T H E H A R B O R CHA R T

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1 T H E H A R B O R CHA R T News from the Parish of Saint Mary and Saint Jude: May, 2010 Saint Mary s by- the-sea and Parish Center, Northeast Harbor Saint Jude s Episcopal Church, Seal Harbor Town of Mount Desert, Maine C A M P B I S H O P S W O O D...for the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light... Isaiah 60:19 W O R S H I P C A L E N D A R Sunday, May 2 Fifth Sunday of Easter 8:00AM: Holy Eucharist 10:00AM: Holy Eucharist 11:30AM: Adult Forum 1979 Book of Common Prayer Wednesday, May 5 5:30PM: Contemplative Evening Prayer Thursday, May 6 9:00AM: Prayer Shawl Ministry Sunday, May 9 Sixth Sunday of Easter 8:00AM: Holy Eucharist 10:00AM: Holy Eucharist 11:30AM: Adult Forum Prayers of the People Saturday, May 15 5:00PM: House Church at Heather Jones (Continued on page two) hen I talk with staffers and campers throughout the year, they all call camp W "home" and each other "family." - Staff member Our diocesan summer camp offers an affordable opportunity for children to live in Christian Community from June 27 - August 14th. More information is available at or call Georgia at or Open House: Sunday, June 6th 11-2 In recent months political controversy in the Town of Mount Desert has resulted in a petition to remove one of the selectmen. Individuals have been approached during church functions or before or after worship and asked about their interest in signing. This has led to confusion on the part of some in the town and among the membership about the church s involvement in this effort. Although some of the individuals involved are members of the church, this does not mean that this is a church effort. To increase clarity about our actions as Christian community, the following policy was approved by the Vestry at its April 22 meeting and is now in effect. We ask all members to follow this policy. Parish of Saint Mary and Saint Jude Policy on Petitions The right to petition our government for actions that we deem necessary is a protected right under the US Constitution Bill of Rights. Such petitions, however, are not always in the best interest of the church community. Any petition that is circulated among the members of the church on the grounds of the church or at any church/parish function shall first be submitted for approval by the Rector and Vestry of the parish prior to circulation. Solicitation to sign a petition at church or church programs/functions shall also be limited to those petitions which have been approved prior to the solicitation. All members are hereby requested to follow these limitations so that all worshippers and others may know that in advance if they will be approached and asked to support a particular issue or stance on an issue. The Rector and Vestry will publicize appropriate petitions and give ethical and spiritual reasons for such petitions. Approved by Vestry on April 22, 2010 P E T I T I O N P O L I C Y

2 2 R E C T O R S E A S T E R S E R M O N P R A C T I C E R E S U R R E C T I O N W O R S H I P C A L E N D A R (Continued from page one) Sunday, May 16 Seventh Sunday of Easter Holy Eucharist: 8:00AM Holy Eucharist: 10:00AM 11:30AM: Adult Forum Eucharistic Prayers Wednesday, May 12 5:30 PM: Contemplative Evening Prayer Wednesday, May 19 1:00PM: Finance Committee 5:30PM: Contemplative Evening Prayer Thursday, May 20 9:00AM: Prayer Shawl Ministry Sunday, May 23 The Day of Pentecost Moorhead Kennedy: Sermon 8:00AM: Holy Eucharist 10:00AM: Holy Eucharist 11:30AM: Adult Forum Music and Hymnody Wednesday, May 26 5:30PM: Contemplative Evening Prayer Thursday, May 27 3:45PM: Vestry Meeting Rector s Office (Continued on page three) W hy do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. (Luke 24:5) The room was quiet when I entered. My parents had gone out the other door, with the priest at their side. I was unsure about what was expected of me as I approached the casket, still open as in yesterday s wake. A thousand thoughts went through my head. Here lay my brother, 19 years young. After a tumultuous adolescence, he was finally focusing his life in some kind of direction. Death is unfair. I felt like I would drown in the waves of grief that overwhelmed me. He looked unnatural in a suit but restful, at peace. I reached out to touch his arm in a final gesture of love and good-bye. The room filled with the warmth of abundant light. A voice rose up out of the depths: Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen. Startled, I drew my hand away, and knelt at the prie-dieu to hear more. But all was silent. I left afraid, but knowing in the marrow of my bone, the very center of my very being, that the words were true. Resurrection happens. Some of you know the overwhelming feeling of the pain of grief and loss that comes with the death of someone who is close to you. Some of you live in fear of having that experience, knowing full well that, in one way or another, it is likely to come at sometime in your life. Most of us try not to even think about it. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women came to the tomb that morning deep in the ocean of grief, looking to bring closure to the painful loss of one who had healed them and loved them in ways that no one ever had before. They came together, supporting one another. Their perplexity at the empty tomb quickly turns to fear and, in the Middle Eastern style of women in the presence of men they do not know, they bow their faces to the ground. They hear the words and go to tell the others. At first, no one believes them. I don t know if you will believe me, either. The resurrection of Jesus the Christ is the earthquake of the soul of our being. It is not something that can be explained but is, rather, to be known in the deepest part of our being, because it means that reality as we think we have known it, is not what it seems. When we truly hear and understand what has happened, the bedrock of what has gone before in our lives shifts, so that the new life that God wants to give us can emerge. Why do you seek the living among the dead? Isn t that what we do? Aren t we always looking for life in the wrong places? Aren t we always trying to make a life for ourselves? We get all our efforts and energy focused on achievement, getting ahead, being the best wife, husband, father, student, you name it. We even try to balance our lives so there is room for God in our day. We have our lives under control. They are directed, focused, purposeful. We work to prolong our lives, improve the quality of our physical lives. And in spite of all this, we die. Our loved ones die. War abounds. People around the world every day hungry (Continued on page four)

