Jackson Community Church

Summit, Spirit, Sky: connect to community and creation!

peace

BLUE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS EVE & CHRISTMAS MORNING with Jackson Community Church

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Music, WorshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THURS, Dec 22 – BLUE CHRISTMAS @ Jackson Community Church

  • 6pm • In-person only
  • Worship service
  • Gathering to observe a time of solemnity, sorrow, and hope in the midst of the holiday season

CHRISTMAS EVE,  SAT, Dec 24 @ Jackson Community Church

  • 5pm • OUTDOOR SERVICE with CAROLS, LESSONS & CANDLELIGHT
    • Hot cocoa
    • Caroling as we walk the journey of the holy family
    • Scripture
    • Candlelight & prayer
    • Dress warmly!
  • 7:30pm • CANDLELIGHT SERVICE 
    • In-person & zoom (link & password available by emailing church by noon on Sat, Dec 24: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org)
    • Traditional indoor service with carols, scripture, candelight
    • Harp with Dominique Dodge
    • Solo by Becca Gottlieb
    • Piano by Maisie Brown and Sharon Novak
    • Candellight
    • Carols
    • Live music
    • Zoom
  • 10pm • CANDLELIGHT SERVICE 
    • In-person and zoom (link & password available by emailing church by noon on Sat, Dec 24: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org)
    • Tradiotional indoor service with carols, scripture, candelight
    • Debut of Christmas song written and performed by Sharon Novak
    • Candellight
    • Carols
    • Piano with Sharon Novak

CHRISTMAS SUNDAY, Dec 25 @ Jackson Community Church

  • 10:30am • STORIES & BELLS
    • In-person and zoom (link & password available by emailing church by noon on Sat, Dec 24: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org)
    • Piano: Sue Titus-Reid
    • Interactive Message: Gail Doktor
    • Text: Children’s Story
    • Come in your pajamas or favorite casual attire
    • Bring a sleigh bell or jingle bell if you have one, but we have plenty to share
    • Prepare to sing and ring jingle bells

Events with JCC and Around Town: NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 4

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, CalendarTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Events with JCC and around town: Decorate the church, train rides, winter tree ID, sleigh rides, jazz, Nutcracker Sweets, music around town, Advent 2: Peace worship,  and more!

TUE, Nov 29

  • FITNESS CLASS  with Laurie McAleer
    9:30am • Jackson Community Church
    • Free to all participants.
    • Gentle, chair-based stretch and fitness for all levels of ability
  • DECORATE CHURCH
    10:45am • JCC
    • Voilunteers help finalize decoration of sanctuary
  • Community Event: TICKETS for NUTCRACKER SWEETS on sale Call 207.935.4020
    • Dec 3rd (Sat) @ 5pm and Dec 4th (Sun) @ 2pm: Act One Dance Company presents Nutcracker Sweets.
    • Performed at Leura Hill Eastman PAC at the Fryeburg Academy
    • Members of our church community performing in this show.
    • Tickets will be on sale at the studio (Tina Titzer’s School of Dance) and also at Spice and Grain.
    • Note: Attending the December dance performance is an optional event to complement the church’s 3-week Advent book study of Matt Rawle’s The Gifts of the Nutcracker. JCC friends and members will attend the Saturday performance; participants must order their own tickets at phone number above. 
  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • Community Events: HOOT NIGHT
    • Wildcat Tavern: Jonathan Sarty hosts • 6-8:30pm

WED, Nov 30

THURS, Dec 1

  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • Community Service: WAY STATION 
    2-5 • Food collection & distribution
    10-6 • Open shift for drop-ins and apts.
    • Staff and volunteers of JCC participate. Operating in church basement this week: Nativity Lutheran.
  • Community Event: JOURNEY to the NORTH POLE (Believe in Books / Theater in the Woods / Conway Scenic RR)
    • Early – 4:15pm (Boarding begins at 3:45pm) & Late – 7:15pm (Boarding begins at 6:45pm)
    • Info & tickets: Journey to the North Pole including online tickets, dates, departure times and more.
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shannon Door: Jeremy Dean • 6-8pm
    • Red Parka Pub: Closed for vacation
    • Wildcat Tavern: Al Hospers

