Supplying Help at the Border
7/19/2018 — Has your church been looking for a way to help in the crisis at the US / Mexico border? Here are two collections of supplies that your church can contribute to now. Our fellow UCC churches are doing the work at the border directly with both the children and adults who are coming across the border, being detained, and being released. This is a tangible way to make God’s love and justice real and a way for us to help our sister churches doing the work.
Continue reading “Supplying Help at the Border”
Farewells, Urgent Prayers & Actions to Support Local Families
Some urgent prayer requests (Ray Schoen), farewells (Emily Benson’s father Bradley Read Thayer) and celebrations of life (Steve Farish and Ron Hill), and ongoing support for local families (Bailey, Flagg and Preece’s). Continue reading “Farewells, Urgent Prayers & Actions to Support Local Families”
Missions Message: Sharing National UCC Response – “Keep Families Together”
In response to current events at the border, regarding the separation of children from their families, the Missions Team is sharing the information below with friends and members of Jackson Community Church. This reflects the response of the national United Church of Christ and offers a path for individuals who feel moved by this issue. For anyone who wishes, envelopes will be available at church to make contributions to UCC Ministries, specifying the Keep Families Together fund.
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Church & Community Service Opportunities
Community Service: • Serve as coordinator for county Emergency Food and Shelter Program to distribute FEMA funds to local nonprofits • Volunteer on the Jackson fire department. • Come by and tackle a church “honey do” task. • Sign up to prepare coffee, serve refreshments, greet people at front door, or offer special music during worship. • Consider joining a church team. • Donate tents or sleeping bags and toiletries to day resource center for housing-insecure valley residents.
Upcoming Church & Community Service Projects
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WED, May 9: CUTTING PARTY for
PEASE GREETERS CHRISTMAS STOCKING PROJECT
* 10-Noon • Parish Hall, Jackson Community ChurchMission Committee is holding a Cutting Party to prepare the materials for veterans’ Christmas Stockings after Laurie McAleer’s 9am Tune Up fitness class. Bring sharp scissors and common pins if you have them. Expect to cut out 60 stockings. Once completed (they’re taken home to be assembled by the organizers), these stockings go to the Pease Greeters group and are distributed to incoming and outgoing military personnel at Pease Air Force Base.
- SAT, May 5: Community Event – VALLEY PRIDE DAY Litter Pick Up
* 8:30-10am • Whitney Community Center (other registration sites in different valley communities, see link below)
* 10am-Noon • Pick up litter along local roads; sites to be assigned during registration
* Noon-2pm • Celebrate @ Hampton Inn, No Conway
JCC friends and members can volunteer along with JCC’s team leader Fred Tompkins to help clean local roads by registering (same day registration) at the Whitney Community Center (other communities have different registration locations) to get gloves and bags and cleanup assignments, and then go out to pick up trash until noon. For more information on the entire event, and other locations to register and clean up, see the Conway Sun article. - SAT • May 12 – Community Event: HABITAT for HUMANITY’s WOMEN BUILD DAY
5 Burgdorf Drive,
Madison, NH
Please RSVP for this event to cheryletoneill@gmail.com, Cheryle O’Neill, MWV Habitat for Humanity Family Support Committee Member and Women Build 2018 Coordinator. No construction skills or knowledge are necessary; just your presence and enthusiasm. - FRI, May 25: SET UP for Estate Sale , Jackson Community Church
Afternoon/evening. Church and old library. RSVP to Rev Gail if able to help. - SAT, May 26: PLANT SALE, Outside Jackson Grammar School
* 7:30-9am • Set up tables and plants for sale outside Jackson Grammar School (near library book sale at Whitney Community Center)
* 9am-Noon • Plant Sale. Money earned from the plant sale will go to the emerging Homeless Teen Initiative c/o North Country Cares (also the umbrella organization for the Revolving Closet) - SAT, May 26: ESTATE SALE, Jackson Community Church
* 7-8am • Set up
* 8am-2pm • Jackson Community Church. The church “estate sale” will take place the same day as the plant sale, outsie of weather permits, indoors if necessary. Donated items (household goods, sports equipment, collectibles, kitchen items, tools) will be sold to benefit the church building and operations. RSVP to Rev Gail if able to help.
SPRING SCHEDULE for Youth & Families with Jackson Community Church
APRIL
- Fri, April 27 — 5:30-7:30pm • Friday Fun Night
Spring Fling with Pizza & Games at JCC. RSVP by email if planning to attend or call/text Rev Gail (978.273.0308) - Sat, April 28 — 9am-Noon • Spring Cleaning at JCC
Come prepared to work inside (or outside if you don’t mind the rain). We’re organizing closets, cleaning windows and hard-to-reach areas, touching up spots inside and outside the church, changing light bulbs, and sprucing up the church grounds. Wear old clothes, sensible shoes, and bring work gloves. We’ll add more info about any tools or equipment you should bring from home, such as buckets or rakes or brooms. - Sun, April 29 – 10:30am • Worship includes traditional Sunday School. Parents may attend worship and children will have interactive lesson during portion of service.