3 3 CA L E N D A R (Continued from page two) Sunday, May 30 Trinity Sunday Holy Eucharist: 8:00AM Holy Eucharist: 10:00AM Monday, May 31 Memorial Day Parish Office Closed Move to Saint Mary s by-the-sea Every Saturday 9:30AM: AA Meeting Please go to the website for more calendar items. Our parish continues to lose many special people. Every effort will be made to celebrate their lives here; help from family and friends would be very appreciated. Photographs and anecdotes are especially welcome. R H E S A RE A D TU L L R ead Tull, age 82, of Charlotte, NC, died peacefully at home on Friday, January 8. He was born on May 22, 1927 in Asheville. He was preceded in death by his sister Frances Tull Phillips, of Atlanta. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Sarah Shambaugh Tull, his brother Charles Watson Tull, and his three children: Margaret Tull Davis, Dorothy Tull Mothershead, and Rhesa Read Tull, Jr., his wife Elisabeth, six grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Tull graduated from Georgia Military Academy in 1945 and served during WWII in the Second Infantry (Indianhead) Division of the U.S. Army. He graduated from the Citadel in 1951 with a degree in Business Administration, then moved to Charlotte to work with Southern Bell. Chairman of the Building Committee and was on the original vestry. He was a longtime member of Christ Episcopal Church where he served as a senior usher for many years. Mr. Tull was a passionate outdoorsman. In his youth he enjoyed hiking parts of the southern Appalachian Trail and later he liked hiking in Maine and Switzerland. He loved nature and wildlife, hunting, and fishing. An accomplished athlete, he was an avid tennis player and looked forward to skiing each winter in Colorado and Europe. He took great pleasure traveling the world with his wife, Sarah. Photograph courtesy Tull family WO R S H I P IN MEMORIAM They spent many summers at the Asticou Inn, where Dan Kimball, then its manager, remembered him fondly. He was also a parishioner at Saint Jude s when on MDI. He acquired a strong interest in real estate founding his own company as a contractor of custom built houses. He later developed commercial properties. A licensed insurance agent as well as Real Estate Broker, Mr. Tull was a partner of the Purnell-Tull Agency. He was a lifelong member of the Charlotte Real Estate Board and the Homebuilders Association of which he was elected President in Mr. Tull was strongly patriotic and keenly interested in visiting WWII battle sites. He was a thorough gentleman with excellent judgment and enduring optimism. He was blessed with an engaging sense of humor, a youthful enthusiasm, and a strong, abiding faith. Mr. Tull served on the Board of Trustees of Charlotte Country Day School for ten years where he was instrumental in planning the original Country Day School Carmel Road campus. He also starting the early Boy Scout Troop #17 at Christ Episcopal Church where he served as the Scout Master. During the establishment of Saint John's Episcopal Church on Carmel Road, Mr. Tull was A memorial service was held at Christ Episcopal Church on January 13th. Memorial contributions be made to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 633 Third Avenue, NYC 10017; Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 799 Washington Street, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425; or Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Rd., Charlotte, NC