FRI, Dec 2

  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • C3: COCKTAILS & CHRISTIAN CONVERSATION
    5pm • Zoom link required
    • Or dial by your location: 929 436 2866, Meeting ID: 830 2844 2916
    • Join us for cocktails and discussion of this week’s scripture with art
  • Community Event: JOURNEY to the NORTH POLE (Believe in Books / Theater in the Woods / Conway Scenic RR)
    • Early – 4:15pm (Boarding begins at 3:45pm) & Late – 7:15pm (Boarding begins at 6:45pm)
    • Info & tickets: Journey to the North Pole including online tickets, dates, departure times and more.
  • Community Event: SLEIGH RIDES @ Nestlenook Farm
    Nestlenook Farm, 66 Dinsmore Road, Jackson, NH
  • Community Event: FIRST FRIDAY – Dark Train Express
    Noon • Majestic Cafe, Conway
    • Dark Train Express quartet (Chad Cummings, Eben Eastman, Gideon Richard and Joseph Della Valla) will play a spirited hour of Cummings’ pop/rock/jazz fusion originals. Admission is by donation, with open seating in the spacious and well-ventilated Majestic Theatre on Main Street in Conway. Pre-concert donations may be made here. Walk-ins are also welcome.
    • Tickets: https://mountaintop.ludus.com/index.php
  • Community Event: MAJESTIC CAFE CONCERT – The Dan Moore Trio
    6:30 pm • Majestic Cafe, Conway, NH
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Wildcat Tavern: Al Shafner • 6-9pm
    • Shannon Door: Marty Quirk • 6-9pm
    • Red Parka Pub: The Echo Tones • 8-11pm
    • Shovel Handle Pub; Mountain Music Series – Special Appearance By Annie Sumi from Ontario •  5:30-8:30pm

SAT, Dec 3

  • Community Resource: LIBRARIES
  • Community Event: WINTER TREE ID
    10am • Nansen Wayside Park, Milan, NH
    • 2-hour field program on how to identify trees in winter, both deciduous and conifer. Naturalist Dave Govatski will take participants through the unique characteristics and identifiers of the region’s trees, including twig characteristics, branch arrangement, and bark, this program is appropriate for all levels. We hope you join us! Dress for the weather and bring water & a snack.
    • Space is limited and registration is required. Call 603-447-6991 or click here to register.
  • Community Event: TMCC Nature Learning Center Tour 1pm • Tin Mtn Conservation Ctr, Albany
    • Tin Mountain Conservation Center’s Nature Leaning Center is an exquisitely designed, built and operated “net zero” facility that utilizes both solar-electric and solar-thermal technologies. Our tour includes the many features created by locally sourced materials, the building’s energy systems, extensive natural history library, animal mount display and countless natural treasures. For those who are interested in walking the new accessible trail, bring weather-appropriate clothing and footwear traction for a guided tour of the 1.2 mile “lollipop loop”. The TMCC Nature Learning Center tour offers an informative, fun and beautiful weekend activity.
  • Community Event: NUTCRACKER SWEETS Dec 3rd (Sat) @ 5pm and Dec 4th (Sun) @ 2pm • Leura Hill Eastman PAC at the Fryeburg Academy
    • Call 207.935.4020 fot tickets
    • Members of our church community performing in this show.
    • Tickets will be on sale at the studio (Tina Titzer’s School of Dance) and also at Spice and Grain.
    • Note: Attending the December dance performance is an optional event to complement the church’s 3-week Advent book study of Matt Rawle’s The Gifts of the Nutcracker. JCC friends and members will attend the Saturday performance; participants must order their own tickets at phone number above. 
  • Community Event: JAZZ for the HOLIDAYS – Home Concert in Silver Lake
    2:3pm (sold out) & 7:30pm ª Silver Lake Private Residence
  • Community Event: SLEIGH RIDES @ Nestlenook Farm
  • Community Event: SANTA’s HOLIDAY EXPRESS
    Conway Scenic Railroad
    • Book your tickets online ahead of time
    • Admission rates vary. Visit the Conway Scenic Railroad website for booking details and additional Santa’s Holiday Express info.
  • Community Event: JOURNEY to the NORTH POLE (Believe in Books / Theater in the Woods / Conway Scenic RR)
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shannon Door: Sheehan & Holden • 7-10pm
    • Red Parka Pub: The Big Picture • 8-11pm
    • Wildcat Tavern: Jonathan Sarty • 6-8:30pm

