St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church
Our Mission: "To Love, Praise, Welcome and Serve"
| | Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost | | | |
9:30 a.m. Gathering at the Meditation Garden | |
Worship this Sunday:
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Pastor Elaine Hewes, presiding
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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 in the Parish Hall | | | | 4:30 p.m. Meditation/Silent Prayer (Zoom) | | | | |
10:00 a.m. In-person Meditation
10:30 a.m. Bible Study - Joan Maxwell will lead a discussion on Lectio Divina
4:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal
| | | | 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Reece, presiding | | | | 7:00 p.m. "Courage is Contagious" - An evening with Bishop Mariann Budde, Merrill Auditorium in Portland | | | | 5:00 p.m. Legacy Evening & Potluck | | Friday, October 30 - Thursday, November 5 | | 8:30 - 5:00 p.m. WindowDressers Community Build | | Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost | | |
Sermon given by The Rev. Andrew Stoessel on September 13th.
Click below for the video recording. A text copy is available here.
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"Life is better on a boat"
In gratitude for a summer of water adventures.
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There once were two friends from Maine
As many of you know, Andree Appel spent a year with the St. Brendan community in 2022 as part of her deacon formation program. We all appreciated her presence with us so much (especially me, the priest-in-charge), and Andree and I have continued to be close colleagues and friends. For a number of years we have talked about taking a little trip together, and finally, we’ve accomplished it, taking a few days this past week to travel to Nova Scotia. Below you will find a little limerick about our time away.
Perhaps one of the things this time away has helped me to realize is the importance of taking time to “leave the familiar” and to travel into the unknown… those places where we can see things with new eyes and an open heart. I am very grateful for this time away and what I have come to see and to know.
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There once were two friends from Maine
Known as Andree and Elaine,
Who went on a trip
Aboard a big ship
The CAT from Bar Harbor its name.
They traveled across the big sea
So in a few hours they might be
In a land full of grace,
A most beautiful place,
Where they could just be and just be
Quiet and reverent and slow
Without all that “get up and go,”
Leaving duty behind,
Giving heart, soul and mind
To the things that shimmer and flow
Through and above and around
Sometimes without making a sound,
The music of love
Sung from above
Forever and ever down-bound
Into the midst of creation
For the sake of relation
Embracing all things
With the love song that sings,
Weaving a bright constellation
That connects every mountain and star,
All creatures both near and afar
The earthworms below,
The whisper of snow,
And you, wherever you are.
These are the mysteries unfolding
That Andree and Elaine are beholding
As they sit by the sea
And try to just “be”
In the wide open arms of God’s holding.
All praise then for that song ever flowing,
Glimpses of Love thus bestowing
Little Easters on earth
The hope of rebirth,
In the midst of the dark, a deep knowing.
| | | Giving our Priorities Shape (GPS) Action Item | | |
This week's GPS invitation, as we explore the Living Waters theme for the 2026 Season of Creation, is to learn about and advocate for the Clean Water Act, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently revising and weakening in deeply disturbing ways.
The Clean Water Act is more than 50 years old. Congress passed it in 1972 to establish federal protections for our waterways and wetlands and to prevent pollution of our water nationwide. You can learn about the proposed change at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This nonprofit group has been in existence for more than 50 years and uses science, litigation, and environmental experts and activists to confront the climate crisis and ensure the rights of people to clean air, water, and healthy communities. Click the button below to go to their website, where you can sign a petition about these proposed changes to the Clean Water Act.
While you are at this website, there are 27 more petitions you might consider signing as part of your commitment to Care for Creation!
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Protect Our Water!
Click below to read about the focus of Episcopal Earthkeepers across the state. Please register your response by signing a petition to prevent the proposed gutting of the Clean Water Act.
We have until October 1st to object to the plan to remove the majority of our nation's waterways (many rivers, streams, marshes, and other tributaries) from Federal protection against toxic waste and runoff. We are already dealing with PFAS. Stop further contamination of drinking water, habitat destruction, and irresponsible practices that lead to illness and species extinction.
Ann van Buren
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We are pleased to report that we have received 14 pledges for a total of $54,060. This is a great start, and we are very grateful for these pledges.
We would appreciate it very much if you could submit your pledge by the end of September so that the Finance Ministry can begin drafting a budget in October.
We want to thank Carolyn Mor for all the wonderful work she does keeping track of our finances as well as pledges. We also want to thank Nancy Greene, Julie Pierson, and Chick White for their willingness to write thank-you notes to those who have sent in their pledges. We are also grateful to Beth and Preston Carter for writing such a thoughtful pledge letter.
We thank you for your continuing support of our beloved church.
