Applegater Summer 2022
I’d like to share with you
The Magnitude of All Things
BY LILY MYERS KAPLAN
11
Sugarloaf Community
Association working on
Sports Court Project
BY JEANETTE LETOURNEUX
Every day
I ponder the
precarious nature
of life on earth.
We are in deep
trouble. Smoky
skies increase each
summer. Ponderosa
after ponderosa
succumbs to pine
beetles. Drought deepens. With each death
my heart grows heavy.
From October to May I breathe deeply
as the air clears. The grass greens. My
fears relax. While the rains aren’t exactly
prominent, there is moisture. Rainbows
return. I shift from despair to hope. Yet,
even in the winter, I wonder, “What can
I do? How can I meet the challenges
of climate change?” It seems too big a
problem to solve. I know more than a
few folks who’ve packed up and moved
out. That’s one solution. But as the phrase
“climate refugee” becomes more common,
it’s clear none of us can truly escape this
planetary crisis. That’s the thing. It’s
planetary. There is no escape.
Then I came across this film, The
Magnitude of All Things. I watched and
I wept. It didn’t offer solutions, but
it gave a kind of balm. Seeing people
worldwide—from activists to Indigenous
Peoples—engendered acceptance. My
sorrow didn’t dissipate, but I found greater
grace within it. As an end-of-life doula—
one who accompanies the dying and
grieving—when death presents, I bring
deepest compassion and presence. The film
affirmed that treating the declining planet
with the same reverence I bring to human
loss is sacred.
I’ve worked with grieving people for
decades. I’ve discovered that healing comes
when mourners feel met, slowly rising from
despair when the grief is witnessed without
agenda. Watching this film offered me that
kind of solace and initiated a desire to share
its powerful storytelling. Wherever love
of earth transcends ideology and political
persuasion, this
film opens hearts.
I am proud
to bring The
Magnitude of
All Things to the
Applegate, where
we so deeply value
the land, river, and
spectacular beauty
of the earth. The Magnitude of All Things
speaks to the heart—to the heart of the
matter of all we are witnessing and to
the human heart that binds us to this
beautiful earth.
Free event. Please watch this powerful
film with me and others as the sun
sets. We’ll hold small-group discussions
afterward. It’ll be outside, at 7 pm July
12, at Red Lily Vineyards, where you can
purchase a delicious meal, have a glass of
wine, and relax on the grass to the sounds
of local musician Noah Widdoff. Bring
blankets and chairs for your comfort.
Here’s a teaser and a link to the trailer.
“A cinematic exploration of the emotional
and psychological dimensions of climate
change. When Jennifer Abbott lost her sister
to cancer, her sorrow opened her up to the
profound gravity of climate breakdown,
drawing intimate parallels between the
experiences of grief—both personal and
planetary. Stories from the front lines of
climate change merge with recollections
from the filmmaker’s childhood on
Ontario’s Georgian Bay. What do these
stories have in common? The answer,
surprisingly, is everything.” To view the
trailer, visit themagnitudeofallthings.
com. Screening rights were procured by
Spirit of Resh Foundation. This free event
is cosponsored by A Greater Applegate,
Friends of the Applegate Library, the
Applegater, and Crossroads Death-Care
(Takilma). For more information, call me
at 510-390-1098.
Lily Myers Kaplan, Executive Director
Spirit of Resh Foundation
lily@reshfoundation.org
The Sugarloaf Community Association
(SCA) is building a Sports Court for
all ages to enjoy outdoor recreation in
downtown Williams. Sports will include
basketball, pickleball (with removable net),
shuffleboard, and four square. The SCA has
hosted activities and events for almost 25
years and has built a soccer field, running
track, bathrooms, children’s classrooms,
and more. The folks at SCA run the
Williams Farmers Market and administer
a free or low-cost prekindergarten class at
Williams Elementary School. Their land
is open to everyone seven days a week,
dawn to dusk.
They are seeking donations for this new
project. So far, they have received pledges
for more than $8,000 from 24 local donors
and another $1,300 of in-kind volunteer
labor and supplies. They’ve received two
grants—one from Nike that includes
$1,200 and a set of professional basketball
posts and nets, and a $7,500 grant from
the Four Way Foundation. They are
pursuing one more grant from an Oregon
foundation and are approaching the local
community for the balance of the project’s
cost—about $3,700. The total cost of the
court is around $26,700, so they are about
85 percent there!
SCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, allowing
for all donations to be tax-deductible.
Jenny Van Winkle, SCA board
member, and Bryan Hunter, one of SCA’s
cofounders, are upbeat about the great
progress, noting that work has already
begun and that professional contractors
have been secured for the excavation,
concrete work, and striping. The project
organizers have been “shopping local,”
with gravel from CPI in Murphy and a
local excavator, rebar from Knife River,
and concrete from Riverside Ready Mix.
The community has already been involved
in numerous ways. Fields Home Center
donated all the materials for the storage
shed. “We’ve also had help with tree work,
gravel deliveries, and layout from amazing
SCA is building a Sports Court in downtown
Williams. Photo: Jeanette LeTourneux.
folks in our local community,” Jenny and
Bryan say. “We’ll still need a hand with
fencing and landscaping and someone
to take on the building of an equipment
shed—a great opportunity for one or more
creative builders. Please consider joining us
in providing the community of Williams
and the greater Applegate Valley with this
essential resource. Thanks to everyone
that’s pitched in. It’s been a real treat to see
this community come together to create
something useful and fun for all!”
You can contact the SCA Sports Court
Committee by emailing jennyvwsca@
gmail.com or 62bryanhunter@gmail.com.
Checks can be sent to SCA Sports Court
Project, PO Box 440, Williams, OR 97544.
You may also donate to the project
u s i n g Pa y p a l by e ma i l i n g i n fo @
sugarloafcommunityassociation.org.
Please note that your donation is for the
Sports Court.
Jeanette LeTourneux
jetlet10@gmail.com