Reflections on Earth Day
Learn More
- Creation Justice Ministries Earth Day resources
- Pope Francis encyclical on environment and human ecology Laudato Si
Of the Earth
The good man is the friend of all living things. —Gandhi
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together … all things connect. —Chief Seattle
Away, away, from men and towns, To the wild wood and the downs, — To the silent wilderness, Where the soul need not repress its music. —Percy Bysshe Shelley
The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations. —John Paul II
What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on. —Henry David Thoreau
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. —Margaret Mead
One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken. —Leo Tolstoy
Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty. —John Ruskin
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make. —Jane Goodall
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil … the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. — Gerard Manley Hopkins
Walking in Beauty:
Closing Prayer from the Navajo Way Blessing Ceremony
In beauty I walk
With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again …
Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me
I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.
I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me.
I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.
I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.
I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.
In beauty all day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With dew about my feet, may I walk.
With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
My words will be beautiful…
This Week: Tue, April 3 – Sun, April 8
Highlights: community events include Wed’s Feast of the Valley and Fri’s Stage Adventure with the grammar school. Church events include Wednesday’s Tune Up fitness with Laurie McAleer and two Thursday yoga classes. Youth environmental summit takes place Saturday. Sunday resumes 8am outdoor ‘gazebo’ interfaith gathering and 9am family activity based on walking the Road to Emmaus.
Reflections on ‘loving the world’ from Gospel of John: Lenten lectionary
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last till the end of time.
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.
— Songwriters: Burt Bacharach / Hal David
Loving the World
Love the world and yourself in it, move through it as though it offers no resistance, as though the world is your natural element. ― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife
Let us love the world to peace. — Eileen Elias Freeman
All the particles in the world are in love, and looking for lovers. — Attributed to Rumi
I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God Who is sending a love letter to the world. — Mother Teresa
The world changes when we change. the world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world. — Marianne Williamson
At the center of religion is love. I love you and I forgive you. I am like you and you are like me. I love all people. I love the world. I love creating. Everything in our life should be based on love. — Ray Bradbury
No matter how much one may love the world as a whole, one can live fully in it only by living responsibly in some small part of it. Where we live and who we live there with define the terms of our relationship to the world and to humanity. We thus come again to the paradox that one can become whole only by the responsible acceptance of one’s partiality. — Wendell Berry
If your mind is expansive and unfettered, you will find yourself in a more accommodating world, a place that’s endlessly interesting and alive. That quality isn’t inherent in the place but in your state of mind. ― Pema Chödrön, Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change
I love the world at 4 am. The streets are all mine. I don’t have to deal with traffic, and people’s bullshit. I don’t have to answer any calls or reply to any texts. I don’t have any responsibilities. No fights, no arguments, no hate, no love, no faith and no engagements. I can just be. Like we are meant to be. – Attributed to ‘Hedonist Poet’
Excerpts of Commentary on “For God So Loved the World” from Gospel of John chapter 3 (John 3:16)
Jesus articulates in this statement … that God is fundamentally a God of love, that love is the logic by which the kingdom of God runs, and that God’s love trumps everything else, even justice, in the end. — David Lose
… judgment … in John’s Gospel … represents your own moment of crisis of whether or not you will choose to enter into the life-sustaining relationship God provides … the intimacy God so desires with us here and now.— Karoline Lewis
To Begin With, the Sweet Grass (excerpts) — Mary Oliver
3. (excerpt)
Look, and look again.
This world is not just a little thrill for the eyes.
It’s more than bones.
It’s more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It’s more than the beating of the single heart.
It’s praising.
It’s giving until the giving feels like receiving.
You have a life—just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe still another. …
7.
What I loved in the beginning, I think, was mostly myself.
Never mind that I had to, since somebody had to.
That was many years ago.
Since then I have gone out from my confinements, though with difficulty
I mean the ones that are thought to rule my heart.
I cast them out, I put them on the ush pile.
