Horton Center

Spring Youth & Family Program

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS: Fridays, May 3 & June 1
6-8pm

  • Pizza, games and connection for families.
  • Please RSVP to Rev Gail if you plan to attend these evenings.

SUNDAY SCHOOL
During 10:30am worship • Sun, May 5

  • Attend worship in church and then go to class.
  • Please RSVP to Rev Gail if you plan to attend.

YOUTH & FAMILY SUNDAY PROGRAM
9-10:15am • April 28, May 12, May 19, May 26

  • Start at Jackson Community Church, then go outside
  • Weather dependent: indoor option for inclement weather
  • Come dressed for outdoor activities such as hikes and exploration every Sunday morning.
  • Please RSVP to Rev Gail if you plan to attend, and indicate which dates you’ll be present.

YOUTH SUNDAY
10-11:30am • June 2
Jackson Community Church

  • Intergenerational choir
  • Special music by children and families … possibly a youth band?
  • Message by young adult connected with our community
  • Recognition of scout troops
  • Recognition of youth & young adults and their volunteer work in community
  • Recognition of community educators
  • Please RSVP to Rev Gail if you plan to attend

TRILLIUM SUMMIT
8:30am-12:30pm • Sat, June 8
Whitney Community Center

  • Watch for updates via Jackson enews and church email.
  • Worskhop with leadership panel, keynote speaker Riley Parkhurst, and world cafe engagement.
  • Designed by and for students.
  • Peer-led by middle and high-school leaders, with adult mentors.
  • Open to older elementary school students.
  • Both genders welcome, focus on girls & women’s issues.
  • Rev Gail will facilitate this workshop.

FAMILY CAMP
Horton Center, Pine Mountain
(Off Rte 16 between Jackson and Gorham)
June 21-23
Rev Gail & Chris DOktor – Deans

  • Register for a weekend of outdoor adventures, family getaway, and faith engagement.

PEACE & EMPOWERMENT CAMP
8:30am-12:30pm • Mon, June 24-Fri June 28
Jackson Community Church

  • Open K-6 plus CIT (counselor-in-training) positions for 7thgrade and rising students.
  • Based in part on peace curriculum taught by Deans Chris and Gail Doktor at from Horton Center (family camp June 21-23)
  • Focuses on peace and community activism
  • Development of spiritual practices to support this goal, draws on resources from Christian, Buddhist and other traditions

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”

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES for Youth & Families at Jackson Community Church

(See end of posting for summer intensives and international internships for youth & young adults. Fast-approaching deadlines [March 15, April, etc] for registration and applications or scholarships for some of these opportunities.)

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
  • 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.
  • Keynote Speakers:
    • Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Massachusetts Conference Minister, UCC
    • Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt, UCC Minister for Environmental Justice
  • 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
    • Jehann El-Bisi, PhD and Film Director, and Art Desmarais
    • 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

  • 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

  • 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.
YOUTH & YOUNG ADULT INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
through the UCC
A tuition-free program of the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, the IFYI Fellowship is an all-expense paid interfaith immersion experience for young leaders (ages 15-19) providing an opportunity to meaningfully engage together with important global and local issues through the lens of their different religious, ethnic, cultural, economic, social and political backgrounds.

(Ages 21-29)
This Internship Programme stretches over an 18-month period, for four young people aged 21-29. Each intern is assigned to work for 12 months at the WCC offices in Geneva, Switzerland, in one of our many programme areas. This is then to be followed by a six-month work placement in the intern’s own country.
HORTON CENTER
FAMILY CAMP & YOUTH GROUP CAMP
Sun, July 1- Sat, July 7
Flexi-Week.: Come for the day or for a period of days.
  • 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.
EASTERN REGIONAL YOUTH EVENT
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

Causes We Support

Outreach

The Jackson Community Church has a very active Mission Committee and strongly support many local, regional,  national and global programs.

 

Local programs include

  • ​Jen’s Friends
  • MWV Habitat for Humanity
  • Angels and Elves
  • Northern Human Services
  • Children Unlimited
  • Local food pantry (Bartlett/Jackson)
  • Gibson Center
  • Starting Point
  • White Mountain Community Health Center
  • 68 Hours of Hunger

Regional, National and Global programs include

  • American Cancer Society – Race to Beat Cancer
  • Horton Center
  • Star Island
  • One Great Hour of Sharing
  • Neighbors in Need
  • Christmas Fund
  • Haitian Health Foundation
  • Zimbabwe – Chikanga Church
  • ABAN
  • Andover Newton Seminary
  • Honduras Hope
  • Pease Greeters – Knitted caps for our soldiers click here for the pattern or more information at www.peasegreeters.org

For more information on what the Mission Committee is up to this month please check out the monthly newsletter.

Scholarships Available…

Bushee Thorn    – click here for a 2017 application to for assistance in attending a summer camp

Olive Godfrey     – click here for a 2017 application for Jackson residence attending higher education

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