9:00 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship: Mary Jean Port on the facing bench
10:15 AM How Are We Led: Building Connections and Taking Action – A Collaborative Study from the Book of Acts – led by Kyle Johnson and Heather Carestis
11:15 AM semi-programmed meeting for worship: Jane Furnas, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; Joanne Esser on the facing bench

TODAY

You are welcome to the monthly Sunday potluck lunch downstairs TODAY at the rise of semi-programmed worship. Please pitch-in for a fast clean-up afterward so the building will be free for the memorial service that starts at 2.

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee will meet today at 10:15 downstairs. You are welcome!

Journaling / creative writing will meet today at 10:15 in the conference room. All are welcome.

The memorial service for Bill Greenagel, Patti Furnas Greenagel’s husband, will be this afternoon at 2:00.

Prospect Hill Friends Meeting will gather today for meeting for worship at 4pm. Potluck will follow. PHFM is currently sojourning at TCFM meetinghouse, 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul. You are welcome to join the gatherings at anytime!

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

FNVW extends a sincere THANK YOU to all those who offered their time, talents and energy to the Holiday Fair. Those who made items for sale, those who set up, who provided music, acted as cashiers, who worked in the kitchen or in the balcony with the books, who contacted vendors or were vendors themselves, and those who packed, cleaned, and worked to restore the meetinghouse in time for worship today. Everyone’s help was so vital and appreciated! A special thank you to Rae Cornelius who again shouldered the main organization of the fair. THANK YOU!

“Quakers in East Africa and how American Friends and African Friends can cooperate and be more connected.” John Muhanji, Director of African Ministries for Friends United Meeting, and Ron Bryan, Superintendent of Iowa Yearly Meeting, will speak about this next Sat, Dec 10, 7:00 – 8:30 pm., here at MFM.

In fact, thirteen people, including three Kenyans and two Rwandans, are coming from Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. A van full of musicians is coming (with some electric instruments)! Mary Glen Hadley, a former executive director of FUM and 17 year worker among Friends in Kenya, is coming. And local Kenyan Friends will be here.

Special programmed worship next Sunday, December 11: At 11:15 next Sunday, Dec. 11, local Kenyans and the aforementioned visitors will hold a programmed worship here at MFM. There will probably be some Kenyan music and differing practice of vocal ministry than we are used to at our semi-programmed worship (as well as little or no silent waiting). This is a great opportunity to experience some of the variety within the Society of Friends without leaving home! Please come and share in this opportunity for worship together in another Quaker style. (If you need silent worship, come at 9:00 that day.)

Contributions are needed to support these Kenyan Quaker programs.. To contribute, make checks to MFM and write “Kenya Project” on the memo line. Thank you!

There will be a story-telling opportunity at the meetinghouse on Wednesday, January 11th, 7:00. Watch for more details.

LOST: Bananagrams and Set – two games brought to the Thanksgiving dinner here. Any information – contact Annette.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. In order to meet our budget we now need to average contributions of $13,492 per month for the remainder of the year. Please give as you are able.

OUR WIDER COMMUNITY

Please join Friends for a Non-Violent World’s new Syrian Solidarity Network, Dec 5th, 7:00–9:00 at the FNVW office at 1050 Selby Avenue, St. Paul. The Syrian freedom movement is the largest nonviolent movement in the world today and, in terms of geopolitical impact, one of the most crucial. FNVW feels called to actions of solidarity. RSVP at friendsforanonviolentworld(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com or fnvw.org (at the events calendar) or 651-917-0383.

The American Friends Service Committee (afsc.org), a national Quaker organization, is exploring starting a new program in MN focused on healing justice. They would like to get input from Friends in every meeting in MN. Please complete an online survey to give your input: bit.ly/healingjustice. Also on that webpage, you can find out more about AFSC’s approach to healing justice, examples of healing justice programs in other parts of the country, and an invitation to a community meeting to envision the furthering of healing justice in MN. Other questions and comments, contact Michael Bischoff , michael(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)clarityfacilitation.com or 612-234-1122.

The Mayim Rabim community invites us to celebrate Human Rights Day with them Fri, Dec 9, 6:30, here! We will enter this Human Rights Shabbat evening with silence and singing including songs that welcome Shabbat as well as songs that celebrate the importance of basic human rights such as freedom, justice and peace. After blessings for the meal, we will gather to eat and discuss our different faith perspectives. The focus will be: “What do our different faith traditions teach us about why marriage matters?” We will end with gathering to share what we have learned from each other and a blessing for after our meal. Vegetarian potluck. A lovely opportunity for sharing, learning, and deepening our understanding of each other and this issue.

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones will be in the office Wednesday from 2:00-5:00 and other times Wed, Thurs, Fri. and Sat.
Carolyn Sherer VandenDolder, the Administrative Assistant, will be in Wed. afternoon and Fri. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Bulletin items can be phoned in to the office, emailed or written and put in the bulletin file of the blue box.