Water, Watercolors & Wine

Thursday, April 11

6:30-8:30 pm

Explore the interconnectedness of spirituality and art through the medium of watercolor. The evening will be facilitated by experienced instructor Deborah Sparling, whose training and teaching in the fine arts has extended to many mediums; including painting, printmaking, sculpture, and drawing.  Deborah believes the sweetness of life is expressed through the creative arts and she is looking forward to helping participants learn and explore, whether they are new to watercolors or a more experienced painter.

Bring an image of water that inspires you. Perfection is not the goal, artistic expression of your love for water is.

Supplies provided. Wine, cheese and crackers will be served.

Cost: $20

Registration is limited.

To register online go to https://waterspiritwatercolors.eventbrite.com

Or call us at 732-923-9788 or email us at waterspirit981@gmail.com to register.

We hope you can join us!

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Happy Spring Equinox!

Spring Equinox

The balance tips toward the light.

Now is the time to start

A journey or a garden bed;

Plant with a happy heart

 

The seeds of dreams. Wake, senses, wake!

Smell the moist soil that brings

Forth juicy green from its dark depth.

Hear how the river sings;

 

The waters nourish and renew.

Feel gentle balmy breeze

Caress your skin. See sun’s bright light

Awaken grass and trees.

Now taste the joy. And like the earth

You are refreshed and new

And full of energy to plant,

Begin, create, and do.

-          Agnes Krampe

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WATERSPIRIT Job Posting for Executive Director

WATERSPIRIT 

Job Posting

Position:  Executive Director

Salary:  Starting at $80,000 plus benefits (Depending on Experience)

To Apply:  Submit cover letter indicating interest and experience along with resume or CV demonstrating qualifications via peaceministriesjobs@gmail.com by March 15, 2019.

Description:

Seeking an experienced leader with vision and passion to promote, organize, and articulate the mission of WATERSPIRIT, a center of ecology and spirituality in Rumson, New Jersey. 

The Executive Director holds overall responsibility for the administration, programs, advocacy, fundraising, marketing and community outreach of WATERSPIRIT.  Collaborates with staff, advisory board, and volunteers to organize programs and advocacy efforts and implement the strategic plan.  Actively engages and energizes volunteers, advisory board members, funders, event committees, and participating organizations to promote the mission.

Qualifications & Requirements:

·         Commitment to and demonstrated experience in support of the WATERSPIRIT Mission.

·         Master’s Degree in ecology, spirituality, theology, earth science, or related field preferred.

·         Knowledge, personal experience and passion for Earth spirituality and ecology, evolutionary faith and the new cosmology.

·         Willingness to learn about and work from the core values of the ministries of the Sisters of St.  Joseph of Peace, including dignity of the person, option for the poor, peace through justice, care of creation, solidarity, reading the signs of the times, and collaboration.

·         Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a team environment.

·         Grounding in environmental issues and specifically water issues.

·         Collaborative and creative spirit.

·         Strong written and oral communication skills with excellent interpersonal skills and strong, persuasive public speaking ability.

·         Facility with non-profit finances, including budget preparation, analysis, decision making and reporting.

·         Ability to travel and work evenings and weekends as needed.

·         Ability to look at issues from a local perspective, as well as national and international.

·         Strong organizational skills with the ability to direct and implement programs in line with mission.

·         Ability to interface and engage diverse volunteers, donors and stakeholders.

About WATERSPIRIT

WATERSPIRIT’s Mission Statement

WATERSPIRIT is a center of ecology and spirituality that informs, inspires, and enables all people to deepen their consciousness of the sacredness and interdependence of all creation with a focus on water as critical in sustaining all life.  WATERSPIRIT is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. 

Core Values

Ø  WATERSPIRIT values education, advocacy, and collaboration in promoting the individual transformation and systemic change needed to sustain water and all life on Earth.

Ø  WATERSPIRIT values the inclusion of all who seek to pursue a spirituality that deepens their connection with Earth and all her systems.

Ø  WATERSPIRIT, rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching, stresses the importance of the right to clean, safe water for the poor and disadvantaged.

WATERSPIRIT is a Ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace

 

"Meditations on Nature, Meditations on Silence"

"Anyone who has probed the inner life, who has sat in silence long enough to experience the stillness of the mind behind its apparent noise, is faced with a mystery. Apart from all the outer attractions of life in the world, there exists at the center of human consciousness something quite satisfying and beautiful in itself, a beauty without features. The mystery is not so much that these two dimensions exist - an outer world and the mystery of the inner world - but that we are suspended between them, as a space in which both worlds meet... as if the human being is the meeting point, the threshold between two worlds." - Kabir Helmisnski, from The Knowing Heart

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Prayer for #climatefastnj November 7 -21, 2018

As all life is interconnected, so is all new fossil fuel infrastructure connected to all life.

We pray for our political leaders and leaders in the energy industry to recognize and act on the urgency of climate change and climate change chaos and to particularly recognize the affects of climate change and climate change chaos on people living in poverty.

