Maine Seacoast Mission celebrates 100th summer visiting Wilson Chapel on July 28; Tours of Sunbeam V after service

Sun, 07/21/2024 - 8:15am

    Douglas Cornman, chaplain, and Dr. John Zavodny, president, of Maine Seacoast Mission will lead the service at Wilson Memorial Chapel on Ocean Point this Sunday, July 28. Jim Swist will serve as organist. The service is at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome!

    In celebration of Maine Seacoast Mission's 100th summer visiting Wilson Chapel, the Mission is bringing Sunbeam V, the vessel that makes it possible for Maine Seacoast Mission to serve Maine's outer, unbridged islands, to Card Cove off Ocean Point. The offering from the service will be donated to Maine Seacoast Mission, and there will be tours of Sunbeam V after the service. Refreshments following the service will be offered aboard Sunbeam V.

    A non-denominational, non-profit organization, Maine Seacoast Mission provides spiritual, health, and youth development programs in coastal and island communities from Midcoast to Downeast Maine. One of their far-reaching, high-impact programs is EDGE, an afterschool program serving approximately 700 children in Washington County. The Mission supports coastal and island communities in many ways, including providing valuable healthcare services and hospitality via the Sunbeam V.

    Douglas Cornman is the director of Island Services aboard Maine Seacoast Mission’s 74-foot boat, Sunbeam V. He joined the crew in November 2014. In addition to supporting island churches and faith communities, Douglas collaborates with island communities and schools, offering a wide range of programs and services. As the Sunbeam V’s chaplain, Douglas offers spiritual gatherings both in-person and via Zoom during the fall, winter, and spring when island churches close their doors for the season. He also officiates many island weddings and funerals. A board-certified creative arts psychotherapist and mental health counselor, Douglas is interested in helping islanders and island communities find their creative voice and self-expression.

    After earning his PhD in philosophy at the University of Tennessee, John Zavodny spent the next 20 years in higher education before joining the Maine Seacoast Mission in early 2019. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother is a sharecropper’s daughter from the deep South, and John’s father is a first-generation American from eastern Europe. The son of a U.S. Navy sailor, Zavodny is proud to now be a small part of the Mission’s seagoing history. He is the first member of his family to complete college and understands firsthand the transformative role education can play. As a former minister, he understands the central role spirituality plays in people’s well-being. John and his wife Anna live in Ellsworth, a location in arm’s reach of all Mission programs.