The Parish of
St. Mary and St. Jude
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 DATES TO NOTE ON YOUR CALENDARS January 6 5PM Twelfth Night Service and Pot Luck Supper. January 12 One service at 9:30AM followed by the Annual Meeting of the parish. January 19 Coffee Hour following the 10:30 service. January 26 Sonogee and Summit House worship service. 
WHAT IS WINTER FOR? A message from the RectorThe themes in the church for early January are incarnation and manifestation. Church titles for these themes are Christmas and Epiphany. Christmas is not just one day, but a season the familiar "12 days of Christmas." Yes, even by the time this Harbor Chart reaches your mailbox and our website it will still be Christmas and Epiphany will fast be coming on. So if you haven't finished your Christmas cards or there is a present you forgot there is still time to use your church "get out of stress" or "guilt free" cards and get them off now. Christmas is about God coming into this world in the person of Jesus Christ, experiencing life as we experience it, and in that life redeeming for and with us the lives we lead. Truly a reason to celebrate, let us be glad and rejoice. But that's just the beginning of the journey. There's also the living of that life. Epiphany is about God manifesting the divine presence in the actions of Jesus. The readings of this season are about the things that Jesus did that showed God was present. This is my first winter in Northeast Harbor. I understand from sources that I believe are reliable that there is more time for reflection and prayer around here at this time of year. That doesn't mean that life stops, but that different areas of life are emphasized. And at this time of year, with the weather and the dark pointing the way for more indoor time, reflection, prayer, and planning are appropriate activities. Using the theme of the season as my guide, I think my focus will be on two areas: how God is incarnate in this church community and how we manifest that presence in our living. The answer to the first question lies in the very presence of a lively church community with faithful and devoted members in this small town in Downeast Maine. It is evident to me, even in my short time here, that God is with us in this very special place. The answer to the second question will unfold over time‹certainly it lies in the presentation of the buildings that announce our presence and glorify God, the worship we offer regularly, and the community we share with each other in social gatherings and services, education, and outreach. But I believe that Jesus guides us to more than just these things. For us to know what those manifestations are will take some living, praying, worshipping, celebrating, and dreaming together. So I invite you to this holy activity. That in this season of incarnation and manifestation you pray about how we make it known that God lives in us. That activity seems to me a good thing for winter to be for. Faithfully yours in the winter season, The Reverend David J. Lucey, Rector THE ORDINARY AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK CONTINUES A message from the Stewardship Committee At some point late in the year 2003, we will be speaking with you about extraordinary work: the resumption of the restoration of St. Mary's-by-the-Sea. Meanwhile the ordinary work of the church, supported by annual giving, continues. Let us not, however, undervalue the "ordinary." Through the ordinary round of Sunday services, the ordinary times of fellowship and pastoral care, committee meetings and choir rehearsals, bible study and acolyte instruction, the extraordinary is invited in. Through a thousand routine activities of parish life, in the yearly observance of Holy Days and ordinary times the extraordinary activity of the Holy Spirit flows. Good News is proclaimed. Faith is strengthened. Hope is kindled. Love is practiced. God is glorified. The faithful are made holy, and souls are converted for life in the Kingdom. All of us need to be generous givers, and the ordinary work of the church invites us to be just that. Through the simple act of an annual pledge, through the giving of tithes, alms and gifts, we come to know the dignity of generous lives and glimpse the radical hospitality of God. Our common life together, in the coming year, invites our generosity. "Teach us, good Lord, to serve you more faithfully; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will, O Lord, our God. Amen." PLEDGE REMINDER from the Wardens and the Rector As Christmas celebrates the birth of our Lord, and January 1 the birth of a new year, let us resolve to turn over a new leaf in our history of praise and sacrifice to God for our abundant blessings. The Vestry has taken the lead. Each member has agreed to increase his or her pledge by 50 percent over last year's gift. If you have not already done so, please return your pledge card indicating your thanks to God with a generous and loving heart. ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 12TH There will be a coffee hour and annual meeting in the Parish Hall after the 9:30 service on Sunday, January 12th. Please plan to attend. Important budget issues and nominations will be discussed and voted on. Proposed slate: Senior Warden, Sally Merchant; Junior Warden, Martha Bucklin; Treasurer, Dooney Iselin; Clerk, Maude March; Vestry one year: Lauri Fernald, Anne Kellett, Sheila Smallidge; Vestry two years: Alan Gregory, Sandi Myers; Vestry three years: Dr. Michael Dennis, Bernard Hamilton, Charles Tyson. ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 12 There will be a coffee hour and annual meeting in the Parish Hall after the 9:30 service on Sunday, January 12th. Please plan to attend. Important budget issues and nominations will be discussed and voted on. Proposed slate: Senior Warden, Sally Merchant; Junior Warden, Martha Bucklin; Treasurer, Dooney Iselin; Clerk, Maude March; Vestry one year: Lauri Fernald, Anne Kellett, Sheila Smallidge; Vestry two years: Alan Gregory, Sandi Myers; Vestry three years: Dr. Michael Dennis, Bernard Hamilton, Charles Tyson. CHRISTMAS EVE AT ST. MARY'S-BY-THE-SEA Thanks to a new heating system installed during Phase I of the restoration of St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, 67 parishioners, guests, and friends celebrated the Nativity on Christmas Eve in the stone church with an organ prelude, Festival Eucharist, and singing by the choir. Our beautiful old stone church's pride was showing as she fairly glowed with light, song, holly, poinsettias, and good fellowship, adding her own special magic to the spirit of the Christmas season. What a treasure we have! BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Seventh in a series of "Profiles in Ministry." Sitting around the Bucklin's kitchen table two days before Christmas, I asked the boys, Matthew (20), Michael (18), and Mark (16) how they became interested in the church. With one voice they sang out: "Mom!" And in talking with Chuck, I discovered that it was his mother who had been the driving force for him a generation earlier. In all cases, the parish can be thankful. In 1982, a few years after Chuck and his wife, Martha, had returned to Northeast Harbor, The Reverend Paul Gilbert baptized their first child, Matthew, which sparked Chuck's re-involvement with St. Mary's. Since then, he has served two terms on the Vestry, two terms as Junior Warden, and is a vital member of the Building and Grounds Committee and the Events Committee. He plows out the rectory at every snowstorm. He helps with every church picnic and Christmas greening. In the past, he enjoyed cooking at the men's breakfasts (a fellowship-building event he would like to reinstate). Whenever there is a maintenance "challenge," Chuck is the person the church calls. More important, Chuck has provided unstinting support to all of the rectors he has known. He sees his role, modestly, as helping to create and maintain "a nice place for all of us to worship." Matthew, Michael, and Mark were all Jean Fernald Sunday School students and participants in the annual Christmas pageants. All underwent Paul Gilbert's acolyte training. When there were tents, chairs, and children's games to be set up for church fairs, the boys were there. When there were rain gutters to be cleaned, painting and refurbishing to be done in the rectory, the boys pitched in. Mark and Matthew each served on new rector Search Committees, and Matthew served as Bishop's Chaplain at two celebrations of new ministry. Michael is more a doer than a talker, quietly focused on accomplishing the task at hand. All three are wonderful role models for their youngest brother, Chad. Speaking for the family, Matthew summarized: "We've always been involved with the church. It's just part of our lives." Has church life helped them build better lives? They all agree that it has. Through exposure to people of different ages, backgrounds, and experience, and the lasting relationships that have resulted, father and sons have a strong sense of belonging. Because they genuinely care for and about the people of this community, the community cares for and about them. Talents, caring, and service have made them builders in our community and of it. Charlie Tyson REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST On Sunday, December 22nd, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family members of all ages filled the Winter Chapel to overflowing to watch the young people's Christmas pageant and hark back to the time when they themselves were children. Highlights of the event were a cameo performance by the rector's youngest daughter, Virginia Lee, as the baby Jesus, and a surprise visit at coffee hour by Santa Claus, who elicited childhood memories and spontaneous, uninhibited lap-sitting by several adults who will remain unnamed. |
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The Parish of St. Mary and St. Jude
P.O. Box 105, Northeast Harbor, Maine 04662 Tel: 207/276-5588 Fax: 207/276-3220