Pen Bay Pilot
Without an Agenda: Talking with the Crew of the ‘Sunbeam’ Pt 2
By Eva Murray – Tuesday, April 2, 2019
…Sunbeam steward Jillian…. [H]er domain is the galley, from where she feeds crew and visitors alike. Sometimes islanders are invited aboard for supper, but all through the day working islanders stop in for coffee break and to raid the famous cookie jar.
You don’t have to have an identified need to come aboard and be helped to feel good, and that’s largely the responsibility of the cook. The sense of community helped along by a good meal is not lost on Jillian….
“Seven years ago we started our regular community supper in Cherryfield, and for seven years every Sunday we’ve served a free meal. I just learned the value of just sitting with your neighbor and eating at a big table. People love to come together. Providing a meal for people is an honor and I love the simplicity of it.”
I said to Jillian, “Your role and the role of every steward before you has been larger than your bosses may know. You’re not just here to support the crew, but you’re here to support us all in an abstract sense. You provide the service that is the hardest to measure.”
She replied, with a grin “Not really—you cut a pie into eight pieces!”
For More Information
Contact – Scott K Fish, Mission Communication & Marketing [email protected] or 207-458-7185
Maine Seacoast Mission Finalizes Sale of La Rochelle HQ; Looks Forward to the Future
BAR HARBOR, ME — One door closes, more open. La Rochelle, the longtime Bar Harbor headquarters of the Maine Seacoast Mission, was sold on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 to the Bar Harbor Historical Society. With the sale, the Mission says a fond farewell to a special part of its history, while looking forward with enthusiasm to the future.
Proceeds from the sale will be placed in the Mission endowment.
“We’re treating this transfer of assets as an investment in the Mission’s long-term future,” said Mission President John Zavodny. “From now on, La Rochelle will be part of every student we help send to college, every bite of fresh produce at our Cherryfield food pantry, and every islander who gets medical help through the Sunbeam V. We are most grateful to the Colket family for the enduring gift of La Rochelle,” said President Zavodny.
The Mission’s new office in Northeast Harbor will carry on the Colket Center name. For the first time the Mission headquarters and the Sunbeam V will be in one place. The commute to-and-from the Mission’s Downeast Campus in Cherryfield stays the same.
Zavodny expects to move to the Northeast Harbor location in 2020. Meanwhile, the Mission will lease space in La Rochelle from the historical society.
Mission Board Chair Stacey Smith said, “As Colket Center rooms emptied and Mission artifacts were packed away, our minds were on the generous support and compassionate leadership of Ruth and Tris Colket.
“My most treasured memories of this house center around the lively Mission Board of Director’s discussions at the dining room table. Conversations that helped develop programs like EdGE and the current Sunbeam V refit.
“Change is hard, excitement is contagious. I am very excited to see what the future holds for the Mission,” said Stacey Smith.
Meanwhile, all Mission contact information — email addresses, phone numbers, social media pages, and web site will stay the same.
Mission Island Health Director Sharon Daley, RN. (Photo courtesy Eva Murray)
Pen Bay Pilot
Without an Agenda: talking with the crew of the ‘Sunbeam’ – Part 2
By Eva Murray – Posted: Tuesday, April 2, 2019 – 1:45pm
I brought up how March on an island has classically been considered the hardest time, and asked, “Do you see a seasonal impact on people in terms of depression?”
Sharon’s reply was particularly interesting to me, and it defied the stereotype of the “long lonely winter.”
“I see August as also being hard for people on all the islands.” (Hearing these words from her made me smile, as I personally feel the stress of the intensely busy summer much more acutely than any stress from a low population, even though that issue gets little media attention in Maine). “The population on every island doubles (or more,) and everybody’s working really hard, and having so many people around always needing a lot of things can be really hard. By August, people are ready for it to be quieter.”
I could have hugged her. We hear a lot about the impacts on mood and mental health of isolation and long winters, but less about the sense of being overwhelmed, overworked, or “always on call” during a Maine coast summer.
ABOARD THE SUNBEAM V, ME — Mission President John Zavodny in the Sunbeam V wheelhouse with Capt. Michael Johnson. President Zavodny and Mission Director of Development Christine Stelling are out with the Sunbeam crew for a few days this week for Island Health Director Sharon Daley’s telemedicine trip.
This trip gives Stelling and Zavodny a chance to see the Sunbeam and crew in action, to introduce themselves to some of the unbridged island communities.
ABOARD THE SUNBEAM, ME — Buzz Scott & Paul Savoy of OceansWide, a non-profit organization whose mission is to put students and scientists together at sea in the Gulf of Maine, helped the school students from Islesford and Great Cranberry Islands explore the water and seabed around their islands using OceansWide’s underwater remote operated vehicle.
Each student learned how to fly the ROV (remotely operated vehicle), and was given time to explore to their heart’s delight. It was a beautiful day on the water, a great day for learning.
Thanks Buzz, Paul and OceansWide for freely sharing your knowledge and love of our beautiful ocean.
Every so often, someone makes our day, sending us a note from our website, sharing new pieces of Mission history. These two recent messages are examples.
I was going through some my wife’s things and came across the book, “The Light of a Sunbeam,” written in 1993 by Cecil Mac Donald. It’s about the Mac Donald family tree [and] the formation of the Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society.
My wife is related to the Mac Donald family. Apparently she is the several “greats” granddaughter of Allan Mac Donald. We actually bought and live in her Great Aunt Maude Mac Donald’s home in California.
It is nice to find out Maine Seacoast Mission, founded over a hundred years ago, is still going.
David
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My mother, Charlena G. was born and raised on Louds Island and she told me that when she was a small child that she always looked forward to a visit from “Gods Little Tug Boat.” She passed away in 2001 and I am sure she is with God.
She always told me how the Seacoast Missionaries and the little church on the island affected her life. She was a good mother.
I am wondering if you might have a picture of the boat that would visit the island in the twenties and thirties. I would love to see it. Thank you for your attention and for the message that was brought to my mother by “Gods Little Tug Boat.” She passed it on to my brother and me.
