A great poster from Heidi Shott at diocesan office

Church continues

For three weeks now we have had snow storms on the weekends.  We have continued to hold services, but it has been a challenge. Thank you to those who stayed home when safety was an issue, thank you to those who were able to make it out, and offer prayers on behalf of all.
Especially thank you to Sue and John Bragg for there heroic efforts at shoveling in the worst of the storm.
And thanks to John Cotton for all his shoveling, especially in clearing off the roof and shoveling all that came off the roof. And to Renny Stackpole for his dedication to keeping things cleared off.
At the last minute I was able to do some of this and some immediately before the 10 am service Sunday, when I saw the walk covered and treacherous for those coming in. And then others quickly helped, as well.
Also thank you to the town for all the great plowing.

Thanks, the Rev. Peter Jenks

CHURCH TODAY

It is snowing out, and sometimes raining, today, Sunday, February 24.  We will be having services, though we ask everyone to consider their safety in considering whether to come to church.  God's grace will be with us in all places.   Here are a couple of pictures taken at 6:50 am today.

a devotional reading found in Ruth Haines prayer book

We celebrated the life of Ruth Haines this week, she died on Feb 19.  In preparing for the service her family found this wonderful devotional passage in her prayer book.

   Dear Lord, in this season of giving and getting I so easily overlook your gifts to me. Thank You for so many reasons to celebrate.

   Thank You for a future filled with hope because it rests in Your hands. For peace of mind when I keep my eyes on You. For joy beyond all my circumstances.

   I’m grateful for what I often take for granted. For a place to live, clothing, food, and all the good things that You daily provide.

   Thank you for the beauty of Your creation. For sunny days, majestic sunsets, twinkling stars. What a wonderful world You’ve created.
   I appreciate those people You’ve put into my life who know my faults yet still love me. Thank You for their love and support.

   Thank You for being with me in life’s trials, drawing me closer to Yourself. Teaching me to trust You more each day.

   How drab, how empty life would be without all these gifts.

   Most of all, dear Lord, thank You for coming to this earth, to live, to love, to die, to live again.

   Thank You for becoming a man, closed in by a body that got tired and worn like mine, that suffered on the Cross for me.

   Thank You for promising that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.    And through receiving You I may know You now and someday live in the Father’s House forever.
   O, Lord, thank You for all Your gifts to me.

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.  2 Corinthians 9:15

A Reflection from Maggie Eddy's service

We had the funeral today for Margaret 'Maggie' Eddy. Here is a very thoughtful reflection from Maggie Eddy's daughter in law, Cheri Eddy.  It was a wonderful service.

When Maggie and Walt Eddy celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary over 20 years ago the family asked what they might like as a gift. Without hesitation Maggie answered, “I want my whole family to go to church with us on Sunday. There is no greater gift you could give us.” And so we did. We gather again today in that same church to honor her.

Maggie considered herself a lucky woman. She was raised by parents whom she loved dearly. She married a man she adored.  She raised three boys into wonderful, compassionate men, she never waivered in the devotion to her faith, and she did her best to accept what were to become two of the most difficult hurdles she was ever to face, the loss of her sight, and the onset of dementia.

Macular degeneration is a debilitating disease, but dementia is a cruel disease. It stole Maggie from us little by little. It teased her with moments of clarity, giving us false hope, and then it darkened her mind again until she was left confused and alone within herself. We have been mourning her lose for many months. Death is her release from this disease and for that we must be grateful.

Dearest Maggie. Our family comforter and worrier. I picture her looking down on us today and thinking, “Oh my goodness, the weather has been bad and it’s cold, the roads have been icy, I hope everyone gets home safely. What shirt is Walter wearing? Does Andrew have on a warm enough coat?” But Maggie, you don’t have to worry about us anymore. We have learned our lessons well. We will embrace our children, and not take our friends for granted. We will contribute our time generously to our community. We will have our yearly checkups and drive safely. We will think of you every time we make your spaghetti recipe, and we will thank our lucky stars that you were in our lives and that you loved us unconditionally.

