Worship this Sunday:

10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist

The Rev. Emily Blair Stribling, presiding

The Rev. Timothy Ensworth, preaching

Scripture readings for this Sunday (notes are below)

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Canticle 16

Colossians 1:11-20

Luke 23:33-43

The bulletin can be found here.

Join us in-person or online. Click below for the Zoom link.

Monday, November 24

8:30 a.m. Simmering Pot

4:30 p.m. Meditation/Silent Prayer (Zoom)

Tuesday, November 25

8:30 a.m. Vestry meeting

Wednesday, Nov. 26

No Bible Study or Meditation today

Sunday, November 30

10:00 a.m. Healing Service and Holy Eucharist with Pastor Elaine Hewes presiding and Page Eastman, reflector.

On the Mobius strip, I have written the verse from Romans 8… As you will see, when you get to the end of the verse, you come right back to the beginning…

I give this to each of you as you ponder how you might “testify” to the love of God made known in Jesus in the frightening ending moments in which we live… I give it to you so you can remember that if there’s anything the God made known Jesus is known for, it’s taking endings and making beginnings out of them… 

Sermon given by Pastor Elaine Hewes on November 16th.

Click below for the video recording. A text copy is available here.

Martha Dane: With gratitude and a warmed heart, I thank our St. Brendan’s community for help, support and healing prayers these last two weeks for my healing. Thank you for your kindness with needed tasks and for your nourishment of mind, body and soul. Blessings to all of you.

As we prepare for Advent (next Sunday, November 30^th) and reflect on Elaine’s sermon last Sunday and her question “How might we testify to the love of God in this moment of turmoil, divisiveness, violence and fear, and, yes, death, and make an art of it as if the world depended upon us because it does…”, listen to or read, as Elaine suggested, Bishop Mariann Budde’s courageous testimony of January 21, 2025 in the National Cathedral to all the political leaders assembled for the inauguration.



Reflect on the opportunities you have to “testify” going forward. Have courage. We are in this together!

Jeannie Hatch at Island Community Center thanks us for hosting them for the last few years, but they need a larger space this year. They will be using their facility with the gym as a larger space to set up the deliveries.

They would, however, like volunteers to deliver the meals that morning and people to cook turkeys, potatoes, and/or carrots. You can call Jeannie at 207-367-2735 to volunteer to help.

One of the biggest sources of waste in the world, including right here on Deer Isle, is FOOD.

If you are interested in learning more about how farmers and processors in Maine are finding innovative ways to solve this problem, you might be interested in joining Maine Food Convergence in this webinar. Click here to sign up.

If you have any other news relevant to earthkeeping, please share!

Thank you,

Ann van Buren, Earthkeeper

Can we fill the Box again?

Thank you to everyone who has purchased items to fill Alfred's Box.

There is still time to shop. The list of requested items is available here.

If you are off-island, you can have your online purchases sent to Woody Osborne.

Slow down. Quiet. It's Advent.

Jay Sidebotham's Advent poster calendar is available at church beginning this Sunday. This calendar offers ideas for prayer, helping others, and being thoughtful about the true meaning of Christmas.

The Rev. Thomas Mousin (rector at St. Peter's, Portland) shares his annual Advent calendar, which he creates in partnership with The Rev. Merry Watters. This partnership is now in its thirty-sixth year!

Reading the appointed scripture for each day helps us to focus on the Christmas story as it has been revealed to us over the course of human history. Learn more and download the free calendar here. To receive the daily email devotionals that Tom sends to accompany the calendar, click here to subscribe.

AdventWord



Forward Movement convenes another year of AdventWord, an inspirational online Advent calendar featuring a daily prompt word selected from the Sunday lectionary readings. Followers receive a daily meditation and visual image inspired by the day’s word and are invited to share their own personal reflections, art, poetry, or other creative expression.

Sign up to receive the daily email meditation. AdventWord is an offering of Forward Movement, a ministry of the Episcopal Church. Learn more about this ministry at forwardmovement.org.

Living Well Through Advent 2025

Practicing Generosity with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind 

Living Well Through Advent is a free daily devotional shared by the Living Compass group. It offers daily scripture and reflection to guide our journey of expectant waiting this Advent season.

Click here to sign up for this daily email devotional.

 "Be still, then, and know that I am God . . . "

Psalm 46:11

Zoom Meditation/Silent Prayer at 4:30 p.m. 

Readings, poems, and prayers are shared before a period of silence.

