Maine Seacoast Mission’s Great Visit to Boothbay Harbor

Posted on by Scott Fish

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The Mission had a great time Saturday, July 15th in Boothbay Harbor, and again, on Sunday, July 16th at Oceans Point in East Boothbay. Thank you, Sue and Paul Taylor for inviting us and for being such wonderful hosts.

These photos, in chronological order, show the Sunbeam V in Boothbay Harbor on Saturday afternoon, guests who boarded the Sunbeam V in Boothbay Harbor for a cruise and a Q&A about the Mission and its work.

Sunday was a reunion of the Mission and Wilson Chapel at Oceans Point. Wilson Chapel was celebrating its 100th Anniversary. Mission President Reverand Scott Planting gave the Sunday service marking the 96th year someone from Maine Seacoast Mission spoke at a Wilson Chapel service.

The service ended with a tribute to friend, musician, and Wilson Chapel organist Danny Beal, who died in January 2017. Churchgoers and Castlebay sang Danny Beal’s favorite hymn, Let The Lower Lights Be Burning. Here is a rendition of that hymn.

Tour the Colket Center Thursdays, July 13th – August 31st

Posted on by Scott Fish

Colket-Center-2016-George-Soules-smaller

BAR HARBOR – Maine Seacoast Mission will offer tours of its “rusticator” mansion in downtown Bar Harbor during July and August. Tours will also feature historical items from the Mission’s 111 years of serving the islands and coastal communities of downeast Maine.

The 35-room mansion, once known as “La Rochelle,” was built in 1902 for George Bowdoin, a partner of J.P. Morgan, and his small family and 21 servants. Located at 127 West Street and overlooking Frenchman’s Bay, the house was the first brick summer cottage to be built in Bar Harbor. The specially cut granite and marble used in the construction was imported from Italy.

The house, along with an endowment for its upkeep, was donated to the Maine Seacoast Mission in 1972 by Tristram and Ruth Colket, who purchased the mansion in the 1940s. The building now serves as the Mission’s administrative headquarters and is known as the “Colket Center” in honor of its donors.

Tours will be given at 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Thursdays from July 13 through August 31st. There is no charge for the tours, although donations are appreciated.

For more information, call 207-288-5097 or email info@seacoastmission.org.

Maine Seacoast Mission Developing Plans to Relocate Headquarters

Posted on by Scott Fish

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2017

For More Information:
Contact Scott K Fish, Manager of Marketing & Communications
207-458-7185 or sfish@seacoastmission.org

BAR HARBOR, ME — Maine Seacoast Mission is developing plans to move its administrative headquarters out of the Colket Center in Bar Harbor. In a letter mailed Monday, July 17, 2017, President Scott Planting outlined reasons for the move to Mission supporters and donors:

It is with mixed feelings that I tell you that the Mission plans to move its administrative headquarters out of its beloved Colket Center in Bar Harbor, which was donated in 1972. Its value having appreciated significantly over the years, we will transform this remarkable asset into valuable support for the Mission’s programs and services.

The Mission’s first “headquarters” in 1905 was a house on Ledgelawn Avenue. Mission founders Alexander and Angus McDonald spent much of their time sailing to and from communities on Maine islands on the sloop Hope. Since then, always with an eye toward excellent asset stewardship, the Mission has made careful changes, while honoring its mission through its programs and services.

We are grateful to Ruth and Tristram Colket, whose generosity over four decades ago has provided an outstanding home for the Mission’s staff and activities and who have been unwavering supporters over the years. Ever visionary, Ruth and Tris put the Mission first, and we are deeply grateful, President Planting said in his letter.

By taking thoughtful and bold actions, such as transforming property into financial resources for programs and services for the future, the Maine Seacoast Mission is building on over a century of service to Maine communities.

[Photo Attachment: Volunteers at work in the Mission’s Housing Rehabilitation Program. Courtesy Scott Shaw, Maine Seacoast Mission.)

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MDI High School Senior Drew Rich Awarded Angus MacDonald Scholarship

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BAR HARBOR, ME – Maine Seacoast Mission is proud to announce Mount Desert Island High School senior Drew Rich as recipient of the Misson’s third Angus MacDonald Scholarship. Mr. Rich plans to attend the University of Miami and pursue a computer science degreee.

