The Parish of
St. Mary and St. Jude
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A MESSAGE FROM THE RECTOR, DAVID J. LUCEY VISIONING AND HOLY ACTIVITY "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem..." [Luke 24:45-49] So, our commission is to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus. And this commission has always been ours. It's just that the form of our proclamation must be adjustable to the media and customs of the day. Paul and the other Apostles often started their ministries in the town market place [agora] or in the local synagogue. Our own proclamation has generally started in our various church buildings and spread through our day to day lives in our local villages. But players - the rector, the vestry, and the congregations - change over time, just as the folks who are out there to receive the reconciling love of Christ change. Many of the techniques Paul used to communicate and motivate are still useful; however, today, we give them a twenty-first century twist. One need only take note of our own adoption of an internet website, a new market place, and mass distribution of the Harbor Chart, the public forum of our time, to see what I mean. This month, four of us (Michael Dennis, Charlie Tyson, Kathy Suminsby and I) have been commissioned - commissioned to prepare ourselves to discover just how our parish may proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus. In less Biblical terms, the four of us are headed to the Congregational Development Institute [CDI] in Deer Isle, Maine, to learn the skills needed to proceed on our own with congregational development after the professionally facilitated "town meetings" of March, July, and August. Ultimately, with input from the whole parish, we will be in a position to define and articulate a vision for our future and how we intend to carry out this parish's particular version of Christ's Great Commission. That's right - the Great Commission. To be successful in articulating our mission, we - all of us - will have to turn our ears and tune our hearts and minds to God. We will have to listen for and discern what God is calling us to do in this place and in this time. To be successful in accomplishing our mission, we will have to combine our knowledge, energies, insights, and newly acquired congregational development skills to act on God's behalf. I am fairly confident that, as we move forward, we will tread on a few snakes and scorpions, but we have been promised the power to undertake the commission. And that is what we intend to do. Yours in Christ, David+ MOVING BEYOND PASSERINE More than half the birds of the world are passerine, belonging to the order Passeriformes, and typically having feet adapted for perching. These birds can sit effortlessly above the fray, surveying the activity going on below them, preening their feathers, and chirping idly with their neighbors and friends on the same power line. But they are truly not effective until they spread their wings and SOAR - soar to harvest, feed their young, interact with their own, and serve as a member of the avian community. I think you can see where I am going with this. Your parish of St. Mary and St. Jude needs volunteers in areas including, but certainly not limited to, greeters, readers, chalice bearers, ushers, acolytes, refreshment providers, and on committees such as the Altar Guild, Buildings and Grounds, Welcoming, and Stewardship. Through attrition - certainly not loss of enthusiasm or commitment - the members of the parish who carry these responsibilities during the fall, winter, and spring find themselves short of staff and in need of assistance. Those same people overlap into the more heavily attended summer program, and there is ample opportunity for our seasonal worshipers to provide much needed services. Please call upon one of our vestry for details and encouragement. I hasten to add that this plea to move beyond passerine toward participation and perseverance comes at an unprecedented time of increased pledges, which is dramatic and very much appreciated. The vestry cannot say enough to thank you for this explosion of generosity. Your financial support of our parish is crucial and very gratefully accepted, but, as you can see from the previous paragraph, so is a little bit of your time. The heavy equipment at the rectory indicates that the project to extend one of the rooms on the first floor and develop an enclosed area for the rector's family and pets has received approval from the Planning Board. It is funded by interest income from the Centennial Fund that is earmarked for maintenance and repair items and is not a drain on our operating budget. Our years of close cooperation with the Neighborhood House (we deeded some land to them in the past so they could increase their foot pad) enabled us to ask for, and receive, a waiver of a right-of-way setback. Many thanks to their executive committee. On July 21st the vestry heard our owner's agent, Tom Richert of Linbeck, provide a succinct, thorough, and clarifying presentation on the status of the stone church preservation project. As I mentioned in my last letter, the delay has been well worth it. The structural engineers who have reviewed St. Mary's-by-the-Sea are in general agreement that much less masonry dismantling, sub floor reconstruction, and removal of the interior walls are necessary. This does not mean that the overall quality of the work or the longevity potential for the restoration has been jeopardized in the least. I want to praise the many people who have focused their thoughts on this problem during these past months; my role was simply to put in place a system that determined whether the aggressive approach and high costs originally presented were, in fact, appropriate. There is still more due diligence to perform and benchmark numbers for comparison still need to be collected, but the important fact is that work on the old girl will be done. It is conceivable that some preliminary efforts will take place this fall, but more realistically, major work will begin in the spring of 2005 with the promise of the bell ringing once again for services and special events next summer. It would appear that the cost has been reduced by at least one third. Father Lucey has written a beautiful letter about congregational development. Please make every effort to attend our discussion on August 14 if you were unavailable for our previous sessions. Finally, our Volunteer of the Month is Sandi Myers. Sandi is a member of the vestry, head of our Personnel Committee, and an unflagging participant in the Altar Guild. Her efforts are tireless in preparation for services, and her willingness to