St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church
Our Mission: "To Love, Praise, Welcome and Serve"
| | Second Sunday after the Epiphany | | | 9:30 a.m. Gathering at the Meditation Garden | | |
Worship this Sunday:
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Pastor Elaine Hewes, presiding
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
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All services and meetings will be held both in-person and via Zoom unless otherwise designated.
| | | | 8:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast | | | | |
2:00 p.m. Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Reversing Falls Sanctuary
4:30 p.m. Meditation/Silent Prayer (Zoom)
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10:00 a.m. Kindness Rock painting
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. Bible Study 101 (Zoom only)
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10:00 a.m. In-person Meditation
10:30 a.m. Bible Study with Dr. Pam Shellberg
4:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal
| | | | 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with The Rev. Donna Downs presiding | | | | 6:00 p.m. Feast of the Presentation at the Meditation Garden followed by soup in the Parish Hall | | | | 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Annual Mardi Gras Gathering at the Dane's | | | | 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper | | First Sunday after the Epiphany | | |
Sermon given by The Rev. Donna Downs on January 11th.
Click below for the video recording.
| | Pastoral Letters from our Bishop and our Pastor | | |
Jan. 15, 2026
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
Today’s Psalm (Psalm 18) seems especially appropriate for our times: “I love you, O Lord my strength, my crag, and my haven. My enemies confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.”
Yesterday, leaders from several of our cities, as well as Governor Mills and Senator King, responded to the likelihood that Immigration and Customs Enforcement will have a large-scale presence in Androscoggin, Cumberland, and parts of Penobscot counties. This afternoon, Portland Mayor Mark Dion confirmed to WGME that ICE agents would be coming to Portland “within the next two weeks.”
The possibility that our neighbors might be hustled into vans and taken by force to who-knows-where, terrorizes us to the point that some are not leaving our homes. Lest we think this is about “them” let’s be clear: People in our congregations are targets of this violence. It is about us!
Continue reading Bishop Brown's letter here.
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God’s Small Good Thing
As we are witnessing brutality, violence, vengeance and oppression being waged in the towns and cities in our country by those elected to the highest positions of power, many of us who are Christians are hearing a call to resist, both from the depths of our own hearts and from Church leaders such as Mariann Budde, Bishop of the Diocese of Washington DC, Rob Hirschfield, Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, Craig Loya, Bishop of the Diocese of Minnesota, and our own Bishop of Maine, Bishop Brown. And I encourage you to go online to read and to listen to what these Church leaders have to say, because through their words and witness, we can be strengthened in our own resolve to resist the forces of injustice and brutality around us.
One of the pieces of writing I found most helpful this week was from Bishop Craig Loya, Bishop of the Minnesota Diocese, the Diocese in which Renee Good was killed by an ICE Agent on January 7th of this year. In the essay, Bishop Loya began by talking about how he and his daughter were running in the fog one morning when it was still dark, unable to see more than a few feet in front of them, even with their headlamps. And he acknowledged that many of us may feel as though our nation is covered in a dense fog not unlike the fog in which he and his daughter found themselves that early morning, leaving us uncertain about how to move forward as Christians. And then he wrote,
It is worth remembering today that Jesus is God’s small good thing for the world. The path of life Jesus sets out for us isn’t forged by victory through force. It is forged by the small good thing of standing in the broken, forgotten places, with the forgotten, vulnerable people. It is forged as God’s extravagant love reaches over every division that tears God’s children apart. While the world will always worship and covet what is big and powerful, small and humble is how God saves the world from itself.
In the season to come, there will inevitably be much we are called upon to say and do, which will require great courage and great faith. It is always so in a sinful and fallen world. For now, and for today, it is enough to sit for a time with the fact that it is not your job or mine to save the world from the fog that enfolds it. It is your job and mine to join Jesus in being God’s small, good things that point to God’s better way of love. It is your job and mine to run together in the fog, clinging to each other, pausing together to rest and recover, reaching out to our neighbors in love, standing with and for those whose dignity and lives are threatened. It is your job and mine to follow the lead of our ancient mothers who also set out together in the early dark, and found, as God’s people have across the centuries, that God’s small and humble love topples every fearful power under heaven, and heals all creation in the warmth of its light.
