Announcements – February 2, 2020
Outreach-The Outreach Committee is meeting today during Coffee Hour. Items on agenda include Lenten project idea. Please see Kate Petrie if you have any questions.
Columbia Street Lunch is March 1. The sign-up sheet is in the Common Room.
Epiphany Meditation/Prayer Service
Our Epiphany Meditation/Prayer Service will be Thursday, February 6 @ 6:30 pm Epiphany is a Greek word meaning “manifestation, showing forth, revelation.” This feast proclaims our faith that is Jesus, God is revealed to all people—not just to an inner circle or a chosen few, but to all people, in all places, and throughout all time. Christians believe that in the person of Jesus we see who God is, and in the words and actions of Jesus we see God at work in the world and in us.
Background
Beginning in November 2019 St Patrick’s established a monthly Meditation/Prayer Service to be held the first Thursday of each month. We started five years ago with bimonthly services using the Taizé model. We have expanded to include music from Iona.
A prayer service is different from a worship service in several ways. The regular divisions of worship, including the gathering, professing of beliefs, committing ourselves to Christ, Eucharist and baptism, are not included. The service is wholly dedicated to prayer and the hearing of God’s Word. While some regular elements of worship are certainly present, they are presented in a model of prayer and meditation.
Prayer can happen in many ways: through the silent conversation of an individual with God; through guided prayers where a leader facilitates the subject and the flow of the prayers and then allow space for individual prayer; through responsive reading formats; and through song. Prayer songs typically have short texts and easy melodies that are sung in many repetitions to allow the heart and mind to meditate on the words through the medium of music.
We use the Taizé and Iona communities’ structures for our services. The Iona community, located on an island off the coast of Scotland, and the Taizé community in France are internationally known for their non-denominational worship and for prayer services that draw from the ancient traditions of the Christian faith. The Taizé community is also know for the body of music—songs of prayer—written for their services.
(text from Daily Prayer for all Seasons @2014 by the Office of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Church Publ, Inc., NY. Pg 41. and “A Prayer Service Blending Taizé and Iona” http:www.reformedworship.org, 2018)
Faith Linking in Action
The Food Access Committee (FAC) has been very busy planning the upcoming activities in February! Everyone is invited to participate in the events!
- A candle-making workshop using various fruits will begin at 6:00 pm on THURSDAY, February 9 at Food AND Medicine (FAM).
- A cranberry jelly-making workshop will begin at 11:00 am on SATURDAY, February 15 at the Miller Square kitchen (315 Harlow Street). We are gratefully accepting any 4- or 8-ounce jelly jars, lids, and rings for this event!
- The next regular FAC meeting will be at 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on THURSDAY, February 13 at FAM. During this meeting we will have a bat house building workshop!
Contact Peg Olson (ptpeg2014@gmail.com) with any questions.
The Holyoke Street Garden will meet next Sunday, February 9 at NOON to begin planning for this season. We have to have our seed requests to Food AND Medicine by Feb. 21. If you see anyone in the neighborhood ask them what they think should be planted and invite them to attend this meeting. We need organizers, planters, gardeners, distributers, eaters! Mary Ann Perry
Transportation for All (TFA) has had quite a week after an 8 year struggle. Success at last with tremendous effort. The Community Bus Connector Hub will remain in Pickering Square. There is a grant to build a new hub which will include green space. Work can now continue with other pending improvements like better bus stops and schedules, extended hours, and much more. The monthly meetings are the 3rd Thursday 9-11 @ Peace and Justice Center, 96 Harlow Street, Bangor. (Across the street from the Bangor Public Library) Contact information: Darcy Cooke 989-5860 Darcy@foodandmedicine.org
Childcare/Jobs Team is getting into full gear. They are supporting a new bill in the Senate: LD 1760 an Act to Support Children’s Healthy Development and School Readiness. This bill created the First 4 ME Early Care and Education Program under the Department of Health and Human Services to provide comprehensive, high-quality early child care and education services for at-risk children under 6 years of age who have not entered kindergarten and the children’s parents by funding projects that integrate comprehensive resources and services with traditional center-based and family child care settings. The pilot projects will be a partnership between government agencies, businesses, and parents. The Child care team is right in the thick of this learning about the specifics of the bill and how families in the Bangor area will benefit. Awareness, education, implementation, evaluation are only some areas the team will be investigation. A copy of the full bill is in the Common Room.
Child care is also working on the third annual Week of the Young Child event at the Discovery Museum in April. Join the Team which meets the 1st Wednesday of each month. Next meeting is February 5 6-7:30 at First United Methodist Church, Essex Street, Bangor. NOTE NEW MEETING DAY. Contact: Mary Ann Perry 570-3113 or Team Chair Roz Fisher: osurosalyn1960@gmail.com
THE SECOND MOVEABLE FEAST
Last year FLIA held a traveling dinner party as a fundraiser. It was such a success that the fundraising committee has decided to do it again this year. The date is Saturday, April 18, 2020 . It will be held in the Orono area this year. The Islamic Center has agreed to serve the hors d’oeuvres. We are being asked if St. Patrick’s would be willing to provide the main meal of lasagna. This would be served out of the kitchen at the Keith Anderson building in Orono. I am willing to make two vegetable lasagnas. I am wondering if others would be willing to make lasagna as well. We would need 6- more. If you are willing to help, Please let me know. There is an oven there and we are planning to get warmers. Thank you for considering this.
Peace,
Peggy
What’s Happening at the Wilson Center
The Wilson Center invites you to an interfaith luncheon on Thursday, February 13, 11:30-1:00. The topic is “Heart to Hands: Young and Old Alike.” We have rescheduled the January lunch that was postponed because of snow; it will be held Thursday, 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.
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.
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 .