go an extra mile for the parish is exemplary. She has moved beyond passerine. With great appreciation for the opportunity to serve, Michael T.B. Dennis, M.D., Senior Warden EFFORTS TO INCREASE PLEDGING PAYING OFF Since 2002, parishioners have been consistently and insistently asked to make pledges to annual giving for the operation of the parish. Your Finance and Stewardship committees are extremely gratified by the response to date. Forty pledges were received in 2002, sixty in 2003, and 135 thus far in 2004. This is a remarkable turnaround from the days when the Finance Committee had no idea of what to expect by way of annual income, no idea what to budget for income, and no idea whether the money would be forthcoming. Chronic annual shortfalls were offset by drawing down endowment and spending endowment income. Today, thanks to you, the parish is on a more responsible and more predictable financial footing. The miracle, here, is that parishioners responded simply because parish leadership asked. We promised no new programs, no new outreach or mission, no new reason to give other than the simple need to make annual income equal annual expenses. Imagine the response if the parish had a clearly defined, meaningful mission appropriate to our specific community and character. Imagine if parishioners were excited about new initiatives and new directions, and energized by new growth in spirituality, membership, and participation. The good news is that we are embarked on a congregational development effort to clarify our identity and determine directions for our future together. In the coming months, this effort will bear fruit and, hopefully, lead to a turnaround in willing participation, joyful service, and unsolicited generosity. Next year's annual pledge drive? We may not even have to ask. Charlie Tyson For a grateful Stewardship Committee THE REVEREND FRANCES COX WRITES: Dear Friends, After two years (almost to the day), my search for a call to a new parish has come to an end. It's official. Edwin and I will be heading south for a three-year plus interim assignment. I will be the Interim Rector and Edwin the Interim Associate Rector of St Francis Church, 3506 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, North Carolina 27408, phone: 336-288-4721. My last night at Houlton Regional Hospital is the 23rd of July. (For those who didn't know, I have been working as a nurse on the night shift for the past year.) My first day at St. Francis will be the 16th of August, and Edwin starts the 1st of September. We are looking forward to this new ministry, and we want to thank you for your prayers and support over the past two years. Blessings, Frances+ Invitations & Announcements: CONGREGATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEETING, AUGUST 14TH This will be the third of three professionally facilitated meetings to which all parishioners are welcome and encouraged to share their views. Its purpose is to work on developing a clearer picture of our parish's identity and mission, and to begin to create a direction and vision for our future. Please let us know as soon as possible if you plan to attend. Call Kate at the office to register. Upon signing up, you will receive a survey to fill out so that our consultant/facilitator, Melissa Skelton, can determine how best to structure the meeting. Surveys must be returned to the parish office by Wednesday, August 11th. The meeting will be held Saturday, August 14th, 9am to 3pm in the Parish Hall (Winter Chapel, Northeast Harbor). Luncheon will be provided. All are urged to participate! Please sign up now! THE da VINCI CODE: TOPIC OF THE MONTH AT RECTOR'S FORUMS Throughout August, the topic for discussion at the weekly Rector's Forums will be The da Vinci Code. Join us Sunday mornings between services in the Parish Hall at the NORTHEAST HARBOR Winter Chapel from 9:15am to around 10am. Come and bring a friend. Discussion should be lively as the Rector helps us search for truth amid mystery and myth. IF YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY PASTORAL NEED… In the month of August, the Rector will be available except for the days of August 9-13 and 16-20 when he will be attending Congregational Development Training on Deer Isle. During those time periods, please call the Junior Warden, Sheila Smallidge, at 244-7103. She will put you in touch with standby clergy. HELP US KEEP IN TOUCH Please take a moment to check your address, phone numbers, e-mail address and winter/summer particulars with Kate Gile, Parish Administrator at 276-5588. It's easier to contact you and to send you this newsletter if we know where you are! IN-SPIRATION As God's joyful Word lifts the spirits of our congregations, so too does joyful music. This summer, let choral music "in-spire" you at our 10:30 services in Seal Harbor at St. Jude's or in Northeast Harbor at St. Mary's-By-the-Sea. Better yet, consider joining the choir at either church. Talk to Peter Vaux, Choir Director and Organist at St. Mary's, or Edie Dunham Crowley, Choir Director and Organist at St. Jude's. Come make a joyful noise! Practices begin at 9:15AM on Sundays. CHILD CARE AVAILABLE WHILE YOU ATTEND CHURCH Of course we encourage church for children and we welcome them at any time. But for the very youngest children and for those Sundays when Moms and Dads decide that discretion is the better part of valor, we provide child care from 9AM to Noon. You'll find us upstairs at the Winter Chapel in Northeast Harbor. Christy Roix, our Childcare Coordinator, asks that you bring whatever your child will require for a couple of hours, especially diapers and wipes. If you have a spare playpen or baby gate you could donate to the church, it would be most appreciated. Thanks to anyone who may respond to these needs. BIBLE STUDY AT SAND POINT. EVERYONE WELCOME! Summer Bible Study is once again being hosted by Diana Wister at "Sand Point" on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday evenings. Thursday Bible Study, with dessert and coffee, begins at 7:30p.m. Ron Fraser is the facilitator. Tuesday Bible Study begins at 2p.m.with Denise Hanley and Patsy Fraser facilitating. Diana looks forward to having everyone back for another summer of fun and fellowship, and to see what miracles God has in store as we study His Word. In Philippians 1:9, Paul encourages us with these words: "I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding." May we be encouraged by Paul's prayer and thank the Lord for Denise, Patsy and Ron who are helping us grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Word. |
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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