They will be nourishment somehow (everything is nourishment somehow or another).
And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,
I have become younger.
And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.
UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES for Youth & Families at Jackson Community Church
THURSDAYS, Mar 15 & Mar 22
- Soup & Ski with Family & Friends
5pm • Parish Hall of Jackson Community Church. Gather with members and friends for soup supper.
5:30/6pm • Meet at church parking lot for evening XC ski. Optimal starting point to be determined. For those who able and interested, if weather permits, come on a ‘night ski’ on Jackson XC Center’s trails. Donations will be collected for Jackson Ski Touring Foundation. Bring your own head lamps, ski equipment, layers, and be prepared for outdoor conditions. Ski at your own risk. Bring friends! Open to everyone. All ages welcome.
FRI, MAR 23
- Film Screening of “404 Not Found” & Soup Supper: Bowls for Homeless Teens in Mt Washington Valley
5-7pm • Gibson Senior Center, North Conway. In collaboration with Clergy of the Eastern Slope and First Church of North Conway’s Missions Team, screening the film “404 Not Found” that highlights the homeless youth in NH. Check out the film trailer @ 404notfoundfilm.com. Held in collaboration with Governor Sununu’s “Sleep Out”. This is a valley issue and will take a valley solution. -
“Sleep Out” (Stay-Up-Late or Sleep Over at Church)
8pm, Mar 23 – 9am, Mar 24 • Jackson Community Church
For youth & chaperones. Stay late at church. Or spend the night. To be held in solidarity with Gov Sununu’s “Sleep Out” event to raise awareness about homelessness. We will stay up late at Jackson Community Church with games and worship, learn about homelessness in the valley, make civic engagement posters. If some people stay overnight, we will wake up to have breakfast together. RSVP and permission slips required.
WED, APR 4: MLK Remembrance Bell Ringing
- 6pm. • Front door of sanctuary, Jackson Community Church.
Help ring the bell 39 times in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. This is a national vigil; learn more at www.MLK50Forward.org.
SAT, APR 7: New England Youth Environmental Justice Summit
- 9am-4pm • Brookside Congregational Church, Manchester, NH
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To learn more: download the brochure or visit the registration website.
- Jackson Community Church will cover the cost of registration and attendance. $20/day. RSVP to the church asap if you plan to attend, so that we can register you. Or let us know if you register separately, but plan to attend, so we can coordinate rides and reimbursement for attendance.
- Rev Gail will attend summit and provide rides.
- The Summit is open to all middle school, high school and college students; as well as teachers, mentors, pastors, lay leaders and advisors: and anyone interested in acquiring tools for facing the pressing moral issue of climate change.
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Keynote Speakers:
- Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Massachusetts Conference Minister, UCC
- Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt, UCC Minister for Environmental Justice
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Afternoon Breakout Sessions include:
- Pam Arifian, Director, UCC Northeast Environmental Justice Center
- Marla Marcum, Founder, Climate Disobedience Center
- John Ungerleider, Professor, School of International Training
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Jehann El-Bisi, PhD and Film Director, and Art Desmarais
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Representatives from 350.org and other groups will lead a workshop on activism in climate change issues
SUN, APR 8: Road to Emmaus Hike
- 9am • “Road to Emmaus” Walk. Meet at church for family hike if weather permits. Indoor activities available if weather turns
Note: Additional spring youth & family schedule to be announced. Expect outdoor youth & family activities every Sunday at 9am, beginning April 22.
FRI, APR 20-MON, APR 23: Ecumenical Advocacy Days
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1pm, Fri – 5pm, Mon • DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Washington, D.C.-Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA.
A WORLD UPROOTED: Responding to Migrants, Refugees and Displaced Peoples. A weekend of faith-rooted worship, learning and advocacy in our Nation’s capital – will focus on the uprootedness of our world. We will analyze current policy and envision ways to more fully and justly respond to the global and local needs of displaced communities. Together we will seek policy changes that advance hope and overcome the devastating impacts of conflict, climate change and corruption on God’s people. Ends with congressional advocacy day.- REGISTER – Early-bird registration rates available through March 17th. Register now.
