The Parish of
St. Mary and St. Jude
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The Church : Now more than ever: I wish the subject of our war with Iraq were not this month's lead. There are so many other important and vital issues for this parish and this island that could be discussed in this space. Also, at this very early stage of my tenure I am so very concerned that we continue to get to know each other, trust each other, and grow together. But war is not life as usual, and I think to ignore the topic entirely would be irresponsible. As we have participated in the Rector's Forum: A Christian Response to War, and with the recent community forum sponsored by MDI Tomorrow, there is a great divergence of opinions about our nation's invasion of Iraq. There are some in our community who support the President's actions, there are some who still have not been convinced that the time is yet appropriate to take this action, and some who passionately believe that there will never be a time when the military should be used. I have been most impressed that honest, deeply held opinions have been exchanged without animosity, even as they have been conveyed with passion. I have also been impressed that the same people who have disagreed minutes before have then sat side-by-side to worship and received communion together. That respect and grace are characteristic of the Christian enterprise when it operates at its best. We have always learned more and grown more as a body of the faithful when we have been honest with ourselves and those around us, and when we have participated in this exchange with an abundance of grace. We are entering the season when the Easter Message takes over. That good news message says that God is with us even in our pain and suffering, and that the power of Love can transform our troubles and us with them. I sense that we will need this comfort and sustenance over the coming weeks and months. For that I will rely on the advice of the Bible and our Bishops - prayer. If we are honest if we are earnest, and if we are ready to act on the answers, prayer can transform and heal. Even though I will pray alone, it is even more important to gather as a community and pray together. And that is a call to gather in church for inspiration, comfort, and sustenance. In this time, even as we go to war, we are called as a church to pray for wisdom, restraint, peace, forgiveness, and generosity-for our own country and leaders, and for those whom we fight. My commitment is to maintain this discipline, now more than ever. Faithfully yours in the Lenten season, David Rector's Forum Continuing into April, the series of Rector's Forums will be held on the 6th and 13th at 9:30AM in the winter chapel. The subject of the forums is "The Christian Response to War." During these sessions we are exploring the various traditions that have been part of the Church's long history and we are given room to explore our country's current state of affairs. The Rector is joined in this enterprise by two distinguished career Foreign Service Officers, Moorhead ("Mike") Kennedy, who has special insight from his experience as a hostage in Iran, and James Clunan, who has specialized training from the United States War College. The presentations and their accompanying discussions are proving to be very useful and timely. Come join us and invite your friends. Editor's Bulletin Board As the new editor of the Harbor Chart, I want to thank Charlie Tyson for his enormous help and patience with my steep learning curve with technology. I am very interested in receiving your ideas about how we might share the bulletin with our larger parish and community. Some thoughts come to mind: a Sunday School column, "artworks of the month," Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor news, oral histories, Church history, descriptions of the Stroud Fund's donations and MDI Tomorrow updates. MDI Tomorrow Starts Today: Opportunities For Action, a conference on Saturday, April 12 from 8:30 (8am registration is $10) to 2:30 at the Atlantic Oakes in Bar Harbor will be a great chance to learn the important issues facing the island and to participate in the future of our community. EarthDay 2003: MDI Roadside Clean-up on Saturday April 26th 9 to 11:30. Let's create a Saint Mary's team of all ages. Contact Mike Staggs at Friends of Acadia (288 3340) to sign up and offer to be a leader to help the Friends organize this effort to clean up thirty to fifty miles of road. This is crucial and rewarding work. Last year 300 volunteers picked up 6 tons of trash! On Sunday, March 16th, the Union Church parishioners visited our Winter Chapel for a joint worship service. That day's lesson included Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan. The Sunday School made paper dove collages as a representation of the Holy Spirit's presence at the baptism. They subsequently decorated the Coffee Hour table following the service. The Summer Fair Well, at this point, no plans have yet been made for another Fair in August. To be honest, we need a committee to spearhead the effort and to make some commitments to rounding up willing and able bodies to match the success of last year's Fair. If this is something you would be interested in tacking on, please send us a note or make a call to the office. Even if you are not yet here, organizing the Fair can be made well in