Continue reading “SPRING SCHEDULE for Youth & Families with Jackson Community Church”
Church service projects & community causes seeking volunteers
Highlights: spring cleaning at church, cutting party for Pease Greeters Christmas stockings, plant sale to address teen homelessness, estate sale to benefit for church, plus help Valley Pride road clean up, women build with Habitat for Humanity and learn more about volunteering for Starting Point. Some RSVPs requested for planning purposes.
FRI, April 27
- OUTDOOR CLEANUP
3-5pm • Outdoors at Jackson Community Church. Come prepared to work outside. Wear old clothes, sensible shoes, and bring work gloves. If possible, bring rakes or brooms. We’ll remove sand and leaves from driveway, lawn, and playground, and generally doing a first pass at cleaning up outside. Park across the street if possible; we’re cleaning up the parking lot.
SAT, April 28
- SPRING CLEANUP DAY
(mostly indoors due to rainy weather forecast)
9am-Noon. Come prepared to work inside or outside, depending on your preference. Rain is expected, so we anticipate most projects will be indoors. We’re organizing closets, cleaning windows and hard-to-reach areas, touching up spots inside and outside the church, changing lightbulbs, and sprucing up the church grounds. Wear old clothes, sensible shoes, and bring work gloves. If possible, bring sponges, rags, buckets, rakes or brooms. RSVP to Rev Gail if able to help.
WED, May 9
- CUTTING PARTY for PEASE GREETERS CHRISTMAS STOCKING PROJECT
10-Noon • Parish Hall, Jackson Community Church
Mission Committee is holding a Cutting Party to prepare the materials for veterans’ Christmas Stockings after Laurie McAleer’s 9am Tune Up fitness class. Bring sharp scissors and common pins if you have them. Expect to cut out 60 stockings. Once completed (they’re taken home to be assembled by the organizers), these stockings go to the Pease Greeters group and are distributed to incoming and outgoing military personnel at Pease Air Force Base.
FRI, MAY 25
- SET UP for Estate Sale
Afternoon/evening. Church and old library. RSVP to Rev Gail if able to help.
SAT, MAY 26
- PLANT SALE • Outside Jackson Grammar School
7:30-9am • Set up tables and plants for sale outside Jackson Grammar School (near library book sale at Whitney Community Center)
9am-Noon • Plant Sale.
Money earned from the plant sale will go to the emerging Homeless Teen Initiative c/o North Country Cares (also the umbrella organization for the Revolving Closet). - ESTATE SALE
7-8am • Set up
8am-2pm • Jackson Community Church
The church “estate sale” will take place the same day as the plant sale, outsie of weather permits, indoors if necessary. Donated items (household goods, sports equipment, collectibles, kitchen items, tools) will be sold to benefit the church building and operations. RSVP to Rev Gail if able to help.
Community Causes
Continue reading “Church service projects & community causes seeking volunteers”
Volunteer with Jackson Community Church
Highlights:
- Spring cleaning at church on Saturday, April 28
- Plant sale to benefit church missions on Saturday, May 26,
- Yard sale to fundraise for church building care and overall operations on Saturday, May 26,
- Train in April to volunteer with Starting Point to resist and respond to domestic violence
- Help Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, May 12 (Mother’s Day Weekend)
LENTEN RESOURCES
Acts of Kindness & Giving for Lent
(guides and calendars sourced from several organizations)
- Illustrated Lent for Families:
*Already printed and available* at front of church, which is always open. Or accessible as downloadable multi-page PDF with coloring pages, scriptures and activity guides. Due to licensing, the link will be sent by email to all church friends and members … if you want to participate, and didn’t receive this email already, sign up on this site to receive our email and we will forward the links to download the PDF files. Or email us directly for the link. - 40 Ways to Keep Lent Holy:
List from Rev Nadia Bolz-Weber’s blog. - Carbon Fast Calendar:
Sign up to receive daily messages/prompts on environmental acts of kindness for Lent. - Solidarity Lent Calendar:
(Includes acts of kindness and generosity and social justice. Download this calendar with acts of kindness and giving) or use their Lent Calendar App to participate - 40 Acts of Generosity Lenten Calendar:
Sign up to access and participate. - 100 Acts of Kindness for Kids:
Printable list.
Reflections and Meditations
- Coloring the Psalms Devotional Guide and Coloring Pages.
*Already printed and available* at front of church, which is always open. Or accessible as downloadable multi-page PDF files from Jackson Community Church’s website. Due to licensing, the link will be sent by email to all church friends and members … if you want to participate, and didn’t receive this email already, sign up on this site to receive our email and we will forward the links to download the PDF files. Or email us directly for the link. - UCC (United Church of Christ)’s Still Speaking Daily Devotional messages. Sign up to receive these.
- UCC (United Church of Christ)’s Still Speaking Podcast. Sign up for podcast
- Mindfulness Applications for computers and mobile devices from Thich Nhat Hahn’s Plum Village (in the engaged Buddhist tradition)
- Jan Richardson’s Painted Prayerbook blog entries
- Maren Tirabassi’s Gifts in Open Hands blog with daily Lenten posts
- Daily Meditations by Fr Richard Rohr, sign up to receive these
- Living Lent Daily: Ignatian Spirituality daily meditations for Lent . Sign up to receive daily email meditations and devotional activities.
- Social Justice Lectionary: Downloadable guide to readings and activities surrounding social justice issues. Extension of MLK Day initiatives.