Reflections on Mother’s Day Theme of Wisdom
- Watch this young couple sing this song. Your heart will lift!
Youtube performance of One Day lyrics.One DaySongwriters: Philip Lawrence / Bruno Mars / Matthew Miller / Ari Levine
… It´s not about Win or lose We all lose
When they feed on the souls of the innocent Blood drenched pavement
Keep on moving though the waters stay raging
In this maze you can lose your way (your way)
It might drive you crazy But don’t let it faze you no way (no way)
Gotta hold on Livin life day by day
Gotta hold on Put your focus on that one day
All my life I´ve been waiting for I´ve been praying for
For the people to say That we don´t wanna fight no more
There´ll be no more wars And our children will play
One day (one day), One day (one day) …
One day this all will change Treat people the same
Stop with the violence Down with the hate
One day we´ll all be free And proud to be
Under the same sun Singing songs of freedom like
Gotta hold on Livin life day by day
Gotta hold on Put your focus on that one day
All my life I´ve been waiting for I´ve been praying for
For the people to say That we don´t wanna fight no more
There´ll be no more wars And our children will play
One day (one day), One day (one day) …
Of Wisdom: Sometimes She’s a Feminine, Creative Holy Spirit
Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. — Ludwig van Beethoven
… This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans. There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility. This is at once my own being, my own nature, and the Gift of my Creator’s Thought and Art within me, speaking as Hagia Sophia, speaking as my sister, Wisdom. I am awakened, I am born again at the voice of this my Sister, sent to me from the depths of the divine fecundity. — Thomas Merton
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. — Rumi
Because you are women, people will force their thinking on you, their boundaries on you. They will tell you how to dress, how to behave, who you can meet and where you can go. Don’t live in the shadows of people’s judgement. Make your own choices in the light of your own wisdom. — Amitabh Bachchan
There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.— Charles Dickens
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. — Buddha
Remember Proverbs 8? Sophia, the Wisdom of God is described at the creation of the world as rejoicing in the inhabited world
and delighting in the human race. I want the day to come when Christians are described not as judgmental but as those who, like the Wisdom of God, rejoice in the world and delight in humanity. — Nadia Bolz-Weber
… if there is only one God, then why would we be surprised that there is a common wisdom coming through every stream? And how can we ever again possibly dismiss any of these traditions as possibly not being of God? I believe that wisdom is where you go before theology, canons, creedal statements, denominations, because holy wisdom enables respect. The mystics of all traditions did not deal in creeds, in denominations and canons. The mystics dealt with enlightenment, insight and wisdom. — Joan Chittister
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. — Immanuel Kant
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. — Francis of Assisi
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness? — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
One need not be a mystic or have had a near-death experience to understand this … God … reflects a wisdom found in ancient scriptures, a spiritual vocabulary articulated by biblical heroes, saints, reformers, and the humble poor through the ages. And this impulse toward spiritual intimacy is found not only in the Abrahamic faiths, but in Buddhism, Hinduism, and native religions. … speaks of God with us, God in the stars and sunrise, God as the face of their neighbor, God in the act of justice, or God as the wonder of love. The language of divine nearness is the very heart of vibrant faith. — Diana Butler Bass
Every Single Thing I Know, as of Today — Anne Lamott
“I thought I might take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today … (excerpt)”
- “Life is a precious unfathomably beautiful gift…And it [is] filled with heartbreaking sweetness and beauty, floods and babies and acne and Mozart, all swirled together.”
- “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
- “There is almost nothing outside of you that will help in any kind of last way, unless you are waiting for an organ. You can’t buy, achieve, or date it.”
- “Everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy, and scared, even the people who seem to have it more or less together. They are much more like you than you would believe. So try not to compare your insides to their outsides.”
- “Families; hard, hard, hard, no matter how cherished and astonishing they may also be.”
- “Food; try to do a little better.”
- “The movement of grace is what changes us, heals us and our world. To summon grace, say, ‘Help!’ And then buckle up.”
- “Emerson said that the happiest person on earth is the one who learns from nature the lessons of worship. So go outside a lot, and look up.”