Maggie was not a complicated woman. She was a product of her generation where family values were important, where men and women’s roles were more clearly defined; where Sunday’s always started with church and ended with good night family embraces. She was the woman standing in front of you at the grocery store, the person you called when you needed a dependable volunteer to help with the rummage sale, the woman you said, “Have a nice day” to as she left the church social. But she was ours. Our mother, our wife, our friend. An extraordinary woman.

Each life has a unique story, often untold. You are here today because you are part of Maggie’s life story. Our hope is you will embrace her memory with fond reflections of times spent together and by doing so keep her close to your heart

Ruth Haines

Ruth Wyer Haines

The Service for Maggie will be at st. john’s  FRIday,

february 22 at 10 am.

ROCKLAND — Ruth Wyer Haines, 92, formerly Canton, Mass, died Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 at her home. She was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, David Haines; sister, Thelma Grady and brother, Arthur Wyer. She is survived by her children, Linda, Kevin, Janet and Alan Haines and her grandchildren, David Rains, Samuel Rains, Andrew Britt, Zachary Haines, Emily Britt and Maxwell Haines.  A funeral services will be held at her longtime parish at St. John the Baptist Church in Thomaston on Friday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland. To read a full obituary or to share a memory with Mrs. Haines family, please visit her Book of Memories at bchfh.com.

Margaret Eddy

Margaret Ray Eddy

The Service for Maggie will be at st. john’s thursday,

february 21 at 10 am.

CAMDEN — On Feb. 18, Margaret "Maggie" Eddy, 92, died peacefully at Quarry Hill surrounded by family members.

She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Walter, her three sons, Philip, Michael, and Andrew, daughters-in-law Cheri and Penny, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, raised in New York, she married Walter, a Marine Corps officer, in 1942. They spent many years raising their three sons as they traveled the country as a military family living in Washington, D.C., California, North Carolina, Hawaii, and Virginia before retirement brought them to Maine in 1967. They lived in Tenants Harbor for many years where family and friends enjoyed their beautiful home and hospitality.

Never one to sit on the sidelines, Maggie quickly became involved in the local library, worked for several years at Pen Bay Medical Center and became an active member at St. John's Episcopal Church in Thomaston among many other community activities. Eventually Maggie and Walt made the move to Thomaston to be closer to church and friends and spent many happy years on Gleason Street before their final move to Quarry Hill in Camden.

Maggie will be remembered by her family for her unconditional love, her giving spirit and her strong faith. She will be missed by all who were fortunate to have known her. Online condolences may be offered at ripostafh.com.

A Winter Litany

Lord of all creation, source of life, whose mercies never end.

We stand in awe of all you have made and all you continue to do in our world.

Strengthen us, O Lord, to find support in our need, and share in our blessings.

Your steadfast love and mercies are new every morning.

We remember all who are alone, cold, fearful, and hungry.

Comfort, heal and support those in need and use us as you can, O Lord.

We hold onto those near and dear to us, as you hold onto us, O Lord.

Keep us safe, guide us in our decisions, and lighten our ways with your truth.

With all the news which engages our minds and hearts, we ask for your help.

Lord, guide those who make the decisions for the common good, give them courage to remember those in need and those who have no voice.

With all our technologies and our great dependency upon electricity,

Suffer not our trust in you to falter.

In the confusions, waits and challenges of our aging bodies,

Guide us in the awareness of your changeless strength.

With the challenges of deficit budgets, aging congregations and indifferent populations;

Give us courage to reach out and renew our relationships with our brothers and sisters in faith; and to welcome your angels visiting among us.

In the midst of storms, cold, and snow,

Keep our feet firm, our bodies warm and friends close.

When we are delayed, or forced to stay home because of bad weather

Open us to your still small voice and the opportunity of peace.

