Trinity Episcopal Church
Castine, Maine
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Peg's Reception
On April 26, a good crowd gathered in Whittemore Parish Hall to celebrate Peg's ministry as Trinity's Priest-in-Charge. The hall was decorated beautifully, with large vases of spring branches with colorful feathers on them and with many bright pansies on the center table.
We all enjoyed the great variety of delicious finger foods offered. Gunilla Kettis and her committee--Carolyn Punzelt, Christine Spratt, Deborah Corey, Marcia Kropp, Pat Zoller and Jane Ball--did an outstanding job of creating a festive event.
As we prepared to toast Peg with sparkling cider, Susan Adam brought out her beautiful cake and John Parish read his open letter to Peg. We also presented Peg with a small icon of the Trinity banner and pages of e-mail messages from those who couldn't attend.
It was a lovely celebration.
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Emily Blair's Reflections 
Last week in my first sermon as Priest-in-Charge, I spoke about how, after Cleopas, and probably his wife Mary, realize the stranger in their midst is Jesus, they are filled with excitement and rush back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples that they have met the risen Jesus. So instead of grief it is joy that brings this first community of Jesus' followers together, this community which will become the church as we know it today.
So resurrection does not turn out to be the end of the story. The life of this new community that finds joy in sharing the news of the risen Jesus begins the next chapter. Their joy depends on finding all the ways they can to help the world see the resurrected Christ in their midst by living out Christ's love in the world.
We know that too. We are Easter people. We come together at Trinity to affirm and reaffirm that. We practice resurrection in our coming to the table to share the bread and the wine; we practice resurrection in our liturgy, our prayers, our outreach, our hospitality. We even practice resurrection when we transition from one Priest-in-Charge to another Priest-in-Charge because we are affirming the witness of this community as belonging to a risen Christ, the living breathing presence of God's love for the world.
I am deeply grateful and humbled to serve as your next Priest-in-Charge. Please feel free to contact me with whatever is on your mind. Share your concerns, your ideas and most especially your joy!
We look forward to welcoming back all of you who have been away. May I just make one request. If I look a little blank, please introduce yourself to me. I never forget a face, but sometimes I am way less than perfect at remembering all of your names. I promise I will get them in time, and I so look forward to seeing you all again,
In Christ's peace, power and love, Emily Blair+
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Leach Fund
As you probably know, Gay Leach passed to God's nearer presence last Tuesday, May 6, after a heroic two-year battle with cancer. There was a celebration of her life Saturday in the Main Street Church, which was packed literally to "standing-room-only."
To assist the Leach family with the huge expenses incurred during her treatment, Trinity has been receiving funds from around the Castine community earmarked for the "Leach Fund." Please be assured that the funds will go to Tim when he requests. To date, in excess of $17,000.00 has been received.
All contributors have been tracked and individuals will receive letters acknowledging the contributions, in the new year.
Bill Carter, Treasurer
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Lenten Book Study
In her recent book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, Barbara Brown Taylor complains that Christian churches these days are "full solar"--nothing but sunshine. But there is a dark side to Christianity, reflected in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's insistence that if you accept Christ, be prepared to suffer. We hear little about sin these days. In The Confession of Sin, The Book of Common Prayer has dropped such phrases as "we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness" and "there is no health in us "--apparently, thoughts too depressing for our tender sensibilities.
Lent, being a time set aside for soul searching, a group of us decided to tackle the stories of Flannery O'Connor, a Christian writer who specializes in our blindness to such everyday sins as pride, greed, arrogance, and egotism. She is very hard on her characters, and her plots have more than a little flavor of the Old Testament God.
Eleven of us--Susan Adam, David Unger, Karl Austin, Carol Adams, Anne Romans, Carolyn Punzelt, Peg Thomas, Tim Hall, Deborah Corey, Wallace Alston, Paul and Dixie Gray, and for a little bit, Marcia and Ted Kropp--tackled seven of O'Connor's best-known stories in the six weeks of Lent. Some of us found these stories profound, others, horrible. Some liked the humor, some found nothing funny about them. But with that many sharp minds and strong personalities sitting around the table, discussions were never dull.
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Save The Date
Thursday, August 7, we'll have our annual fundraiser. This year's guest will be Robert Shetterly and his Americans Who Tell the Truth series. There will be a reception at 5:30 and the event will be at Delano auditorium at 7:00. Mark your calendars. More details will follow.
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Closing Prayer
In this Easter season of new life and new hope,
O God, wherever we seek you
may we see your image
be it sea or sky,
in country or city.
May we hear you,
be it in silence or song,
in wind or rain.
May we touch you
Be it in spring streams,
or in warm summer sand,
May we smell you,
in the flowering of the earth
in the fruiting of the trees.
May we know you are there.
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Trinity Episcopal Church
150 Perkins Street (PO Box 433)
Castine, ME 04421
(207) 326-4180
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