St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church
Our Mission: "To Love, Praise, Welcome and Serve"
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Worship on Sunday:
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Rev. Emily Blair Stribling, presiding
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All services and meetings will be held both in-person and via Zoom unless otherwise designated.
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8:30 a.m. Simmering Pot
4:30 p.m. Meditation/Silent Prayer (Zoom)
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10:00 a.m. In-person Meditation
10:30 a.m. Bible Study with The Rev. Tim Ensworth
4:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal
| | | | 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Pastor Elaine Hewes presiding | | |
A promise that we do not travel the Road to Emmaus bearing our wounds and despair and fear alone, but with the God whose presence and essence, whose purpose and passion is most profoundly made known in the incarnate love of Jesus, who for us, for you and for me, and for the world God so loves, continues God’s pattern of love in a thousand thousand ways, but most viscerally and particularly in the breaking of the bread… Jesus’ body blessed, broken and put into our empty hands, sharing with us the love that with great tenderness tends to our wounds so we too might tend to the wounds of the world in the name and the way of Jesus…
Sermon given by Pastor Elaine Hewes on April 19th.
Click below for the video recording. A text copy is available here.
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"The first Bible is the Bible of nature."
Richard Rohr
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The Wonders to be Found in One Square Foot
When I taught elementary school, we did an exercise every day from mid-April to mid-May called “Finding the Wonders in One Square Foot.” On the first day of that exercise, each child would claim their very own “one square foot” in the schoolyard to study silently for 7 or 8 minutes each day over the next few weeks, paying close attention to what they saw, and then recording in their “Paying Attention Journal” (through both writing and drawing) what they observed. (Their “one square foot” could be on the ground, in a bush, on a tree, under a fern… wherever they wanted it to be.)
Because so much happens with the coming of spring, there was (over a month’s time), a good deal to record as little green stems rose from the ground, and ants scurried about, and buds opened, and fall leaves disintegrated, and birds returned, and soil went from dry to wet and wet to dry depending on how much rain fell.
Of course, the children learned a good deal about patience in this exercise, as some days it didn’t seem like much had happened in their “one square foot” since the day before. But over time, they saw that things did indeed change with the increase in sunlight and the warmer temperatures. And my hope in doing the exercise was that the students would come to see the value in paying close attention to things in the natural world that would otherwise be missed.
As we celebrate Earth Day Sunday, it occurs to me that it might be interesting for us to each claim our own “one square foot” to observe carefully, noting changes we might see over a month’s time. After all, anything of importance or meaning we do in this life begins with paying close attention, with opening our eyes and ears, and with noticing what we see and hear. How else would we even begin to take in the wonders and beauty unfolding around us?
The gifts of such an exercise for the “one square foot watcher” are many. (Try it! You will see!) But the gift goes beyond the one who is paying attention, as Terry Tempest Williams makes clear in her new book, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, as she writes, “Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find.” Terry Tempest Williams suggesting in this little word of wisdom that by paying close attention to the world around us (even one little square foot of it), and by observing its wonder and beauty, we actually create beauty in a world that is so profoundly broken in so many ways.
I find this thought very liberating and inspiring, as it seems like such a small and “doable” thing to do – finding beauty in our broken world by looking closely at what is right before me. If finding beauty is creating beauty, then paying careful attention is the first small step to take, trusting that beauty will unfold in the process.
On this Sunday when we celebrate Earth Day, perhaps we might in some way consider the wonders to be found in “one square foot,” and in so doing, create in our broken world the very thing that is being created in us. Beauty abounds! Happy Earth Day.
| | Giving our Priorities Shape (GPS) Action Item | | |
So many ways to Care for Creation! Choose one!
- Deer Isle Transfer Station is now accepting food scraps, which will be picked up and composted by Chickadee Compost. Read the March 12 and April 9 Island Ad-Vantages articles, if you have not already, to learn what is acceptable. If you are not a Deer Isle resident, you can subscribe to Chickadee Compost and/or lobby your town to sign up.
- Join Island Heritage Trust’s Trail Tuesday Volunteer Workdays April 28, May 5, May 12…Call or email Alex Drenga for information (adrenga@islandheritagetrust.org).
