An Unusual Fashion Show

A glimpse into the past

An unusual fashion show scheduled Saturday, May 19, will offer local women a glimpse into the past. “A Day in the Life … Notable Women of Belfast and Their Fashions,” sponsored by the Women of St. Margaret’s Church and the Belfast Historical Society and Museum, will reveal not only the vintage attire and accessories women favored at the turn of the last century, but also their attitudes, charities and politics.

Megan Pinette, historical society president, will provide a running commentary about women’s clothing, community contributions and concerns while 14 local women and girls model more than two dozen outfits — tea dresses, formal gowns, “walking ensembles” and nightwear. The dresses and all the pertinent accessories – hats, gloves, fans, parasols, shawls — come from several private collections in Belfast and from the museum’s own stock.

“I’m going to talk about how a certain class of women, the upper class, went beyond being involved in granges and church societies to become involved with social problems,” said Pinette. She will tell how Belfast women, like their counterparts in more urban areas, started focusing on improving their city, first by cleaning it up, clearing it of trash, then by aiding the lives of those who needed help. They started the Girls Home for orphans and girls who could no longer live at home. They saw to their education as well as their housing.

“These were the women who provided the money for building St. Margaret’s Church, for building the reading room at the library… the improvements to the Crosby School,” said Pinette. “And then there was the whole suffrage movement, they were very active in that.” Pinette will tell of the first Belfast woman to register to vote in 1920 – Essie Carle. Four hundred others followed her lead that year.

Pinette has a favorite among the dresses to be shown, a ball gown worn by Louise Johnson Pratt, the wife of Admiral William V. Pratt, one of the top ranking officers in the U.S. Navy. “She was the first president of the Belfast Suffrage League and she had this wonderful pink satin and velvet and rhinestone ball gown made by the House of Worth in Paris, France. She paid $400 in gold for it, a one-of-a-kind designer dress that she wore for a presidential ball,” said Pinette. Too fragile to be modeled, it will be displayed on a mannequin.

Among the garments to be modeled are a black satin beaded dress, a black velour dress with lace and colored flowers, a green lace dress, a white lace dress with bias striping, several cutwork and lace tea dresses, a black velvet long-sleeved gown and a nightgown with pink night cap.

The idea for the fashion show came from Chris Urick and Carol Whittle of St. Margaret’s Church. They’d organized a Vintage Bridal Show two years ago as a fundraiser. The response was enthusiastic. The show sold out in advance. “We thought we’d do something similar but not limit it to bridal outfits,” said Urick. So when she and Whittle heard Pinette’s presentation to the garden club last October about the Belfast Village Improvement Society, it clicked. “We asked Megan if she would be willing to collaborate with us on a vintage fashion show and give a talk about the prominent women of Belfast during that era,” said Urick.

The show will be at St. Margaret’s Parish House, 95 Court St., Belfast, at 2 p.m. May 19. The Women of St. Margaret’s will serve lemonade and cupcakes. Tickets, $10, are limited and available in advance by calling Whittle at 338-5148. Proceeds will benefit both the Belfast Historical Society and St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and its charities.

Russian and Ukrainian foods for next potluck (May 12)

St. Margaret’s 21st Global Cuisine Potluck supper will be Saturday, May 12th, and will feature Russian and Ukrainian foods and pastries. Think beef stroganoff, beet borscht, kasha, pierogi, pumpernickel and Apple Sharlotka (Apple Charlotte). Recipes for all these and more are now on the Time and Talent Table.
Russian Cuisine dates back to the 10th Century, according to the website Russian-Plus.com. The abundance of rivers, lakes and forests meant the first dishes were made from fish, game, mushrooms and berries. People planted grains like rye, wheat, barley and buckwheat from which they made grain porridges, a traditional national dish. According to Russian-Plus, “Russians eat porridge throughout their lives… an old saying goes: ‘Porridge is our mother, bread is our father.”
From the earliest times, people used dough to make noodles, pelmeni (meat-stuffed dumplings that originated in Siberia) and pumpernickel bread. Later they would plant turnip, cabbage, radish, peas and cucumbers and eat them raw, baked or steamed, sometimes salted and marinated. “Potatoes did not appear until the 18th Century,” according to Russian-Plus, “and tomatoes not until the 19th.” Until then, salads were not part of the diet.
Recipes for salads developed in the 20th Century are included in the folder on the Time and Talent Table. Help yourself to any of them or provide one you know for others to try. Dinner will be at 6. Bring a beverage and a friend who wants to try something new.