No In-Person Meditation/Silent Prayer at St. Brendan

on Wednesday, November 26th

No Bible Study on November 26th

November Birthdays

Jonny Wheaton – 3

Pat Roth - 10

Janet Pickens – 15

Kassie Grey – 17

Charlie Putnam – 17

Beth Carter – 18

Peter Tarlton – 20

Robert Stribling – 23

Joan Maxwell – 27

Tom van Buren – 27

Andrew Stoessel – 29

News from Near and Far

Sacred Ground Webinar: What Does Advent Mean for Us Here and Now?

Monday, November 24, 1 - 2 p.m. online

The Rev. Miguel Bustos, manager for racial justice and reconciliation for The Episcopal Church, will explore the spiritual underpinnings of Sacred Ground in this Advent-focused webinar. Sacred Ground is the church’s film-and readings-based dialogue series that focuses on race and faith. Bustos, who supervises the program, will talk about the importance of Sacred Ground spirituality during current challenges, as well as the joy and hope inherent in the celebration of Christ’s birth. Participants will have time to offer reflections and ask questions. Register here.

Advent Study Offering: Five-Week Course on Matthew's Gospel

Fridays, Nov. 21 - Dec. 19, 11 a.m. - noon

In person at St. Margaret's, Belfast, and online

All are invited to join a group at St Margaret’s, Belfast, for a free, online and in-person short course on Matthew’s Gospel, which is the focus of Lectionary readings for Year A starting in Advent 2025.

Matthew’s Gospel is the first in the canon—that is, the 27 books of the New Testament. It is one of four New Testament gospels, through which we learn about Jesus and his followers. Matthew’s focus is on Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), a grounding with which Matthew’s audience is very familiar, but which we as Episcopalians are not. A Jewish text written after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the war against Rome in 66-70CE, Matthew wrote intending to present the contours of Judaism in the context of that catastrophe for Jewish followers of Jesus.

To join the course or if you have questions, please email the instructor, Canon Deirdre Good, for a course outline and online materials before Nov. 21.

Canon Deirdre Good, Th.D., a parishioner of St Margaret’s, and a licensed lay preacher in the diocese, taught New Testament and Christian Origins at the General Theological Seminary in New York City for 28 years. For more information see deirdregood.net.

We pray for those in special need:

  Liz Leuthner 

Jerry

Harry Vickerson

Helen and Gibbie Nauman

Mimi Gerstell

Agnes and Billy

Barbara K.

Julie and Tom

Gwen Murray

Sally

Beth Kyzer

David

Preston Henderson

Mollie Ann Meserve

Heidi (Jonny's mother)

Tammie and Jason Cox

Tyler Goss

Kate Hallen & Bob Blum

Judith Jerome

Mimi Maslan

Semantha

Judy

Megan

Bishop Thomas Brown

Naomi

Anne Burton

Hewit

Mary Ann and Terry

Nishah

David Morrish

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

Tony Stoneburner

Carol Stoneburner

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 Grace Church, Bath, and for the spouses, companions, and families of clergy in the diocese.

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Anglican Church in Aotearoa,

New Zealand and Polynesia.

On the Island and Peninsula, we pray for the Church of Jesus Christ Restoration Branch, Deer Isle.

Last Sunday after Pentecost

Today is the final Sunday of the church year. It is the celebration of the reign of Christ over all creation. The gospel reading presents Christ’s kingship in its most

dramatic moment, when he rules over the earth from his cross. At this moment when he seemed the most despised and rejected of people, he forgives the penitent thief crucified with him and promises that he would be with him in paradise. This is the central paradox of the Christian proclamation. Our eternal ruler revealed his power by putting power aside and dying to save the world he created.

The first reading from Jeremiah brings God’s condemnation on the rulers of Judah who are evil shepherds. God will come in person to gather all the lost sheep who had been betrayed by those unworthy shepherds. God will be the shepherd of the people and will raise up a righteous king from the family of David to care for the people. For the first Christians, this reading was taken to refer to Jesus.

In the letter to the Colossians, the writer uses what is thought to have been an early Christian hymn to express his most exalted statement of the cosmic meaning of the Christ. Jesus Christ is the fullness of God, the source and origin of all that is, and the saving ruler of the universe who seals his rule with the blood of his cross.

In the Eucharist, we bring all the world into the risen presence of its Lord, that the world through him might be saved. Here we acclaim the ruler and sovereign of all things, who is also our savior, our brother, and our lover.

Notes on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2009 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York

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

ST. BRENDAN THE NAVIGATOR EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 627 NORTH DEER ISLE ROAD, DEER ISLE Mailing Address: P.O. Box 305, Deer Isle, ME 04627

(207)348-6240 • OFFICE@STBRENDANS-ME.ORG

www.stbrendans-me.org