- Plant more flowers and shrubs that attract pollinators – Bee Balm, Purple Cone Flower, Joe Pye Weed, Asters and so many more. For more on pollinator-friendly gardening, click here.
| | Help immigrant and refugee kids attend summer camp | | |
An excerpt from Bishop Brown's letter:
Our diocesan summer camp, Camp Bishopswood, has heard from immigrant and asylee parents that they remain concerned about protecting their families. Several have asked if their children can stay longer this summer because they know it’s a safe place.
Camp Bishopswood already provides over $55,000 in campership support to immigrant and refugee families whose children attend camp thanks to Level Ground—a Maine Summer Camps Initiative that provides summer camp experiences to underserved children and youth in Maine. The leadership of Camp Bishopswood has asked us to help them raise an additional $35,000 to allow even more immigrant campers to come experience camp and allow them to stay longer.
Please consider making a gift of any size today and continue to pray for adults and children seeking safety and stability in their new life in this country.
| | You can also contribute by writing a check to Camp Bishopswood, 98 Bishopswood Rd., Hope, ME 04847, with memo line: Walking Together. | | |
Food Assistance in Hancock County
For 15 years, Healthy Acadia, located in Ellsworth, has sponsored a Hancock County Food Drive in April to collect food and monetary donations, which are then distributed to food-related organizations. This month, $40,000 has already been contributed and will be divided and distributed to 16 food pantries, free meal programs, and school backpack programs in Hancock County. Our Outreach Ministry has frequently contributed to the Hancock County Food Drive.
This food drive is a good reminder of how many of our neighbors do not have sufficient food to lead safe, productive lives. We are listing below several organizations on the island that provide food assistance to our neighbors. Would you please consider contributing to one of these organizations that provide food assistance to our neighbors on the island?
If you wish to contribute to the Hancock County Food Drive, please send a check to Heart of Maine-United Way, 700 Mt Hope Ave, Bangor, ME O4401 and put in the memo line “Hancock County Food Drive.” Click here to make an online donation. All contributions go directly to the food drive. These funds will be distributed in the first week of May.
Simmering Pot, PO Box 112, Blue Hill, ME 04614. This organization provides soup and bread to 130-150 residents on the peninsula every Monday. St. Brendan’s prepares soup for these residents on the 4th and 5th Mondays of the month.
Healthy Island Project, PO Box 55, Stonington, ME 04681. This organization provides 125-130 lunchbox meals every week. They also provide food for the families of 25 of our schoolchildren in the backpack program. They also host a coffee hour every Wednesday.
Island Pantry, PO Box 55, Deer Isle, ME O4627. The Island Pantry, located in Stonington, provides food to approximately 100 individuals and families on Thursday evenings at the Community Center in Stonington.
Thank you for helping these organizations provide food to our neighbors.
| | Education & Spiritual Development Ministry | | |
" Wake up. . . Christ will shine on you. . ."
Ephesians 5:14
Zoom Meditation/Silent Prayer at 4:30 p.m.
Readings, poems, and prayers are shared before a period of silence.
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10:00 a.m. Wednesdays
In-Person Meditation/Silent Prayer at St. Brendan
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Bible Study
Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
Our study of “Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms' Requiem"
continues on Wednesday.
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Judy Curtis – 15
Sally McConnell – 16
Tim Ensworth – 21
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Elizabeth Compton – 23
Barbara Wright – 30
Elaine Taggert – 30
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Story Sharing Potluck Supper: When Everyone's At The Table
Saturday, May 30, 5:30 - 8 p.m.
You are invited to join your neighbors at The Halcyon Grange in Blue Hill on May 30 for a special evening of connection through the sharing of food, stories, and recipes. A Story Sharing Potluck Supper is an opportunity to engage with new and old friends and to connect with our neighbors. Bring a dish (with a story!) to share, an open mind and an open heart. During the dinner, we'll share stories around the table. After dessert, you’ll be treated to live storytelling performances from a lineup of pre-selected storytellers — some may even be your neighbors!
