Jackson Community Church

Summit, Spirit, Sky: connect to community and creation!

Lent & Easter

Lent Devotion Day 1 (Feb 22): ASH (from Isaiah 58: 1-12).

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Calendar, Home, Lent & EasterTagged , , , , , , , ,

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX11yw6YL1w&feature=youtu.be

QUOTE: Cormac McCarthy: All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.

POEM: Tahar Ben Jelloun. The Rising of the Ashes [Before] – excerpt: I pace the abyss. I descend. I am suspended. The ashes still smolder. They rise, surround me, then fall again, grey dust that makes my body a sand-filled hourglass.

Ash Wednesday with JCC: Reflections and schedule

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Calendar, Home, Lent & Easter, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JOEL 2:12-13
Yet even now, says the Lord,  return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;  rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love…

WED, Feb 22

  • ASHES to GO
    • 8-10am: JTown Deli
    • 10:15-11:30am: Autumn Nomad
    • Noon-1:30pm: Glen Ledge Deli / McSheffreys North
    • 2-3:45pm: JCC Sanctuary
    • 4-4:30pm: Red Parka
  • ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
    • 7pm • Nativity Lutheran, North Conway
      JCC attends Lutheran service to enjoy local clergy John Heropoulos , MDiv lead the liturgy

MUSINGS on ASH

If you have become ash,
Then wait, you become a rose again.
And do not remember how often you have become ash,
But how often you were reborn in ashes to a new rose. ~ Rumi 

I can hear the sizzle of newborn stars, and know anything of meaning, of the fierce magic emerging here. I am witness to flexible eternity, the evolving past, and I know we will live forever, as dust or breath in the face of stars, in the shifting pattern of winds. — Joy Harjo

SONGS about DUST & ASHES: 

WILL YOU MEET US? — Jan Richardson
Will you meet us in the ashes,
will you meet us in the ache
and show your face within our sorrow
and offer us your word of grace:
That you are life within the dying,
that you abide within the dust,
that you are what survives the burning,
that you arise to make us new.
And in our aching, you are breathing;
and in our weeping, you are here
within the hands that bear your blessing,
enfolding us within your love.

REND Your HEART
—Jan Richardson
To receive this blessing, all you have to do
is let your heart break.
Let it crack open.
Let it fall apart / so that you can see
its secret chambers, the hidden spaces
where you have hesitated / to go.
Your entire life
is here, inscribed whole
upon your heart’s walls:
every path taken
or left behind,
every face you turned toward
or turned away,
every word spoken in love
or in rage,
every line of your life
you would prefer to leave
in shadow,
every story that shimmers
with treasures known
and those you have yet
to find.
It could take you days
to wander these rooms.
Forty, at least.
And so let this be
a season for wandering,
for trusting the breaking,
for tracing the rupture
that will return you
to the One who waits,
who watches,
who works within
the rending
to make your heart
whole.

MARKED by ASHES (excerpt) — Walter Brueggeman  
Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .

This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given,  
or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us
with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us
with the tasks of the day,
for we are already halfway home
halfway back to committees and memos,
halfway back to calls and appointments, 
halfway on to next Sunday,
halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
half turned toward you, half rather not.
This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
of failed hope and broken promises,
of forgotten children and frightened women,
we ourselves are ashes to ashes,
dust to dust; we can taste our mortality
as we roll the ash around on our tongues.
We are able to ponder our ashness with some confidence,
only because our every Wednesday of ashes anticipates
your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.
On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you — 
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday
with mercy and justice and peace and generosity.
We pray as we wait for the
Risen One who comes soon.

PRAYER — Mary Oliver

May I never not be frisky,
May I never not be risque.

May my ashes, when you have them, friend,
and give them to the ocean,

leap in the froth of the waves,
still loving movement,

still ready, beyond all else,
to dance for the world.

MEDITATIONS on MUD & SOIL
― Thích Nhất Hạnh

It is possible of course to get stuck in the “mud” of life. It’s easy enough to notice mud all over you at times. The hardest thing to practice is not allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by despair. When you’re overwhelmed by despair, all you can see is suffering everywhere you look. You feel as if the worst thing is happening to you. But we must remember that suffering is a kind of mud that we need in order to generate joy and happiness. Without suffering, there’s no happiness. So we shouldn’t discriminate against the mud. We have to learn how to embrace and cradle our own suffering and the suffering of the world, with a lot of tenderness.

