Maine Sea Coast Mission Collection

SummaryThe Maine Sea Coast Mission Collection contains 104 reels of 16 mm. film shot by members of the Maine Sea Coast Mission between 1927 and 1966, consisting of feature-length films, titles, outtakes, home movies and commercial films. Home movies within the collection contain views of the Mission’s travels to the Adirondacks in New York; Quebec, Canada; Gould Farm for adult rehabilitation in Monterey, Massachusetts; Germany; Norway; Egypt; Italy; Palestine; Greece, and include footage of gypsy camps in Syria. The Collection contains eight feature-length films, including: By Land And Sea, Mission By Sea, God’s Tugboat, Cruising With The Sunbeam, Fishers Of Men, Salt Water Parish, Maine Sea Coast Mission and Faith Is The Substance. These films document the activities of the Maine Sea Coast Mission, offering views of Maine’s isolated island communities, fishing, lighthouses (including visits to the Portland Lightship), winter and summer seascapes, ministry aboard the Sea Coast Mission sloops, and rural churches served by mission pastors in Cherryfield, Maine.

Biographical/Historical NotesMaine Sea Coast Mission was organized in 1905 at Bar Harbor Congregational Church in Bar Harbor, Maine. The Mission was founded by pastor brothers Angus and Alexander MacDonald, who took the first Mission boat, a sloop called Hope, and traveled to isolated island communities off the coast of Maine. The Maine Sea Coast Mission has been serving islands and coastal communities of Downeast Maine by providing food staples, reading materials, clothing, scholarships, senior companions, and emergency assistance since 1918. The Maine Sea Coast Mission has its administrative offices as well as classroom and meeting space at the Colket Center, located in Bar Harbor, Maine, where it houses its archives, including a collection of historical artifacts. The Mission has a 60-acre Downeast Campus in Milbridge, Maine, which houses the Ed Greaves Educational Center, Downeast Food Pantry, and the Weald Bethel Center for Spirituality and Personal Growth. The Mission sloop, Sunbeam V, is also an important part of conducting business. Telemedicine equipment aboard Sunbeam V allows for Island Health Services to provide medical attention and doctor visits via closed circuit television. The boat also serves as space for services, fellowships, various meetings and meals. Maine Sea Coast Mission celebrated its centennial in 2005.

RepositoryNortheast Historic Film

AvailabilityThe Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and UseAuthorization to reuse and/or reproduce must be obtained from Northeast Historic Film. See http://www.oldfilm.org/research for more information.