Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, begins this year on the evening of Sept. 12. Ten days later is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (at-one-ment), the holiest day of the year. This 10-day period is referred to as “aseret yemay teshuvah,” the 10 days of returning or… Read More
    I love words. As a writer, that’s a good thing, right? But, as a writer, I’m also aware of the power of words. My sister and I have been writing together for nearly 20 years. Before the advent of e-submissions (and rejections), I’d say we’re… Read More
    MILLINOCKET – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland will hold a Green Mass for environmental workers at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, at St. Martin of Tours. Bishop Richard J. Malone will preside at the event, the first of its kind in Maine. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    A tiny church on Orr’s Island is the only one in Maine that is part of the Adopt-a-Chaplain program. The group’s founder would like there to be more. The organization, based in San Jose, Calif., was started in 2005 by Daniel Hoebeke, who summers on… Read More
    BANGOR – Village Harmony, an acclaimed teen world music ensemble, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday at St. John’s Episcopal, 225 French St. The 24-member group, made up of young people from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, will perform American shape-note and… Read More
    ADDISON – The Friends of the Church on the Hill continues to plan for restoration and use of the Evangelical Union Church building on Ridge Road. The building was constructed in the 1860s and is on the National Historic Register. This is the third building… Read More
    Justin Fowler (BDN, Aug. 4) posits a thesis that’s sadly true when he writes about Christians’ dissent frequently overshadowing the things they have in common. The myriad schisms and divisions that have cropped up over the past 500 years have splintered the Christianity of the early church fathers… Read More
    WINSLOW – The Most Rev. Richard J. Malone, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, will receive the solemn profession of vows of Friar Rex Anthony Norris at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Church of St. John the Baptist, 14 Monument St. Read More
    BANGOR – The sixth annual production of the Bangor area Passion Play opens Friday at the Union Street Brick Church on the corner of Union and Main streets. This year, the dramatic presentation of the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus… Read More
    People love to disagree. I was reading a message board the other day. Everybody was arguing about whether it’s right to sterilize the pigeons in Hollywood. Apparently officials are going to put birth control pills in bird feeders. According to at least one anonymous poster, pigeons might one… Read More
    A component of Christian eschatology (the study of End Times) is the belief that a third Jewish Temple must be constructed on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount in Jerusalem) before Jesus’ return. This prophecy fits well with orthodox Jewish prayers that the longed-for reconstruction of Solomon’s Temple will… Read More
    The Rev. Marguerite A.H. Steadman will become St. John’s Episcopal Church’s 31st rector beginning Aug. 1, according to a press release from the Bangor church. Steadman and her family come to Bangor from Washington, D.C., where she served at Christ Church, Georgetown, for nearly 10 years as an… Read More
    Marjorie Campbell was given the 2007 Bishop Amedee Proulx Award on July 7 at St. Joseph Church in Hamlin for her “tireless, self-less works of mercy throughout her community,” according to a Catholic Charities Maine press release. State Rep. Bernard Ayotte also presented her with a special proclamation… Read More
    The Finnish Congregational Church held an informal groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, July 16, to announce the start of construction of its building. The next step will be to lift and move the historic structure in order to put a modern cement foundation underneath the building. This will feature… Read More
    It was March and I was headed up my favorite hiking trail. It goes straight up, maximum output for maximum views. I was starting up the trail early, but not early enough; there was another hiker already coming down. She looked confused, and when I saw this I… Read More
    At just after 5 p.m. EDT on June 14, 2007, Ruth Bell Graham died at her home in Montreat, N.C. Ruth was born in Kiangsu, China, where her parents were serving as medical missionaries. She was a mother of five, an author and poet, had founded a children’s… Read More
    The majority does not rule regarding religion As in her past communications, I have again admired the enthusiasm with which Brenda Norris approaches her religious faith (“One Nation, Under God or Gone Under,” Voices column, June 30). I share her appreciation of being able to… Read More
    The founder of the Jewish Reconstructionist movement was Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. His most famous book was first published in 1934 and is titled “Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American Jewish Life.” At the time, Rabbi Kaplan was a professor at the Jewish… Read More
    A Caswell woman is to be recognized this weekend with the 2007 Bishop Amedee Proulx Award from Catholic Charities Maine. This award was established to give recognition to an individual in Maine whose contributions reflect the mission of Catholic Charities Maine and foster the social teachings of Christ. Read More
    Apostolic Lighthouse Church will be host of Friend Day on July 29. While the church is at 517 Hammond St., Friend Day will be at the location of its planned new building on the corner of Union Street and Davis Road. A church service be held under a… Read More