We pray for the people living in poverty, especially the children, who lack the resources to recover from climate change chaos and from the adverse health effects of fossil fuel pollution.

We pray for the healing for all life from the adverse health effects from the mining, extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

We pray for the healing of the excessive degradation done to Mother Earth through the mining, extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

We pray for our political leaders to recognize and act on the alarming adverse health effects of fossil fuel mining, extracting, refining and burning.

We pray for a just transition to renewable energy and for a just renewable energy economy.

We call on Mother Earth and the spirit of the Divine to cleanse her waters, air and soil from the degradation we have caused from the mining, extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

We pray for the community of life to come together to act in the best interests of all life, not in the interests of greed, markets, profits and the fossil fuel industry.

We pray for a just transition from fossil fuel jobs to abundant fair wage renewable energy fair wage jobs.

We pray for an end to the unjust exploitation of communities caused by the mining of fossil fuels.

We pray for an end to the unjust wars for the control over fossil fuel resources.

We particularly pray, at this time, for all life in New Jersey; for there to be a moratorium placed on all new fossil fuel infrastructure in the State of NJ.

We pray especially for the children of NJ, that they may have clean air, water and soil in their neighborhoods.

We pray for Governor Murphy to use the power of the Governor’s office to enact an Executive Order to place a moratorium on all new fossil fuel infrastructure in New Jersey.

We pray for the people and communities participating in #climatefastnj; that our fast, prayers and actions will lead to real positive change for all life in the State of New Jersey. 

We pray for #climatefastnj to help catalyze climate change action and to bring about an end to any new fossil fuel infrastructure being built in New Jersey and beyond.

 

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Climate Fast New Jersey November 7 - 21, 2018

A Call to Action:
Join the New Jersey Fast for No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
November 7-21, 2018

The world, our country and our state are in a very deep hole as far as the civilizational crisis of global climate disruption. As this month’s report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasizes, a primary driver of our rapidly deteriorating climate is the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

 What we are calling for:  Governor Murphy will announce that the State of New Jersey is declaring A MORATORIUM on all new fossil fuel infrastructure. Henceforth, the policy of New Jersey will be that no new oil or gas pipelines will be built in the state: no new gas compressor stations will be built and no expansion of existing ones will occur; no new gas-fired power plants will be built; nothing which deepens the climate hole we are already in will be constructed in the state of New Jersey.

 On November 7th, beginning right after the November 6th election, a water-only fast opposing any new fossil fuel infrastructure in New Jersey will be undertaken in Trenton and elsewhere around the state. Please join us, either in Trenton or at home, work, or elsewhere. You can sign up here. For some participants, the fast will last for as long as two weeks. It will be conducted primarily outside the offices of Governor Phil Murphy in Trenton.

 Those taking part in this action, whether for one day or 14 days, whether in Trenton or elsewhere, will be doing so in support of this call for an immediate moratorium. Governor Murphy needs to announce that the state of New Jersey will give leadership to the nation by declaring a moratorium on all new fossil fuel infrastructure.

 Air, water and land pollution must be decreased, not increased. Much of our state is rated an “F” for failing air quality by the American Lung Association. We want New Jersey to not only “talk the talk” but “walk the walk” on rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We want to see a dramatic increase in new jobs in the solar, wind and other renewable industries and in energy efficiency.

 Sign-up Here - to fast, to support, to rally  

 The Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi once said, “fasting is the sincerest form of prayer.” For some of those who take part, it will be just that: an urgent prayer for our Mother Earth, its people and all of its life forms. For all taking part, we will be doing so in the fervent hope that Governor Murphy will acknowledge that it is unconscionable, not to mention impossible, to have a goal of fighting climate change and achieving 100% renewable energy in the state within 32 years at the same time as expanding new fossil fuel infrastructure which could last for 40 years or more. This is a contradiction that cannot be accepted.

You can learn more about fasting by going to this link.

You can learn more about why we are taking this action at this link and about currently proposed new fossil fuel infrastructure for New Jersey that we are opposing at this link.

 And you can help spread the word by going to and sharing this Facebook posting.

 For health, safety and a stable climate, 

Jane Califf, Bloomfield Citizens Solar Campaign
Ken Dolsky, Organizer, Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition and Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline
Carol E. Gay, President, NJ State Industrial Union Council
Ted Glick, Roseland Against the Compressor Station
Suzanne Golas, csjp, Director, WATERSPIRIT
Matt Smith, Senior Organizer, Food and Water Watch
Paula Rogovin, Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains
Harriett Shugarman, Executive Director, Climate Mama, Climate Reality Project Mentor and Leader
Jerome Wagner, 350NJ-Rockland
350NJ-Rockland
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War
Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains
Food and Water Watch
People Over Pipelines
Occupy Bergen County
Central Jersey Enviromental Defenders
Stepping Stones Resources, Inc.
Lower Raritan Watershed Partners
Bergen County Green Party

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