Dear Beloved of God,
       Next week Paul and I are heading to a family reunion in Massachusetts. My mom has invited her siblings and all the cousins to join her for a week of reconnecting. I am not sure yet who will be in attendance, but I look forward to reconnecting with those who will be. It has been over fifteen years since I was last with this branch of the family.
       Several years ago our son gave us a membership to Ancestry.com. I spent hours looking up photos and histories from both my parents’ ancestors. It was fascinating, and made be grateful for all the people that have come before me. I found photos of great, great grandparents, and wondered what their lives could have been like in the 19^th century when there weren’t so many household conveniences and when the worry about the climate crisis didn’t exist. So much was changing, even back then, as the U.S. economy was shifting from small family farms to manufacturing.
       We have seen immense change in our own lifetimes—a small hand-held phone can do more than the old main-frame computers that took up entire rooms. If I need to find an address or phone number for any of you, it’s all in the directory on my phone! How fabulous is that? Although I know that some people choose not to adopt these gadgets, I am impressed that some folks, now in their 90s, have adopted iPads and iPhones and seem to navigate them with relative ease, video chatting with their children and friends.
       I still prefer the irreplaceable in-person visit. It may be more time-consuming, since it requires travel, but it is SO satisfying! As I travel to visit with my extended family on my mother’s side, I look forward to returning to visit with you, my new church family. If you need to reach me, text or call my cell and leave me a message.

Dear Beloved of God,

       Welcome to September! From September 1 – October 4 we are celebrating a Season of Creation Care with educational events, prayers, and community gatherings. The schedule for these can be found in the Creation Care Newsletter and web-page. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mary Rackmales and the Creation Care Committee for all their hard work in getting this off the ground!
       Every morning we have the opportunity to find a quiet spot and to pray Morning Prayer as set forth in our prayer book. In it we will read, “Know this: The Lord himself is God; *  he himself has made us, and we are his”. This phrase has taken on special meaning for me in the recent years as we grapple with how to help our planet recover from the impact of human industry. Our very life is a gift and the planet that sustains our life is a gift.
       As I contemplate where we are in terms of the impacts human activity has had on the planet, I am hopeful that as we speak with one another about creative solutions, we will indeed find ways to mitigate some of the more deleterious effects on our planet. The idea that God has made us God’s partners in this enterprise is energizing. That we are, in fact, called to act by God is energizing. I look forward to learning more about how we can partner with God in the care of God’s creation.
       Beginning this Sunday, we will gather at 9:15 for Adult Education. During the month of September we will be learning about creation care from author Bill McKibben, who is founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 for action on climate and justice. (Please see the Adult Education Schedule in this newsletter for more information).
      His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He’s gone on to write 20 books, and his work appears regularly in periodicals from the New Yorker to Rolling Stone. He serves as the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has won the Gandhi Peace Prize as well as honorary degrees from 20 colleges and universities. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the alternative Nobel, in the Swedish Parliament. Foreign Policy named him to its inaugural list of the world’s 100 most important global thinkers.
      Join us this Sunday at 9:15 in the parish hall as we explore the theological foundations for climate care.

        The Season of Creation is a world-wide ecumenical celebration of God’s gift of our earthly home and an acknowledgement of our responsibility to care for it. It began on September 1 and ends on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. (On October 4th, St. Margaret’s will have the Blessing of the Animals @ 4:30PM with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Taize service @ 5:30PM.)
        The Rev. Steven Alspach, pastor of Sandy Point Congregational Church, inaugurated our local observance with an ecumenical prayer service, “Listen to the Voice of Creation,” on Thursday, September 1, 12 noon, at Belfast City Park Pavilion.
        On the Tuesdays of September, Sept. 6, 13, 20, and 27, St. Margaret’s and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church are sponsoring weekly “Community Conversations,” also at noon in the pavilion at Belfast City Park, featuring speakers with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives, to stimulate discussion about what we value in our natural environment, changes we observe, and our reactions. You are invited to bring a brown bag lunch.
        See a detailed description of the speakers for “Community Conversations” in this first issue of “Creation Care,” St. Margaret’s newsletter about our natural world, what we value, threats we perceive, and how we are reacting.