Our theme for this supper is “When Everyone's At The Table: Storytelling as Solidarity.” This is an extraordinarily difficult time for our immigrant neighbors, who need community support more than ever. Our storytellers will share personal stories from diverse experiences working with Maine’s immigrant communities, from simple acts of welcoming and care to grassroots organizing efforts focused on solidarity and change.
For more information and to reserve a spot, click here.
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We hold in prayer the family of Gerald Wheeler, who died this week.
May God's strong love hold Jean and the Wheeler family at this time.
We pray for those in special need:
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Danny Judkins
Cathy Johnson
Meg Graham
Charlie Putnam
Judson Brown
Caroline Dane
Mike S.
Jennifer Hutchinson
Meredydd Cooper
Henna Torrey Roy
Liz Leuthner
Jerry
Agnes and Billy
Julie and Tom
Gwyn Murray
Sally
Beth Kyser
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David
Preston Henderson
Mollie Ann Meserve
Tammie and Jason Cox
Tyler Goss
Kate Hallen & Bob Blum
Mimi Maslan
Semantha
Judy Miller
Megan
Bishop Thomas Brown
Naomi
Anne Burton
Hewit
Mary Ann and Terry
Nishah
David Morrish
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Corbin
Rebecca
Pam B
Jaxson
Heather Corey
Stephen Gill
Bill Scaife
Brent Was
Gary and Wellesley
Mary Lawrence Hicks and family
Nancy Greene
Peter Brown
Seth
Linda Shepard and family
Lindsay Bowker
Marcia Scott
Carol Stoneburner
| | We pray, also, for those who love and care for them. | | |
We continue to hold in prayer those in our community who have recently lost loved ones; among them are the Stoneburner, Sherman, Hewes, Putnam, Wright, and Clauson/Hewes families.
We pray for those struggling with addiction and mental illness and their caregivers.
We pray for all those receiving care through Neighbor Care and for all the relocated residents of the Island Nursing Home and their families.
We pray for the victims of gun violence -- in our cities and towns, in our schools, in our places of worship, and in our homes.
We pray for the victims of the violence of armed conflicts around the world. We pray for those made refugees by the violence of armed conflicts. We pray for the victims of terrorist attacks everywhere.
We pray for all who suffer the effects of domestic violence and the violence of bullying in our schools and workplaces.
We pray for our nation, our president and vice-president, and all elected and appointed leaders.
We pray for all peacemakers and all those who work for justice; may we be found in their ranks.
We pray for all those serving in the armed forces of our country.
We pray for Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury; Hosam, Bishop of Jerusalem; Sean, our Presiding Bishop; and Thomas, our Bishop.
In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we pray for St. Giles, Jefferson, Trinity, Saco, and for Mainers who are food insecure.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Church of Nigeria.
On the Island and Peninsula, we pray for the St. Mary by the Sea, Stonington.
| | | 4th Sunday of Easter
This Sunday of Easter is traditionally called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Each year we hear a part of Jesus’ discourse on his relationship to us in the image of the Good
Shepherd. The Good Shepherd loves his sheep so much that he lays down his life for them. We are called by him into his life, the life which he has given for us.
The reading today from 1 John tells us that as God’s children we are to reveal God’s love by living in love with all other people. That love is to be more than a kind feeling. We cannot claim to have God’s love if we do not care for the needs of our poor and neglected brothers and sisters. Our identity now comes from God and our lives are to reflect God’s own nature and love. How we live reveals our relationship to God.
Thus the description of the Church as the Body of Christ is not merely an analogy. It describes our life together as the embodiment of Christ’s love and mercy toward all people. We are not only “the sheep of his pasture,” but we are to shepherd all his people in his name.
Notes on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2009 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York
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Office Hours: Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Pastor Elaine Hewes
Tel: 207-479-5651
elaine.hewes@gmail.com
Emergency Contacts:
| | Warden - John Arrison, 207-505-2474 arrison17@gmail.com | | Warden - Allen Downs 207-348-2560 agdowns53@gmail.com | | |
Emily Hawkins - Treasurer
Cindy Beyer - Clerk
Beth Carter
Kassie Grey
George Pazuniak
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