Dear Editor:

Did you know:

–That there had been a ‘warming center’ in St. Philip’s Church in Wiscasset in March and April?

–That St. Philip’s, partnering with Amistad, a non-profit based in Portland, had proposed a 12-room SRO (Single Residence Occupancy) project to be built within the church this summer?

–That St. Philip’s, in co-operation with Amistad’s direction, is opening and housing the Community Resource Center of Lincoln County within St. Philip’s to “provide one-on-one help to individuals impacted by substance abuse” in May?  According to the Priest in Charge, Rev. Tom Junkert, St. Philip’s is “simply carrying out the very ministries that it has always been known for in the past.” Really?  

The first “bullet point” from Amistad’s Executive Director states that “As this is a new Lincoln County resource center, Amistad will work actively to promote good relationships with the surrounding neighborhood residents.” Really? 

News of these projects was first found in newspaper articles after decisions had been made. Neither the neighborhood nor the village had been considered or consulted about the effects that these proposals might have on the surrounding area. Certainly, there is a desperate need for those suffering from substance abuse issues. A small church in a neighborhood primarily of older, often single people and vacant buildings is not that place. The lack of communication, miscommunication, and misrepresentation shown thus far by Amistad and St. Philip’s does not leave many of us involved with much confidence. 

The quotations cited here are from the Lincoln County News, 4/20//23, p.3, not the Wiscasset Newspaper, which might have been a more appropriate choice. Perhaps that is because the majority of the Vestry, which makes the decisions for St. Philip’s, does not live in Wiscasset. 

Peter Eaton

Wiscasset