ADULT EDUCATION @ 9:15 AM
Sundays, September through December
September: “Christians and Climate Change” with Bill McKibben
A brief video-presentation from ChurchNext followed by group discussion.
     Sept 4: Theological Foundations
     Sept 11: How we got to this point
     Sept 18: The situation today
     Sept 25: What we can do

October: Join us each subsequent Sunday in October as we grapple together with how we can best let others know about the faith that sustains, inspires, and gives meaning to our lives.
Oct 2: The Rev. Michael Ambler, guest-preacher and speaker on de-mining in Laos
Oct 9: Continuing the conversation for our history project: “What current or former member or clergy-person had a big impact on you and why?”
Oct 16, 23, 30: “How to talk with another about our faith”

November: “Doorways to a deeper faith”
Nov 6: The Religious History of Maine: Tom McCord
Nov 13: Approaching Holy Scripture: Deirdre Good
Nov 20: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Kristen Burkholder

ADVENT: “Waiting with Expectation”
Nov 27: The Annunciation: Deirdre Good and others
Dec 4: Waiting in the midst of suffering: Kristen Burkholder
Dec 11: The Visitation: Barbara Briggs
Dec 18: Signs of Hope: St. Margaret’s

We gathered last Sunday (August 7, 2022) in the Parish Hall to share in an historical story-telling event. To trigger some thoughts these questions were offered by Craig Watson who presented and moderated the session:

• Do you remember you first day attending St. Margaret’s? What stands out about that memory?
• What personal or family milestones have you celebrated at the church? What made them most memorable?
• What current or former parishioner or clergy member had a big impact on you and why?
• What do you think Maude Gammons would feel about the trajectory of our parish?
• What are some of your most important “hopes” for the future of St. Margaret’s?

It was exciting to see so many parishioners in attendance and with their own stories to tell.

Others spoke about the Rev. Truman Fudge who was Rector of St. Margaret’s for 20 years (1974-1994) and the changes that came about during his time. Parishioners who made a mark on the parish but are no longer with us were remember. The Rev. Tom Duplessie, our first Deacon (2012-2016) was remembered to include a tribute “Ubiquitous Tom”, penned by John Cuozzo.

We also had the opportunity to welcome our very newest parishioners!

The Vestry has planned a very special event for us. A historical story-telling event will take place at 9:00 AM on Sunday, August 7 in the parish hall. You are each a beloved and very important part of the community of St. Margaret’s. It will be a gift to be with you as we take the time to tell each other about the graces and challenges we have experienced as part of the beloved community that Jesus called together for our mutual joy and the good of the world. Please let the office, or a member of the Vestry, or Barbara know if you are unable to join us.
        Craig Watson has offered a few  questions to consider in preparing responses for the visual timeline: 
           1) Do you remember you first day attending St. Margaret’s? What stands out about that memory?
           2) What personal or family milestones have you celebrated at the church? What made them most memorable?
           3) What current or former parishioner or clergy member had a big impact on you and why?
           4) What do you think Maude Gammons would feel about the trajectory of our parish? 
           5) What are some of your most important “hopes” for the future of St. Margaret’s?

The July meeting of the Vestry was blessed with an in-person visit from Bishop Brown. Following a prayer and discussion on a scripture reading, members shared personal stories relating to the last two years during the pandemic. Updates on the current status of various committees were shared. Action was taken to approve project cost for fixing the roof on the connector between the church and the parish house. The funding of the project will be money from the Fidelity grant. The Vestry discussed various suggestions regarding the weekly service leaflets. While we recognize the need to reduce paper waste, the service leaflets have provided guided support to the flow of the worship service. Coffee hour following the 8:00AM service has had limited attendance. Ideas and discussion were shared on the time frame for coffee hour to occur and provide opportunities for people to socialize. For now, coffee hour will be set up after the 8:00AM service and will remain set up for people attending the 10:15AM service as well. Bishop Brown shared with us some joyful reflections when visiting St. Margaret’s. He also shared his enthusiasm for the spiritual and prayerful energy he felt and observed during this vestry meeting.

On August 7 at 9:00AM we will gather as a parish to tell the story of St. Margaret’s. What were the significant events that marked us as a congregation? What provoked growth? When did we experience significant challenges? What did we learn through those times about ourselves and about God? Please come join us to tell the story as you see it. Craig Watson is our history telling event coordinator and has been doing some research, as well. Thank-you, Craig!

Every Tuesday from noon to one, Lectionary Lectio. We gather in the parish hall to listen to the Scripture text(s) appointed for Sunday. Lectio Divina is a contemplative way of reading the Bible. It dates back to the early centuries of the Christian Church and was established as a monastic practice by Benedict in the 6th century. It is a way of praying the scriptures that leads us deeper into God’s word. We slow down. We read a short passage more than once. We chew it over slowly and carefully.

As part of our celebration of the Celtic heritage of our region, we not only celebrate Celtic art, music and dancing, but also its rich spirituality of finding God in all of creation. We will be present at the Maine Celtic Celebration on the Common or in the Boathouse with opportunities for families to see and color Celtic designs or to learn how to design their own Celtic knots.