Announcements – March 8, 2020
Today is the Second Sunday in Lent
LENT AT ST. PAT’S
Letters to St. Patrick’s:
During the five Sundays of Lent, the second lesson will be read as a letter to St. Patrick’s from one of our neighbors and will highlight the various ways that the “least of these” and Christ are crucified in our modern world. These letters will then be nailed to a piece of wood and hung on the wall as one of the stations of the cross.
Lenten Mini-Retreat
Save the date: On Sunday, March 29th from 4:00-6:00pm, there will be an offering of a mini- Lenten retreat by the clergy of the three parishes. St. Patrick’s is hosting it this year. It will end with a light supper of soup, bread, salad and cheese and fruit, all provided by the clergy. A flyer about the program part of the retreat will follow this announcement. Those who have come to St.Johns in past years, know how meaningful this time together can be. If you have not come before, why not consider coming this year. It can add to your experience of Lent.
Wednesday evening Lenten services:
Once again, churches that are part of the community Lenten services will be having Wednesday evening services. All services start at 6:30 PM, The first service was here at St. Pat’s last Wednesday and we had a “full house”, over 80 people raising their voices in song. Thank you to all who contributed time, energy and food for this community event. Let’s support the other churches in our community as listed below.
March 11–North Brewer Eddington United Methodist Church–31 Main Rd, Eddington
Pastor Jon Ouellette -preacher
March 18— East Orrington Congregational Church-38 Johnson Mill Rd, Orrington
the Rev. Linette George -preacher
March 25— Lighthouse Church of God–696 River Rd. Orrington
the Rev. Ron Chaffee preacher
April 1— Orrington United Methodist Church– 14 Center Drive, Orrington
Pastor Jerrod Oltman preacher.
Women’s Book Sharing Group to Kick Off in April
If you are interested in participating in a once a month women’s group, please sign up in the Common Room. The book we will be sharing is “ by Lindsay Hardin Freeman. See a description with the sign-up sheet. Pat Blethen will be facilitating the group.
- The group is open to all women, no church affiliation is required. Sign up sheet is being sent to congregations only as an easy means of distribution. It has been sent to all the churches in the Brewer Ministerial group as well as St James and St John’s.
- Please check all the dates/times you would be available to meet. The one that works for the most people across locations will be selected.
- Please sign up by 2/26/2020 (Ash Wednesday)
- The initial gathering will be held at held in April at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church on the corner of Main St. and Holyoke, Brewer. Hosting of future meetings will be determined at the April gathering.
- People will be notified of the selected date via email.
- Attending every month is not required.
- Purchasing the book is not necessary as the material will be shared during the meeting.
Street Pastors Training
Bangor Street Pastors are offering a training on March 14 from 9:00-2:00 at Columbia Street Project–51 Columbia Street, Bangor. This is right next door to the church.
The Street Pastors visit people on the streets of downtown Bangor late at night on Fridays. They hope to expand to day time. This training if for visitors to the streets and those who support them in prayer and other ways. Come to learn more about this important ministry. Lunch will be provided.
THE ANNUAL DIOCESAN SPRING TRAINING March 21 has been canceled. The reason for the cancellation is so that Bishop Thomas and others who wish to attend the memorial service of Gretchen Lane, wife of our retired bishop Stephen Lane, may travel to Rochester, NY that weekend. If you are interested in attending, information on the bus that the Diocese of Maine has engaged and hotel rooms reserved as a block can be found on the diocesan website.
Note from Peggy Day: For those wishing to remember Gretchen Lane, and are not able to make it to her service in Rochester, New York on March 21rst, there will be a time of silent prayer at St. Patrick’s from 11:00 am-12:00 noon on Saturday, March 21. Please contact Peggy for more information.
Outreach Lenten Project:
We will be collecting non-perishable food items, for two area pantries, the Brewer Food Cupboard and the Courage Lives food bank for graduates as they get on their feet after leaving the Courage Lives safe house and are beginning to make it on their own.
Read more about it: Outreach Lenten Project
FAITH LINKING IN ACTION
Faith Linking in Action convening. The next meeting of all the congregations and community groups working with Faith Linking in Action is Wednesday, March 25 right here at St. Patrick’s. It was decided at the last gathering to revisit the issue of Food Insecurity to see what has been done since our last meeting. Congregations are asked to share what they do and to brainstorm what to continue and what to do next. We will also address the progress of the Transportation for All Team and learn how we can make a difference with the Child Care bill currently in the legislature. Lots to do and your input is very important.
