TUE, DEC 14 – SUN, DEC 19
TUE, Dec 14
- CLERGY LUNCH
12:30pm • Zoom (private meeting)
Local clergy convene for conversations, ecumenical event-planning, and peer support. Rev Gail attends. - Community Event: CHAIR YOGA
9:15am • Zoom.
Pre-registration required. Register for the Zoom link. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvd-CpqD4sEtdFkuT2horCr6QrTMdCHnGD. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Classes resume, after this week, on 1/4/22. This class is sponsored by the Whitney Community Center in Jackson for Jackson residents however, non-Jackson residents are encouraged to attend. Non-Jackson residents pay a class fee .More info: https://www.anjali-rose.com/yoga - Community Event: FLOW & ALIGN YOGA
4:30pm • Zoom.
Pre-registration required. Register for the Zoom link. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUrf-Gvqz0sRf0_-P230qBI9VLMei_Ytw Classes resume, after this week, on 1/4/22. This class is sponsored by the Whitney Community Center in Jackson for Jackson residents however, non-Jackson residents are encouraged to attend. Non-Jackson residents pay a class fee. More info: https://www.anjali-rose.com/yoga - Community Resource: LIBRARY OPEN
10am-7pm • Jackson Library
Contact the library for additional help: 603.383.9731 or by email: staff@jacksonlibrary.org
WED, Dec 15
- FITNESS with Laurie McAleer
9am • JCC Parish House
Free to participants. Last class of 2021: sessions resume January at 9:30am on Wednesdays. - Community Resource: LIBRARY OPEN
2pm-5pm • Jackson Library
Contact the library for additional help: 603.383.9731 or by email: staff@jacksonlibrary.org - SANCTUARY DECORATING
1pm • JCC
Rev Gail and volunteers continue decorating the sanctuary, - ADVENT 3-Week Study Group: The Redemption of Scrooge
5pm: Dec 15, Dec 22 (zoom)- Co-facilitated as shared Jackson-Bartlett program by Rev Gail Doktor (Jackson) and Rev Pojen Lee (guest preacher at Bartlett)
- Free copies of book available in front entrance of Jackson Community Church. Judy Ludgate also has a few copies available for Bartlett Conrgegational Church’s friends and members who may wish to participate.
- Attend via Zoom link. COntact church for link and password: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org.
- The Redemption of Scrooge is written by Matt Rawle. Book description: Is redemption possible for Ebenezer Scrooge? Pastor and author Matt Rawle discovers the teachings of Jesus in the words of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Rawle dives deep into the dark, sad, greedy world of Scrooge and discovers a man in dire need of a second chance. Along with Scrooge, we meet the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and in the process learn about living with and for others in a world blessed by Jesus. Rediscover and reinvigorate your faith this Advent and Christmas season and look at this familiar classic through the lens of faith.
- COUNCIL MEETING
7pm • Zoom.
Contact church for link and password: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org.
Leadership meeting with staff, church officers, and team leaders to make decisions that support the church’s mission and operations. Open to public. This month we prepare budget for consideration during January 2022’s annual meeting.
THURS, Dec 16
- Community Resource: LIBRARY OPEN
10am-7pm • Jackson Library
Contact the library for additional help: 603.383.9731 or by email: staff@jacksonlibrary.org - Community Service: WAY STATION SHIFT
All Day • Way Station, 15 Grove St, No Conway
Volunteers open day resource center for showers, mail pickup, grocery distribution, more. - Community Event: WINTER BIRD ECOLOGY (TIn Mountain Conservation Center)
7pm • Zoom Link pending.Brush up on your winter bird identification as we review local winter bird field marks as well as pass on a few bird feeding tips for the winter season ahead. This program is a great refresher for the fast approaching Christmas Bird Count. More info: https://www.tinmountain.org/event/winter-bird-ecology-7/ - Community Event: CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS with Heather Pierson Jazz Trio (Mountain Top Music)
7pm/8pm • Majestic Theater, Conway
Heather Pierson, piano and vocals; Shawn Nadeau, bass, and Craig Bryan, drums, will perform Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at the Majestic Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 and refreshments will be available in the Majestic Cafe. Info & tickets: https://mountaintop.ludus.com/index.php - Community Event: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (M&D Theater Productions)
7:30pm • M&D Theater, North Conway
Patrick Barlow, writer of the Broadway and West End hit The 39 Steps, has retold Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This thrilling adaptation uses only five actors to bring some of Dickens’ most beloved characters to life. From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig, Barlow’s A Christmas Carol uses nothing more than some simple props, fresh physicality, and the power of imagination to convey this timeless story of redemption. Witness Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a stingy miser to a man who generously celebrates the spirit of the season all year long, in this highly theatrical adaptation. Tickets and info: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=124639 - Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
- Wildcat Tavern: Rafe Matregrano • 6-9pm
FRI, Dec 17
- Community Resource: LIBRARY OPEN
2pm-5pm • Jackson Library
Contact the library for additional help: 603.383.9731 or by email: staff@jacksonlibrary.org - C3: COCKTAILS & CHRISTIAN CONVERSATION
5pm • Zoom.
