A favorite All Saints preacher in years past, the Reverend Paul Tunkle returns for two Sundays in June. Tunkle was born and raised in New York City in a secular Jewish household. At the age of 24, soon after moving to Maine with his wife Judy, he was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter’s in Rockland.

The Tunkles lived for most of that decade in Union, Maine, had three children and were members successively of St. Giles, Jefferson, and St. John the Baptist, Thomaston. Tunkle was employed as an accountant by F.J. O’Hara & Sons, Inc., in Rockland. In 1981 he earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Maine.

Sponsored by his parish, Tunkle made the decision to train for the priesthood. He graduated from General Theological Seminary in New York and was ordained a deacon at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland in June 1984, and ordained a priest one year later in North Carolina. After ordination he served as assistant rector at St. Luke’s, Salisbury NC (1984-1987), and rector of Holy Trinity, South River NJ (1987-1993). In 1993 he earned a D. Min. from the School of Theology at Drew University. He was then rector of St. James, Alexandria, LA (1993-2001), and rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Baltimore, Maryland’s largest Episcopal parish (2001-2014). After retirement in 2014 Rev Tunkle moved back to Maine and served one-quarter time as priest in charge of St. Philip’s Wiscasset for two years. Judy and Paul live on 38 acres in Dresden, Maine since 2014, farming and managing their forestland.

On June 18, Holy Communion will be celebrated at the 8 and 10 a.m. services. On June 25, Holy Communion will be celebrated at the 8 a.m. service, followed by Morning Prayer at 10 a.m. A social hour with refreshments follows the 10 a.m. services. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20 and Tuesday, June 27, Rev. Tunkle will lead a discussion group on the church porch. On both Sundays the church’s new digital organ will be played by Aims McGuinness, a long-time Southport summer resident and former chair of the All Saints Governing Committee, who during the rest of the year serves as substitute organist at St. John’s Cathedral, Denver CO.

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, 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 Boothbay Harbor. The very beautiful and simple wood chapel is open for quiet prayer and meditation during the week. More information about the church and its history can be found at http://allsaintssouthport.org.