The Scribes

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
My position here at St. Mary’s Health System is Director of Pastoral Care and Chaplain. It has already been 3 years. I enjoy the chaplaincy part of my ministry most of all. Visiting patients, encouraging them, listening to them and praying with them, all of these, increase my faith and trust in God and in people.

I am a Sister of St. Chretienne, a congregation of women religious founded in France in 1807. I have been a high school teacher, a campus minister, a pastoral associate, spent 10 years in leadership in my community and now I am grateful for hospital ministry. Coming back to Maine 3 years ago was a joy for me. I had taught at St. Dom’s High School in the 1970s and ministered in the parish in Skowhegan in the 1990s, so it felt like coming home once again to “God’s country.”

The request to be a Sunday Scribe delighted me. I accepted because I enjoy writing and I do like to share and pray the Scriptures. It’s an aspect of ministry that appeals to me…especially if it can be helpful to even one other person.


Daniel Doyon
In August, I began serving the residents and patients of d’Youville Pavilion as a chaplain. I enjoy visiting with the patients/residents, listening to their stories, encouraging them along the way, sharing faith and prayer with them. These encounters have enriched me and have contributed to my growth as a chaplain.

Prior to coming to d’Youville, I taught at the elementary level for the Lewiston School Department for 34 years. After retiring in June of 2009, I worked as a CNA at a local nursing home and truly enjoyed working with this group of people. Wanting to interact more deeply with them, I decided to further my education and become a chaplain.

I also serve as a hospice and vigil volunteer for Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice. The hospice training I received and the many encounters with patients and their families have helped prepare me for my current  position. I truly enjoy being my work at d’Youville. I am very happy to be here.


Elizabeth Keene
I serve as Vice President for Mission Effectiveness for St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston, Maine. In this role I am responsible for integrating the mission and values of the Sisters of Charity, founded by St. Marguerite d’Youville, into the hospital, long-term care facility and physician practices associated with St. Mary’s.

My background is in pastoral counseling and end-of-life care. I’ve created the volunteer and bereavement program for Johns Hopkins Home Hospice in Baltimore, Maryland and served as Coordinator for Spiritual and Bereavement Care at Johns Hopkins Home Hospice from 1995 to 2002. I served as Bereavement Coordinator with Harriet Lane Compassionate Care, the pediatric palliative care program at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center from 2002 to 2008. Prior to health care work, I served as Pastoral Associate at St. Philip’s Parish in Auburn, Maine focusing on faith formation for the parish.

I received a B.A. in psychology and religion from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and received my Master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Boston College. I am a Fellow in Thanatology in Death, Dying and Bereavement from the Association of Death Education and Counseling and is certified as Associate Chaplain from the Association of Professional Chaplains.



Elizabeth Lowe
My position here at St. Mary’s Health System is an Interfaith Chaplain to St.Mary’s d’Youville Pavilion and Rehabilitation Center.  I’ve been here at St. Mary’s for 6 1/2 years.

I thank St.Mary’s for the support I am given to do this amazing ministry to the aged, even unto my graduation from Bangor Theological Seminary this month with a Master’s in Pastoral Theology.

Why did I become a scribe? First, because I was asked. (No, I do not do things just because I am asked!) I wanted to support Elizabeth Keene in her effort to promote a spiritual life in the St.Mary’s community. Also, I remember when a child hearing about that as a job people had in biblical days and thinking that would be fun and rewarding to do. Now, as I work with each scripture, I open up to new threads in the stories and give myself permission to cut away the worn and tattered threads that do not fit anymore.


Rev. D. Joseph Manship
I have been on staff here at St. Mary’s for almost 3 years, as a priest-Chaplain. The privilege of presiding at daily Liturgy is an opportunity to share the Bread of Life and to break open the Word of God, both the source of all healing. From the Liturgy, I feel energized and blessed to spend my days visiting and praying with the sick, being present and available to residents and staff, sitting in on meetings, celebrating the sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick and Reconciliation – all a part of living the uniqueness of the Catholic identity of St. Mary’s Health System.

One of the things that has impressed me most about being here at St. Mary’s is the concrete way the mission, under the patronage and vision of St. Marguerite d’Youville, is put into practice and kept in the forefront of our work and ministry.

The occasional writing of a reflection on the Sunday reading is again an opportunity to break open the Word of God in our daily lives.


Kenn Rancourt
I am a board certified hospital chaplain (B.C.C.) by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.  I’ve been providing spiritual care at St. Mary’s since 1978 (32 years).  For the past 20 years, my work focus has been in our Behavioral Medicine Departments,  i.e.,  Chemical Dependence and Mental Health.  However in my “previous life” I dabbled in folk music when Hootenannies and Sing-a-longs flourished in coffee houses, college campuses, campgrounds, and living rooms across the country.

Throughout my stay at St. Mary’s, I have utilized folk music as a tool to stimulate reflection, insight ,and resolve in clients I have served.  One day the inevitable happened.  I took a patient poem and cloaked it with a “folk tune” and I played it back to the patients.  Instant success!  Patients felt heard, believed, affirmed, and respected.  The poems have kept coming in and the tunes have kept coming out.  The people in recovery and mental health programs and this aging “old hippie” became part of a lyrics and music team.

As a chaplain, I never presume to bring God anywhere to anyone.  Rather, I seek to discover Good and God in new places and new faces.  I always come away richer from these daily encounters . . . and my boss thinks I’m working!  hmm!

I am willing to be a Sunday Scribe because the weekly readings have influenced my life for a long time . . . and I love to share my points of view.