I have no doubt, on this weekend when we remember and honor the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and others who resisted the forces of brutality, violence and discrimination in their own time, that they would appreciate Bishop Loya’s words. Because it was not through the kind of force being used by the political leaders of our day that MLK and the Civil Rights workers won their battle over injustice and prejudice. But rather through non-violent civil disobedience, through prayer, and through their commitment to “joining Jesus in being God’s small good things that point to God’s better way of love.”
We don’t know yet what we might be called to do in the days ahead. There are many ways to resist the forces of violence and vengeance that surround us. And each of us will find our own way to do so in community with others who are also trying to sense their way ahead in the darkness and the fog. It won’t be easy. And sometimes the way ahead won’t be at all clear. But Bishop Loya reminds us of the promise we all carry with us as Christians… God’s small and humble love topples every fearful power under heaven, and heals all creation in the warmth of its light.
May we hold onto this promise. May we hold onto one another, trusting that the light of Christ will be sufficient for showing us the way. In the name and in the way of Jesus.
Pastor Elaine
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Litany of Gratitudes for my Birthday Week
Monday 19th - For St. Brendan's Community and their Loving Support
Tuesday 20th - For Martin Luther King and All Who Work for Equality/Justice/Peace
Wednesday 21st - For Study Groups and the Joy of Thinking and Growing
Thursday 22nd - For Deer Isle - Its Endless Beauty and Mystery
Friday 23rd - For Friends and Fantastic Times Together
Saturday 24th - For LIFE and My Family - Four Living Generations
2nd - Derek Scott, Christopher Aaron, Kara Marie and wife Louise
3rd - Collin and wife Lauren, Dawnell and husband John
4th - Maverick and Lawson Cheek, Violet and Clara Padua
Looking ahead
Sunday 25th - For Cultural Richness - This Sunday's Chamber Concert
Mickey Jacoba
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Saying Goodbye to Arthur
From Kathleen Hayward: Blue Path Arthur will return to NY for training and breeding. We send him with a few toys, treats, and love. He will live with a foster family. Blue Path has communicated that they are in conversation with several service dog organizations to include Arthur in their breeding programs.
Grateful for the St. Brendan's pack that raised Arthur!
If anyone wants to see one view of an autism service dog, click here to view several TikTok videos of Blue Path Fred and his girl Molly in NYC.
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Jane La Chance: I'm grateful for the loving support of St. Brendan's community, especially the Welcome and Hospitality, Educational and Spiritual Development Ministries, and to George, who was patient and present during my reading of The Camino Stories.
Click the picture to watch the Zoom recording of Jane's presentation.
| | Giving our Priorities Shape (GPS) Action Item | | |
Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.
Martin Luther King Jr.
There is a stark inequity in the state of Maine in levels of poverty based on race and ethnic identity. While approximately 15% of white children live in poverty, the rate is 44% for children from Maine's American Indian families and over 46% for children from Maine's Black or African families (State Legislature figures from 2021).
Let's renew our commitment to the power of love and join with others to address this inequity. Please explore the work of Maine Equal Justice, a nonprofit civil legal aid and economic justice organization based in Augusta that works to increase economic security, opportunity, and equity for Maine residents. Or, closer to home, contact Community Compass or Healthy Island Project to see how your time, energy, and love can make a difference in your neighbors' lives and well-being.
| | We need to fill the boat! | | |
Our boat needs more ballast!
Join us to paint Kindness Rocks -- no experience necessary!
Tuesday, January 20 at 10 a.m.
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Open House at the Dane's
5 - 7 pm
Friday, February 6
8 Weed Point Road, Little Deer Isle
Sign up at St. Brendan or contact Martha
947-8043
mndane-114@hotmail.com
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Bible Study 101 on Tuesday, 4:00 to 5:30 pm, on Zoom only
This course continues through February 10.
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Bible Study on Wednesday at 10:30 am
For the next three weeks, Dr. Pam Shellberg will lead our class using the words of Isaiah, from the Christian Old Testament. They were given to an ancient people in times of great political, economic, and spiritual upheaval. Poetic and prophetic, they were words of warning and admonishment, and also of reassurance and encouragement. Isaiah was tremendously influential on the heart of Jesus.
