The Parish of
St. Mary and St. Jude
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A MESSAGE FROM THE RECTOR, DAVID J. LUCEY Not A Common House Sometime earlier this spring I preached a sermon talking about the Celtic concept of thin places. According to the ancient Celts thin places exist where the barriers between the physical world of our being and the spiritual reality is so thin that the spiritual breaks through. In Christian terms, these are places that just by being there, we can feel the presence of God and God's kingdom. I suggested in that sermon that Mount Desert is one of these places. That sense has been reinforced this summer‹not only on the glorious days when the sun is shining and the air is clear, but also on the days when it has been misty, or cloudy, or foggy, or raining, or even all of these things. Also, this summer reinforced my view that there is one place on this island where this concentration of God's spirit is especially strong, and therefore, the place is especially thin. That place is on the site of our "Stone Church," St. Mary's-by-the-Sea. In that place generations have poured their hearts, souls, voices, memories, and lives into worship, baptisms, communions, ordinations, confirmations, marriages, and funerals. In short, we have marked all the really important points of our lives in this church building. Bishop Doane was correct when he noted that it was "no longer a common house." One hundred years of life has taken its toll on this beautiful building and we have reached a point where we must make some decisions about its future. Maine is a spiritual place filled with practical people. Our decisions about the future must account for both the spiritual and the practical. That process of accounting for both of these characteristics of our community started on Tuesday, August 19 with a review of the church's condition from the Renovation Committee, our consulting architects, Theriault/Landmann. Associates, and me in the Stone Church. This was my message in that meeting. The church is about its people. The church survives and thrives wherever it is committed to living as if God's kingdom were already breaking through in every place and on every day. That is the witness of God's "Thin Man," Jesus Christ. But humans often have to speak in terms of symbols because the reality is so rich and complex that mere statements cannot describe it. Saint Mary's-by-the-Sea is the richest single symbol of our life here in Northeast Harbor. Bishop Doane and the other founders intended for Saint Mary's to be the spiritual home of the people who live here, whether year round or for only part of the year. It has become that place. As stewards of its care we should endeavor to retain that purpose. For that reason alone I believe we should all be committed to a unified and concerted effort to do the things necessary to preserve this sacred space. In doing so, I believe our efforts can unify and galvanize our witness to the love of Jesus Christ in this community and our witness to each other. I invite all of the readers of this letter to prayerfully reflect on what our actions should be and how we should move forward. I invite your honest input to the dialog of this effort and to the action of renewing this space. In short, I ask you to join an effort to live, and love, and renew. Faithfully yours, The Reverend David J. Lucey, Rector A Parish Divided: Perish the Thought! Neuroanatomists have yet to isolate the pathway, but there is a well known reflex between the heart and the pocketbook. This phenomenon is what church stewardship committees rely upon when seeking support for the operation and maintenance of their parish. Currently our parish is tackling the issues of the operating budget and questioning what the collective will is for the future of the stone church. It will take the combined energy and enthusiasm of many parishioners to rejuvenate our spiritual environment under the direction of our new rector. The critical issue for healthy growth and healthy decisions within our church community is that EVERYONE feels needed in the process. It would be comforting for all of us to embrace each other's diversity as we look to Christ for His grace and salvation. It is time to recognize our interdependence on one another. Those born on this island and those who have chosen to become year round residents provide the infrastructural matrix which holds the essence of our parish and community together; the seasonal residents arrive with their own folio of unique talents. It is a fact of life that some are in a position to contribute more financial support than others probably why tithing as established in the Bible is on a percentage basis. But the key to our success is the willingness of the parish to work together, pray together, and stay together. Unless someone has developed a technique with which I am unfamiliar, we all put our pants on one leg at a time. Michael T.B. Dennis, M.D. Co-Chairman, Stewardship Committee and Vestry member Treasurer's Report by Dooney Iselin We are feeling the benefits that summertime can bestow. It probably hasn't been the weather, so it must have been something else. The word is getting around. While the Jan Jul 03 financials are not something to boast of, we are leaning toward improvement. If more of us participate, we can pay our way with pledges. That is the message. So kindly pledge away. The Forum on the Future of the Stone Church: A Report. On Tuesday, August 19th, more than 80 parishioners flocked to St. Mary's-by-the-Sea to listen, learn, and share their thoughts on the future of our Stone Church. The meeting began with a series of brief presentations by Michael Dennis, Charlie Tyson, Roz Rea, Scott Whitaker (consulting architect) and The Reverend David Lucey. The presentations were designed to report to parishioners on the money raised and the work completed during Phase One of the renovation project, the work that will be required in Phase Two to completely restore our 100-year old building, and the spiritual dimension of deciding the fate of the Stone Church and its impact on our faith community. Michael Dennis presided over the meeting and concluded the formal presentations with a discussion of the alternatives to undertaking a complete restoration and the estimated costs of these alternative courses of action as well as the cost of the complete restoration. The floor was opened for questions and comment. The initial comments focused on the suggestion by several parishioners that the Stone Church be torn down and that a more modest and more modern building be constructed in its place or, alternatively, that a renovated Winter Chapel become St. Mary's sole place of worship. Practicality, cost, demographics, and as yet undefined uses for the stone church were cited as reasons not to restore the building. On the other hand, many parishioners spoke eloquently about their desire to restore the Stone Church, citing spiritual, historical, cultural, sentimental, and community stability reasons. The sense of the meeting, when all was said and done, was in favor of saving the church. The meeting yielded a number of valuable insights and directions for further consideration by the Vestry. One, that any decision about the Stone Church's future should be made in the context of the parish's mission statement (now under review). And