— and —

The soil of our mind contains many seeds, positive and negative. We are the gardeners who identify, water, and cultivate the best seeds.

Living Psalm 51—Ash Wednesday
CONFESSION for CREATION JUSTICE
Written by Maren Tirabassi

To any leader. A Psalm of David, when he took what he wanted, uncaring of the death and damage it caused, which was great.

Have mercy on us, O God, 
with the love that shaped all creation,
for we confess that we have been the ones
who blotted out — made endangered and extinct —
creatures of air and land
by destroying their habitats.

If there is any clean water left, wash us,
but only after the creatures 
of the oceans and lakes and rivers
return and are healed.

For we know our transgression —
we have torn off the tops of mountains
and our sin has fracked deep
into the very fissures of the earth.

Against you, melting your glaciers, we sin,
and we have done what is evil,
so that wildfires rage across
Australia, California, 
and the Amazon rainforest
and the fox and koala and ocelot
judge us by their death.

Indeed, we are guilty against the newly born
who will be eleven years-old,
when our greed changes their earth
beyond hope of repair.

You desire truth, 
but we clutch lies about the climate.
Help us repent so we can hear wisdom,
and make us wise enough to repent.

Let us not be clean,
but dirty in a community garden,
and wet with sweat 
because we have walked and biked,
taken buses instead of cars,
cleaned ourselves with quick showers.

Let us taste the joy of locavores,
celebrate grizzly, wolf, gray whale, 
sea lion, panda,
who have come back to thriving.

Most of all — let our hearts be stirred
not by what makes us wealthy in money
but what makes us wealthy in future.

Create in us a pure heart, O God,
and renew in us
the Spirit that hovers over your creation.

Then we will let our children teach us,
honor sacred lands of indigenous peoples,
open our lips for national parks
and our mouths for wildlife refuges.

Deliver us from being destroyers, O God,
and give us tongues that call for change.

For you have no delight 
when we pile abundance on abundance.
The gift that pleases you 
is one pollinator saved —
butterfly and bee, O God, is our acceptable prayer.


 

MARDI GRAS (Tue, Feb 21) & ASH WEDNESDAY (Wed, Feb 22) with JCC and around town

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Calendar, Home, Lent & Easter, Music, WorshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TUE, Feb 21

  • FITNESS CLASS  with Laurie McAleer 
    9:30am • Jackson Community Church
    • Free to all participants.
    • Gentle, chair-based stretch and fitness for all levels of ability
  • PREP & DECORATE for Mardi Gras
    10:45am
    • Volunteers wanted to decorate the Parish Hall for the party and music on Tuesday evening
    • Set up the crepe table
  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • Community Event: XC SKIING & SNOWSHOEING with Jackson Ski Touring
    Trails Open • More info: https://www.jacksonxc.org/trail-report/
  • Community Event: DOWNHILL SKIING
  • MARDI GRAS with JCC
    6-8pm • Parish Hall of Jackson Community Church
    • Live music by Wayne Peabody and the Tir Na Nog Musical Society featuring guitars, banjos and other string instruments!
    • Sweet and savory crepes
      • Michelle Chase providing fresh crepes,
      • Savory crepe fillings courtesy of Sue Carrigan,
      • Sweet crepe fillings courtesy of Tish Hanlon
    • Wear your own bling or borrow ours; Masks and beads available
    • Selfie photo opportunities
    • Free to all; donations welcome
    • RSVP if you’re able, we’re seeking RSVPs to get an estimated ‘head count’ for our chefs: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org
    • Come even if you cannot or didnt RSVP!
    • For more info, visit jxncc.org
  • Community Event: HOOT NIGHT
    • Wildcat Tavern: Jonathan Sarty hosts • 6-8:30pm
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shovel Handle Pub: Rafe Matregrano•  5:30-8:30pm
    • Lostbo Pub @ Black Mountain: Jonathan Sarty • 3:30-5:30pm
  • Community Event: HEATHER PIERSON BAND
    6:30pm Doors Ooen /  7:30pm Concert Begins • Majestic Theater
    • The concert will feature traditional jazz, Heather’s own compositions, and Mardi Gras standards by Professor Longhair, Louis Armstrong, and more.   Join Heather Pierson, Shawn Nadeau (bass), Davy Sturtevant (cornet and guitar), Jared Steer (drums), Mike Sakash (clarinet and saxophone), and George Wiese (Trombone) for this Fat Tuesday event.  (video is from 2021 virtual concert.)
    • Tickets and info: https://www.conwaymajestic.com/\
    • Our volunteers will have carnival masks (wear them if you have them) and we will be handing out carnival beads to mark this festive event.