Contact church for link and password: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org.
Bring your adult beverage and your curiosity for a conversation about our sacred texts. - Community Event: MAJESTIC CAFE Concert: Dan Moore on piano, with Rick Gordon and Mike (Mountain Top Music)
7pm • Majestic Theater, Conway
$10/pp. More info: https://mountaintop.ludus.com/index.php?step=seats - Community Event: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (M&D Theater Productions)
7:30pm • M&D Theater, North Conway
Patrick Barlow, writer of the Broadway and West End hit The 39 Steps, has retold Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This thrilling adaptation uses only five actors to bring some of Dickens’ most beloved characters to life. From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig, Barlow’s A Christmas Carol uses nothing more than some simple props, fresh physicality, and the power of imagination to convey this timeless story of redemption. Witness Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a stingy miser to a man who generously celebrates the spirit of the season all year long, in this highly theatrical adaptation. Tickets and info: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=124639 - Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
- Wildcat Tavern: Al Shafner • 6-9pm
- Shannon Door: Marty Quirk • 6-9pm
- Red Parka: Shark Martin• 8-11pm
- Shovel Handle: Rek’lis Duo • 6-9pm
SAT, Dec 18
SUN, Dec 19
- INTERFAITH GATHERING
8am • Old Red Library next to church (indoors) & Zoom.
COntact church for link and password: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org.
Poetry and conversation. Join us. Bring your own hot beverage on cold mornings! - WORSHIP IN-PERSON & ZOOM – Advent 4: Love
10:30am • Zoom & Live. Contact church for link and password: jcchurch@jacksoncommunitychurch.org.- Join us for worship with music, scripture, prayer and reflection.
- Live music by Alan Labrie
- Advent 4: Love candle-lighting by Robert Carper & Elizabeth Polansky
- Choral song debut
- In-person attendance requires social distancing and masking for all attendees (additional precautions may be changed based on COVID stats and CDC guidelines).
- Service will also be live-streamed to website and Facebook (if technology supports this function on the day of event). Afterward, recordings of worship service will be posted to Facebook, Vimeo.com channel & Youtube.com channel.
- CHRISTMAS STORYTELLING with Doug Brendel
4pm • JCC
Author, minister, and humanitarian Doug Brendel performs Christmas stories in Parish House. Join us for seasonal reflections and delicious goodies. Donations will benefit the nonprofit New Thing and the local nonprofit the Way Station. This will also be livestreamed to Facebook and church website. - Community Event: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (M&D Theater Productions)
3:30pm • M&D Theater, North Conway
Patrick Barlow, writer of the Broadway and West End hit The 39 Steps, has retold Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This thrilling adaptation uses only five actors to bring some of Dickens’ most beloved characters to life. From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig, Barlow’s A Christmas Carol uses nothing more than some simple props, fresh physicality, and the power of imagination to convey this timeless story of redemption. Witness Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a stingy miser to a man who generously celebrates the spirit of the season all year long, in this highly theatrical adaptation. Tickets and info: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=124639 - Community Events: MUSIC AROUND TOWN
- Shannon Door: Riley Parkhurst • 6-9pm
Youth Programs: May & June
Family Church-at-home-together Continues! Here’s an update on current plans!
- Young People’s Choir & Band begins Mondays, May 24, 4pm via Zoom.
- Choir director & musician Billy Carleton will meet virtually with young people who want to participate in weekly music-making.
- The goal will be to record songs every 4-6 weeks to share during worship.
- Voices and instruments welcome.
- At the first session, Billy will work with music-makers to decide on songs and ways to integrate some instruments as well.
- Note: Young people’s Zoom sessions are only open to young people and their family/guardians (if their adults wish to attend), but is closed to other community members for the safety of the young participants, except by invitation of the choir director or music team. The Zoom link will be circulated in a closed email group for participants and leaders only. Please RSVP if your family has under-18 members who want to join us, and you haven’t already received communication about this group.
- Note that Billy Carleton teaches for SAU9, so he is familiar with teaching and working with younger singers as well as adults.
- Leaders-in-Training (L-I-T) Program Starts in June
- Engaging older youth to continue last summer’s L-I-T experience.
