Parishioners and pets from St. Margaret’s and St. Francis received blessings from the Rev. Barbara Briggs and the Rev. Divine (of St. Francis) on a beautifully warm Fall afternoon (October 4 – the Feastday of St. Francis).
Bring your furry friend and join us on October 4th at 4PM in front of St. Margaret’s Church as we celebrate St. Francis and his love of animals in a short pet blessing service. This annual event is always very heart-warming and fun!
To help alleviate the parking issues (we share many of the spaces with St. Francis of Assisi Church) we have shifted the later service to 9:45AM from the previous 9:30AM time.
They are the poorest of the poor, from Angola and Honduras, Haiti and Somalia and other explosive countries, and at this very moment they are huddled in a bewildered mass in the Portland Expo arena. They are without doubt the “homeless” and “tempest-tost” of Emma Lazarus’ immortal welcome at the Statue of Liberty. And they are the faces of Christ in exile. As we as a parish family ponder how we might assist homeless families in the wider Belfast area, the Outreach Committee is designating the coming Fifth Sunday collection for the desperate mothers and fathers, tumbling toddlers and searching teens down the road a bit in Portland, the denigrated “wretched refuse” from other teeming shores. Our money will go directly to provide a plate of food or a bottle of water, diapers or toothpaste, given with smiles and gentle words by volunteers on scene. It is so little. For now, it means everything. As many as 600 asylum-seekers and refugees have smooshed onto the jumble of cots and rumpled blankets at the Expo in recent weeks. According to the Bangor Daily News, there are now around 270 there. Many have been hoping to move on to Canada and are now snagged in limbo by a new bi-lateral agreement that has stopped crossing the border on foot. Others hoped to find work in hotels and restaurants or as outdoor laborers in Maine, but are forbidden by federal law from employment for six months. All will be evicted on Aug. 16, when the city is closing the Expo. They can then join hundreds more who are overflowing smaller shelters in town, or grab a spot on the street. They are the poorest of the poor, from Angola and Honduras, Haiti and Somalia and other explosive countries, and at this very moment they are huddled in a bewildered mass in the Portland Expo arena. They are without doubt the “homeless” and “tempest-tost” of Emma Lazarus’ immortal welcome at the Statue of Liberty. And they are the faces of Christ in exile. As we as a parish family ponder how we might assist homeless families in the wider Belfast area, the Outreach Committee is designating the coming Fifth Sunday collection for the desperate mothers and fathers, tumbling toddlers and searching teens down the road a bit in Portland, the denigrated “wretched refuse” from other teeming shores. Our money will go directly to provide a plate of food or a bottle of water, diapers or toothpaste, given with smiles and gentle words by volunteers on scene. It is so little. For now, it means everything. As many as 600 asylum-seekers and refugees have smooshed onto the jumble of cots and rumpled blankets at the Expo in recent weeks. According to the Bangor Daily News, there are now around 270 there. Many have been hoping to move on to Canada and are now snagged in limbo by a new bi-lateral agreement that has stopped crossing the border on foot. Others hoped to find work in hotels and restaurants or as outdoor laborers in Maine, but are forbidden by federal law from employment for six months. All will be evicted on Aug. 16, when the city is closing the Expo. They can then join hundreds more who are overflowing smaller shelters in town, or grab a spot on the street. A controversial scenario envisions turning empty dormitories on the former Unity College campus right here in Waldo County into transitional housing for asylum seekers. Now known as Unity Environmental University, the college has undergone its own transition to primarily online instruction, leaving dorms vacant and the administration looking for new sources of income. To date no specifics have been worked out among state, local and university officials to make this happen. The Greater Portland Council of Governments estimates it would cost around $7.8 million to lease the buildings, pay utilities and provide food and other assistance for the next year. Maine-Housing, a state agency, would make the final decision, likely drawing from the $100 million in budget measures to address Maine’s homeless and housing crisis that were passed by the Legislature a week ago. Gov. Janet Mills signed a two-year $10.3 billion state budget into law on Tuesday, but that money won’t be available for 90 days, until October. Meanwhile people wait. They are hungry, destitute and determinedly hopeful. We will reach them through groups such as Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. Please give generously on Sunday July 30, noting on checks “Fifth Sunday.” Thank you. Please mark checks “5th Sunday” in memo line.
We will meet as a parish on Thursday, July 13 at 6PM for a potluck supper followed by discussion on how we can share our building space for the good of the community. We will eat and then break into small groups to answer focus questions which will later be collated.
Also, there will be another discussion focused on the same issue following the 9:30AM service on Sunday, July 16, approximately 11 a.m..
Thank you for your donations to our April 5th Sunday collection. A check for $832.00 has been sent to H.O.M.E. of Orland. Our next 5th Sunday will be in July – stay tuned.
St. Margaret’s, even though she is tucked away on a side-street, is noticed by passers-by, visitors, and residents of Belfast as a beautiful edifice. We are indeed blessed by the generosity of all those who contributed and who are still contributing to the building and maintenance of this holy and life-giving space.
When a sanctuary is blessed during its consecration, the Book of Common Prayer includes this beautiful prayer as part of the service:
“Lord Jesus Christ, make this a temple of your presence and a house of prayer. Be always near us when we seek you in this place. Draw us to you, when we come alone and when we come with others, to find comfort and wisdom, to be supported and strengthened, to rejoice and give thanks. May it be here, Lord Christ, that we are made one with you and with one another, so that our lives are sustained and sanctified for your service.” BCP p.568
During the service, the Bishop says, “Peace to all who enter here”.
Our church is a space of worship and meeting—a place where God’s grace meets us in our need, helping to strengthen, encourage, and comfort us for the whole of our lives. This grace is extended to all who enter, be they members or not.
Recently, we have been asking how God is calling us to let our building serve the wider Belfast community so that more and more people can experience God’s loving embrace.
You have heard us speak of the possibility of hosting a program called Family Promise. But, there are many ways we can use this building to spread God’s good news and blessings, and Family Promise is just one of them. In order to listen to each other and to the Holy Spirit as we discern a path forward, we will hold two parish meetings, one on July 13 and July 16.
July 13, 6-8 p.m., Potluck dinner and parish meeting July 16, 11-12:30 p.m., Parish Meeting
