News & Events in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine
Volume 24, Number 6
March 24, 2022
Around The Diocese
New Episcopal Maine website is live
We've launched a new Episcopal Maine website! The site has been updated to be easier to navigate and more welcoming. Please explore the new site and let us know your thoughts and suggested changes here.
Attend Chrism Eucharist on April 7th in Rangeley
Join us for a diocese-wide Chrism Eucharist on April 7th from 11:00am-2:00pm at Church of the Good Shepherd (2614 Main St.) in Rangley led by Bishop Thomas Brown. We'll renew our promises of baptism, and clergy will renew their ordination vows. Holy oils will be blessed for the coming year. Please RSVP here by April 1st.
All 6th-12th graders invited to an overnight youth retreat
For the first time in two years, Episcopal Maine Youth will gather in person for an overnight retreat - and we want any and all 6th-12th graders to be there! 

Our Youth Retreat will take place April 29 - May 1 at Camp Bishopswood in Hope, Maine. Read more or register now to join us for a weekend of fun, friendship, and some Jesus thrown in for good measure! We'll even do some community service, giving back to Camp Bishopswood as part of their larger Work Weekend.

Are you a young adult or adult interested in volunteering? Please get in touch with the Rev. Cn. Sara D'Angio White to see if the fit is right for you!
Spring Training will feature conversation with the bishops of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
You are invited to join us for Spring Training 2022: a morning of conversation, prayer, and learning on Saturday, May 14 9:00 am -12:00 pm online via Zoom. Participants can attend two workshops of their choice, as well as engage in a conversation between our own Bishop Brown, Bishop MacVean-Brown of Vermont, and Bishop Hirschfeld of New Hampshire.

Workshop topics include:
  • Creative Church Fundraising
  • Planned Giving
  • Welcoming Children (Back) into the Pews
  • Environmental Justice
  • Justice for Indigenous Peoples
  • Ministry of the Diaconate

Presenters include: Rev. Sara Gavit, Rev. Cn. Sara D'Angio White, Rev. Jenny Reece, John Maddaus, Heather Sylvester, Rev. Kris Conley, and Cn. Terry Reimer
News From Our Congregations
Christ Church in Eastport is holding prayer vigils each Saturday until the war in Ukraine is over. Chris Carroll, pictured here, takes this flag from home, where it normally flies, to the church each Saturday for the vigil.
"The Outreach Committee at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick recently awarded a total of $43,660 to 20 nonprofit organizations. Most of them are local; all of them lift and serve those in need. The grants ranged in size from $500 to $5,000." Read more here in the Press Herald. 
The Church of Saint Mary, 43 Foreside Road, Falmouth will celebrate Martin Luther King's feast day on April 4 at 7:00 pm. This service of 'Sacred Readings and Songs' will include sharing his sermons, writings and poetry associated with his life, as well as organ pieces by African American composers, a spiritual, and the Elégie by Gabriel Fauré for cello and piano. Join them in person or on Facebook.
Christ Church, Gardiner is searching for a part-time music director. They are seeking a skilled, dynamic and enthusiastic music director to support their 10:00 AM principal Sunday services and to provide music on other Holy Days and special occasions. Organ skills are optional. The church has an organist willing to continue playing at services if a qualified music director who does not play the organ is found. Read the full job description and instructions on applying here.
Voices Among Us
"Jesus in America" is a national study conducted in a partnership between The Episcopal Church and Ipsos and just released this month. The research found that while the majority of Americans polled believe Jesus was an important spiritual figure and want equality in society, it also showed Christians are not necessarily practicing what Jesus taught, and Americans feel judged when talking about their beliefs. Continue reading about the study and view the results online.
Bishop Brown has returned from the House of Bishops spring retreat. A transcript of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's "Give me Jesus!" sermon given at Camp Allen in Texas on March 15 is available here. This was the bishops' first in-person assembly since September 2019. In addition to fellowship, study, prayer, and Sabbath, the bishops present issued a statement on the war in Ukraine and a resolution about anti-trans legislation in various states. Pictured here is Bishop Brown with his fellow Class of 2020 bishops.
Personal transformation leads to expansion of Sacred Ground

The "Becoming Beloved Community" newsletter recently included a column by Andrea Lauerman about Caroline Russell (a St. Paul's, Brunswick parishioner until her death in December) and her relationship with and support of the Sacred Ground program.

Read more
episcopalmaine.org
Interfaith service offers prayers for people of Ukraine

An interfaith service on March 13th in Lewiston offered prayers for war-torn Ukraine. The Rev. Sheila Seekins (seen here in the procession) and Klara Tammany of Trinity, Lewiston took part in the service.

Read more
www.sunjournal.com
Prayers
Let us pray for the repose of the soul of the Rev. Ed Greene who died Saturday, March 12, at home in Bath. He served churches in Old Town, Biddeford and Sanford as well as Fitchburg and Worcester, MA and Harpers Ferry, WV. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, May 21 at Grace Church in Bath. Read his obituary here. May his soul and the souls of the all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Please continue to pray for Ukraine and those in danger. Consider supporting those suffering from this violence with a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development, Maine-based Partners for World Health, or World Central Kitchen. Click here to find more information and links and to read about the way Rev. Gwen Fry and Marge Kilkelly have been able to help.
Resources
John Bell of the Iona Community in Maine March 25-29
Rev. John Bell, celebrated preacher, hymn writer, song leader, and inspiring member of the Iona Community in Scotland, will be visiting Maine from March 25-29. 

While in the state, he will offer a seminar "Ancient Celtic gifts for Modern Times" on Saturday, March 26, 2022, in-person and on Zoom from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm at St. Peter’s in Rockland. For more information, email the church office or call 207-594-8191. Read about this and other events where John Bell will appear here. 
Learn how depression affects those who live a life of faith
The course "Grace and Depression" with Bishop Robert Hirschfeld is available on Church Next - either for individuals here or a course for groups here. Depression is real. It can touch anyone -- even a bishop in The Episcopal Church. Mental illness is often stigmatized in our culture and in the Church, but it doesn't have to be. In this course, Bishop Robert Hirschfeld reveals his own journey with depression, how it affects his life, how it makes him feel, and how living a faithful life of prayer and finding medical care have made depression an experience he can live with. He reminds us that in the exhausting darkness of depression, God remains with us.