Sometimes change is slow and the long winter seems to drag on,

Give us patience and endurance, and signs of hope in our darkest hours.

When we see no way out, overwhelmed or depressed,

Open the door to your love again and call us back to our heart of hearts.

When we are faced with conflict, stress and tension,

Keep us from fleeing, dear God, and sustain us in the courage of your presence.

When we are touched by love and surprised by joy,

Protect us, and strengthen us with a gracious heart

Every day we see the light of day grow slowly brighter,

And every day your grace and beauty emerge more fully around us.

And we gratefully remember all who have molded and inspired our hearts and minds;

Our family, our loves, our mentors, and those who touched us in words and deed.

Pics of the storm

Emily Rotch's sermon, Feb 3, 2013

SERMON FEB 3,2013 Emily Rotch

Jeremiah1:4-10 I Corinthians 13:1-13 Luke 4:21-30

My first look at today’s readings had me muttering to myself, “What were they thinking. There

are dozens of sermons in each of these readings.” With a little more time for reflection I tried

thinking about what these three might say together, about why the lectionary might have put them together. Looking at the readings as a group, I started to see a progression , a possibility of a spiritual path toward God in this sequence here. The first lesson reminded me of a turning point

in my life; a time when I felt very like Jeremiah-that part where he tells God he doesn’t know

what to say “..for he is only a boy.”.

This happened almost twenty years ago. I had been involved with the church here in Maine on

the Diocesan level for awhile. I had served four years on Diocesan council and was then

appointed to Long Range Planning. As I came on the committee they had just finished two years

of work on a “vision statement”. It was a very elaborate piece of work with bullet points and lots

of subordinate clauses and it ran to two typed pages . I was one of several new people so there

would be enough warm bodies to take this thing to regional meetings and solicit feedback. I was

given another newbie for a partner and assigned a region. I was very new , and I had no

experience with this kind of meeting , this role. So, I spent a lot of time trying to assimilate this

elaborate document so I could explain it to others. I wasn’t going to let it matter that I thought it

sounded like something written by General Motors, or Citibank. My partner and I were told the

host church would have a potluck and then this meeting. It was a great potluck and a big turnout,

and then we all sat down to talk. As we were introduced it became clear immediately that no-one

wanted an explanation of this thing, to hear all those words I had prepared-they were there, in

numbers, to tell us how much they hated it. There was no way I could defend it, or be the expert,

which is what the people who had come seemed to expect. So, I threw up my hands, confessed

my ignorance and told them I’d be glad to listen and take what they had to say back to the

committee; and that’s what my partner and I did.. I was sure I was being a total failure as a

diocesan guru but it turned out just about every meeting had gone the same way. The outcome

was that Long Range Planning offered the next Convention an entirely different two sentence

statement (not two pages) that was very well liked and was used for a lot of years My outcome

was that going into that meeting with all those expectations about who I was going to be or who

the people I was meeting were going to be was a waste of time and wouldn’t have been at all

constructive.. What did work was dealing with the people and the feelings I found when I got

there. I continued for many years to work with some of the people I met at that meeting and I

found that they trusted me to tell them the truth-and I trusted them to do the same. My being

honest and letting go of any possible agenda went a long way toward building some constructive

relationships.

Constructive relationships take me to Paul. Without love, Paul says: “...I am nothing.” He

goes on at the end of the reading to talk about seeing the other face to face and himself being

seen as he really is. He puts it: “To know fully, even as I have been fully known” .He’s seeing

love in terms of the relationships it fosters. It seems to me that Jeremiahs’ being told to wait until

he is face to face-not giving a prepared speech, not having an agenda is really being prepared to

practice this kind of relationship, this kind of love.

