By Rev. Jane Rogers Ducott
I summered in Weekapaug for fifty-five years and the Weekapaug Chapel was a sanctuary, a balm for my soul. The weekly bell ringing, children’s sermon, ecumenical services, lovely hymns sung with vigor, fresh flowers on the rosewood altar, beautiful kneelers created by the women of the chapel and the wonderfully welcoming Weekapaug community, will remain in my heart always. I was raised in the Episcopal Church and continue to be a practicing Episcopalian in Scarborough, Maine. My interest in Interfaith was piqued by the possibility that I could be Episcopalian and also appreciate and honor other faiths and wisdom traditions too.
It was on a whim that I applied to the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine in July of 2020. Covid had usurped our freedom, our well-being and for too many people, their lives. It was then that I remembered Mary Oliver’s poem, “Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” At that moment I knew I wanted to return to school to become an Interfaith Chaplain and Minister. So many community members were struggling with sickness, death, exhaustion, financial difficulties and were not affiliated with a church or synagogue or mosque, a built-in support system. In fact, Maine has one of the highest populations in the country of “nones,” persons that claim no religion. I wanted to be in their midst, serving with integrity, spiritual presence and prophetic voice, lessons learned from the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine.
Interfaith ministers have studied many of the world religions and wisdom traditions and yearn to meet people where they are, holding space and honoring the beliefs and questions of the people they serve. We offer compassion and presence during the joyful, sad, messy moments in life. Besides being chaplains, we preach, officiate at funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, blessings of fleets and community gardens and we also meet people on city streets, in prisons, nursing homes and hospitals. It is a privilege to walk beside community members in need. To sum up my experience at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine, I offer you this poem that I wrote in October, 2020.
There are chants and beads
And meeting people’s needs
There are nature rituals
Fire, water and victuals
Oils, incense and pipes
Cleansing ceremonies acting as wipes
Traditional prayers and chants
The circle of communion
That unites us in our quest
The unknown, the all knowing
Mystery greater than ourselves
Yet embedded in our souls
An anchor pulling us towards justice
One and all.
Jane Rogers Ducott, also known as Janey Rooster, lives with her two rescued Treeing Walker Coonhounds in Scarborough, Maine. Jane graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies in December, 1981. She was Ordained as an Interfaith Minister and Chaplain on June 5th, 2022 at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine and looks forward to a wide array of lively adventures.