    A Georgetown University professor and Middle East expert will speak on Mount Desert Island later this month in a discussion sponsored by Bangor’s Congregation Beth El. Ralph Nurnberger will speak at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 22, on “The Path to Peace in the Middle East: A Process to… Read More
    A few weeks ago, as I was on my way to do the morning chores, my sister pointed out an incredible phenomenon. Two jet trails crossed in the bright blue cloudless sky, creating a giant white “X” over our land. It was like a huge treasure map –… Read More
    The Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ is hosting 14 “missionaries” from the Evangelical and Reform Church of Honduras this summer. These 12 youth and two chaperones arrived more than a week ago to begin their stay by attending the General Synod of the United Church… Read More
    The People of Faith Bible Fellowship are celebrating their 25th anniversary. Events are planned July 6-8 at the church, which began in 1982 with small meetings over the Milbridge Town Hall. It has grown to include its own building, at 77 Back Bay Road, and a school, Faith… Read More
    CrossRoads Community Church will open its doors with a special celebration at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 1. The church will meet at the Occasions Meeting Room & Function Center, 140 Main St. The public is invited. For information, call Pastor Phil McGlauflin at 278-4588. Read More
    The First Baptist Church youth choir, a group of 25, has been on tour. It presented the musical “Yes, I Believe.” The group’s itinerary included stops in Waterville and communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The choir has been raising money for Kupenda, a Christian charity that meets… Read More
    Bangor Theological Seminary President William C. Imes was in New Jersey last week as part of a conference designed to help shape the way the clergy of tomorrow are trained. The Princeton Theological Seminary conference June 18-22 asked participants, including Imes, to share their views on how theological… Read More
    Bishop Richard J. Malone, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, has announced the following assignments to Catholic churches in Maine: The Rev. Wilfred Labbe, administrator of St. Ann, Bradley, and St. Ann, Indian Island, in addition to his current responsibilities as administrator of… Read More
    BANGOR – Majs. Douglas and Deborah Burr will lead their final worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 24, at the Salvation Army Community Worship Center, 65 S. Park St. The Burrs, who have served as the apostolic team at the center for seven years,… Read More
    Editor’s note: Final in a three-part series of essays on Buddhism. I recently finished teaching a seminar on Buddhism in America and had a strange encounter with a Zen Buddhist monk promoting his memoirs. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    The annual memorial for Charlie Howard will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 7, at the Hammond Street Congregational Church. After the service (about 7:15 p.m.), worshippers will walk to the State Street Bridge site near where Howard died 23 years ago. Howard was a gay man… Read More
    A summer concert series will begin Wednesday, June 27, at the Congregational Church on Main Street. Concerts will be held at 7 p.m. each Wednesday through Aug. 29. The first concert in July will be moved to Thursday, July 5, due to the observance of Independence Day. Pianist… Read More
    Abundant Life Church, 1404 Broadway, will hold an open house from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 24, to welcome its new senior co-pastors, Joshua Damon, 29, and his wife, Krystal Damon, 24, both of Bangor. She is a native of Carthage, Mo., and works as a registered… Read More
    Kevin Birch, director of music and organist at St. John’s Catholic Church in Bangor, will perform at the International Organ Festival in Berlin on June 29 and lecture on Saturday, July 7, about the historic E. & G.G. Hook organs in Maine. The organs were selected to illustrate… Read More
    Xoliswa April of the Nyanga township in Cape Town, South Africa, will give a lecture at noon Monday, June 18, at the Bangor Public Library. April, whose first name is pronounced “Co-lee-swa” will talk about growing up under the apartheid regime and the spiritual qualities that have brought… Read More
    The former director of the Washington, D.C., office of the American Friends Service Committee will speak about his 20 years on the job at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at the Camden Public Library. In his lecture, “An Over-the-Hill Quaker: Experiences in Faith-based Advocacy in Washington, D.C.,” Jim… Read More
    God or luck seems to have forsaken the Yankees this year, much to the pleasure of most folks up here. The worst part is that they should be good, but keep losing games they shouldn’t lose. Sabermetricians, people who study baseball statistics, have a theory. Read More
    When the High Meadows Quartet takes the stage next weekend in Blue Hill, the Maine group will be performing on the heels of the nationally renowned southern gospel act that has inspired much of their musical ministry. The Kingsmen of Candler, N.C., have been singing… Read More
    A “Captivated Bold and Beautiful” conference for girls between 12 and 19 will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at Jeff’s Catering. Sponsored by Cross-Connected.net, a group that helps local churches network, the daylong event will include a fashion show and beauty makeovers. Read More
    A summer concert series will begin Wednesday, June 27, at the Congregational Church on Main Street. Concerts will be held at 7 p.m. each Wednesday through Aug. 29. The first concert in July will be moved to Thursday, July 5, due to the observance of Independence Day. Pianist… Read More