A Step back into Victorian times

The Women of St. Margaret’s and the Belfast Historical Society and Museum invite the women of Belfast to join them Saturday, May 19, at 2 p.m. for a special fashion show of vintage clothing from the turn of the century.

“A Day in the Life … Notable Women of Belfast and Their Fashion” will be accompanied by lemonade and cupcakes in St. Margaret’s Parish House at 95 Court Street, starting at 2 p.m. While Megan Pinette, historical society president, provides running commentary on the clothing and contributions of influential women of Belfast,  14 local women and girls will model more than two dozen vintage gowns, tea dresses, walking ensembles, nightwear and undergarments.

Tickets, $10, are limited and must be purchased in advance. Call 338-5148. For more information click on “Vintage Fashion Show and Talk.”

Shannon Coombs trying on a dress during the fitting session

Book Group News

The Book Group will be meeting May 9th at 1 p.m. in the library of the Parish House. We will be discussing The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory.

Diocesan Haiti Quarterly Meeting at St. Margaret’s

St. Margaret’s will host the quarterly meeting of the Maine Diocesan Haiti Committee on Saturday, April 28 from 10:30 to 12:30. This is a good chance for anyone interested in learning more about our Haitian relationships throughout the diocese without driving very far. Also, while we do not need to serve lunch, we will be providing essentially a coffee hour set-up or so, and I would welcome a couple of volunteers to help and bake. Please let John Arrison know if you can help at 338-4605 orarrison@myfairpoint.net.

Women of St. Margaret’s meeting

The Women of St. Margaret’s will be meeting Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at 1 p.m. to discuss our joint venture with Belfast Historical Society (Vintage Fashion Show and Narrative scheduled May 19, 2012 in our Parish Hall), the Bishopswood campership funds, and Memorial Garden maintenance, among other topics. All women of St. Margaret’s are welcome!

An invitation to participate in Diocese of Maine’s Mutual Study of Ministry

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Diocese of Maine,

I would like to ask your help.

Bishop Lane has been with us for several years now.  His ministry is a challenging and complicated one: he is our chief pastor, crisis manager, prophet, administrator, liaison to the larger church, and more.

One of the ways we can support his ministry is to say “thank you,” words I hope the Bishop hears regularly.

Another way we can support his ministry is to help him know how we perceive his work.  What is most effective?  Where might a different approach be helpful?

The survey that is linked below is the first step in the Mutual Study of Ministry that your Standing Committee is doing along with the Bishop.  Would you set aside 15 minutes to offer your appreciation and your suggestions?  The check boxes will be helpful in getting an overview, but the comments are at least as important.

Whether you are a life-long Episcopalian or have only attended your church for a few years, we would like to hear from as many people across the diocese as possible. While we ask some demographic questions at the end of the survey, we do not ask you to identify yourself or your congregation.

After the survey responses are in, we’ll continue the process with a small number of in-person interviews with folks in the diocese.  We’ll talk to a sampling of people who have experience with the Bishop.  But this will only be a sampling.  The survey is our chance to hear from everyone.

Later in the year we’ll report to the diocese on what we and the Bishop have learned from this process.

But first it’s time to listen to you.  We look forward to reading what you have to offer.  Your responses would be most helpful if we receive them by May 1.

Easter blessings,
Michael Ambler+
President, The Standing Committee

click to Take the Survey!

Dear Friends in Christ:Working with the diocesan Standing Committee, I’m about to take part in a Mutual Study of Ministry (MSM) of my work and the work of my office. This is the second Mutual Study of Ministry undertaken since I was elected your bishop, and I’m eager to begin this process.A MSM is an opportunity to stand back from the work at hand and to ask ourselves, “How’s it going?” Are we doing the work Christ has called us to do?  Are being clear about moving forward?  Do we know what we hope to accomplish together? Are we working together effectively? Are there insights about how we might make the work more creative and responsive?In these rapidly changing times, a MSM helps us be self-conscious about what we’re doing, how we are doing it, and where we’re going.

The MSM will have two parts: 1) a broad web-based survey of the people of the diocese for any who might wish to take part; and 2) in-depth interviews of about 20 persons identified by the Standing Committee. In addition, members of diocesan staff will be interviewed about their work with and for the bishop.