WED, Feb 22

  • ASHES to GO (anticipated schedule, some venues pending confirmation)
    • 8-10am: JTown Deli
    • 10:15-11:30am: Autumn Nomad
    • Noon-1:30pm: Glen Ledge Deli / McSheffreys North
    • 2-3:45pm: JCC Sanctuary
    • 4-5:30pm: Red Parka (pending confirmation)
  • ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
    • 7pm • Nativity Lutheran, North Conway
      JCC attends Lutheran service to enjoy local clergy John Heropoulos , MDiv lead the liturgy
  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES

Feb 18-22: President’s Day Weekend through Mardi Gras & Ash Wednesday
with JCC and around Town

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Calendar, Clergy of the Eastern Slope, Home, Lent & Easter, Music, WorshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Highlights: Game Day at JCC, snow shoe tours at Tin Mtn & Jackson XC, PCA Mtg, XC skiing, downhill skiiing, apres ski & evening music around town, Entrain at Attitash, Mardi Gras at JCC with Wayne Peabody & Tir Na Nog Musical Society, jazz with Heather Pierson Band at Majestic, Hoot Night at Wildcat, Ashes to Go, worship with Nativity Lutheran, Win It Wednesday at Red Parka

SAT, Feb 18

  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • Community Event: SNOW SHOE Tour 
    2pm • Tin M tn Conservation Ctr, Albany, NH
    • Join us for a snowshoe tour at Tin Mountain’s Nature Learning Center in Albany, NH. Bring your own snowshoes or rent ours*, and enjoy the breathtaking beauty of winter. All are welcome!
    • Non-members:  $15/person or $25/household, snowshoe rental $5/person. Members are Free!
    • Register at tinmountain.org or call 603-447-6991
      *Please arrive at 1:30pm if you are renting snowshoes. Also, bring poles if you prefer to use them while snowshoeing – we do not have any poles.
  • Community Event: XC SKIING & SNOWSHOEING with Jackson Ski Touring
    Trails Open • More info: https://www.jacksonxc.org/trail-report/
  • Community Event: SLEIGH RIDES & SKATING 
    Nestlenook Farm, Jackson, NH • More info: https://nestlenookfarmsleighrides.com/
  • Community Event: DOWNHILL SKIING
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shannon Door: Marty Quirk Apres Ski (4-6) & Scott Baer • 7-10pm
    • Red Parka Pub: Lazy River Riders • 8-11pm
    • Wildcat Tavern: Apres Ski with Al Shafner • 3-5pm  & Jonathan Sarty * 6 • 8:30pm
    • Shovel Handle: Randy Messineo • 5:30-8:30pm
    • Lostbo Pub @ Black Mountain: Steve Haidaichuk• 3:30-5:30pm

SUN, Feb 19

  • DECORATING SANCTUARY for LENT
    11:45am • JCC Sanctuary
    • Remove garland and angels, put up different garland
  • GAME DAY with JCC
    3-5pm • Parish Hall
    • Bring a game, come play a familiar game, or learn a new game. Friends welcome.
    • Snacks provided.
  • Community Event: SNOW SHOE Tour 
    2pm • Tin M tn Conservation Ctr, Albany, NH
    • Join us for a snowshoe tour at Tin Mountain’s Nature Learning Center in Albany, NH. Bring your own snowshoes or rent ours*, and enjoy the breathtaking beauty of winter. All are welcome!
    • Non-members:  $15/person or $25/household, snowshoe rental $5/person. Members are Free!
    • Register at tinmountain.org or call 603-447-6991
      *Please arrive at 1:30pm if you are renting snowshoes. Also, bring poles if you prefer to use them while snowshoeing – we do not have any poles.
  • Community Event: XC SKIING & SNOWSHOEING with Jackson Ski Touring
    Trails Open • More info: https://www.jacksonxc.org/trail-report/
    Also:
  • Community Event: SLEIGH RIDES & SKATING 
    Nestlenook Farm, Jackson, NH •
  • Community Event: DOWNHILL SKIING
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shannon Door: Scott Baer• 6-9pm
    • Shovel Handle Pub: Heather Dreary •  5:30-8:30pm
    • Lostbo Pub @ Black Mountain: Mitch Alden • 3:30-5:30pm
    • Attitash Ptarmigans Pub: Entrain • 2:30-5:30pm

