This change comes to accommodate the many (maybe even most) of our parishioners for whom 9:00 is too early. Many of us who are older take medications that require gentler, slower starts to our days, others with children would love to attend but would appreciate a later start time. Finally, it is more convenient for the staff, who have a split shift on Sundays. This autumn move to later hours will be familiar to many, since that had been our pattern for many years. Early birds, remember, there’s a Wednesday morning Eucharist at 7:00 AM.

St. Peter’s is now open at capacity for in-person worship to fully vaccinated persons. We gather inside without regard for social distancing, approach the altar and take communion together. As long as Knox County is designated as level orange for Covid spread, however, we will not share a common cup, but will have communion with bread only. Also, worshipers will be required to wear masks and provide proof of vaccination.

As you know, health authorities advise that most of those activities are unsafe for persons who are not fully vaccinated. We are mindful that there are persons for whom the vaccine is not yet available, medically contraindicated, or eschewed. If this applies to you, let me know (rector.stpetersrockland@gmail.com or 207-594-8191) because there are ways we can reach out to you, be with you, pray with you, and bring you communion without endangering you.

Our Sunday morning service will continue to be live-streamed on Zoom, and will be available to all remotely. We will ask for proof that you are fully vaccinated for admission to in-person worship. (The CDC considers a person fully vaccinated when it has been at least two weeks since receiving the second of the two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two weeks since receiving the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine.) This proof needs to be shown only once:

• bring your vaccination record card with you to church,
• bring a photocopy of your vaccination card and keep your original safe at home,
• take a picture of your card with your phone and show us the picture when you get to church, or
• scan it to make a pdf or take a picture of it and email or snail mail either of those forms to the church office.

You will surely be able to come up with other ways, but you get the gist: we must see proof that you are fully vaccinated.

The latest episode of Faith in Maine features an interview with Bishop Thomas Brown focusing on the fourth practice in the Way of Love: Worship. Find the podcast find the Podcast here, wherever you download podcasts, or access the most recent episode by phone – dial 207-223-6402.

Next Sunday, May 23, the Feast of Pentecost, St. Peter’s will resume in-person worship with a festive service of Holy Eucharist outdoors at the church. We have not been able to be together like this since Christmas Eve, and it will be so good to be able to be together again. (In the event of rain, we will move indoors with masks and social distancing.)  Please bring your masks, wear warm clothing (it will still be chilly), and BYOC (bring your own communion bread and wine). 

Thereafter, St. Peter’s will offer in-person worship for up to 30 people at each service: 

• Sundays, 9:00 am, Holy Eucharist, rite II (live-streamed)
• Sundays, 5:30 pm, Celtic Eucharist
• Wednesdays, 7:00 am, Contemplative Eucharist

St. Peter’s will continue to maintain all state and local covid-19 prevention protocols:

• unless we are outside, we are limited to 30 persons in our sanctuary, in order to accommodate social distancing requirements;
• all worshipers must wear masks indoors;
• we will continue to keep contact tracing information;
• we will sanitize our common areas before and after each service, and ensure exchange of air in the sanctuary between Sunday services; and
• Holy Communion will be offered BYOC (bring your own communion bread and wine) and consumed at your place in the pews. 

Although many, if not most of you, are already fully vaccinated, know that we will continue to maintain state and local pandemic protocols to ensure the safety of everyone.  Remember, children will not yet have been vaccinated, and because we can all be carriers, we want to do as much as we can to protect the most vulnerable in our midst, including our own children and grandchildren.  These requirements, of course, are subject to change, but this is what you can expect as of this writing.

Our building will remain closed to all but scheduled users, all of whom have agreed to maintain our covid-19 prevention protocols. 

Sunday, April 4, 1:00 PM

Come to St. Peter’s and pick up a take-out dinner at 1:00 PM. Dinner is free to the public and all are welcome.

Please wear a mask and maintain a safe physical distance.

Sponsored by Adas Yoshuron Synagogue. (594.4523; info@adasyoshuron.org)

The forty days of Lent are a time when Christians join Jesus in the wilderness. It serves as a time for us to return to the Sacred Presence, to the God who has never left us, even if we have left God. Lent is a time to renew classic disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (all done in secret), as a way of returning to our true life. All of this is designed to renew a right spirit within us and to prepare us for a deeper appreciation of Jesus’ passion (what he was most passionate about), his death, and ultimately his resurrection at Easter.

In 2021, of course, Lent will be different, since the pandemic prevents our gathering for many of the services and activities that we’ve come to expect and count on. Online worship will continue until it is safe for us to be in church together in significant numbers for extended periods of time. And, as long as that is true, Communion to Go will be made available to all who want it.

Meanwhile, staff and volunteers have prepared some (real, live, not digital!) materials for your Lenten Journey. Included among the materials is a booklet of selected Scripture, poetry/prose, and prayers. They are arranged around a theme from each of the Sunday gospels in Lent, together with a physical symbol for that theme. For example, the gospel for the first Sunday in Lent presents the story after Jesus’ baptism when he was led into the wilderness to face temptation and a period of fasting and preparation. Among your materials will be a small bag of sand to represent that wilderness. Take it out, tip it into a bowl, play with it, meditate with it. Let this be a guide for your own prayer life during that first week in Lent. The materials are free and no sign-up is needed. You can pick them up at church on Thursdays (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) and on Sundays (10:00 AM to noon), beginning February 18, along with Communion to Go. The church sanctuary will also be open at that time for private prayer.

During Lent, St. Peter’s will also offer remote or online groups, including:

• A weekly Wednesday morning contemplative service (read more);
• Tuesday Evening Bible Study at 6:00 PM via Zoom (read more);
• Daily prayer with the brothers at the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (read more); and
• Rite of Reconciliation (contact the rector at rector.stpetersrockland@gmail.com).

Lent can be an especially rich season spiritually. We are a precious community of faith, one body, held together in the Love of Christ. Let your prayer this Lent be yet another way we remain connected in Love.

A program of prayer for Lent.

After the last year in which churches around the world have been closed and congregations scattered, the brothers of Saint John The Evangelist invite you to “Come, Pray.” Join them in the receiving the daily gift of prayer – at home or wherever you find yourself. Across the weeks of Lent, listen in as the brothers discuss the rich and varied ways we pray, together in church and in our personal prayer.

The series is centered on a weekly 20-minute video. The brothers invite participants to explore and experience diverse prayer practices alongside them, joining their regular, live-streamed worship, special services, and online teachings.

You can find out more, access the videos, and subscribe if you wish on their website: ssje.org/comepray