- “The love of our incredible dogs and cats is the closest most of us will come, on this side of eternity, to knowing the direct love of God; although cats can be so bitter, which is not the god part: the crazy Love is. Also, ‘Figure it out’ is not a good slogan.”
- “Exercise: If you want to have a good life after you have grown a little less young, you must walk almost every day. There is no way around this.”
- “Death; wow. So f-ing hard to bear, when the few people you cannot live without die. You will never get over these losses, and are not supposed to.”
Reflections on rainbows and promises; holy love that keeps its covenant no matter what
Themes from Genesis, and the rainbow as sign of the promise between God & Noah’s family (humankind): a covenant that suggests complexity and diversity within its symbol. A holy love that recognizes the unique potential within you. Where do you live in the complexity of God’s fierce and stubborn love, that refuses to give up on you, that returns despite broken relationships, and offers new chances over and over again? When have you turned away from connection with sacred love and justice; when have you claimed that renewed chance?
… The mind is faithful in its memory—connecting signs,
it makes a memory to connect to what it needs.
… I keep this story close whenever I grieve
or fear, growing cold.
A father and his child wait through a storm.
Great rain with Thunder. Fear has
drenched the child. … The child cries,
I’m scared, to which the father
whispers, holding on, Don’t worry,
little one. I’ll stay with you until
it’s over. … Rainbow in the evening.
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. — Dolly Parton
And I asked my mother about it; I said, ‘Is there something wrong?’ She said, ‘God… God makes people. You understand that, don’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah!’ She said, ‘Who makes a rainbow?” I said, ‘God.’ She said, ‘I never presumed to tell anyone who could make a rainbow what color to make children.’ — Richard Dawson
Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray. — Lord Byron
The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God – if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think. — Maya Angelou
Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second. — Mattie Stepanek
When you look at the world, the world isn’t just one palette. It’s a beautiful rainbow, and why not have someone to represent that rainbow? — Joan Smalls
South Africa is labouring to find its revolutionary path; the colours of the Rainbow Nation have difficulty blending together; the wealthy elites (white, black or Indian) profit from de facto segregation. — Tariq Ramadan
We have a memory cut in pieces. And I write trying to recover our real memory, the memory of humankind, what I call the human rainbow … — Eduardo Galeano
The Lord survives the rainbow of His will. — Robert Lowell
— Songwriter: Paul WilliamsWhy are there so many songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side
Rainbows are visions
But only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we’ve been told
And some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong, wait and see
Some day we’ll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it’s done so far
What’s so amazing
That keeps us stargazing
And what do we think we might see
Someday we’ll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
All of us under its spell, we know that it’s probably magic
Have you been half asleep?
And have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name
Is this the sweet sound
That called the young sailors?
The voice might be one in the same
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it
It’s something that I’m supposed to be
Someday we’ll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
“When I was 15, I sat in despair one day in a creaky old bus that was winding its way through central Mexico (that’s another story), trying to decide if I truly believed in God. Not necessarily God with a big white beard looking down from a Biblical heaven, but some kind of sacred spirit above, beneath, and within all things. I’d always had a deep, instinctive faith (even as a small child) in a sacred dimension to life, a Mystery I didn’t need to fully define in order to know it, feel it, experience it. But recent grueling events had shaken my faith and closed that connection.
Now, I realize that sitting and railing at God is practically a cliche of teenage angst; that doesn’t make the experience any less urgent at age 15, and I was in a dark place. “Okay,” I said, throwing the gauntlet down to whatever out there might be listening, “if there is something more than this, then prove it. Just prove it. Or I quit.” The bus turned a corner on the narrow, dusty road, and a gasp went up from the people around me. Above us, a rainbow arched through a bright blue, cloudless, rainless desert sky.
Rainbows have been special to me ever since. I know the scientific explanation, of course, water and air and angles of sunlight and all that. But to me, they are always a message. They say: “The universe is a Mystery and you’re part of it.” A nd sometimes that’s all I need to hear; that’s all the answer I need, no matter what the prayer.” ― Terri Windling
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”