St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church
Our Mission: "To Love, Praise, Welcome and Serve"
| | Ninth Sunday after Pentecost | | | |
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Worship this Sunday:
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Reece, presiding
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All services and meetings will be held both in-person and via Zoom unless otherwise designated.
| | | | 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Annual Lobster Picnic | | | | |
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. Phenomenology of Illness study with Prof. Peter Antich
4:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal
| | | | 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Pastor Elaine Hewes presiding | | | | 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Session A on Antigone | | | | Celebration of the lives of Tony and Pat Stoneburner | | | | 5:00 p.m. Celtic Eventide | | | | |
7:00 p.m. Broadway comes to St. Brendan
(more information below)
| | | | 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Session B on Antigone | | | | |
17th Annual St. Brendan Women's Retreat
Contact Martha Dane for information.
| | Eighth Sunday after Pentecost | | | | |
Hope as
the deep down,
Gut-wrenching, feral,
Ridiculous, ludicrous trust
that despite everything,
something else
is possible...
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Sermon given by Pastor Elaine Hewes on July 19th.
Click below for the video recording. A text copy is available here.
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When we entered the Parish Hall on Sunday, our eyes were drawn to these beautiful quilts made by the Sunshine Quilters from a pattern by Heather Cormier. We are grateful for the artistry and talent of these quilters. Thanks to John Arrison for his help in displaying them.
Christina Kales: For the first time in 28 years, my husband and I will not be vacationing in Maine. Many of my fondest memories reflect time spent with the St. Brendan's community in worship and community service. So very grateful for a welcoming community. We miss you all.
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A Wonderful Word
There's a word Martin Luther loved to use whenever he (or anyone else) was tempted to get all tied up in knots over something in the Church that wasn't all that theologically important. The word (in Greek) is adiaphora, and basically it means "anything that is not essential to the sharing of the Gospel."
As any of us who have spent time in the Church know, congregations can get mired in disputes over things like which drawer in the kitchen to put the spoons in, or what color the carpeting should be, or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. And while questions such as these can be interesting to discuss in a congregation, none of them are essential to the sharing of the Gospel. (And, truth be told, sometimes these kinds of questions can take up way more energy and time than they are worth.)
I share this word adiaphora with you in part because one of the things I'm so grateful for is that the St. Brendan community is not an adiaphora-oriented congregation. (In other words, it's not a church that "majors in the minors," focusing on the little things that don't much matter compared to the things that do, like reaching out to neighbors, offering meaningful spiritual and educational opportunities, caring for one another, working for justice, etc.)
But I also tell you about the word adiaphora because at a time when I am tempted (as you may be also) to make EVERYTHING urgently important, demanding my constant attention, energy and spirit (to the point of depleting me of all the above), I find the word very helpful to use in conversation with myself… Reminding myself now and then when I find myself consumed with "must-do's" that some of those "must-do's" might just be adiaphora, and so not essential on the list of "what's most important" for either the well-being of myself or those around me.
It's also a handy little word to use in casual conversation because it rolls off the tongue like music. It's just plain old fun to say. And, as an added bonus, if you use it in a conversation to speak of something that may not be all that essential, it invites questions like, "What's adiaphora?" Which in turn invites more conversation about the things that are truly most important and essential in the given moment. (Plus, who knows, it may be a word in one of the New York Times crossword puzzles!)
So a small gift from me to you today… The old Greek word adiaphora. I figured maybe you might need it as much as I do in the complicated and demanding times in which we live.
| | Giving our Priorities Shape (GPS) Action Item | | Please consider supporting the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP). When a neighbor is detained or facing deportation, what they need most is a lawyer, and ILAP provides free immigration legal services to Maine's immigrants, backed by community outreach and advocacy for a system that is more just and humane. Your contribution helps make sure Maine families don't have to face the immigration system alone. | | Broadway comes to St. Brendan | | |
A musical tribute to Marian Anderson with the composers of MARIAN
A new musical about legendary Black contralto Marian Anderson will return to the Maine island where it was born, as composers Chelsea Marie Davis and Victoria Theodore host "One Voice", an intimate fundraising salon for MARIAN, on Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Brendan Episcopal Church.
