Beginning with the Native American tribes of the Wabanaki Alliance, the people of Maine have created religious institutions and spiritual traditions that have endured for hundreds of years. After the arrival of Europeans, Christianity and Judaism began to spread, and dozens of congregations were formed. Their history lives not only in the spectacular structures built to honor the deities but also in the people who came together to celebrate, mourn and worship. From the earliest Native American peoples to the congregations of today, local authors Jim and Jane Diggins Harnedy document the religious history of Acadia, Greater Bangor and Way Down East.
Jim and Jane Diggins Harnedy have lived in their adopted state of Maine for over thirty years. Jim is a native of Brookline, Massachusetts, and a retired computer industry executive. Jane was born in New York City but moved to the Boston suburb of West Roxbury as an infant. Jim received his bachelor's degree in history from Boston College and did graduate work at both Georgetown University and Framingham State College. After working for a number of years in the administrative field of mental health, Jane decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming an artist and started taking art instruction under several nationally known seascape artists. She later attended the University of Maine at Augusta and has operated her own gallery, the Blue Lobster, for over thirty years. Jim and Jane are the parents of two daughters and have four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Through the years, they have worked on a number of creative projects together. They live Way Down East at the water's edge in Bucks Harbor, Machiasport.