Jackson Community Church

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Believe in Books

Events and reflections on Earth Day: Monday, April 22.

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Calendar, Home, Justice & Activism, OutreachTagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Events to Celebrate Earth Day

From article in Conway Daily Sun written by Tom Eastman, link to full article: https://www.conwaydailysun.com/community/valley_voice/valley-voice-myriad-ways-to-celebrate-earth-day/article_cf846792-fdd7-11ee-90ba-8b5699265904.htm

  • 10am: Meet the Lorax, Book Reading and Earth Day-themed Storybook Trail at Believe in Books Literacy Foundation’s Theater in the Wood in Intervale. Meet-and-greet with the Lorax himself, with a reading of Dr. Seuss’ environmentally themed book of the same name. Families can also walk along the Earth Day-themed Storybook Trail at Theater in the Wood. For more, go to believeinbooks.org.
  • 10am: Earth Day Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup  with he Chocorua Lake Conservancy i. Join the annual  cleanup today along Route 16. Meet at the Grove by Chocorua Lake, near the Narrows Bridge at the end of Chocorua Lake Road close to Route 16. Participants are requested to register at chocorualake.org/events.
  • 9am-Noon: Trail Round-Up at Tin Mountain Conservation Center, meanwhile, is hosting aits Nature Learning Center on Bald Hill Road in Albany. Bring work gloves and a water bottle for the Earth Day cleanup while discovering some spring blooms, sounds, birds and frogs.
  • 10am-1pm: Earth Day Events at Settlers Green in North Conway, including a “Paint-A-Pot event” where they provide the paint, brushes, smocks and materials. Plus, everyone gets to take home an Earth Day Planting Kit made with biodegradable products, perfect for an indoor window sill flower garden. Limit 100, while supplies last They also invite you to make a $25 donation to The Nature Conservancy’s science-based work to promote biodiversity and mitigate climate change at their Green Hills Preserve here in the Mount Washington Valley. Donors receive a Cotopaxi Luzon 18L Backpack. Limit 100, while supplies last.
Earth Day — Jane Yolen
I am the Earth And the Earth is me.
Each blade of grass, Each honey tree,
Each bit of mud, And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle, Skin and bone.
And just as I Need every bit
Of me to make My body fit,
So Earth needs Grass and stone and tree
And things that grow here Naturally.
That’s why we Celebrate this day.
That’s why across The world we say:
As long as life, As dear, as free,
I am the Earth And the Earth is me.

Take the Mt Washington Valley Pledge with its ten principles (https://www.visitmwv.com/pledge)

  1. I pledge to plan ahead and be prepared. Research the places you plan to visit for its reservation and parking requirements. Check the weather forecast, and a map of the area you plan to explore. and be prepared to follow pandemic guidelines wherever you stay.
  2. I will treat others with kindness and respect. Respect each other, each other’s property, and the environment during your visit.
  3. I will trash my trash. Always carry-out, what you carry-in. Bring trash bags with you to pick up after yourself, and dispose of your waste appropriately. If you see trash left behind by someone else, go the extra mile, and pick up after them.
  4. I will keep the wildlife wild. Remember, when you’re out on the trail, you’re the one disrupting the animals, not the other way around! Notify NH Fish and Game and Maine Fish and Game when coming across sick or wounded animals. Don’t pursue wildlife or disturb nests, dens, and homes they have built.
  5. I will stick to the trails. Stay on marked trails to reduce your impact on nature. The land, and its vegetation may be protected, and can be harmed when you veer off-trail. Designated trails also work to separate public property from private property.
  6. I will take only pictures, and leave only footprints. Keep nature undisturbed. Leave what you find when it comes to plants, flowers, rocks, and trees when climbing or walking a trail. Don’t approach wildlife for any reason, (including getting that perfect selfie shot).
  7. When nature calls, I will respect nature. Be sure you know the appropriate ways to dispose of human waste when recreating in nature. Always go 200 feet off the trail and away from water sources, dig a proper 6-8 in hole as a makeshift bathroom, and use biodegradable toilet paper.
  8. I will camp responsibly. Minimize your impact on natural vegetation, and camp on durable surfaces in designated areas and campsites only. If you build a lean-to or a shelter, be sure to dismantle it before moving on.
  9. I will share the outdoors. Be considerate of others and mindful of the many reasons why someone may be accessing the outdoors. If you’re playing music, be mindful of the volume, and wear earbuds instead of using a speaker. Know your right of way on the trails, and in cross-walks, politely announce your presence to others and take responsibility for yourself.
  10. I will protect the waterways. Don’t throw your trash away in our lakes and rivers, or dump foreign liquids out into the water. Be sure to wash your boats before launching them in the valley’s lakes and rivers to protect them from foreign pest species, and don’t use lakes and streams as a bathroom.

Ideas for Other Ways to Observe Earth Care and Justice:

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

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…

Giving Tuesday

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Justice & Activism, Mt Washington Region, Mt Washington Valley, OutreachTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Reminder about the church’s charitable partners.

INTERNATIONAL CAUSES
which our faith community supports through giving or volunteering:

  • Heifer International cards are available inside the church’s front entrance. You may take a card and make a donation (cash or check). Drop it in the wonderful church model made by Sandy Louis’ dad, which we’re using to collect these funds. Learn moreabout Heifer International.
  • Zimbabwe cards are available in the front of the church. These support partner faith communities and communal projects through the NH-Zimbabwe Ukama Partnership, including sister churches like JCC’s partner: Chikanga Church, City of Mutare, Zimbabwe. You can leave donations in the model church inside the front doors, or make an online donation: https://jacksoncommunitychurch.org/. Representatives from regions — including our churches — have traveled back and forth to establish strong ties between the partner faith communities.
  • Honduras Hope is a NH-based partnership with communities in Honduras. Church member Meg Phillips has traveled there several times to provide direct volunteer service in the communities and can answer your questions! Link to site for giving: https://www.hondurashope.org/donate

LOCAL CAUSES
the church supports financially and/or through volunteering. We respond to many local partners, so may not have included all such missions and initiatives here.

If you’re interested in learning more about our Missions team, contact the church: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org

Health and wellbeing of our community from many angles:

Education and Environment:

  • Mountaintop Music provides music education and performances throughout the valley. Learn more and/or donate (or join): http://www.mountaintopmusic.org/
  • Jackson XC Ski Touring Foundation: This foundation maintains trails for XC skiing in Jackson, offers classes, provides affordable youth education and access for snow shoeing and XC skiing, and works with local nonprofits and landowners on conservation initiatives. Learn more and/or donate (or join):  https://www.jacksonxc.org/
  • Tin Mountain Conservation Center is a local partner in environmental education and preservation. They have sites in Jackson and Albany, offer programs regionally and in our classes and community centers, as well as on their own sites. Learn more and/or donate (or join): https://www.tinmountain.org/
  • Upper Saco Valley Land Trust is quietly preserving land throughout the region, including many local sites. Learn more and/or make a donation (or join): https://www.usvlt.org/
  • Appalachian Mountain Club is integral to the culture and conservation of the White Mountains. Learn more: https://www.outdoors.org/
  • Believe in Books works on literacy and performing arts in the valley and conserves land along the Saco: http://www.believeinbooks.org/
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