The evening offers guests a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making of an original musical — featuring live performances of songs from MARIAN, personal stories from a decade-long creative journey, and conversation about what it takes to bring a new work to the American stage.
The show's first sixteen songs were written on Deer Isle in 2019. In the seven years since, MARIAN has been shaped through four public readings, a NYC workshop, innumerable rewrites, and a full test production in this year’s University of Michigan New Works Festival. The musical is headed to its world premiere in February 2027 at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
MARIAN tells the story of the trailblazing Black contralto whose artistry and courage helped reshape our American cultural imagination. Marian Anderson’s landmark 1939 performance at the Lincoln Memorial for 75,000 people was Washington, D.C.’s first integrated concert. She united a fractured nation and ignited the nascent Civil Rights movement.
Proceeds from the salon will support the world premiere production of MARIAN.
| | Education & Spiritual Development Ministry | | | | |
"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God."
Romans 8:27
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 10:30 a.m.
This is the last session on the Phenomenology of Illness
with Dr. Peter Antich.
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Del Bright – 2
Emily Hawkins – 9
Lynne Ensworth – 10
John Arrison – 13
Sophie Webb – 14
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Scott Cleveland – 18
Luke Williams – 21
Tallulah Pickens – 21
Heather Corey – 25
Cindy Beyer – 29
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CAN YOU HELP?
I have an elderly friend who has serious leg problems. She would like a reclining chair so she can put her legs up. Does anyone have a reclining chair that you would be willing to donate? Please see me at church or call me at 207-460-1260.
Thank you very much,
Skip Greenlaw
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We pray for those in special need:
We give thanks for the life of Anne Williams.
We pray for Luke and their family as they mourn her passing.
May God's strong love comfort them at this time.
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Debra Carter
baby Charles
Harry Vickerson
Julie M.
Danny Judkins
Cathy Johnson
Meg Graham
Charlie Putnam
Judson Brown
Mike S.
Meredydd Cooper
Henna Torrey Roy
Jerry
Agnes and Billy
Gwyn Murray
Sally
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Beth Kyser
David
Preston Henderson
Tammie Cox
Tyler Goss
Kate Hallen & Bob Blum
Judith Jerome
Mimi Maslan
Judy Miller
Megan
Bishop Thomas Brown
Naomi
Anne Burton
Hewit
Mary Ann and Terry
Nishah
Corbin
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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
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, and Hewes families.
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 North Haven Summer Services, and for Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown (VT) and Bishop Rob Hirschfeld (NH).
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Anglican Church of Tanzania.
On the Island and Peninsula, we pray for Sunshine Advent Christian Church, Deer Isle.
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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Again, this Sunday, as last Sunday, we hear parables of Jesus concerning God’s Kingdom. The Kingdom is characterized as hidden, yet being revealed; as small now but destined to grow large; as so precious that those who discover it will give all in
order to attain it; as open to all who will accept it.
The first reading from 1 Kings is Solomon’s prayer asking God for wisdom. It was Solomon’s desire for wisdom rather than riches and power, which revealed him as a righteous king. This is a prefiguring of God’s Kingdom in which all of God’s people are a royal priesthood, enlightened by the spirit and wisdom of God.
Our continued reading of the Epistle to the Romans leads us to Paul’s great outburst of praise and assurance of the certainty of God’s love for us. Here Paul is certain that even our weakest and most elementary striving towards God is proof that God is leading us and has destined us for glory.
The Church is not the Kingdom of God. It is, in the words of Alexander Schmemann, the world in the process of becoming the Kingdom. When we gather to celebrate, our movement toward the Kingdom is revealed. In the Eucharist, God reconstitutes us as the Church, and we discover ourselves growing toward the Kingdom.
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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