advance so managing it from afar is not at all out of the realm of possibility. This may be a special ministry for a special group of parishioners. Do you feel a call to serve our Church in this way? Sally Merchant, Senior Warden Altar Guild Jesus said: "Come unto me who are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Doesn't that give you relief in the knowledge that you are not alone? We are all disciples for Christ and what better way to help our Lord than to volunteer and serve Him on the Altar Guild, as a lay reader or as an administrator of the chalice? Many of you have served in the past but became over-extended so… remember that warm and fuzzy feeling you received as you served? You are able to share that feeling with others as a reader of the scripture. If you are interested in reading, there are two services (the early service: 8:00 in June, July & August and 8:30 from mid-September through the winter and the 10:30 services all year.). You can be scheduled to read at the service and date that you choose. For chalice bearing, the same applies. Altar Guild takes at the most a half-hour per week. Activities include setting up our Lord's table and cleaning after a service. Training sessions will be available on an individual or group basis, depending on the response received. We welcome every parish family member and friend to take a role as you feel called. Please call the parish office as soon as possible so that you can begin or renew your journey as a disciple of Christ. Sandi Myers, Altar Guild Cookbook & Scouts Reminder! We still need many more recipes and your help typing them. Without your participation, we won't have a new cookbook! The girls of Junior Girl Scout Troop 713, sponsored by the Parish, have completed their First Aid badge and are moving on to outdoor skills in preparation for a spring camping trip to Campobello Island in June. Kathy Suminsby, Altar Guild Notices Saint Mary's is looking into an attractive bulletin board for the winter chapel to place near the office on which to display reminders about service hours and other pertinent events. Watch for this when you arrive back in town. Thanks very much to all of the blessed volunteers who spent time in Kate's office while she was on vacation recently! We wish to again thank Reverend Lucey, Jim Clunan, and Moorhead Kennedy for their invaluable discussions at Saint Mary's about a "just war." We welcomed many to these informative, open and enlightening sessions. Spring Forward Our former Senior Warden, Amy Smith and Building Committee member, Robert Coolidge, have just returned from a fabulous late winter trip south. Amy and Robert took Amy's niece, Jill Bryant, a senior at Sumner High, on a whirlwind tour of colleges. They toured George Washington and American Universities, George Mason, UVA, Duke and the University of Richmond. Along their way they visited members of our summer congregation including George Peabody in Washington, DC, Mimi Heckman in Charlottesville, and Brenda Brodie in Durham. In addition to watching the Duke/Florida State basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, they attended a live broadcast of the CNN show Crossfire, visited the fantastic collection of Renoirs at the Barnes Museum outside Philadelphia and the Marsden Hartley exhibit at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford. One of the highlights of their trip was participating in a Sunday service at the National Cathedral. The guest preacher that day was The Reverend Canon Stephen Oliver who is Precentor at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London. He is also the Bishop designate of Stephney and used to be a religious programs' producer for the BBC. The group's only regret: missing all of the activities surrounding the beginning of Lent at Saint Mary's. What a fortunate young lady Jill is to have such an Aunt and Uncle as Amy and Robert. It is nice to have Amy's beautiful voice back in our congregation! The Fourth Annual Province I Stewardship and Evangelism conference scheduled for the weekend of March 28-30 in Westborough, Massachusetts will have three attendees from The Parish of SS Mary and Jude. Father David Lucey will travel to the conference with Vestry members Dooney Iselin and Alan Gregory. Last year your wardens Sally and Martha, along with Charlie Tyson, Dooney Iselin, Dr. Michael Dennis and The Reverend Frances Cox attended the conference and found it educational, inspiring, and uplifting. We wish our representatives well and look forward to learning from their experience. Our parish family enjoyed a visit over the weekend of March 21 from our good friend, Nancy Pierrepont. Mrs. Pierrepont was unable to bring her little dog, Dandy, with her on her flight from New York City which disappointed my son, Chad; however, she promised to bring Dandy back to Maine soon. Northeast Harbor is rapidly melting off its snow cover and revealing "mud, mud, beautiful mud." After a long and very cold winter, most residents are just fine with the mud as it promises that spring weather truly is on its way. Our winter parish family prays together for peace and we pray together for our troops. We look forward to hearing news and information from you. With my loving thoughts to you, Martha Bucklin, Junior Warden |
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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