The Standing Committee has called the Rev. Thad Bennett, consultant to various ministries in the Episcopal Church and with the Episcopal Church Foundation, to assist us in our work. Thad has crafted the survey and will assist with interviews. Thad will also help collate the data from the surveys and interviews and will present the findings to me and to the Standing Committee. The MSM is beginning now and will be completed by mid-June.

I’m excited about this opportunity to review where we’re going, and I encourage each of you to take part. Questions about this process may be addressed to me or to the Standing Committee. We will share our learnings with you later this year.

Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane
Bishop of Maine

Russian for May at Global Cuisine Potluck

Photos from reception following Easter Vigil service on Saturday, April 7.

Thanks to Sue Garrett for the following photos taken at Saturday’s reception.

Read and Hear Martha’s Sermon from Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012

(To print out this sermon, click here for a .pdf file.)

Click here for a podcast of the sermon.

Click here for a podcast of the sermon sources.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church
Easter Sunday
April 8, 2012
Isa. 25:6-9; Ps. 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Cor. 15:1-11; John 20:1-18

“Hints to Pierce the Heart”

We proclaim “Christ is Risen!” Time Magazine has a cover article called “Rethinking Heaven. Jesus appears on the cover of Newsweek. It must be Easter. We argue about who Jesus is, his divinity, what his message is, what it means for us, and we do so, often intensely, and sometimes, tragically, with violence and hatred. We argue about whose idea of Jesus is more true. We argue over intellectual ideas, doctrines, creeds, perhaps, that we recite, or refuse to. We decide whether or not we will give our mental assent to certain intellectual, religious claims.

The resurrection can’t be argued with abstractions. We need to go deeper to know its truth. Most of us, perhaps even all of us, have experienced a sense of the spiritual. This isn’t a processing of information from the outside, but an inner knowing. I hope it happens to you in church. Or maybe you sense the Holy being out in God’s creation. Or being fully present to another’s suffering, or doing something you totally love, where you lose yourself in the pure joy of it. Something moves in us, and we get a glimpse that there is something at work that is much bigger than we are, much more than we can see. Consider, for a moment, that that movement inside you is an encounter with God, God is trying to get your attention, speaking to you in the language of love, through an open channel, intimately yours and yours alone.

This personal encounter is a necessary starting place for today’s gospel. These three people – Peter, the unnamed “disciple whom Jesus loved,” and Mary Magdalene – weren’t dealing in abstract ideas about Jesus that early, pre-dawn Easter morning. Each one of them had a relationship with the person Jesus of Nazareth. They had followed him, traveled with him, broken bread with him, ridden with him into Jerusalem that final week. Watched him suffer and die. They come to the tomb when it is still dark. The sky hasn’t lightened, the earth awaits. But they think they know what the day will bring. Sorrow, grief, fear, fleeing the Romans. They came into Jerusalem with Jesus at the beginning of the Passover Feast with high expectation. A few days later it is over.

That morning they aren’t expecting an empty tomb any more than you or I would. And upon finding it, their first thought would be that the body of Jesus had been stolen in an act of hate. We the reader, stand with Mary, Peter, and the disciple Jesus loved, at a point where everything seems to have been lost. We stand with them as they catch the first glimpse, have their first sense that what has been going on is much bigger than they had ever imagined.

We know the least about the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” We don’t know who he was. We know that he reclined next to Jesus during the disciples’ final meal with Jesus, the last supper, perhaps with his head on Jesus’ shoulder. We know that as Jesus hung on the cross, Jesus gave this disciple to Mary his mother, and his mother to the disciple. “Here is your mother,” and “Woman, here is your son.” And this morning, in the cave, the gospel tells us that this disciple is the first “to believe.” This isn’t a head thing. The gospel tells us this when it says “for as yet they did not understand the scripture.” He simply stepped into the cave and saw a few scraps of cloth, the linen wrappings and in another place, the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. That little bit of evidence is all he needs. He senses, intuits in his heart, that something had happened to Jesus and that it is the work of God.