MON, Feb 20 – President’s Day

  • PROTESTANT CHAPEL ASSOCIATION Annual Meeting
    4pm • Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/96853932521 Alternately, dial with touch tone phone:  929 436 2866 Meeting ID:  968 5393 2521
    • Approval of the February 28, 2022 Annual Meeting Minutes 
    • Approval of the 2022 Treasurer’s Report
    • Election of Officers & Directors
    • President’s Report
    • Membership Status
    • New Business
    • Old Business
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shannon Door: Mike & Becca • 6-9pm
    • Shovel Handle Pub: Dan Parkhurst•  5:30-8:30pm
    • Lostbo Pub @ Black Mountain: Dan Aldrich • 3:30-5:30pm

TUE, Feb 21

  • FITNESS CLASS  with Laurie McAleer 
    9:30am • Jackson Community Church
    • Free to all participants.
    • Gentle, chair-based stretch and fitness for all levels of ability
  • PREP & DECORATE for Mardi Gras
    10:45am
    • Volunteers wanted to decorate the Parish Hall for the party and music on Tuesday evening
    • Set up the crepe table
  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • Community Event: XC SKIING & SNOWSHOEING with Jackson Ski Touring
    Trails Open • More info: https://www.jacksonxc.org/trail-report/
  • Community Event: DOWNHILL SKIING
  • MARDI GRAS with JCC
    6-8pm • Parish Hall of Jackson Community Church
    • Live music by Wayne Peabody and the Tir Na Nog Musical Society featuring guitars, banjos and other string instruments!
    • Sweet and savory crepes
      • Michelle Chase providing fresh crepes,
      • Savory crepe fillings courtesy of Sue Carrigan,
      • Sweet crepe fillings courtesy of Tish Hanlon
    • Wear your own bling or borrow ours; Masks and beads available
    • Selfie photo opportunities
    • Free to all; donations welcome
    • RSVP if you’re able, we’re seeking RSVPs to get an estimated ‘head count’ for our chefs: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org
    • Come even if you cannot or didnt RSVP!
    • For more info, visit jxncc.org
  • Community Event: HOOT NIGHT
    • Wildcat Tavern: Jonathan Sarty hosts • 6-8:30pm
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shovel Handle Pub: Rafe Matregrano•  5:30-8:30pm
    • Lostbo Pub @ Black Mountain: Jonathan Sarty • 3:30-5:30pm
  • Community Event: HEATHER PIERSON BAND
    6:30pm Doors Ooen /  7:30pm Concert Begins • Majestic Theater
    • The concert will feature traditional jazz, Heather’s own compositions, and Mardi Gras standards by Professor Longhair, Louis Armstrong, and more.   Join Heather Pierson, Shawn Nadeau (bass), Davy Sturtevant (cornet and guitar), Jared Steer (drums), Mike Sakash (clarinet and saxophone), and George Wiese (Trombone) for this Fat Tuesday event.  (video is from 2021 virtual concert.)
    • Tickets and info: https://www.conwaymajestic.com/\
    • Our volunteers will have carnival masks (wear them if you have them) and we will be handing out carnival beads to mark this festive event.

WED, Feb 22

  • ASHES to GO (anticipated schedule, some venues pending confirmation)
    • 8-10am: JTown Deli
    • 10:15-11:30am: Autumn Nomad
    • Noon-1:30pm: Glen Ledge Deli / McSheffreys North
    • 2-3:45pm: JCC Sanctuary
    • 4-5:30pm: Red Parka (pending confirmation)
  • ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
    • 7pm • Nativity Lutheran, North Conway
      JCC attends Lutheran service to enjoy local clergy John Heropoulos , MDiv lead the liturgy
  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES

LENT & EASTER SCHEDULE

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Calendar, Home, Lent & Easter, WorshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • Ash Wednesday: Feb 22, Ashes to Go at various location in Glen and Jackson (see Facebook or updated schedule)
  • Palm Sunday, April 2, 10:30am Service, Jackson Community Church
  • Maundy Thursday Soup Supper & Worship, April 6, Parish House
  • Holy Friday Vigil, April 7, Noon-3pm, Jackson Community Church
  • Easter Sunrise Service, April 9, 5:45am @ Presidential Drive, Jackson, NH
  • Easter Service with Flowering of Cross & More, April 9, 10:30am, Jackson Community Church
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