- Should be 7th grade and older
- You will help create educational and entertaining challenges that invite younger participants outside in safe and creative ways (with their adult family/guardian members participation)
- Together we’ll create some physical/virtual challenges such as letterbox kits on-site around Jackson/Bartlett, design scavenger hunts for summer recrreation and other ways to have physical engagement outside, with prompts designed and facilitated by our Leaders-in-Training
- RSVP if you want to be part of the Leader=in-Training initiative (7th grade and older)
- Letter-boxing/geo-caching challenge designs
- Scavenger hunt design
- Extended game design
- Mystery game / live puzzle design
- Puppets and Story-telling:
- Expect a delivery of make-your-own puppet kits to families and “church at home” kits.
- We’ll create live-action puppet skits of sacred stories, filmed via Zoom or other ways, to share with the church once-a-month during worship!
- Young people who want to participate may pick characters for their puppets and tell the story in your own words, your own way! With your own puppet, that you make!
- You will choose the stories we tell also.
- Unless your family doesn’t want such a kit, we’ll plan to deliver one to all of our families as soon as the materials arrive (we hope to have them this week).
- We’ll schedule Zoom times to explore stories and work out skits, unless we can gather safely outside in small groups, with appropriate social distance precautions (to be determined as circumstances unfold)
- Church-at-home kits:
- We’ll deliver church-at-home kits with devotionals and art pages to your families for some quiet, contemplative activity options
- Prayer flags:
- We’d love to fly your flags!
- We’ll provide prayer flag materials, and we invite you to make ones to use at home
- We also want to share one of your prayer flags in a display outside the church.
- Prayer Fence:
- The chalkboard fence will be re-painted white and ready for public use by the end of May.
- Painting the fence has been adopted as a service project by one of our families.
- Community Care cards:
- We would love to include handmade cards or artwork from our young people in care packages that we’re continuing to distribute in the community.
- If you make cards, we’ll provide a safe place at church for you to return them, for redistribution to members, friends and neighbors who need your cheer & care
- Messaging is your choice, but we suggest cheerful, inspirational and optimistic messages with universal themes (these won’t be addressed to specific individuals or specific issues) like “thinking of you”, “have a nice day”, “smile”, “friendship”,”peace”, “hope”, “love” and/or “sending you prayers and good thoughts”
- Adopt-a-friend:
- As an extension of the Community Care card initiative, we have a small list of vulnerable community members who are lonely or isolated for different reasons. If we have an expression of interest among our younger families, we’d like to match families with some of these neighbors to create some inter-generational communication and relationship-building
- You can explore how to activate this connection might work.
- Occasional phone or zoom calls might work with some people, although hearing loss and technology challenges can make this a case-by-case option.
- Cards and mail are excellent ways to connect.
- Care package drop-offs are also excellent ways to connect(with social distance precautions)
- Social-distance visits to wave and chat are possible in some instances, if health isn’t an issue, but we should discuss case-by-case
- Youth Day(s) in Worship
- We’ll aim for youth-led worship at least every quarter, every 9-12 weeks with youth-led reflections, readings and music
- The first such worship session will take place toward the end of June – after graduation activities have concluded (more info to come) – integrating whatever contributions we can provide by that time
- Scripture readers:
- We continue to welcome the voices of our young people!
- RSVP to let us know if your family member(s) want to be on our scripture/sacred text reading team, so we can put you on the schedule and get you involved.
- We’d love to have your family member(s) record yourselves reading scripture in anticipate of upcoming Sunday worship (you can decide re. audio-only or video).
- Poetry or other literature are also welcome, too! We would enjoy intergating these into our gatherings.
- Graduate Recognition:
- Please RSVP if you have a pending graduate!
- Please share bios/photos of your graduates, whether they’re finishing high school, college (any level), professional certification programs/training or other educational milestones that we may not have named here
- In June, we’ll celebrate these young people in the church newsletter and other communication platforms (though not to social media unless we have permission to do so)
- We want to include all Jackson-based youth plus any local youth (Bartlett, Conway, etc) connected as friends or members of our faith community
- We welcome updates on other young people connected to our friends and members as extended family such as grandchildren (even if they live in other locations)
- Music & Art contributions:
- If you are a musician or singer or artist, we continue to want to share your special music!
- The contributions of several families have already made worship and other gatherings a richer, deeper experience, and more such offerings are welcome if and when you’re able to share them
- Sacred and/or secular music selections are both welcome
- Pre-recorded audio-only or video performances are best for now
- Open-ended Outdoor Summer Challenges
- With the help of Leaders-in-Training, we’ll offer a variety of active outdoor engagements that are educational and entertaining, and can be completed on the family’s schedule, such as scavenger hunts, letterboxing exploration, and more
Meditations on speaking with holy & holistic purpose
For God, to me, it seems, is a verb; Not a noun — proper or improper; — Is the articulation not the art? Is loving not the abstraction of love? Yes, God is a verb — the most active. — Buckminster Fuller
Speak a new language
so that the world
will be a new world.
― Rumi
Continue reading “Meditations on speaking with holy & holistic purpose”