On Sunday, June 16, the Rev. Maria Hoecker, rector of St. Columba’s in Boothbay Harbor, will open the All Saints summer season. People of all faiths are invited to attend the 8 and 10 a.m. services of Holy Communion. A social hour with refreshments will follow the 10 a.m. services. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18 Rev. Hoecker will lead a discussion group on the church porch. Together St. Columba’s and All Saints represent the Episcopal presence on the Boothbay peninsula, and work closely together to provide outreach support in the Boothbay region.

A native of Kansas, Rev. Hoecker received her MDiv from the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Upon graduation from seminary she served as associate rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Brevard, North Carolina and served on the diocesan council of Western North Carolina. Hoecker came to St. Columba’s in 2011 with her two children, Chloe and Max, who have both graduated with honors from Boothbay public schools. Chloe recently graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington and is an intern at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and Max is an honors software engineering student at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.

Hoecker has held many honors and positions within the Episcopal church including participating in the Clergy Leadership Project in 2007 and served as the alternate deputy representing the Diocese of Maine at the General Convention in Austin, Texas in 2018. She is a founding member of the Maine Episcopal Network for Justice and three-year President of the Standing Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine. In this position, she shepherded staff and committees through the two-year national search for Maine’s new Bishop-elect, the Rev. Thomas Brown. Her many community positions include past board member of the YMCA and current chair of the Governance Committee of the Boothbay Region Community Resource Council.

In the summer of 2017, Hoecker embarked on a four-month study sabbatical fully funded by the Lilly Foundation. The grant generously provides for clergy and parish renewal opportunities both at home and abroad. In the summer of 2017, Hoecker traveled to England where she visited cathedrals and historic sites throughout the United Kingdom. Hoecker then traveled to Salisbury, Lindisfarne, Durham, York and Iona, Scotland for sabbatical studies in Celtic Christian Spirituality with noted theologian John Philip Newell. With the grant funding, St. Columba’s has been able to host an ongoing series of retreats, worship and concerts with a Celtic Christian focus.

Throughout the seasons, Maria can be found exploring the peninsula listening and praying with plants and people as we go about our shared lives along the Midcoast of Maine. Maria is an avid gardener and photographer and uses these skills as a spiritual practice to engage, reflect, write and speak about our shared life in community.

All Saints by-the-Sea is on Southport Island on All Saints Road about two miles on your left as you drive south on Route 238 (look for the Episcopal Church sign by the side of the road). Parking is available along Route 238, or if necessary, in the limited number of handicapped parking spaces off All Saints Road. A golf cart will ferry persons from the handicapped lot to the church steps. You may also come to church by private boat or by the tour boat Novelty, tides permitting, which leaves Boothbay Harbor from Pier 8 at 9 a.m. Novelty picks up passengers from the church dock at 11:40 a.m. for return to Pier 8. The very beautiful and simple wood chapel is open for quiet prayer and meditation during the week.