meeting (nominations are also allowed from the floor). Candidates for vestry must be communicants in good standing, at least 15 years of age, and contributors of record to the Cathedral. If the dean is absent, the Annual Meeting is chaired by the Senior Warden. For all committee members and leaders of ministries and activities, annual reports are due to the Cathedral office by January 15. Watch the bulletin and E-pistle for pre-annual meetings and other events.


Vestry Nominations

Sr. Warden - Sam Allen

Vestry (three 3- year and one 1-year position) Jamie Moore, Eleanor Roberts, Mike Thorne,Jamie Cough, Linda Carleton, Judd Hume. The top vote getters will have the three year positions.

Delegates to Convention (5 positions): Curtis Maurand, Gayl Anglin, Judd Hume, Orion Williams, Fred Fowler


Nominations are allowed from the floor. While the annual meeting will be live-streamed, parishioners will need to be present in order to vote. (Votes are limited to parishioners in

Good Standing, people of regular attendance who are pledging members or givers of record). 


Vestry Meeting Highlights


The vestry met last Wednesday night. A few highlights: YTD pledging is a little behind and we will need a strong December to finish the year well. Stewardship for 2023 has 128 pledges totaling $398,000 of our $490,000 goal. If everyone who pledged last year pledges this year, we will come close to this, so please get your pledges in! The vestry passed clergy housing allowances for 2023.  The Jr. Warden reported on projects, including upcoming work on a sign on State Street and a handicapped accessible door off the parking lot entrance. The vestry approved a list of nominations for Senior Warden, Vestry and Diocesan delegates which will be announced once candidates have confirmed. The annual meeting will be January 29, with a financial town hall on January 22. The vestry discussed next steps toward healing and reconciliation with former members of the BBCC committee and agreed to engage a consultant to help with this work. The vestry approved the Rev Paul St. Germain for Sabbatical Coverage and the Rev. Christopher Worthley and the Rev. Anne Fowler as assisting clergy, with the dean’s 4-month sabbatical set to begin after the annual meeting on Sunday January 29. The vestry celebrated the success of the cathedral’s outreach efforts, the concerts, the Advent Lessons and Carols, and many other wonderful happenings at the cathedral then ended its meeting with prayers for Advent and Christmas.

Lesser Chapter and Finance Meeting Minutes


Please select the buttons below to access the minutes of the finance and lesser chapter meetings which were held last week.

Lesser Chapter Meeting
Finance Committee Meeting

Sabbatical Update


Clergy of the diocese are given four month sabbaticals ever five years. Dean Shambaugh was due a sabbatical this year but it had been delayed because of Covid. At its November meeting, the vestry agreed to give Dean Shambaugh a four month sabbatical beginning January 29th following the annual meeting. We are pleased to announce that during this time, the Rev. Paul St. Germain will be available for ten units (mornings, afternoons or evenings) during the week and three Sundays a month. Paul comes with extensive large church experience and will be the primary contact for day to day operations, pastoral care, and worship planning. He may be contacted through the office 772-5434, office@cathedralofstluke.org He will be assisted by the Rev. Suzanne Roberts, the Rev. Christopher Worthley, and the Rev. Anne Fowler, as well as our deacon, the Rev. Rebecca Grant. Note that in the absence of the dean, the authority of the parish rests with the Senior Warden. For more information about the Rev. St. Germain, see his website.

St. E's Blanket Collection

Response to a Crisis in the Community: Many have raised concern about hundreds of asylum seekers and others who are at risk of losing their accomodations in local hotel rooms. St. Luke's is working with other local congregations, with the diocese, and with St. Elizabeth's Jubilee Center in figuring out the best way to move ahead. Watch the e-pistle for more information In the meantime we are doing a special drive to add warm blankets to the winter coats and boots we are currently collecting. Want to help? Bring warm blankets, boots and coats to St. Elizabeth's and we will make sure they get to those who need them!

Food Pantry Gives Thanks to the Maine Pops


The Food Pantry Loves the Maine Pops! The Maine Pops Christmas Concert at St Luke's raised $1,549 for our food pantry. That's a lot of oil and beans! Thanks to those talented and deeply generous folks.

Stewardship Update


Pledges for 2023 continue to come in. As of December 11, the Cathedral has received 128 pledges for $393,628.72, inclusive of 12 new pledging units. A full 50% of the repeat pledgers pledged an increase for 2023. However, the Cathedral has still not heard from 60 pledging units who collectively pledged about $81,000 for 2022. Our team of St. Luke’s Stewardship Ambassadors is being asked to send gentle nudges to those for whom pledging may have slipped their minds. As the Finance Committee and Lesser Chapter continue to work on a budget for 2023, please remember that every pledge is important. The Cathedral Staff works hard every day to help us enjoy having St. Luke’s as our spiritual home. We hope you are enjoying the wide variety of worship services and musical events taking place at the Cathedral this holiday season.  


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The Healing Team

"The Healing Team will serve, at the 10am Eucharist with the following Healing Team members:

January 8, 2022 Ruth Roemer and Oscar Mokeme


If you have any questions, please contact Judd Hume or call (207) 773 - 5611.

