In an America magazine editorial Fr. But Dick Roos, my Jesuit superior, makes the Portland house a warm and welcoming place for me and four other Jesuits who, like me, live at a distance from the nearest Jesuit community. Eastport is no Shangri-La immune to the problems of modern life or the struggles of rural communities. These are the challenges to this community. Yet for all that, Eastport is a very special and wonderful place, a place where one person can make a difference.
Nobody is anonymous here.
Folks joke that the only reason new people end up here is the federal witness protection program. I can give the Eucharist to everyone by name during all but the summer months. It also means that every funeral is the burial of a friend. It is great. Eastport is a town with a strong sense of place.