    Editor’s note: Second in a three-part series of essays on Buddhism. Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) has a rather large role to play in the Buddhist story. Like a lot of artists, thinkers and poets before him, Kerouac was a sort of “exemplary spirit.” Jack somehow personified… Read More
    Bishop Peter Weaver, the head of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, has announced pastor assignments for churches in Maine. The following ministers at congregations listed by town will begin their tenures effective July 1: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    Though few in this country have heard about it, there is a storm brewing over a message penned by a revered Israeli rabbi mystic and what it implies for both Jewish and Christian believers. Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri died more than a year ago after… Read More
    Summer is nearly upon us. The trade-off to our long, dark Northeast winters has burst forth in a full and flowering spring, a season colored with shades of green found nowhere else and never in such splendid variety. We have rain, yes, but also skies… Read More
    Editor’s note: First in a three-part series of essays on Buddhism. I sit at my desk with Emerson’s essays – first series – on my right-hand side. The volume is over a hundred years old. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
    Daniel Baillargeon will be ordained today at Holy Family Catholic Church in Old Town. A teacher for some 20 years at Berwick Academy, Baillargeon, 54, then spent five years working in a mental health substance abuse agency. A news release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland says… Read More
    Congregation Beth El, 183 French St., elected new board members May 6. Most board members serve two-year terms. The new officers of Bangor’s Reform synagogue include Maxine Harrow, president; David Simonds, vice president; Mary-Anne Saxl, secretary; Jonathan Rubin, treasurer; Shellie Batuski, membership; Andrew Matlins, program; Joelle Siegel, youth;… Read More
    The outgoing leader of the National Council of Churches, the Rev. Bob Edgar, has been named head of Common Cause, a national advocacy group. The national governing board of Common Cause announced Tuesday it had elected Edgar president and CEO to succeed Chellie Pingree, a former state legislator… Read More
    The title of Jim Lovejoy’s memoir says it all: “Many Call Me Father, But My Kids Call Me Dad – The Life Story of a Married Catholic Priest.” Lovejoy left the Catholic clergy in 1971 to marry Jackie, a former nun. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    Jennifer Emrich will be ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry in a service Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Castine. Emrich is to graduate this weekend from Bangor Theological Seminary. An occasional Voices columnist for the Bangor Daily News, Emrich has interned with the Unitarian Universalist Society… Read More
    Church of Our Father in Hulls Cove says it has made a commitment to become a Great Commission Church. By adopting that goal, the church says, it has participated in two mission trips to help people in need. To help support its mission plans, the church is planning… Read More
    The Rev. Michelle Grube, pastor of People’s United Methodist Church in Union and Searsmont United Methodist Church, recently completed her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Maine in Orono. She worked on her degree for three years, including an internship in Rockland, while serving her… Read More
    One of the more flaky notions of Dan Brown’s flaky novel “The Da Vinci Code” is the implication that Jesus’ physical body, his flesh-and-blood DNA, would convey something remarkable to any children he might have fathered. The whole fabric of Brown’s story, in fact, is… Read More
    A member of the First Baptist Church, 56 Center St., marked National Day of Prayer on Thursday by slipping symbolic bookmarks onto the pews at the church. The person didn’t want to be identified. But the pastor, the Rev. Stephanie Salinias, said the donor is a longtime member. Read More
    Orrington Center Church will hold an installation service for its new pastor, the Rev. Daniel Packer, at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 6. After spending 12 years managing credit unions in Michigan and New York, Packer felt called to pastoral ministry. He has served as pastor of churches in… Read More
    According to the anthropological timeline, we did the hunter-gatherer thing long before we did the agriculture thing. Those old hunter-gatherers lived awful, violent, short lives. They were what we call simple people. They didn’t have huge, complex economic systems with paper money and stocks and… Read More
    Have you heard any stories about the “old country”? Why did your family come to the Rockland-Camden area? What was it like growing up Jewish in this area? If you are intrigued by any of these questions, you are invited to participate in a meeting at 7 p.m. Read More
    Brooksville artist Robert Shetterly will be among the participants in a May 5 benefit called Voices for Peace. Shetterly is the creator of the Americans Who Tell the Truth series of paintings. He will join the Voices for Peace choir and others in an event at 7 p.m. Read More
    Orrington Center Church will hold an installation service for its new pastor, the Rev. Daniel Packer, at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 6. After spending 12 years managing credit unions in Michigan and New York, Packer felt called to pastoral ministry. He has served as pastor of churches in… Read More
    Youth from two Belfast churches participated last week in a 30-hour “famine,” or series of events designed to raise awareness of hunger problems. Youth from First Baptist Church, High Street, began to fast after a meal together at noon April 20 and completed their fast at 6 p.m. Read More