In these three sessions, we'll have the chance to open our hearts to that same influence through words that echo from a time long past into our own time of upheaval. In our conversations and reflection, we'll lean into their power to inspire our spiritual imaginations, lead us to an ancient well of wisdom, and offer us a through-line of hope. We will meet in person and on Zoom.
| | Education & Spiritual Development Ministry | | |
"I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach
to the end of the earth."
Isaiah 47
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
| | Bible Study on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. | | |
Emily Blair Stribling - 9
Martha Dane - 14
George Pazuniak - 15
Mickey Jacoba - 21
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Agnes Love - 23
Patricia Donahue - 24
Lis Ingoldsby - 24
Dan Bright - 31
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Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, January 19, 2:00 p.m.
Reversing Falls Sanctuary
Please join us as we honor the memory and life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and explore his concept of the “Beloved Community.” Dr. King taught that the Beloved Community is a society built on love, justice, and nonviolence, where people overcome hatred and conflict to recognize the inherent worth in everyone, creating a reconciled, interconnected world.
We ground these ideals in real-world courage by connecting Dr. King’s vision to Robert Shetterly’s Americans Who Tell the Truth portraits. The program will examine the lives of six prophetic Americans who exemplify this teaching:
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William Barber, II: A leader in moral fusion politics, bringing people together across racial and economic lines to fight systemic poverty.
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Cesar Chavez: Co-founder of the United Farm Workers; he proved that nonviolent labor organizing restores dignity to the exploited.
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Deqa Dhalac: The first Somali-American mayor in the U.S., showing how immigrant leadership strengthens our local communities.
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John Lewis: A titan of the Civil Rights Movement who lived by the creed of "good trouble" and unwavering nonviolence.
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Aldo Leopold: Author of the "Land Ethic," he expanded the community to include soil, water, plants, and animals.
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Kathy Kelly: A peace activist who practices radical empathy for those in war zones, challenging us to reject the violence of war.
All are welcome. Reversing Fall Sanctuary is located at 818 Bagaduce Road in Brooksville.
| | We pray for those in special need: | | |
Peter McKee
Caroline Dane
Mike S.
Jennifer Hutchinson
Meredydd Cooper
Henna Torrey Roy
Liz Leuthner
Jerry
Helen and Gibbie Nauman
Agnes and Billy
Barbara K.
Julie and Tom
Gwyn Murray
Sally
Beth Kyzer
David
Preston Henderson
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Mollie Ann Meserve
Tammie and Jason Cox
Tyler Goss
Kate Hallen & Bob Blum
Judith Jerome
Mimi Maslan
Semantha
Judy Miller
Megan
Bishop Thomas Brown
Naomi
Anne Burton
Hewit
Mary Ann and Terry
Nishah
David Morrish
Corbin
Rebecca
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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
Tony Stoneburner
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 Sherman, Hewes, Putnam, Wright, Clauson/Hewes, Pierson, Wade/Scaife, Dahlen, Stoessel, and Miller/Budd 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. Anne's, Calais, St. David's, Kennebunk, and for immigrants, refugees, and asylees and the ministries that serve them.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for Province de L’Eglise Anglicane
Du Congo.
On the Island and Peninsula, we pray for St. Mary by the Sea, Stonington.
| | | The Second Sunday after Epiphany
The liturgy today continues the theme of Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus as the Christ. Therefore, in today’s Gospel reading we hear the testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus. John recounts the Holy Spirit’s descent at Jesus’ baptism and tells his followers that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Two of John’s disciples then follow Jesus and one of them, Andrew, brings his brother, Simon Peter.
In the first reading, one of the servant songs of Isaiah, God announces that the servant of God will bring not only the people of Israel into God’s household but will be sent to all humankind.
Throughout this Epiphany period, we read from the First Epistle to the Corinthians. This letter of Paul is particularly concerned with the life of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the church is the ongoing manifestation of Christ in the world. The Spirit of God who rested upon Jesus at his baptism dwells in the church and Paul explores the meaning of our membership in Christ’s Body.
Each time we gather to celebrate Eucharist, we are reconstituted as the church. We proclaim the story of God’s salvation, we pray for the church and the world, and in the Eucharistic feast, God reveals our unity with Jesus in the Bread and Wine of Holy Communion. We are revealed by Word and Sacrament to be the Body of Christ in the world.
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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