New Sweden parish tries to heal Small congregation quietly hopes for answers in arsenic case

NEW SWEDEN – The last two weeks have been a time of struggle for the people of northern Maine’s Swedish Colony, and while there have been some happy moments, better times seem to hinge on the work of the Maine State Police investigating the arsenic poisoning of 16 people that occurred two weeks ago at a local church.

More than 65 people, less than half of last week’s number, gathered Sunday at the Gustaf Adolph Evangelical Lutheran Church. Unlike last week’s Sunday service, there were no police in attendance, and there was no social luncheon afterward.

Included in the congregation were the eight parish members who were patients at Cary Medical Center in Caribou, members of the family of Walter Reid Morrill, 78, who died from arsenic poisoning, and members of the family of Daniel Bondeson, who committed suicide after the mass poisoning on April 27 and who police have said was partially responsible.

The service was led by the Rev. Hans R. Arnesen, associate to the bishop of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Community members still have a hard time believing that Bondeson, 53, could have been involved, Arnesen said Sunday. It’s the same feeling they have about other people in the community.

Stephen McCausland, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman, said there was nothing new in the investigation over the weekend. FBI agents assisting with profiling and human behavioral sciences left the area Saturday.

In an incident that drew international attention, 16 church members were poisoned when they drank arsenic-laced coffee at a church gathering. Morrill died shortly afterward, and 15 others were hospitalized. Seven remain hospitalized at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

One church member asked Sunday that victims and all family members involved in the incident be left alone by reporters. A photographer was asked to leave his equipment outside.

After the service, everyone left quickly and quietly. Many victims had to return to a Caribou hospital after the service for daily medical testing, and others were headed to Mother’s Day gatherings.

During the service, Arnesen named all of the poisoning victims and asked for prayers for them and their families.

“It has been a bittersweet week,” Arnesen said in the opening of his sermon. “On the one hand, there has been terrific news about the improvement of almost all of those who were poisoned two weeks ago.

“It has been a week of good news on the health front,” he said. “But it has also been a week of wondering and worrying and wild speculation.”

The minister said people are intent on moving on, “but I can see and feel the tension in the community.”

“I can see the sadness in people’s eyes as we talk,” he said. “I see furrowed brows and vacant glances out the windows. The question that has been on everyone’s mind is: How could this be happening to us? How could this happen here?”

After the 75-minute service, Arnesen said the situation continues to be difficult for the 620 people in the small town because the police investigation still is open.

“If the investigation does not answer all the questions, there will be a lot of healing to be done, and it will be harder for people to find resolution and healing,” Arnesen, who oversees 76 churches in the Northeast, said. “Over time, people will reconnect and rebuild trust with one another.”

A Communion table, donated to the church by the Bondeson family, was used during the service. The 2-by-4-foot wooden table has the words “In Remembrance of Me” carved across the front.

It has been reported that the table, along with talk of combining small church parishes, may be involved in the “church dynamics” that police are looking into as a motive for the poisoning.

“Talk about the Communion table has been blown out of proportion,” Arnesen said. “People are trying to get at a reason why the poisoning happened.”

When there isn’t an answer to a situation, speculation can run wild, and that creates a “sense of distrust,” Arnesen commented.

In the end, he said, the people of New Sweden are resilient – some say stubborn – but they will persevere.

Arnesen pointed to the work done recently at the homes of the poisoning victims as a testament to continuing work in the church. A group of people cleaned yards and the exterior of homes on Thursday and Friday. Arnesen said he didn’t know who was involved or how the effort got going.

This week, a group is getting together to clean out the church parsonage in hopes that rotating pastors from other parishes will serve the congregation, which has been without a permanent pastor for two years.

Arnesen said private meetings have been held at a Stockholm church and in homes during which people are allowed to share with each other.

“It’s kind of a debriefing process, on a smaller scale than happened at 9-11 in New York,” he said, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “People share with one another in an informal setting.

“Affected families are supported by others, and that helps,” he said.