4 4 L E C T I O N A R Y Can be found on the Church s website From the Editor: Sydney Roberts Rockefeller encourages news and articles from all parishioners and friends by the 15th of each month. Please send them to the church or to <sydr@downeast.net> or call her at (207) Unless noted, all the photographs are taken by the Editor To save postage and trees, please sign up to receive the Harbor Chart by at ssmaryjude@ roadrunner.com And please, think before you print! P R A C T I C E R E S U R R E C T I O N (Continued from page four) Global warming threatens the planet. Forests are obliterated in the Amazon. Political uprisings kill and maim and continue the human striving to have it their/ourway. People sleep on the streets of our cities. We are seeking the living among the dead. When Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, the whole cosmos was restored. The unity of the material and divine is revealed in its fullness in Christ so that we can participate in that fullness and become whole human beings. That s what salvation means to heal, make whole. Death, which was brought about by human rejection of the divine intention, is destroyed. Sacrifices to God for sin are no longer needed or necessary to restore people to the community of God s beloved. Evil does not prevail. The Divine nature that is in all of us, cannot, finally, be killed. All is made whole in love which pours itself out; in self-giving love. Now we know, as we stand at the graves of our parents and our beloved ones, that physical death death of the human body still continues (though we try very hard to ignore that reality), but what we also know is that Jesus death and resurrection shows us that physical death is not the final reality. It is not the true reality. Resurrected life is. Even though we know this in our heads, most of the time we live like people who are oblivious to the real everlasting life that Jesus has shown us. Jesus gives us a choice: live a life that lasts, or one that dies. And his life of self-offering love is the path of life. Resurrection happens. It happens now not later. And it s our choice to live in God s life that lasts forever, or to live the earthly life which ultimately wastes away. The Good News is this: Christ is risen. Resurrection life abounds. You can choose it! Herbert O Driscoll says that in the Easter event, the Resurrection principle is disclosed. In Christ, all is made alive. Whatever tomb you are in, wherever you expect deadliness and have given up hope, Christ can raise you up - for the power that took Jesus through death and beyond gives us the spiritual capacity to triumph over all the forces of evil and death. We receive the ability to live in love, not fear; in hope, not despair. Resurrection is our reality when we do so. How do we live this reality, this gift of eternal life, that God has given us through Jesus Christ? We have to practice it! We have to intentionally practice love, instead of shaping our life around fear and others expectations. We need to practice hope, even when despair seems the only alternative. We practice faith, even when doubts and fear assail us. That is the way we participate in the gift of eternal life - by practicing Resurrection. Practicing Resurrection is about love. It was the women who received the good news of Jesus resurrection. It was the women who did not abandon him as he died on the cross. It was the women Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James and Jesus, and the other women who loved him. It was their love that enabled them to know him and believe what the young man told them. We cannot experience or live into Resurrection life without loving Jesus and those he loves (which is everyone!). Practice Resurrection. A young woman I know became very ill and has been diagnosed with lupus. Instead of allowing it to define her life, she adapted to her physical limitations, carefully managed her energy, and gave her time to learning with and loving others who needed her presence. She is practicing Resurrection. A middle age man I know reached that point in his life when he wondered why he was working 80 hour weeks and failing to even see his (Continued on page five)

5 W O R S H I P N E W S 5 C O N T E M P L A T I V E E V E N I N G P R A Y E R A DM I N I S T R A TION A N D STA F F The Right Reverend Stephen J. Lane Bishop of Maine The Reverend Patricia Rector Dr. Peter Vaux Director of Music Edith Dunham Guest Organist Kerry Kenney Parish Administrator Marcia Murphy and Izaak Giberson Sextons Patricia Shellnutt Accountant Isobel Stanton Sunday School Teacher T H E V E S T R Y Dorothy Clunan, Senior Warden Robin Reath Graves Anne Ogilby Alix Diana Moorhead Kennedy Janet Stratton, Junior Warden Carroll Fernald Arthur Keller Maude March, Clerk Nonvoting member Alan Gregory, Treasurer P A R I S H I N F O R M A T I O N E: ssmaryjude@roadrunner.com W: Episcopal Church W: news@episcopalchurch.org T: F: PO Box 105 Northeast Harbor Maine, Join us on Wednesday evenings at 5:30PM in for a simple evening prayer service which incorporates reading, prayers and silence. The service concludes by 6:00PM. Bring a friend! A D U L T F O R U M R E T U R N S! W H A T S U P W I T H W O R S H I P? On four Sundays in May we ll take a look at how of worship has changed, what s in our liturgy, how it is planned and talk about the different options that are available to us. Come to learn more and to give your input that will keep our worship alive and vital! May 2: Review the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and elements of Sunday worship May 9: Prayers of the People May 16: Eucharistic Prayers, a comparison May 23: Music and Hymnody - Lead by Patricia Robertson (assisted by Peter Vaux) S U N D A Y S C H O O L T E A C H E R N E E D E D Our Sunday School Teacher is going to college this fall and we are seeking her replacement. The person chosen will work alongside the current teacher for a small stipend through the summer and then assume the position in the fall. A curriculum is provided for this work. Requirements: a person of Christian faith who loves working with all kinds of children and is open to learning as well as teaching. Episcopal background helpful, but not absolutely necessary. 16 years of age (Junior in high school) or older (adults are welcome, too!). Please contact The Rev. Patricia Robertson, revprome@roadrunner.com. P R A C T I C E R E S U R R E C T I O N (Continued from page four) children and wife, let alone know them. He resigned his job and looked for more sane work that would enable his love for his wife and children to flourish. He is practicing Resurrection. Resurrection is victory over death, despair,evil, and hate. You participate in that victory and live the life that is eternal as you practice Resurrection in the work of love. He is practicing Resurrection. Every time you refuse to strike back at someone who has slandered you, every time you pray for your enemy, every time you give of your resources with great abandon, you practice Resurrection. Every time you forgive, truly forgive from your very being, you practice resurrection. When I walked away from my brother s coffin, like the women at the tomb that morning, I hardly knew what to make of what I heard and felt. Like the disciples who later encountered the Resurrected Christ, I was sent on a journey that I still ravel to share my witness. Slowly I began to see that I had received a glimpse into he eternal life that is God s continual gift to us in the daily events of living. That life is contained in the Body of God which tenfolds us and generates life in us continually. It is the sure foundation of the world upon which we stand with confidence and hope and the freedom to love. What I learned was this: Don t wait until you die! Rise from the living dead today! Go forth from here to love Jesus and serve others in love. Practice Resurrection and live! Alleluia! Christ is Risen!!

