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THURSDAY. DECEMBER 10. 2020 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Madonna and Child statue unveiled
at Our Lady of the Mountains church
Public invited
to view statue at
Catholic church
On Sunday, December 6, a six-foot
tall, hand-carved statue of the Blessed
Mother Mary and her son, Jesus Christ,
was blessed at the end of the 11 a.m.
Mass at Our Lady of the Mountains
Catholic Church, this marble statue is of
the Madonna and Child, but more
specifically it is an image called the
“Sedes Sapientiae” (or “the Seat of Wis
dom”). This is a particular designated
type of image of the Blessed Virgin
Mary - one that features the Virgin hold
ing her son in her arms. Catholic theol
ogy teaches that Christ is Wisdom, and
so when the Virgin is holding the Christ
child in statues or icons like this one,
she is seen as a throne for Wisdom (or
as a Seat of Wisdom).
The story of this statue is an interest
ing one. For over 20 years, a concrete
statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary has
stood in front of Our Lady of the Moun
tains parish. Some time ago, at the sad
funeral of a child, a visitor came up to
the pastor and asked to be able to re
place the cement statue with a taller one,
carved in marble, and customized to the
specifications of the parish. The donor
sought to remain anonymous, but the
pastor chose “the Seat of Wisdom” to be
the marble statue to be carved for
Jasper’s Catholic church. With that the
artist began his work halfway around
the world. Once finished, the statue was
brought by cargo boat to Savannah, and
finally placed upon the stone plinth or
pedestal where the old cement statue
had previously stood. So then, out of the
tragedy of the death of a child, some
thing beautiful came about. Fittingly,
this statue beautifully depicts the Christ
child placing His hand upon the heart of
his Queenly Mother. For, Catholics be
lieve, he came to die for all humanity.
While this statue is on private prop
erty, it also stands in a prominent place
in our community, and so (in a manner
of speaking), it belongs, in many ways,
to everyone. Catholics love art, and they
love sharing art publicly too. We invite
folks to come and see this beautiful
statue for themselves, but also to visit
the parish that so inspired the act of gen
erosity of the anonymous donor of this
statue. The Catholic parish in Jasper is
a rich cultural jewel in many ways. In
the Christian scriptures, from the Cross,
Jesus Christ tells Mary that his disciple,
John, shall be henceforth her son, and
he tells his beloved disciple John, that
Mary shall be his mother. In this,
Catholics see Mary as not merely the
mother of Christ, but also the mother to
all disciples of Jesus Christ. Our Lady
of the Mountains is proud of this new
treasure, which we share with everyone,
as we want everyone to know Our Lady,
and her Divine Son, Jesus Christ.
Owned by a coffee enthusiast a coffee shop for everyone
JAX Coffee a fresh take for Main Street
Each year the Jasper Lions Club starts getting geared
up in November for their huge Christmas project, Fill-
A-Stocking.
Over the years the Lions have provided Christmas for
thousands of Pickens County children. To take on this
task alone would be impossible, so they depend on com
munity donations and from sources like the toy run
which brings around 1,500 motorcycles into Pickens
County. Pickens County 4-H’ers did not want to be left
out of this great opportunity to show that we care about
our community. At a recent 4-H meeting 4-H’ers brought
in an unwrapped toy of their choice to be donated to this
project. The box was spilling over with dinosaurs, baby
dolls, and remote control cars. After the 4-H’ers had col
lected all the toys, senior level 4-H’er Ryan Johnson took
them to the Lions Club distribution center. Leslie Miller,
Lions Club president, was happy to receive the 4-H’ers
generous donations. Way to go 4-H’ers. Continue to
show you care about your community.
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Baristas at JAX Coffee Company on Main Street work a
busy shift during the Night of Lights Christmas parade.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The atmosphere at JAX
Coffee Company is cozy and
relaxing, but also subtly alert
in the way that the aroma of
coffee evokes alertness. I vis
ited over the weekend and,
after being surprised to see
Main Street filled with cars
on a Sunday afternoon and a
steady line of customers, I or
dered.
The barista was enthusias
tic not only about filling my
drink order, but also about
how my day had been going
up to that point. A few folks
were tucked away at tables
and at the high-top bar, plug
ging away on laptops using
the free WiFi. Others sat and
chatted. Music played softly
over the speakers. A back
wall donned a set of angel
wings customers can use as a
photo backdrop.
JAX owner Cindy Elliott,
a self-proclaimed “coffee
nerd,” would approve of the
scene. She told me earlier in
the week her goal is to serve
the freshest coffee around,
but she also wants to create a
space where baristas are
knowledgeable, where cus
tomers feel comfortable ask
ing questions, and where
community is fostered.
“I am passionate about
coffee and I want to get back
to a place where we get to
know the coffee and get to
know our community,” said
Elliott, who worked in the
corporate coffee world for
many years before she
plunged into JAX while on
furlough. “Where I worked,
at one point there was re
quired coffee education for
employees, but that program
went away as the company
grew. It got impersonal. I
missed learning about coffee
flavor profiles and pairing
them with foods, just like you
would with wine, and talking
to customers about it.”
Elliott prides her shop on
high-quality, fresh coffee.
She gets her beans from
Alma in Holly Springs. Alma
is a 5th generation family of
coffee growers from Hon
duras. Coffee at JAX is never
more than a week out of the
roaster - usually just a day or
two - when it is served.
“You seriously can’t get
any fresher,” she said.
Elliott, who has only been
open nine weeks in Jasper,
plans to provide coffee edu
cation programs for her em
ployees, including taking
them to visit the roaster in
Holly Springs. She also
wants to have educational
nights where customers can
come in for a “flight” of cof
fee and tastings, and learn
about flavor profiles and
pairings.
“Coffee doesn’t have to be
intimidating,” she said. “I
want it to be approachable.
We have something for
everyone from your coffee
aficionado to your regular
coffee drinker.”
Elliott told me about some
of her geekier coffee accou
trements - a Belgium vac
uum coffee brewer and a
Japanese vacuum coffee
brewer - which customers
can request for extra-special
coffee meet-ups. She’s also
got a bakery in the back and
serves fresh muffins and
other treats. Currently sweets
and oatmeal are what’s on the
menu, but her baker is work
ing out the kinks for New
York style bagels and house-
made cream cheese. They
have a “Fresh Out of the
Oven” feature on their social
media pages where they post
baked goods as soon as they
are ready. They also sell bags
of whole or ground beans.
Outside of coffee and
food, Elliott has launched a
variety of events to promote
JAX’s coffee is as fresh
as it comes, according to
“coffee nerd” owner Cindy
Elliott. Her staff has a com
bined 30 years of experience
as baristas, pastry chefs, and
entrepreneurs.
community, which hammers
home the meaning behind the
name “JAX.”
“It means Jack of all
trades, but ‘axes’ are cooler
than ‘c-k-s’s,” she said laugh
ing.
Every Saturday from 5-7
p.m. will be live music; Tues
day evenings are yoga; and
she has a book club that will
meet the first Monday of
each month (this month’s
book is American Fire: Love,
Arson & Life in a Vanishing
Land). She has already part
nered with some local busi
nesses as well.
“What I love about coffee
is it’s so warm and comfort
ing to me,” she said. “I want
to share my passion with
other people, and make this a
space where people want to
come. ”
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