St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church
Our Mission: "To Love, Praise, Welcome and Serve"
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Worship this Sunday:
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
The Rev. Jenny Reece, presiding
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Scripture readings for this Sunday (Notes are below)
The bulletin can be found here.
Join us in-person or online. Click below for the Zoom link.
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All services and meetings will be held both in-person and via Zoom unless otherwise designated.
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11:30 a.m. Deer Isle Roadside Clean-up - meet at the church |
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8:30 a.m. Simmering Pot
4:30 p.m. Meditation/Silent Prayer (Zoom)
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10:00 a.m. In-Person Meditation/Silent Prayer
10:30 a.m. Bible Study - See below for information on a new format
4:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal
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4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Empty Bowl Supper at St. Brendan |
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7:30 a.m. - 12 Noon Vigil for Skip and Allen |
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Frederica Marshall's painting of a Kintsugi bowl
It’s what the Holy Spirit as kintsugi artist does, not only in the community of faith we call the Church, but in each of our lives… looking always for the hidden fault lines of fear, guilt, shame, cynicism, narrow-mindedness, cold-heartedness… and there, in those places, not only breaks us open, but sits with us amongst the broken pieces, and with painstaking labor, takes each piece and connects it to the next, tracing the lines of brokenness with the gold lacquer of God’s incarnate, accompanying, fierce and tender love, creating something far more beautiful than the original form… Thank God…
Sermon given by Pastor Elaine Hewes on April 21st.
Click below for the video recording. A text copy is available here. |
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With gratitude for the successful completion of the Pesek Project.
Click here to read the final update. |
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Celebrating Earth Day for All the Days to Come
As we celebrated Earth Day this week (April 22), we were reminded of the importance of carrying the beauty, the glory, and the vulnerability of our Mother Earth in our hearts, minds, and actions in the weeks and months to come. Although the Christian tradition has historically focused its attention on “personal salvation” over “creation care,” there is a growing movement in the Church to return to some of the voices in the Church that, over the centuries, have been silenced or marginalized for suggesting that God’s Spirit moves in and around and through the natural world as well as the “human world.” And for suggesting that in the Christian story, “saving the Earth” is just as important as “saving souls”… (the word “saving” comes from the word Greek word “salvo,” which means “healing.”)
One of those early voices was St. Patrick (ca. 385-461), a Celtic monk who wove together the teachings of the Church and the teachings of the natural world. One of his best-known writings is “The Breastplate Hymn of St. Patrick,” which is included in the Episcopal hymnal, hymn #370. What I appreciate so much about this hymn is the way St. Patrick focused the attention of the Christians of his day on both the central images of the Church and the wonders of creation.
This hymn, sometimes titled “The Deer’s Cry,” begins by invoking the protection of the Trinity with the words, “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity.” The following verses invoke the presence of Christ and the love of angels and saints. And the fourth verse invokes the elemental forces of earth, air, fire and water, celebrating the sacred energies that flow deep in the body of the universe…
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I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star-lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life-giving rays,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling winds tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.
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St. Patrick’s words and wisdom were later reflected in the writings of 9th century monk John Scotus Eriugena, who taught that there are two books through which God is speaking. The first being the “small book” of Scripture, and the second being the “big book” of the universe, which includes the sun, moon and stars, the earth, sea and sky, the creatures of these realms and all the life forms that grow from the ground.
“We need to read both books,” Eriugena wrote, “the sacred text of Scripture and the sacred text of the universe." Because as he said, “if we read only the little book, we will miss the vastness and wildness of the utterance, everything vibrating with the sound of the divine. And if we read only the big book, we are in danger of missing the intimacy of the voice, for the book of Scripture call us to faithfulness in relationship, including faithfulness to strangers, refugees, widows and the poorest among us.” (“Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul” by John Philip Newell p. 88).
What a beautiful insight Eriugena offers us as he calls us to “read” the sacred text of the universe as well as our Holy Scriptures. Were we to follow his advice, perhaps “Earth Day” would turn into “Earth Days” (forever plural). And maybe, just maybe, we would begin to see Christ reflected not only in the face of our neighbor, but in the face of the moon, the stars, the goldfinch and the earthworm, compelling us to be about the “saving” (the healing) of the world which God so loves.
May it be so, even as we bind unto ourselves this day to the strong name of the Trinity.
Pastor Elaine
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Giving our Priorities Shape (GPS) Action Item |
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ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITY!
The Episcopal Church has been dedicated to reducing the impact of climate change and global warming for years and sees the care of God's creation and its connection to human health as an important part of our faith.
Right now, there is an Action Alert from the National Episcopal Church asking us to write to our Representatives and Senators to ask them to co-sponsor the Green New Deal for Health Act (S.1229/H.R.2764), which addresses the link between the US public health system and the environment.
Please click here, then scroll down and click "Support the Environment and Public Health" to learn more about this legislation and who is presently a co-sponsor (no one from Maine!). Fill out the form on the page to ask your Senators and Representative to co-sponsor the Green New Deal for Health Act.
Thank you!
