Mission Hosts Island Fellows Retreat at Weald Bethel

Mission Hosts Island Fellows Retreat at Weald Bethel

CHERRYFIELD, ME — On July 30, Downeast Campus Facilities Manager Scott Shaw wrote, “We just hosted the overnight Island Fellows Retreat at the Weald Bethel Community Center! It feels great to have the building in use again and the group thoroughly enjoyed their stay,” said Scott.

According to the Island Institute, “The Island Institute’s Island Fellows Program is one of the signature programs of the Island Institute. Fellowships provide opportunity for recent graduates to apply their skills and gain experience helping to build sustainability within communities whose way of life and identity face many challenges.”

“The Fellows were treated to a team building and ropes course element thanks to Isaac Marnik and the group also helped clean up some of our trail system while here,” said Scott Shaw.

Learn more about the Weald Bethel Community Center activities.

The Working Waterfront – The Sunbeam Holds Its Course

The Working Waterfront – The Sunbeam Holds Its Course

Douglas Cornman meets with students on Frenchboro in 2018.

www.islandinstitute.org
July 22, 2020

The Sunbeam holds its course
OUT OF THE WATER AND ONLINE, MAINE SEACOAST MISSION’S CONTINUES
By Frances Mize

Built in 1995 and operated now by the Bar Harbor-based Maine Seacoast Mission, the 75-foot long, steel-hulled Sunbeam V clears harbors of ice in the winter months, and in all seasons serves as a place of fellowship and communion for those unbridged islands of Maine that support year-round populations.

Douglas Cornman, director of island outreach, whose work ranges from leading worship services to arranging an anthology of creative works from the islands, notes that “the boat’s never locked, the coffee is always hot. Folks are welcome on board, and we’ll just sit and chat.”

While the rest of the world struggles to fall into the rhythms of Zoom meetings and a life wrenched online, this sort of digital connection is nothing new for the Sunbeam. In addition to serving as a space for community, telemedicine equipment aboard the ship ensures that islanders have access to quality, reliable healthcare.

Director of Island Health Services Sharon Daley travels to the islands and performs routine checkups herself, but islanders are also put in touch via video call with physicians and mental healthcare providers on the mainland.

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Middle Schoolers Come Together to Prepare for High School Off-Island

Middle Schoolers Come Together to Prepare for High School Off-Island

Maine Seacoast Mission Island Outreach Director Douglas Cornman working with students. / Photo by Tess Beam/Island Institute

Middle schoolers come together to prepare for high school off-island
Story and photos by Tess Beam/Island Institute

Transitioning into the first year of high school can be intimidating and stressful. By creating an open, safe place to discuss and ask questions about high school, we hope to better prepare and ensure that students don’t withdraw from the high school experience – no matter how new, different and challenging it may be.

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