Looking at Paul’s list:, he says: “love is patient, kind, doesn’t insist its own way, isn’t rude: I

can’t pretend to you that I get to that kind of love in my relations to other people very often, I

wish! but when I do try to respond to the actual person in front of me, as I did long ago at that

meeting , instead of coming to a conversation with an agenda, it seems to me that what comes out of that discipline/practice is some of what Paul is describing. So much of the time we are asking other people to be who/ what we want. When I manage to just be with another person I may catch a glimpse of the reality of that person. He or she may catch a glimpse of me. I am

extraordinarily blessed to be mentoring Education for Ministry. Part of every years’ work is for

each member of the class to write an autobiography reflecting on their spiritual life. It’s often

very personal and people get to choose how much to share. Year after year newcomers find out

how much they have in common with the others in the group, catch a glimpse of another’s reality.

That experience of acceptance makes for very open discussion and growth.

The people of Nazareth didn’t accept Jesus when they found him in their midst in the synagogue.

The passage starts with him saying that he is the fulfillment of scripture, and apparently they also

know he has been teaching and healing nearby. His neighbors are quite admiring of “Joseph’s

son”but Jesus is more than that. He says so and follows up by telling them stories from the Old

Testament that amount to saying “Don’t expect any special perks just because I come from here,

just because you think you know me.”. This was not what they expected from their neighbor, or

from the Messiah. It’s not the way we usually think of Jesus either. It’s not the way we want to

think of him. We’re church people just like the congregation at Nazareth. Doesn’t that make us

more deserving? Which is harder? Seeing the person next to you as the savior? Or. The savior in

your midst is more concerned with the people who are not in church? Our agendas, our

expectations get in the way and we turn away from the amazing possibilities: the chance to meet Jesus and be surprised and shocked by that face to face conversation. If I could learn to let go

more often, surely I would grow and learn and be profoundly changed in ways I cannot begin to

imagine. I have been more than once-I hope to be again. Amen

Cosmic Epiphany by Tony Antolini

On Sunday, January 13, 2013, (the First Sunday after Epiphany) Peter spoke in his sermon about the powerful impression one gets from viewing the photographs taken by the Hubbell Telescope. To see what he was talking about go to http://hubblesite.org/.

The photographs are breathtaking in their beauty and give new meaning to the overworked adjective “awesome.” Peter’s point was that rather than weakening our faith in God, these extraordinary pictures give us an opportunity to observe God’s creative majesty and power. Of course, we don’t need the Hubbell Telescope to renew our faith, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to do so. In times past, long before the availability of high-tech color photography of outer space, we can see that the heavens inspired the Bible’s authors and countless later writers. And the season of Epiphany is rich with references to the stars. This month’s column calls attention to the star references in much of the music we sing during our services in this season when the night sky is so often radiant with stars and the long-lasting sunsets dazzlingly golden.

It wouldn’t be Epiphany without the guiding star that led the Three Wise Men to the stable in Bethlehem. Scientists have calculated the probability of a very bright “star” (probably a planet) that shone at the time of Christ’s birth. Others have theorized that there may have been a meteor shower as well. Whatever the astronomical cause, this event has inspired innumerable hymns and songs about a “guiding star.” William Dawson’s immortal Negro spiritual, “Behold the star up yonder” is one example. It’s not in the hymnal but often sung in Christmas concerts. No one needs a hymnal to sing the refrain from “We three kings of orient are” #128:

O star of wonder, star of night,  

Star with royal beauty bright;

Westward leading, still proceeding,  

Guide us to thy perfect light!

Another famous star hymn is #497 “How bright appears the Morning Star,” an English translation of the German chorale “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern.” The history of this hymn is worth noting.  Both the tune and the original text appeared in Philip Nicolai’s Freuden-Spiegel in 1599, but the text was probably written two years earlier.  The first letters of the German stanzas form an acrostic on the name of a distinguished pupil of the author, Wilhelm Ernst, Graf und Herr zu Waldeck. The hymn was parodied in a popular love song during the course of the 17^th century, but also became a favorite wedding hymn in its own right. The first English translation appeared in Lyra Davidica in 1708, followed by another in J.C. Jacobi’s Psalmodia Germanica in 1722. The tune, bearing the original German text as its name, became the central theme of J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 1 for the Feast of the Annunciation. Bach also set it as an organ prelude along with countless other composers. The hymn we sing in Epiphany is based on Bach’s harmonization of the tune which forms the final chorus of the cantata, composed in 1740.