The Angus MacDonald Scholarship, named for one of the Maine Seacoast Mission founders, grants recipients $3,000 per year for four years of post-secondary education. This scholarship is awarded to a student who has demonstrated superior scholastic achievement, possess a high degree of personal integrity, has actively participated in extracurricular and community activities, and has shown leadership qualities and a strong work ethic.

Maine Seacoast Mission President Scott Planting said, “The Mission’s scholarship program dates back to the early 1900’s. In addition to the Angus MacDonald Scholarship, the Mission awards approximately 25 other four-year college scholarships each year. Sunbeam Scholarships are granted to graduates of Maine high schools on the Downeast coast. The Ed Greaves Educational Center Scholarship is granted to a student who has been active in the Mission’s EDGE Youth Development Program.

“In 2017, the Mission’s new and renewal scholarship awards will total approximately $145,000,” said President Planting.

For more information about Maine Seacoast Mission Scholarships contact Scholarship Administrator Terri Rodick at trodick@seacoastmission.org or 207-288-5097.

Or visit the Mission online at https://seacoastmission.org/home/what_we_do/scholarships/

NAMI Offering Islands Telemed/Zoom Suicide Prevention Talk, July 27

Posted on by Scott Fish
NAMI Clinical Director Greg Marley

BAR HARBOR, ME – National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) clinical director Greg Marley will offer a presentation on suicide prevention from the Mission Telemed/ZOOM room at the Colket Center on July 27th at 4 pm. Director Marley’s presentation will be viewed on Islesford and Great Cranberry Island.

Margaret Snell, Island Health Associate says Marley’s “presentation is geared toward the island communities, especially leaders or those who are likely to respond to a person in crisis (EMT, clergy, etc).”

NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for Americans affected by mental illness.

For more information contact Director of Island Health Sharon Daley, RN or 287-5097.

Howie Motenko Thanks Rob Benson for Help with ‘Painting Islands’ Project

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L-R: Rob Benson and Howie Motenko (Photo by Ann Cox Halkett)

Artist Howie Motenko with former Sunbeam minister Rob Benson at the Artist’s Opening Reception at the Colket Center, Thursday, July 6, 2017. Mr. Motenko presented Mr. Benson one of his light painting photos from Matinicus. Benson was instrumental in suggesting Motenko’s “Painting Islands” project in collaboration with Mission Island Outreach director Douglas Cornman and the Sunbeam V..

A Guitar and a Kind Heart

Posted on by Scott Fish
Nancy and guitar. (Photo courtesy Marilyn Nickson)

Cherryfield, ME — The Mission’s June 6 Facebook post opened with: ‘Guitar Lost in House Fire, Seeking Replacement.’ Marilyn Nickson, Downeast Campus Community Coordinator, wondered if someone had “a guitar out there in good condition that might find a home” with an 80-year old woman who “lost everything some time ago in a house fire,” including her “prize possession” guitar.

Well, an secret angel with a guitar and a kind heart had a guitar for the woman we now know is Nancy.

Marilyn Nickson reconnected with Nancy a few days ago. “She was so happy! She’s been playing [guitar] since she was 15, she tells me. She wanted to thank the donor,” Marilyn said in an email accompanying this photo.

Thank you, as well, on behalf of Maine Seacoast Mission.

Sunbeam V Scheduled for Island Telemedicine Visits June 20th-22nd

Posted on by Scott Fish

Please check the Sunbeam Island Services Schedule Calendar for any schedule changes due to weather conditions or other considerations.

Questions about Island Health Services and Telemedicine? Please contact Director of Island Health Services Sharon Daley, RN.

For other inquiries about the Sunbeam, contact Director of Island Outreach Douglas Cornman.

Sunbeam Admires Chopper Pilot’s Skill at Saddleback Ledge Light

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“I think that it was a routine maintenance stop. They lowered a bunch of stuff in a basket and then a crew went in the lighthouse. I can’t believe that they were able to get the chopper on that ledge. It is only as big as you see in the picture. The helicopter is from Sandwich, MA.” (Photo and report by Sunbeam V Captain Michael Johnson, June 8, 2017)

Saddleback Ledge Light is a lighthouse on Saddleback Ledge, an islet lying between Isle au Haut and Vinalhaven, Maine, in the middle of the southeastern entrance to Penobscot Bay.