How to Get Involved at St. Luke's

St. Elizabeth's Boot Drive Update

Contact: Martha Parshley


Wow, what a day! We set a new record at St. E's this morning with 264 neighbors arriving for their essential products and 164 pairs of boots distributed. Many of our neighbors arrived early (a growing trend) and were eager to make their boot selections. This distribution of boots was made possible by the support of our partner churches, concerned individuals and others who contributed to our successful boot drive this year and a wonderful crew of volunteers. 


Family Promise Update December 21

After two weeks at Woodfords, the families moved to Falmouth Congregational where they will stay until December 28. Next stop: Williston Immanuel, through January 11, followed by Trinity Episcopal through January 25. Five additional hosts have committed for two weeks once they complete building and fire inspections. We have hosts through mid-April and are pleased to welcome two Episcopalian congregations, Trinity and St. Albans, who are "graduating" from support to host status.  


Volunteers are needed at the day center on Forest Avenue and at the host congregations. People ask "what do volunteers do?" Its evolving, with guidance and support from staff and host congregation coordinators. Volunteers need not be trained, but should be warm, welcoming, culturally sensitive, and flexible.  


Sign ups:  

For the day center at the Y on Forest Avenue:  https://signup.com/go/ko/KGQdm

For Williston Immanuel:  https://signup.com/go/to/FYzzi


Questions? Reach out to Lynne England (after December 26) at lynnecengland@gmail.com; Connie Bingham at constancecbingham@gmail.com; or Mary Linneman at marymlinneman@yahoo.com. 


Buy a Hannaford Bag and Support the St. Luke's Food Pantry

  • We are participating in the Hannaford Bag Tag Program
  • Purchase a $2.50 reusable Community or Fight Hunger Bag at any Hannaford Store and use the attached giving tag to direct a 1$ donation to our pantry!
Learn about how you can help the St. Luke's Food Pantry

A Christian Life of Faith:

Signs and Thresholds Along the Way

Sunday Mornings| 9am-10am

Location: The Chapter Room

Contact: Dean Shambaugh

So much of what we do at St. Luke’s is designed to help others. What about nurturing and exploring our own spiritual lives? What about our questions and struggles of faith, our relationship (or not) with God? 

  • Lead by Dean Shambaugh
  • All are Welcome (resuming Jan 8)
Learn about how you can get involved with this group

Journaling with the

Sacred Circle


The First Saturday of the Month Beginning January 7th | 9:30am-11:30am

Location: The Chapter Room

Contact: Linda Carleton


Journaling Within the Sacred Circle (or mandala) is a way to deepen your connection with God and with your own soul. Come explore the 12 Stages of the Mandala Great Round as they relate to the seasons of the year, the stages of our lives and the Christian story. . The only thing you’ll need is an open heart and mind. All materials are provided. You can come every month or drop in when you’d like.

Monday Night Zoom Book Group

Every First and Third Monday of the

Month Beginning January 9th

6:00-7:00 pm

Location: Zoom

Contact: Linda Carleton


We will be reading Sophronia Scott’s Louie Award winning book, The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton. A 2004 nominee for the African American Literary Awards best new author, Scott was hailed by Professor Henry Louis Gates as “potentially one of the best writers of her generation." In The Seeker and the Monk, she writes an imaginary conversation with 20th century mystic, monk and activist Thomas Merton based on his extensive private journals and offers guidance on how to live in these fraught times. As a Black woman who is not Catholic, Scott both learns from and pushes back against Merton, holding spirited, an intimate conversations on race, ambition, faith, activism, nature, prayer, friendship, and love. She asks: What is the connection between contemplation and action? 

Try on the Cathedral Choir

Thursday Evenings| 7pm-9pm

Location: The Choir Room (Adjacent to undercroft)

Contact: Christian M. Clough


  • Showing up does not commit you to the choir
  • No audition required
Learn about singing in the choir and how you can get involved

Diocesan Youth Group Service Corp

January 7th| 12:00pm

Trinity Episcopal Church

Contact: Sarah Dowling

This gathering will involve packing food for those experiencing homelessness who are served by the Trinity Episcopal Community. The goal is to serve 10,000 meals in 2 hours in partnership with an organization called The Outreach Program.

Podcast: Elizabeth Strout’s Maine, with Bishop Thomas J. Brown

Click the link here to read about Bishop Brown's interview with Madeleine Davies about the American Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Elizabeth Strout.

Listen to the full podcast below.  



New Ventures Maine

Tuesdays Jan. 10, Feb. 7, Mar. 7 | 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Location: St. Luke’s Cathedral Community Kitchen,

143 Park St., Portland, ME 04101

Contact: Sarah Hutchins


New Ventures Maine is a statewide program of the University of Maine at Augusta, University of Maine System, an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.



Select the Episcopal Maine Logo to learn about all that is happening in the wider Diocese.

https://episcopalmaine.org/

stlukesportland.org

(207)-772-5434


Physical Address:

143 State Street, Portland, ME 04101


Parking Available at:

134 Park Street, Portland, ME 04101


Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 4141, Portland, ME 04101

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