6 6 he R O O F R E P A I R T violent rain and windstorm of February 25 did serious damage to the Parish House roof. The Buildings and Grounds completed a survey of that and the state of the Rectory s and Saint Jude s roofs and decided that all three should be replaced as soon as possible. The committee received four bids on this project and put forward the one it thought best to the vestry for approval. The Centennial Fund Trustees voted and approved the use of $32,000 from undistributed income from the Fund to be used to replace the Parish House and Rectory Roofs. The beautiful, small church of Saint Jude, which is on the Historic Register, has its own maintenance and care fund the Foulke Fund thanks to the generosity of the William Foulke family. With suggestions and some supervision by the two vestry members who attend Saint Jude s each summer, namely Anne Phillips Ogilby and Arthur J. Keller, the new roof will be an improvement and more in keeping with its character. It is hoped that all the roof work will be completed before summer arrives officially. It fills me with gratitude and inspiration when I think of the loving foresight of those parishioners who continue today to provide for the maintenance and care of the physical as well as the spiritual needs of Saint Mary s and Saint Jude s churches from generation to generation. Dorothy Clunan, Senior Warden The Reverend Jonathan Appleyard, Saint Saviour s takes notes from the small groups of Island-wide Episcoplians who gathered at The Church of Our Father to discuss mission priorities and recommendations for strategy to the Diocese in March.

7 7 A N N U A L M E E T I N G S U R V E Y This survey may also be completed online at: At the 2010 Annual meeting in January the by-laws were changed to allow for the Annual meeting of the Parish to occur anytime before June 30 of the year. At the Annual meeting we elect Vestry members, delegates and alternates to Diocesan Convention, Centennial fund members, and other positions as needed. We hear from the Treasurer and review the yearly budget as approved by the Vestry. Other issues of importance are brought forward for discussion. The Vestry is looking at changing the meeting date to a time when more of the membership could be present to participate. This survey will help determine if changing the date is supported by a significant portion of the parish. Thank you for your participation. 1. I am [members are those who attend worship regularly when on MDI and give time and financial support to the parish] a year round member of the parish a seasonal member of the parish a seasonal member who considers this my/our home parish not a member currently but am interested in this parish 2. I would like to participate in the annual meeting of the parish yes no not sure 3. My first choice for timing of the annual meeting is January March or April (timing of Lent and Easter would affect actual date) May June 4. My second choice for timing of the annual meeting is January March or April (timing of Lent and Easter would affect actual date) May June 5. I would attend an all parish meeting in the summer season if I can t come to the annual meeting. yes no 6. At a parish or annual meeting, I am most interested in learning about: Comments: finances issues that impact the parish the people that provide leadership Name: Please complete and return to the office: PO Box 105, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662

8 8 SERVICE WITH SAINT JOHN S Senior Wardens, Dorothy Clunan and Ted Fletcher chat with parishioners after a joint service at Saint John s, SWH, officiated by The Rev. Patricia. T H E P A R I S H O F S A I N T M A R Y A N D S A I N T J U D E P O B O X N O R T H E A S T H A R B O R M A I N E