We can easily find star references in the psalms too. Psalm 8: 4-5, for example, is a perfect accompaniment to the photographs on the Hubbell Telescope web site:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,  

The moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

What is man that you should be mindful of him?  

The son of man that you should seek him out?

On the Second Sunday after Epiphany we chanted Psalm 36: 5 – 10. The opening verse again focuses us skyward:

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,  

And your faithfulness to the clouds.

When I lived in Palo Alto, California, I had the honor of serving in two churches as a musician. At both St. Mark’s in Palo Alto and St. Bede’s in Menlo Park there were singers in the choir or members of the congregation who worked at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) or the Stanford Radio Telescope (“the Dish”) as researchers. These were astrophysicists, astronomers, physicists, chemists and other scientists who used Stanford University’s two-mile-long atom smasher or high-powered telescope on a daily basis in their work. In fact, these facilities were directly across the street from St. Bede’s and in plain sight as one exited the church. I was amazed that these scientists, who might be stereotyped as atheists in their research, were, on the contrary, inspiringly positive on how their work strengthened and enhanced their belief in God the Creator of the cosmos.

Stars and outer space dominate the Third Sunday after Epiphany. We sing Canticle 12, “A Song of Creation.” Part I is subtitled “The Cosmic Order” and paired with it we get the best psalm of all about the heavens: Psalm 19.  Here are verses 1, 2 and 5 of that psalm:

The heavens declare the glory of God,  /  And the firmament shows his handiwork.

One day tells its tale to another,  /  And one night imparts knowledge to another…

In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun;  /  It comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;

It rejoices like a champion to run its course.

This psalm has inspired several remarkable poems that have been turned into hymns both old and new. We open with #409 “The spacious firmament on high”. This hymn is an arrangement of one of the most famous movements in Haydn’s Creation. Its majestic words are by Joseph Addison (1672-1719). Here is part of Addison’s poem:

The spacious firmament on high,  

With all the blue ethereal sky,

And spangled heavens, a shining frame, 

Their great Original proclaim.

The unwearied sun from day to day  

Does his Creator’s power display;

And publishes to every land  

The work of an almighty hand.

A relatively new star hymn appeared for the first time in The Hymnal 1982. It’s #431 “The stars declare his glory,” a paraphrase of Psalm 19 by Timothy Dudley- Smith (b. 1926) to a lovely tune by Chicago composer Richard Proulx.                                   

Here’s Timothy Dudley-Smith’s rendering of Psalm 19:

The stars declare his glory; the vault of heaven springs  

Mute witness of the Master’s hand in all created things,

And through the silences of space their wordless music rings.

The dawn returns in splendor, the heavens burn and blaze,

The rising sun renews the race that measures all our days,

And writes in fire across the skies God’s majesty and praise.

The ultimate astronomy hymn is #459, “And have the bright immensities.” We sing it for the offertory on the Third Sunday after Epiphany. The text is by the Rev. Howard Chandler Robbins and was first printed in The Living Church on April 4, 1931, and then published in Robbins’s Way of Light in 1933.  It was later included in H. Augustine Smith’s New Church Hymnal in 1937.  The English composer Erik Routley reviewed the text at the time of its publication, calling it “a remarkable poem connecting the Ascension with the mysteries of interstellar space in language suggestive of the Book of Job.” The tune we use for this remarkable poem, named Halifax, is by G.F. Handel. It was taken from the aria “Ask if you damask rose be sweet,” in his oratorio, Susanna, composed in 1748. The first harmonization was composed by Winfred Douglas for the Hymnal 1940. The current Hymnal 1982 has a new, simplified harmonization by David Hurd with an unwieldy “introduction” and “interlude.” The Winfred Douglas harmonization is far better suited to the beauty and grandeur of Fr. Robbins’ poem.