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Fish Chowder
Our Simmering Pot crew continues their good work every fourth Monday of the month, preparing 140 quarts of soup for our Deer Isle neighbors and friends across the Reach. Since April has five Mondays, they will be busy again in our kitchen on April 29th. Come and join the fun. Thank you to all the soup makers and to those who do the deliveries.
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Education & Spiritual Development Ministry |
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"O taste and see that the Lord is good . . .’'
Psalm 34-8
Join us for Meditation/Silent Prayer
every Monday at 4:30 p.m. by Zoom
Readings, poems, and prayers are shared before a
period of silence.
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Join us for Meditation/Silent Prayer every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
in-person before Bible Study
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Bible Study
Our Wednesday morning Bible study will offer an in-depth study of two of the four texts appointed for the coming Sunday. This means we will look at each of the two texts through historical, literary, and theological lenses. We will also ask ourselves how each text speaks to the times and the places in which we live. This week, we will focus our attention on Acts 10:44-48 and 1 John 5:1-6.
It will be helpful if you bring your Bible with you whether you come in person or over Zoom because we will read other passages.
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We hold in prayer Judy Miller, whose sister Carlotta died this week. We pray also for her family and
all who mourn Carlotta's death.
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We pray for those in special need:
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Joe Lucas
Sandy
Beth and Tito Kyzer
Judy
Megan
Avery
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
Bishop Thomas Brown
Naomi
Carol Simanton
Billy Nutter
Theo
Robert B. Tobin
Anne Burton
Hewit
Pat and Dave
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Mary Ann and Terry
Nishah
David Morrish
Corbin
Rebecca
Pam B.
Susan Wade
Jase
Jaxson
Heather Corey
Stephen Gill
Brent Was
Bill Scaife
Stewart and Julie
Gary and Wellesley
Mary Blanco
Mary Lawrence Hicks and family
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Max
Skip Greenlaw
Bob Budd
Nancy
Peter Brown
Nick
Seth
Linda Shepard and family
Mary Ann Shaw
Lindsay Bowker
Nancy Boothby
Marcia Scott
Tony Stoneburner
Carol Stoneburner
Nancy Stearns
Isabelle H.
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We pray, also, for those who love and care for them. |
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We continue to hold in prayer those in our community who have recently lost loved ones; among them are the Verhey, Greene, Adams, Pease, and Leach families.
We pray for those struggling with addiction and mental illness and their caregivers.
We pray for all those receiving care through Neighbor Care and for all the relocated residents of the Island Nursing Home and their families.
We pray for the victims of gun violence -- in our cities and towns, in our schools, in our places of worship, and in our homes.
We pray for the victims of the violence of armed conflicts around the world. We pray for those made refugees by the violence of armed conflicts. We pray for the victims of terrorist attacks everywhere.
We pray for all who suffer the effects of domestic violence and the violence of bullying in our schools and workplaces.
We pray for our nation, our president and vice-president, and all elected and appointed leaders.
We pray for all peacemakers and all those who work for justice; may we be found in their ranks.
We pray for all those serving in the armed forces of our country.
We pray for Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury; Hosam, Bishop of Jerusalem; Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Thomas, our Bishop.
In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we pray for St. Giles, Jefferson, St. Nicholas, Scarborough, and for our retired clergy, their spouses, and surviving spouses.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Church of Bangladesh.
On the Island and Peninsula, we pray for North Sedgwick Baptist Church, Sedgwick.
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Fifth Sunday of Easter
On the final Sundays of Easter, our attention is directed to the results in our lives of Jesus’ dying and rising: the results of Baptism and Eucharist. The Gospel reading today describes our life in Christ. That life is characterized by our love for Jesus as the ground of our faithfulness. We are as intimately bound up in the life of the risen Jesus as the branches of a plant, drawing our new life directly from him.
Like a vine growing new branches, the early Church began to spread beyond Jerusalem almost immediately, bound together in Christ’s love and led by the Spirit. In today’s reading from Acts, Philip, one of the seven ordained with Stephen, preaches the Gospel to an official of the Queen of Ethiopia. This preaching was prompted by the official’s reading of the “Suffering Servant” passage from Isaiah (52:13-53:12). The Ethiopian is converted and baptized on the spot.
Today’s reading from First John carries on his theme of our share in God’s self-giving love (agape). We are to reflect in our own living and ministry that same love which was manifested to us in Jesus’ dying and rising. This is the life he shares with us.
We, the People of God, gather in Eucharist to remember and share the story of God’s love for us. Our actions in Eucharist are a liturgical expression of self-giving love toward God and others. As we receive Holy Communion, God implants in us Jesus’ own life and equips us to extend the divine love to all people in concrete actions of ministry and proclamation.
The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2009 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York
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Office Hours: Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Pastor Elaine Hewes
Tel: 207-479-5651
Emergency Contacts:
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Allen Downs, Warden
(207) 348-2560
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George Pazuniak, Warden
Tel: 207-359-8576
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Dan Reardon-Treasurer
Jack Beaudoin-Clerk
Meg Graham
Marilyn Verhey
Beth Carter
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ST. BRENDAN THE NAVIGATOR EPISCOPAL CHURCH, P.O. Box 305, 627 NORTH DEER ISLE ROAD, DEER ISLE, ME 04627
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