The sign-up to attend is in the Common Room. Help need for set up and clean up for the pot luck which begins at 5:30. This is an important convening.
Transportation for All (TFA) After persistence from a TFA member there is now a “warming bus” stationed at the Pickering Square terminal so people can get out of this bitter cold while they wait for their bus. The work continues to improve schedules, bus stops, hours of operation and many more important issues. Your input is needed. Come to the monthly meetings on the 3rd Thurday. The next meeting will be March 19 from 9-11 at Peace and Justice Center, 96 Harlow Street, Bangor. (Across the street from Bangor Public Library) Contact information: Darcy Cooke 989-5860 darcy@foodandmedicine.org.
Childcare/Jobs Team continues to work on the legislative bill LD 1760 and Act to Support children’s Healthy Development and School Readiness. The full bill and summary are on the bulletin board in the Common Room. Groups are beginning to testify before the Health and Human Services Committee.Read the Op Ed in the March 4th edition of the Bangor Daily News to gain insight. Join the team to advance awareness, education, implementation, evaluation and more in the area of childcare and jobs security for parents and childcare providers.
The team is also planning the third annual Week of the Young Child event at the Discovery Museum in April. Details will be completed at the next team meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 6-7:30 pm at First United Methodist Church, Essex St., Bangor. Your input is very important. Contact Mary Ann Perry: 570-3113 maryann_perry@hotmail.com or Team Chair Roz Fisher: gmail.com.
The Second Moveable Feast
FaithLinking in Action is holding the Second Moveable Feast progressive dinner fundraiser on Saturday, April 18 from 5:00-7:30 PM. We will begin with appetizers at the Maine Islamic Center in Orono and move to the Keith Anderson Community Center in Orono for dinner and dessert. The tickets are $20.00 per person and will be available soon. Please contact Peggy if you have questions.
Help Support the Bangor Homeless Shelter
The Islamic Center of Maine along with Temples Beth El and Beth Israel will hold an Open House fundraising event for Bangor Homeless Shelter on Sunday, March 15 at Temple Beth El from 2 to 4:30 pm. Heavy appetizers will be served. There will be no admission fee, but donations are being accepted. The proceeds from the event will go to the shelter to get a new boiler. The St. Pat’s Outreach Committee has contributed $100 towards this event so look for the flyers and plan to drop-in.
What’s Happening at the Wilson Center
The Wilson Center invites you to an interfaith luncheon on March 12, 11:30-1:00. The topic is “Feeding Our Community Through Service and Devotion.” Lunch is provided at no cost to attendees, thanks to our co-sponsors the Jewish Community Endowment Associates. Additionally, The Wilson Center is also hosting a Meditation Circle on Tuesday evenings, 5:30-6:30. Our program director Anna Godsey says that everyone is welcome who would like to explore mindfulness.
Artful Spirit Connection welcomes back the artists from Citizens of Maine (COM) for the Spring Reveal exhibit from March 1 through April 12 (Easter). A Spring Reveal reception and art activity will be held next Monday, March 16 from 6 pm to 7 pm. The art activity will be St. Patrick’s Day oriented and it is an opportunity for St. Patrick’s members to meet the artists of COM.
Artful Spirit is also hosting a table at the Literacy Tea on Sunday, March 29 at 3 pm at John Bapst. We are designing our table around the book Lighthouse Dog to the Rescue by Angeli Perrow (local author) and Emily Harris. Tickets are going fast. see the information below.
Books come alive on Sunday, March 29 from 3 – 5 PM at our annual tea. The family friendly fundraiser invites guests to tour nearly 40 tables, each decorated to represent a children’s book. Sumptuous snacks and pastries will be served throughout the event and tea is provided by Tea Maineia.
This year featured Maine author, Amy McDonald, will perform her book, Little Beaver and the Echo, named one of the best children’s books of the year by the New York Times. Tickets are $25 each. Due to the event’s popularity, tickets are only available through advance purchase. Go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-marvin-sheri-glazier-literacy-tea-tickets-91927845661.
Coffee Hour: Please sign up to host coffee hour. The sign-up sheet is on the Common Room table.
Where does the loose offering in the plate go? The Outreach Committee would like to remind folks that the loose plate offering on the second Sunday of the month goes into the Outreach fund. On the third Sunday of the month it goes to the Rector’s Discretionary Fund. On other Sundays it goes into the general fund.
Prayer list updates: Larry and Bonnie Puls are the contact people for creating the prayer list. If you would like to add or delete someone from the prayer list you can add your request in the Common Room or contact the Puls’ at: bonniepuls@aol.com or 942-1321.