An online two-week discussion of how the Bible came into being, ways to read it, and how Episcopalians read it. You can join this from the comfort of your home. We will meet online on Thursdays February 21 & 28. Orientation and introductions are at 6:00pm and the seminar is from 6:15-7:15. If you are new to using Zoom on your computer, we will help you to get oriented before the first session, and if that fails you can participate by phone. 
Our leader, Deirdre Good ThD, is an experienced teacher of the New Testament and Christian origins. She is a licensed lay preacher in the Diocese of Maine, a parishioner at St. Margaret’s Belfast, and on the faculty at the Stevenson School for Ministry in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. We’ll record the presentation for churches who want to use it in the future.
This seminar is free. Questions about the seminar? Please email Deirdre Good or Jane Hartwell. Register here.

The Outreach Committee will meet on Monday, January 14 at 1 p.m.

We will be hearing from Dr. Carol Kuhn about the work of Konbit Sante, an organization based in Portland, whose mission is  to support the development of a sustainable health care system to meet the needs of the Cap-Haitien community with maximum local direction and support.

Everyone is invited and we encourage you to come and hear about this program.

Our Annual Meeting Part 2 will be on Sunday, January 13 following the 9 a.m. service.  
At this meeting we will elect the Senior and Junior Wardens and the delegates to the 2019 Annual Convention.  The 2019 budget will be presented and we will hear Ministry Reports.

Click here to read Meditation

• Our Treasurer, Georgie, gave us an overview of pledges received to date and anticipated income.
• We talked about the process for nominating and electing Wardens in the absence of a Rector. The Vestry will select candidates at the January meeting and present a slate to the parish at the Annual Meeting Part II.
• There was discussion about access to parish hall when being used by outside groups.
• Permission was given to Ray and Patricia Estabrook to hold Evening Prayer in the church at 6.30 p.m. on December 27 and 28.
• The Letter of Agreement between the Vestry and the Rev. John Nieman was ratified.
• Kenneth Taylor was thanked for his service on the Vestry. He stated a willingness to continue making calls to remind upcoming coffee hour hosts and to remain on the Finance & Stewardship Committee. 

Thanks to all who turned out for our  Annual Meeting Part I  – we counted 48 names on the sign-in sheet!

The following were parishioners were elected to the Vestry:
Cynthia Zajac
Chris Urick
Paul Mazur

Thanks go out to Richard Harrison and Julian Sheffield for their willingness to serve.

Our delegates to the Special Electing Convention are:
Cynthia Zajac
Deirdre Good
Judith Cox

Alternates: Faye Ward, Cindy Frost, and Linda Dunson.

We will be hearing more from our delegates and about the process of electing the next Bishop of Maine.

Next Sunday, we welcome back the Rev. Bob Hargreaves for a 12-Step Eucharist. The 12-step recovery service is both a celebration and a prayer for recovery. It is a prayer of gratitude for those working through the 12-step program and on the path to recovery and a prayer for those still suffering from addictions. The service follows the form of a traditional communion service and incorporates each of the twelve steps and the well-known Serenity Prayer.  

Since October 28, 2017, the process of discerning the future Bishop of the Diocese of Maine has evolved.  This month, the slate of five finalists  was announced by the Discernment Committee.  By going to the web link: http://bishopquest.episcopalmaine.org/meet-the-candidates/, you can read and listen to each of the candidates as they reflect on their journey and hopes for our Diocese. 

St. Margaret’s, with the other parishes, will be actively involved in meeting and eventually voting for candidates in the next three months. It is a time for us to gather, ask questions of, and reflect on the candidates in January.  We will need to listen to each other’s hopes, concerns and opinions about the candidates.  

During our December 9 Annual meeting Part I, we will vote on a slate of three delegates and three alternates to the Special Convention for Election of the Bishop to be held in Bangor on February 9, snow date, February 23.  Prior to that convention, during the weekend of January 18-20—“Walkabout” presentations of Nominees across the Diocese via face-to-face meetings in Augusta, Portland and Bangor will be an important time for parishioners to gather information and reflect on the candidates in five 45-minute sessions per candidate.  Social media and web posts will also help us to have access to the candidates.  Candidates meet separately with clergy in a special gathering.