- SCHOLARSHIPS – Justice and Witness Ministries has designated funding for UCC young adults (ages 18-35) to attend Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) in 2018. Learn more and apply by March 23rd.
- Travel costs and hotel accommodations are separate expenses.
- Additional scholarships, such as Bushee-Thorne Scholarship, can be applied to this conference!
FRI, MAY 19 – SAT, MAY 20: Middle School Retreat
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3pm, Fri – 6pm, Sat • Ipswich, MA
Spend weekend on retreat with Ipswich Middle School youth group. Stay overnight in sleeping bags at the church on Friday and return to Jackson on Saturday evening. RSVP to church by April 15, 2018 if interested.
through the UCC
- More Info
- Application Deadline: May 1
- More Info
- Application Deadline: March 15
- Rev Gail & Chris Doktor will be deans of family camp.
- Our youth can come for one day or an overnight!
- Registration available here:
- Scholarships such as Bushee-Thorne (for which applications already being considered as of April) can be applied to this camp.
- Additional camp weeks are also available with focus on different skills such as archery, rock clibing, etc. Full schedule available here.
July 19-22, 2018
California University of PA, California, Pennsylvania
(grades 7 through 12 )
- Join us as we worship, play, pray, learn, serve, sing and dream at the 2018 Eastern Regional Youth Event.
- Stay up-to-date on event details through the event website or contact Ann Desrochers.
- Scholarships from Bushee-Thorne (applications already being considered as of April) can be applied to this experience.
Sampling of the workshops that will be offered at ERYE. Each participant will be able to attend 3 workshops. (Workshop list subject to change.)
- Authentic Faith: The Wisdom of Not Knowing All the Answers
- Becoming a Transgender AllyBuilding a Team – Playing a Game
- Disabled God, Queer God: Understanding the Divine Through Identity
- Disabled in Church: Struggles and Triumphs
- Earth Avengers: Superheroes for the Planet
- From Barbie to Wonder Woman!
- How An Orphan In Mexico Inspired Thousands – And How He Can Inspire You.
- How Can I Help My Community Prepare For And Respond To A Disaster?
- Identity Bowling: Intersectionality through Music
- Our Gender & Sexuality: Confusions and Questions and Wonder
- Praying with Color, Clay, Beads and Ribbons
- Praying with the Body
- Sacred DanceStorytelling for Social Change
- The Conflict Skills That Nobody Got (but everybody needs)This Is Really Happening
- Tie-Dyed Faith: Revealing Your God-Colors
- Walking the Labyrinth to Rejuvenate Your Spirit
- Watershed Management
Reflections on Lent 2: Genesis 17 & Mark 8: names, identities, life, self.
— Song of Myself, Walt Whitman
your heart must forget about shame and dignity.
You are God’s lover, yet you worry what people are saying.
― Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi
Giving Up a Life, a Self, an Identity: Themes from Mark 8
Do not lose yourself in the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. Do not get caught in your anger, worries, or fears. Come back to the present moment, and touch life deeply. This is mindfulness. ― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation
We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be. The only problem is that there is also so much other stuff, typically fixations with how people perceive us, how to get more of the things that we think will make us happy, and with keeping our weight down. So the real issue is how do we gently stop being who we aren’t? … Here’s how I became myself: mess, failure, mistakes, disappointments, and extensive reading; limbo, indecision, setbacks, addiction, public embarrassment, and endless conversations with my best women friends; the loss of people without whom I could not live, the loss of pets that left me reeling, dizzying betrayals but much greater loyalty, and overall, choosing as my motto William Blake’s line that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love. — Anne Lamott, “Becoming the Person You Were Meant to Be: Where to Start” O, The Oprah Magazine
Continue reading “Reflections on Lent 2: Genesis 17 & Mark 8: names, identities, life, self.”