Robbins certainly knew his astronomy and would have loved what we now can see revealed by the Hubbell Telescope. Here’s the poem:

And have the bright immensities received our risen Lord,  

Where light years frame the Pleiades and point Orion’s sword?

Do flaming suns his footsteps trace through corridors sublime, 

The Lord of interstellar space and conqueror of time?

The heaven that hides him from our sight knows neither near nor far: 

 An altar candle sheds its light as surely as a star;

And where his loving people meet to share the gift divine,  

There stands he with unhurrying feet: there heavenly splendors shine.

May the stunning beauty of the night sky in February fill you with faith the Lord of interstellar space!

Very Interesting by Peter Jenks

We are living in interesting and challenging times. In the midst of these times there can easily develop a sense of “us against the world”; a protective barrier to hold onto what we have and to fight off a chaos or collapse that seems to be  lurking at the door. In the midst of it all, we can be surprised by new ideas, acts of generosity, and new possibilities to continue the journey we have already begun.  It is evident to me that we are in both places, both challenging and interesting. 

The bishop has called on all parishes to look creatively at their mission again, that we might rediscover our calling and be bold in living it out. This will take time, effort and most likely some wonderful  and challenging times together. We will be passing around a book, Mission Based Spirituality by Susan Hope, for us all to read.  I am joining with Andrew Eddy and Nick Lapham, a new member who recently moved here from Oregon, to lead our efforts and work together with other parishes in the area in these efforts.  

St. Peter’s in Rockland has recently called an interim priest to begin in Lent and we hope that with this new beginning we can deepen and be surprised by God’s grace in the joint mission of the Episcopal Church in this area.  We are living in the most unchurched state in the country and as such find ourselves on the front line of mission work.  A hundred years ago we might have traveled to Egypt, Africa or China to be missionaries. Today, God has turned the world around and instead of calling us away, has kept us here in order to serve and share the amazing love of God with those who have never felt, or have forgotten, God’s presence in their lives.

If I were to establish a mission post, I would staff it with energetic and dynamic people who have been well trained and prepared.  My ways are not necessarily God’s ways. I have come to see more and more that the only thing wider than God’s mercy is God’s sense of humor. God has instead chosen to use all aging, sometimes overwhelmed group here at St. John’s. We begin the year with a deficit budget that sends me time and again to my knees in prayer. In my panic I find that on my knees in prayer is where God wants me to be all along.  Adding to our budget challenges, we hear that in the Summer of 2014, Route One in Thomaston will be torn up. This will give us the opportunity to make some long overdue structural work on our foundation and be creative in dealing with construction noise, mess and disruption.

When taking a journey with family and friends, there are times when things break down or we get lost and soon we find that the unexpected events become the lasting memories and the opportunity to deepen and discover the true depth of our relationships.

Our world has gone through some major changes in the course of the last hundred or so years, and one of them is the landscape of faith.  A hundred years ago denominations were very separate and isolated. Today, completely different religions interact and seem to be a part of everyday life. A hundred years ago Europe and the United States were the center and source of Christian thought and action. Europe is now an outpost of Christianity and Africa and China are the driving powers of the faith.  We, too, find the landscape of Christianity in this country to be either a longing for a past unity with the established governing forces, an empire of belief, or a chaotic assortment of people and traditions that do not always fit easily within our culture of consumption and constant change.

We are living in interesting and challenging times.  We might not have chosen these times, but we have been chosen by God to live in them. Sometimes the challenge is not to run from fear but to maintain my courage to enter into the transforming joy and peace of God. In the midst of such challenging times I find myself thankful for those who invented kneelers.