NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME — Moonbeam Captain Storey King and Mission Outreach Director/Chaplain Douglas Cornman cruised to Great Cranberry Island, prior to a November 24 afternoon storm.
Douglas led Sunday worship and helped islanders pack shoe box gifts for Operation Christmas Child.
The theme for the day’s service was “Finding Gratitude within Surprise.”
Jillian in the ‘Sunbeam V’ galley. (Photo by Tristan Spinski)
CHERRYFIELD, ME — As Sunbeam V Steward my job is to feed the crew and guests and keep things tidy. Also, I work with Island Health Services Director Sharon and Island Outreach Director Douglas to extend our hospitality so it works in conjunction with the many additional programs and gatherings offered on and off the Sunbeam. Providing all-island-breakfasts, bingo snacks, care packages, holiday dinners, lots of cookies…
It has been interesting to figure out how to provide these services alternatively. Life without the beloved Sunbeam has been a lot of things, many of which had to unfold outside of planning. How many times in my life will I decommission a boat?
We have been traveling around these last months via the Moonbeam, ferries, charters, planes and carpooling. Our already honed boat people schlepping skills met/meet new challenges. Both Sharon’s portable telemedicine unit and Douglas’ backpack of emergency counselor/chaplain supplies weigh as much as my filled coolers.
We have stayed in parsonages and in islanders homes. We all carry along ready bedrolls. What a rare treat to get to know these parsonages. I have loved using their kitchens with their mix of vintage linens and cookware. In these homes we’ve hosted breakfasts, suppers and always popular taco feast. Islanders were delighted to spend time in their parsonages. Some shared stories of a long history of time spent in them and others had yet to have reason before though had driven by it for years.
We’ve grilled burgers and dogs on the beach, on docks and in front of the library. I’ve packed a bucket of iced sodas for a plane trip to Matinicus. I’ve also successfully gotten frozen ice cream to the island to accompany my hot apple crisp I planned to serve that night. Not a simple feat for a 4-5 hour commute on a warm fall day. Multiple ice packs and a towel wrapped around the half gallon ice cream tucked inside a Yeti bag cooler bag did the trick. Thanks to Sigma Kappa who gifted us the bag for my use during this transition time. It has been super handy.
Islanders have opened their doors to us and we’ve stayed in spare bedrooms and on comfy couches. It has be great to spend time in their homes and we’ve appreciated the overwhelming hospitality from our island friends.
To be continued…
Gift Idea: The Island Reader – The essence of Maine’s beautifully rugged islands in book form.
BELFAST, ME — Front Street Shipyard posted this Sunbeam V update October 25 on their Twitter feed.
The photo caption reads, We pulled out Sunbeam’s main engine so we can sandblast the engine room.
The Sunbeam is undergoing a routine major re-fit at Front Street Shipyard. During the interim, the Sunbeam crew continues their work among Maine unbridged islands aboard the Mission’s interim boat, Moonbeam, and through other travel means.
Director of Island Outreach Douglas Cornman visiting with Maine unbridged island students. (Photo by Tristan Spinski.)
Stories of Giving Back
Maine’s nonprofit community provides helping hands wherever there’s need, and offer much to say thanks for this season.downeast.com
Hope Floats
By land and by sea, Maine Seacoast Mission offers a lifeline to residents of islands and Down East coastal communities.
From the moment Brenda Clark stepped foot on Isle au Haut, she loved the feeling of peacefulness she felt there — surrounded by ocean, 6 miles from the mainland. Her love of island life hasn’t ebbed in the two decades since she moved. But now that Clark is 65, it has gotten more complex. Getting medical attention off-island can be expensive and time-consuming. “It can be a real hardship,” Clark says.
For Clark and other year-round islanders, Maine Seacoast Mission offers a critical lifeline. Its M/V Sunbeam V, a 74-foot floating support vessel, stops on 10 unbridged islands regularly providing food, fellowship, and healthcare. Sunbeam Steward Jillian serves meals. Island Outreach Director and Chaplain Douglas Cornman offers counseling, activities, and classes. Island Health Services Director Sharon Daley, RN performs routine health screenings, hosts telemedicine visits with primary care doctors and other medical professionals, and she comes ashore to visit homebound islanders.
Director Daley is also active with several island health workers in helping island elderly have the option of aging in place within their communities. Daley hosts an annual Island Elder Care Conference sponsored by Maine Seacoast Mission
Thank you, Front Street Shipyard, for your frequent photo postings of the Sunbeam V refit progress.
This photo, Front Street tells us, is “the view just outside the pilothouse on [the] Sunbeam.”