Please get involved: you may want to represent St. Margaret’s as a voting delegate, attend a “Walkabout” in person or watch video streaming of these events.  Please speak with a Vestry member if you want to be on the slate for one of our delegate spots.  When we vote in December on special convention delegates at our annual meeting, the three persons with the most votes will be regular delegates. The parishioners with the next three highest votes will be alternates. Each one of those persons should be committed to attending a Walkabout, communicating with fellow parishioners about concerns and questions.  

This is an exciting and critical time for the Diocese of Maine.  Let us approach it with humility and compassion for all. 

God of Grace, we give you thanks for all of the blessings of our common life and ministries as the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, and for our leaders who are guiding us through this season of change. Grant to the Discernment and Transition Committees open hearts, minds, and spirits as they receive the Holy Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love to aid their work. We ask also that you send courage and vision to our next bishop of Maine as she or he discerns your call. In Christ’s name we pray,  Amen.

Dear Friends in Christ:

It is with great joy and gratitude that the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Maine announces a preliminary slate of candidates who will stand for election as 10^th Bishop of Maine at a special convention on February 9, 2019. 

The candidates are:
The Rev. Kenneth H. Brannon, Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sun Valley, Idaho

The Rev. Thomas James Brown, Rector of The Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester, Massachusetts

The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Executive Vice President and Chief Ecclesiastical Officer of The Church Pension Group, New York, New York

The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church, in Everett, Washington

The Rev. Canon Janet C. Waggoner, Canon to the Ordinary, Transition Ministry Officer and Administrative Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas.

The Discernment Committee presented these candidates to the Standing Committee on November 7. After much thoughtful and prayerful discussion about the candidates and the process by which they were selected, the Standing Committee voted unanimously to approve this provisional slate.

Here you will find introductions in the form of brief biographies and videos. Answers to interview questions will be posted after Nominations by Petition are closed. Any candidates by petition who are added to form the final slate will be posted here if approved by Standing Committee. We expect to complete the vetting of Nomination by Petition and announce a final slate by early December.
 
The Standing Committee also announces the opening today of the Nomination by Petition process by which nominees may be added to this slate. Petition nominees will be vetted and interviewed using the same process and questions as the original slate. The deadline for nominations by petition is November 15, 2018. 

It has been our greatest intention to surround this journey with prayer and to seek the Holy Spirit’s voice in all our proceedings. The Discernment Committee was very pleased to review 27 applications from across the Episcopal Church. Throughout their process of narrowing that wide field, their constant question was not “whom should we eliminate?” but “whom would we like to get to know better?” Seven semi-finalists met in retreat on October 18-21 with the Discernment Committee, Consultant, Chaplain, Chancellor and a liaison from the Standing Committee.

Members of the Diocese will have the opportunity to meet all the candidates in person at three Walkabout sessions to be held in January. There will be opportunity for those who cannot travel to these gatherings to view them via live or recorded video stream. 

Provided that the election receives the requisite number of consents from dioceses across the Episcopal Church, the Service of Ordination and Consecration will be held at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland on Saturday, June 22, 2019 with the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, Presiding Bishop, presiding. 

Please join us in continuing to hold the search process in prayer, especially the Transition Committee and Diocesan Staff as they take on the work of introducing candidates to the Diocese. Pray for these candidates as they continue to discern God’s call to ministry and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Join us also in prayers of thanksgiving for the diligent work of the Discernment Committee in leading us to this point in our journey together. We are grateful to all those who offered themselves as nominees. While we do not know their individual identities, we do know that each of them provided valued perspectives that enriched the process of the Discernment Committee, and we pray for God’s continued guidance in their lives as well.
 
God of Grace, we give you thanks for all of the blessings of our common life and ministries as the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, and for our leaders who are guiding us through this season of change. Grant to the Discernment and Transition Committees open hearts, minds, and spirits as they receive the Holy Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love to aid their work. We ask also that you send courage and vision to our next bishop of Maine as she or he discerns your call. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen
In thanksgiving and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Maine
 
The Rev. Maria Hoecker, President
The Rev. Sara Gavit
Ms. Brenda Hamilton
The Rev. Timothy Higgins
Mr. Doug Mayer
Mr. Charlie Priest