And then we have Peter. We don’t know what Peter thought when he stepped into the cave and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but we can imagine what he was feeling, what he had felt all the previous day. This was the man who, a couple of days earlier at their last meal had promised Jesus, with all his heart and soul, that he would never betray him, and he meant it. He had the best of intentions. And the very next day he denies knowing Jesus three times. Peter fails Jesus, and himself. He didn’t stand up for his friend like he thought he would. He gets in over his head, in a situation he’s not prepared for. He probably felt utterly vulnerable and afraid, alone, his primary source of strength arrested, bound and threatened. He does what he probably thinks he needs to do to survive. Then realizes what he has done. Oh, no. O, God. It’s done and he can’t change it. Maybe he heard the echo of those words, “One of you will betray me.” “Oh, God. It was me!” That night, there were two betrayals, Peter’s, and Judas’s. But they come to very different ends. When Judas realized what he had done, he despaired. When Peter realized what he had done, he too despaired, but he doesn’t stay there. We know that Peter hung in there long enough to realize and to accept forgiveness. He would become “the Rock” on which Jesus would establish his church. According to legend, eventually he was able to follow Jesus so faithfully that he willingly laid down his life for him. Peter lived up to his promises.ⁱ This moment in the empty cave could well have been the beginning of a glimpse of a change for Peter. A whisper of forgiveness, an assurance of love in and through it all, a promise of a new beginning.

Mary Magdalene was one of the women who stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. She was probably not far when his body was taken down and placed in the tomb. She has probably come bearing precious spices to anoint the body, the first one there. Ever vigilant, ever steadfast. She bore witness when others had deserted Jesus. “Woman, why are you weeping?” She doesn’t go into the tomb. She is so overcome with grief and loss that it is all she can feel. We all know what that feels like. When we lose someone we love, the love itself is caught in a death grip of grief, and it’s all we can feel. Mary so longs for the physical reality of Jesus that she doesn’t recognize him.

Yesterday someone emailed me this poem by Patricia Campbell Carlson called “Mary of Magdala”:

It’s no use weeping endlessly at the Tomb
wanting the body back in the grave clothes
so your poor tired shoulders can recall
Him breathing by your side. Even a corpse
undisturbed eventually melts to dust.
Since when were senses anything more
than extravagant hints to pierce the heart?
Turn, turn around: The angels are not the only
ones who ask why you weep. Listen now, and
look at the Gardener full in the face. Does anyone
else speak your name in quite that beloved tone?

Jesus speaks her name, and Mary sees it is Jesus, and she flings herself toward him. She still wants the bodily Jesus. But Jesus, having revealed who he is to her in a way that she could see, gives her her most profound lesson: “Don’t hold onto me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and say to them “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary was still clinging to a physical person, a particular story and its tragic ending. Only when her perspective shifts could she see a new reality.

Each of these three, and the other disciples over the next 40 days, get the vision of Jesus they need to open the eyes of the heart. Thomas, who we’ll hear about next week, has a visceral doubt and receives a full visceral resurrection experience.ⁱⁱ They all make the shift from a reality that needs a physical presence to sustain it, to the naked immediacy and intimacy of love, heart to heart.

In many ways, the job is harder for us, this opening of the heart, feeling and trusting this inner knowing. We’re the ones who “haven’t seen, and yet believe.” “Belief” meaning “I give my heart to.” The spiritual truth, the realm of God, which we can only glimpse, that at times seems so far removed from our ever-present, gritty, tangible reality, is at all times very near to us. But we are blinded by grief, or remorse, or lack of information. And yet we all are hungry for encounter with God. Still seeking, still questioning, still wondering.

I think what Jesus wants so much for us to know, and what his passage from death to life means to demonstrate to us, is that the walls between the realm of our perceived reality and the realm of God are paper thin.ⁱⁱⁱ It is the intimate place, the place of the heart, where God speaks our name. I believe that God is always sending us these messages, if we can clear the channels. We begin to grasp this by keeping our hearts attuned, as the disciples did, through loving service to each other and to the world.^iv The promise of the resurrection is that Jesus’ physical death, and ours, and the death of loved ones, poses no interruption to the intimacy of our connectedness. This is what we proclaim: that our whole universe is profoundly permeated with the presence of Christ. Thanks be to God! Amen.

ⁱ The Rev. Lowell Grisham, Blog for Good Friday, April 6, 2012, at: http://lowellsblog.blogspot.com.
ⁱⁱ Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Jesus (Boston and London: Shambala, 2008), 131.
ⁱⁱⁱ Bourgeault, 133.
^iv Bourgeault, 131.