Clergy

Leslie our Priest & Jessie our Deacon

Leslie Nesin, our Priest

The Rev. Leslie Nesin was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in the Air Force. A graduate of Savannah (GA) High School, she attended the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore. She has lived in Maine for 45 years, working as a nurse for many of them. Leslie received her Masters of Divinity from Bangor Theological Seminary in 2002 and was ordained Priest in 2003. She served as Curate at St. Martin’s, Palmyra, before coming to Good Shepherd in 2004. Leslie also serves as Chaplain to the women at the Penobscot County Jail in Bangor.
In the Diocese of Maine, Leslie co-chairs the Committee on Congregational Life, of the Diocesan Council, and sits on the Grants Committee.
A widow, Leslie has six living step-children, twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her interests include family time, reading, gardening, canoeing, and weaving and knitting. She splits her time between her home in Howland, and Houlton. And she’s pretty sure that Houlton is the nicest town in the entire Diocese of Maine!”

Message from Jessie, our Deacon

In the closing prayer of the ordination service for a deacon (BCP 547), the Bishop prays the newly ordained deacon will be “an effective example in word and action, in love and patience, and in holiness of life.” I pray that I am continually fulfilling my charge as a deacon at Good Shepherd as I serve in the liturgy at the altar, as I pursue my ministry of home, group home, and hospital visitation.

Biography for Jessie:

Jessie completed the two-year Diocesan Deacon Formation Program and was ordained at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Bangor, Maine in May of 2003. Working in cooperation with Houlton Hospital officials, she has established an ecumenical chaplaincy program, which began in June, 2005. On the Diocesan level, Jessie served for three years as a member of the F. B. Wolf Fund, which administers funds for continuing lay education. She has served a two-year term as co-convener of Maine’s community of deacons. She also served for three years as a member of the Clergy Day Planning Committee.