two, that all parishioners should be included in the dialogue, not just those who attended the Forum. The Vestry is currently working with the Rector to clarify the mission statement and will consider how best to achieve the broadest possible consensus of parishioners on both mission statement and the future of the Stone Church. We invite your thoughts If you wish to have your thoughts and feelings known about directions and initiatives you feel the church should be pursuing, or if you wish to make known your feelings about the future of the Stone Church, please speak to a member of the vestry or to the Rector. Or write to the parish office: P. O. Box 105, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662. E-mail: info@maryjude.org. Notes from the Senior Warden Save the date: September 21st is the date of St. Mary's fall picnic and potluck worship service at Suminsby Park on Sargent Drive. This year, we will also ask you to "bring a friend" so please plan ahead to talk with folks you know who may enjoy a relaxed setting on the ocean (actually all of our churches provide relaxed settings on the ocean, don't they?). Watch for more details on the food part. As to the friend part, I can think of plenty of friends, lapsed members, and families in our community who have been wanting to attend St. Mary's and this would be a great way to introduce them gently to our parish family. Renovation: Thanks to every single one of you who has been listening, talking, thinking and praying about the renovation issue of St. Mary's-by-the-Sea. I think it is safe to say that not everyone is clear about all the issues and the actual physical condition of the church, not having spent time touching it or walking around it. It is also safe to say that not everyone worships in that church so feelings can range in intensity or ambiguity. The best gift we can continue to give to one another is to sincerely respect the opinions of one another and to consider our work together in God's place as ultimately doing His will. A very good turnout on Tuesday August 19, 2003 gave an indication that our parish community is strong and willing to entreat one another to continued fellowship. St. Mary's as a house of learning: We've been approached by not only the Mount Desert Elementary School administration but also by the music director Heather McDaniel Graves. It seems in September when the local elementary school children will disperse around town to attend classes, many of them will come to learn in our parish hall. And, perhaps some music programs and practices will take place in St. Mary's-by-the-Sea for a while. Now, those are great uses of these wonderful places! Talk about adding youth to our lifestyle? Watch for photos in fall issues of the Harbor Chart. Cookbook update: Kathy Suminsby needs help with the typing and publication of the St. Mary's and St. Jude's cookbook. She'll still take your recipes in case you want to add to it. Most important, however, is finding some able-bodied and willing typists to assist, a few hours at a time, in making this publication a reality. If you have time, please contact Kathy. Her e-mail is ks@acadia.net. Thanks go to Stuart Gardner and to Edie Dunham for their gifts of music and beyond this August at St. Mary's-by-the-Sea and at St. Jude's respectively. We also wish to extend great gratitude to The Rev. Bill Hague and The Rev. Mike Wheeler and their families who returned so graciously to St. Jude's and to Mount Desert Island to share their summer with us. Blessings to all, Sally Merchant On Youth and Restoration: A Personal Perspective. by Martha Bucklin, Junior Warden July and August bring much of our church family in closer proximity to one another than at any other time of year. We learn of needs for prayers and causes for shared joy as we worship together at St. Mary's-by-the-Sea and at St. Jude's. Thus I beg your indulgence as I use the precious Harbor Chart space normally set aside for this type of information to share a personal perspective with you. We gathered at St. Mary's-by-the-Sea on Tuesday evening, August 19th, to discuss the fate of our stone church. One of the sentiments expressed that evening was that our parish has no youth program and is failing to support the needs of the youth in our community. It was suggested that perhaps we should tear down St. Mary's-by-the-Sea and use the money not spent on its restoration for youth programs. I very hopefully wonder if perhaps we can have both a restored St. Mary's-by-the-Sea and the ability to meet those needs of the youth in our community that God calls us to meet. Our Vestry and our congregation do wish to and plan to do more for the youth of our community. At the same time, we don't want to overlook the needs that already exist within our parish. In spite of a difficult past few years, a total of approximately two hundred people choose to worship at St. Mary's and St. Jude's three services each week in the summer. Our parish family has occasions each year for which space for large numbers of people is necessary. We require and wish to have available our buildings for these times. Our parish has been and is very supportive of the youth in our parish and in our community. Young people today are so busy with the enormous number of activities available to them in the community and through school, that having a specific youth group has not been effective. However, each year we welcome young people into our spaces in a number of different "non-church" ways. Our rector's discretionary fund quietly and confidentially meets emergency financial and other needs presented by families in our village and beyond. Our Stroud Committee and our ECW (Episcopal Church Women) give generously to youth oriented programs. In recent years we have supported the effort to start an Episcopal Church School in Maine and here on MDI. We have helped create a new track and tennis courts for island high school students who would otherwise have had neither. We have given a number of "non-parish" students opportunities to attend camps they would otherwise not have been able to attend. We have renewed a scholarship program to support acolytes as they go on to college. We have a Sunday School program filled with joy. Perhaps most importantly we seek to uphold our youth by being that place, filled with the Holy Spirit, where their parents can renew their courage and strength and find loving support. We can and, I believe, will do more. Our parish, now ably and energetically led by Father David, is taking many steps in that direction. Can we have both our treasured buildings AND the financial capability to do the work our parish is called to do? I believe we must pray together for God's guidance as we move forward. My loving thoughts to each of you. Your Vestry will be so very happy to hear your thoughts. Fondly, Martha May we Hear From You? If you wish to have your thoughts and feelings known about directions and initiatives you feel the church should be pursuing, or if you wish to make known your feelings about the future of the stone church, please speak to a member of the vestry or the Rector, or write to the parish office: P.O. Box 105, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662. E-mail: info@maryjude.org. |
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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