St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Belfast, Maine
Staff & Leaders

Martha Kirkpatrick

A born-and-bred Mainer, has been the Rector of St. Margaret’s since 2009. She received her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 2007, and did her practicum while in seminary at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Yarmouth, Maine. Before she was called to be the Rector here at St. Margaret’s she served as Assistant Rector for Grace Church in Bath, Maine. Martha made a mid-life vocational change, coming to ministry from a career as a government bureaucrat in the field of environmental protection. From 1999 to 2003 she was the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Angus King from 1999 – 2003, and was previously the Bureau Director for the DEP’s Bureau of Land and Water Quality. From 1984 to 1991 she was a staff attorney with U.S. EPA in Washington DC. She attended Harvard Divinity School to pursue her questions about Christian faith and the environment. She received her Juris Doctor from George Washington University, National Law Center, in 1981, and her Bachelor of Arts from Skidmore College in 1978. Here at St. Margaret’s, Martha seeks to engage her twin passions of parish ministry and faith-based environmental stewardship. She currently serves as the Missioner for Environmental Stewardship for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, is a member of the Board of Trustees for Maine Audubon, and a Greenfaith Fellow from the class of 2009. “I love parish ministry, I love Maine, and I love being here at St. Margaret’s. It’s a joy-filled place, with genuine spiritual seekers and people who are passionate about serving the community with their many and varied gifts. I feel so blessed to be here.”