Gratefully,
The Stewardship Committee
| | Education & Spiritual Development Ministry | | |
Bible Study
Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) offered by Joan Maxwell
Lectio Divina is an ancient spiritual practice common in monasteries to this day. First described in The Ladder of Monks by Guigo II in the 12th Century, the author described it as being “a ladder for monks by which they are lifted up from earth to heaven.” It is a four-part approach to reading a passage of Scripture, moving from reading to praying, meditating, and contemplating. It sounds complicated, but once you learn the sequence of the practice, it is not very complicated and can result in a remarkable experience.
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Legacy Evening & Potluck
Wow! Many of us have been on Planet Earth for over six decades, fulfilling goals and dealing with challenges. We have seen how individuals, friends, families, communities, schools and churches, companies, political parties, countries – do or don’t work well over time.
Since we made it this far, we know the rhythms of daily light, warmth, nourishment and spirit. We might think about the deeper meanings in our lives, relationships and aspects for which we are most grateful, lessons learned to celebrate and errors to avoid, and beliefs, values and practices that turned out to be essential. And we might want to pass some of these reflections on to future generations of family members, friends, and communities.
St. Brendan will offer an opportunity to share such individual Legacy Ideas on Tuesday, October 13th at 5:00 p.m. To help “organize” your sharing, perhaps consider these categories and add your own:
- Guideposts for living: kindness, collaboration, listening, learning
- Cherished times, events, relationships, places, turning points
- Building sustainable communities, common good, giving back
- Sources of wonder, faith, creativity, hopefulness
We hope that you will join us and discover how many thoughts and feelings we share in common with others at St. Brendan, and help to deepen our community bonds!
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Search for the Lord and . . .
continually seek his face.
Psalm 105:4
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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Janet Arrison – 1
Elaine Hewes – 1
Vesta Kowalski – 1
Jack Beaudoin – 2
Donna Downs – 8
Sawyer Hawkins – 10
Jo Jacob – 11
Curtis Flowers – 17
Joe Grey – 17
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Preston Carter – 19
Pam Mallory – 19
Catherine Hicks – 20
Allen Downs – 24
Bruce Downs – 24
Alan Flowers – 24
Miriam Antich – 25
Barb Putnam – 27
Barbara Kourajian – 28
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Bishop Mariann Budde (Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC) is a nationally respected faith leader, author, and advocate for justice, known for her courageous and faithful public witness. On October 8th in Portland, she will reflect on the role of faith in shaping moral leadership and building a more just and compassionate society.
This gathering is an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together and learn how to be brave, stand for justice, speak truth to power, and seek mercy for our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors. Tickets can be purchased here. All proceeds to benefit the Maine Council of Churches.
| | We pray for those in special need: | | |
Fran Liberatore
Abby Peters
Barbara Wright
Debra & Baby Carter
Harry Vickerson
Julie M
Cathy Johnson
Meg Graham
Charlie Putnam
Mike S.
Meredydd Cooper
Henna Torrey Roy
Jerry
Agnes and Billy
Gwyn Murray
Sally
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Beth Kyzer
Preston Henderson
Tammie Cox
Tyler Goss
Judith Jerome
Mimi Maslan
Judy Miller
Megan
Bishop Thomas Brown
Naomi
Anne Burton
Hewit
Mary Ann and Terry
Nishah
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
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 Williams, Stoneburner, and Sherman 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 St. George's, York Harbor, and for those incarcerated, those who love them and those who minister to them.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Anglican Church of Australia.
On the Island and Peninsula, we pray for Reversing Falls Sanctuary, Brooksville.
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Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The theme of today’s liturgy is set by the Gospel reading. The parable of the laborers in the vineyard is one of Jesus’ most important statements concerning God’s call to all people. That call is always open regardless of our past level of commitment.
Those who accept it late are rewarded equally with those of long standing in the Kingdom. It is also a warning to those who have been committed to God for many years, lest they think themselves superior to those newly responding to the call of God.
We continue the story of the Exodus. The Israelites are free, but now the people complain of hunger and wish to be back in Egypt. But God acts and provides them with food in the desert as a sign of his love, even when they are ungrateful.
Today we begin reading Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Written to encourage the Philippian church, the letter comes from a period when Paul was imprisoned and his own life was in danger.
God’s promise to us is not a reward for doing things right. It is our heritage as children and heirs of God’s promise. When we gather to sing and tell the story of God’s salvation, we discover our identity and the identity of all people. Not content to have us merely as creatures, God has made us sons and daughters who feast at the table of God’s home, which is our home as well.
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
Nina Dayton
Kassie Grey
Skip Greenlaw
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