JUNE 2025

Dear Kind and Gentle People,

Here at “The Mill” the gifts of our Creator are too numerous to name. Sardine and Minnow are thriving and I am including a current photo per several people’s requests. We have started haying the southern fields with grand success. Let me tell you that a good dose of hen dirt mixed with moo doo has almost doubled the yield. (PTL!) Rhubarb season has arrived and with it the blessings of prize-winning pie, jam and a variety of delightful concoctions. Here is an episode of “Unkul Petah’s Kitchen” that was filmed a while ago. It will teach you about God’s awesome creation of a vegetable that most of us think of as a fruit.

▲ Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb!

In addition to the beginning of hay season and rhubarb season in the Grand State of Maine, the month of June is also Pride season, when we look forward to gathering in worship to embrace with joy LGBT people rather than offer mere tolerance. Our call is to fiercely celebrate the great diversity that God loved into being. We remember God’s radically inclusive love made real in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We remember the One who befriended the forgotten, embraced the outcast, and saw the Image of God in all people.

This year that celebration is more important than ever. Across the globe—but also here at home—homophobia and transphobia are on the rise. LGBT people and communities are feeling and experiencing heightened risk and acts of violence. This makes our worship service a prophetic act of resistance. Perhaps you might consider offering a daily prayer and intercession on behalf of those leading and attending pride services. The Newfield Community Church, Maine would be especially grateful for your prayer coverings for our Saturday, June 14, 7pm service that includes an open communion. Please and thank you.

During this month do celebrate the great diversity that God has loved into being. Offer thanksgiving for our simple gifts, such as a well-made crop of hay, a productive bed of rhubarb, and the radical and inclusive love that is freely given to everyone. This includes YOU.

As Always,

Gobs of Blessings and Heaps of Happiness,

Your Chaplain,

Petah

Rev. Dr. Peter Stickney

Sardine & Minnow