    An Orland man has become a member of the board of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office, located at UN Plaza in New York. Kent Price was elected recording secretary of the board. He also will serve as co-chairman of the board’s communications committee. A recognized nongovernmental organization… Read More
    Congregation Beth El will host a vegetarian potluck Shabbat dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, May 4, followed by a special “user-friendly” Shabbat worship service at 7:30 p.m. It is part of Shabbat Across America, a night for Jews to celebrate the Sabbath together. The dinner is free, but… Read More
    Bishop Rick Callahan of Maranatha Ministerial Fellowship International will visit Midcoast Christian Fellowship. A member of the International Coalition of Apostles, Callahan will speak on the subject of sabbatical. He will minister at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the fellowship, 21 Patterson Hill Road. Call 338-5899. Read More
    Neighborhood Church, 263 Texas Ave., plans a second Ladies Night Out early next month. The semiformal event will include a full-course meal and speaker Sharon Anderson, associate pastor for outreach and evangelism at South Shore Community Church, Bridgewater, Mass. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May… Read More
    Corinth Baptist Church, 331 Main St., will host a missions conference April 25-29. Fred Moritz, executive director, Baptist World Mission, will speak each night. Three missionary couples also will make presentations. The meetings will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, April 25-27; 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28;… Read More
    The head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland on Thursday praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling last week that upheld a federal ban on midterm abortions. Bishop Richard J. Malone, who was out of state late last week, issued a press release the day after the… Read More
    Dan Schutte, composer, recording artist and lecturer, will present a concert and workshop at St. Joseph Catholic Church next month. Schutte has collaborated for years with the St. Louis Jesuits, and he is considered a prolific composer of Catholic music for the liturgy. He will present a concert… Read More
    Members and friends of People’s United Methodist Church are planning a Save our Steeple auction this weekend. The steeple, which dates from 1902, needs repairs and paint. So the auction at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 21, is designed to provide an array of items designed to fetch enough… Read More
    Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not one of those people who claim we can prove the existence of God through science. After all, our primary spiritual challenge is to respond to God and community through the power of love. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    “Hold that obit!” It’s 11:23 Sunday evening, A.D. 30, and we’re in the editorial offices of the Jerusalem Daily Journal. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
    The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, which I am part of, approved at our annual convention on March 13 the following resolution on the foreign policy of the United States regarding Iraq and Iran: “Whereas the war in Iraq has been promoted by the Bush administration as… Read More
    The story of the 10 lepers in Luke 17 makes me feel guilty. Calling to Jesus from a distance, they begged him to have mercy on them. Yet, after their leprosy disappeared, only one of them “came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God, I’m healed!'”… Read More
    It would have been easy for the makers of the film “Amazing Grace” to sidestep faith in telling the story of William Wilberforce, the man who led the fight in Parliament to end slavery in Great Britain. But Wilberforce’s Christianity was the driving force behind… Read More
    The Rockland Congregational Church is offering “A Natural Heart,” a one-day Lenten retreat and spa today. It will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24, and it will be led by the church’s director of education, Carole Hallundbaek. Those who attend will be invited to… Read More
    An Israeli woman and a Palestinian from Hebron will use a forum at Bangor Theological Seminary to explain how they found hope after the violent deaths of family members. “From Revenge to Reconciliation” will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, at the Commons on the seminary’s… Read More
    Grace Evangelical College and Seminary will hold a conference, “Communicating the Truth: Changing Lives Through Effective Communication,” on Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, at Bangor Baptist Church, 1476 Broadway. The Rev. Jeffrey D. Arthurs, associate professor of preaching and dean of the chapel at Gordon Conwell… Read More
    The Rev. Tom Joyce, a retired Navy Top Gun captain who flew for some scenes in the Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun” will be guest speaker at the daylong Maine Men’s Summit on March 31. Joyce, now pastor of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Va., will lead the… Read More
    WLBZ-TV 2 in Bangor will air an Easter special on the rite of Christian initiation of adults at 12:30 a.m. Sunday, April 15. The rite is the process by which adults join the Roman Catholic Church. A television show, “Come to the Water: The Adult Journey to Baptism,”… Read More
    While shopping for groceries one day, a woman noticed a man pushing a cart in which a small boy sat squirming. As they passed her in the aisle she heard the man mutter quietly, “Keep calm, Albert. Don’t make a scene, Albert.” Four aisles over they passed her… Read More
    Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says,” heralded a headline in the Feb. 27 New York Times over one of the best-promoted docudramas of the year thus far. The article announced “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” – a film produced by James Cameron… Read More