SUN, DEC 4 – ADVENT 2

  • INTERFAITH GATHERING
    8am • Old red library or Zoom link required
    • Join us for poetry, conversation, and prayer.
  • WORSHIP with ADVENT 2: Peace
    10:30am • JCC in-person or Zoom link required
    • Advent candle-lighting
    • Message: Rev Gail Doktor
    • Music Sharon Novak
  • Community Event: NUTCRACKER SWEETS Dec 3rd (Sat) @ 5pm and Dec 4th (Sun) @ 2pm • Leura Hill Eastman PAC at the Fryeburg Academy
    • Call 207.935.4020 fot tickets
    • Members of our church community performing in this show.
    • Tickets will be on sale at the studio (Tina Titzer’s School of Dance) and also at Spice and Grain.
    • Note: Attending the December dance performance is an optional event to complement the church’s 3-week Advent book study of Matt Rawle’s The Gifts of the Nutcracker. JCC friends and members will attend the Saturday performance; participants must order their own tickets at phone number above. 
  • Community Event: SLEIGH RIDES @ Nestlenook Farm
    Nestlenook Farm, 66 Dinsmore Road, Jackson, NH
  • Community Event: SANTA’s HOLIDAY EXPRESS
    Conway Scenic Railroad
    • Book your tickets online ahead of time
    • Admission rates vary. Visit the Conway Scenic Railroad website for booking details and additional Santa’s Holiday Express info.
  • Community Event: JOURNEY to the NORTH POLE (Believe in Books / Theater in the Woods / Conway Scenic RR)
  • Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
    • Shannon Door: Mike & Becca • 6-9pm
    • Red Parka Pub: Blue Sunday with Erin Harpe • 5-8pm

Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE: DAY 14 – Sat, Dec 11

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , ,

Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the Lord; and I will heal them. — Isaiah 57:19

… even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. — Psalm 139:12

______________________________________

On this final day of lighting just two candles and focusing on peace, let the light—magnified by the duo of flames—symbolize the heart of peace. By definition, peace is always relational.

            It grows first through your inner connection to self, rooted by holistic internal spiritual, emotional, psychological and bodily wellbeing. Then it turns outward to intimate relationships, and beyond such bonds, to communal networks and systems and how these, ideally, sustain the wellbeing of all people and thus support societal peace. Peace also comprehends the significance of human relationships to the environment and the interdependent, reciprocal nature of people to our world.

            How does the natural world offer you peace? Is it a place where you go to seek sanctuary? Spend time outside for athletics or to seek creative inspiration? Do you find your connection through other wild, living creatures or in natural settings? Choose time in the mountains or near the water? Do you work in the garden? Keep animals? Feed or watch the birds? Hike in the woods? Fish? Go boating or kayaking? Swim? Ski? Play another sport outside? Work outside? Play outside? Learn outside? Volunteer outside?

            Name the ways you interact with the natural world: holy creation. Your home. Humanity’s home.

            Then consider, in what ways do you commit to caring for the environment in your part of the world? By your volunteer hours? Your use of natural spaces? Membership in conservation movements? Personal stewardship choices as a consumer or advocate?

            When you enact your values in the ways you choose to live, including your connection to the natural world and its inhabitants, you engage the spiritual practice of peace-building at a communal, environmental level.

            Light the two candles. Watch how the light grows proportionately when the pair burns together, rather than as a single spark.

            Share your light! — Rev Gail

______________________________________

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. — John F. Kennedy

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. – Edith Wharton

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