9:00 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship
9:45 AM worship with attention to business: Jeannette Raymond, clerk; Terry Hokenson, recording clerk
11:15 AM special programmed meeting for worship: local Kenyans and visitors from Iowa, Indiana and Ohio will offer a programmed worship

TODAY

Welcome and thank you to those who have come from near and far and to everyone who has worked to make this weekend of fellowship and exploration possible.

Contributions are needed to support the travel costs of those involved with worship today. To contribute, make checks to MFM and write “Kenya Project” on the memo line. Thank you!

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

Pat Jones is on vacation until December 22nd. In an emergency, please call David Woolley, clerk of Ministry and Counsel.

Next Sunday, December 18th, at 10:15: Christmas readings. All ages welcome!

Looking for some simple gifts to give neighbors or friends during this holiday season? Check out the tables in the meetingroom! There is a wonderful assortment of crafts and jams made by Friends and members of the FNVW community in the metro area. Some Value’s Board gift certificates are still available from Nancy Helfrich. 100% of your donation goes to FNVW. Please put your checks or cash in the green donation box on the table. Thank you.

Worship in Bloomington will be this Tuesday, December 13th, 7:00, at the home of Louise White. You are welcome to this small, informal, unprogrammed worship. Consider coming even if it’s just for one time.

The Quaker Women’s group will meet on December 14th, not the usual third Wednesday in the party room of Becketwood, 4300 West River Parkway, Mpls, below the chapel. Potluck at noon. The program will be sharing poetry. Plan on bringing one poem with a little explanation of its meaning to you. If there is time for a second round you can be prepared with a second poem. This way each person who wishes to share will have at least one turn.

Lectio Divina (divine reading) is a Benedictine spiritual discipline of letting the text speak to you rather than you interpreting the text. This prayerful listening and responding is called “worship sharing” among Friends. Interested? Come to lectio divina at the Snyders in T05 Kenwood Isles at Hennepin and 28th, 12 noon Wednesday, December 14. A simple lunch will follow at 12:45.

The next Northern Yearly Meeting high school retreat will be Dec. 30-Jan 1 in Milwaukee. For more, contact Jean Leighton on FB or email at nymhighschool(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com. ALSO, The Quake That Rocked the Midwest, again for senior high schoolers, will be in Chicago over the MLK weekend. This year it features a service project, a workshop by Vanessa Juyle of FGC and some great out-trips. Quake That Rocked the Midwest Registration: surveymonkey.com/s/GRTSSVT

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

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.

Ways of Peace II: Non-Violence in the Islamic Traditions – conference videos now available on the Friends for a Non-Violent World website: www.fnvw.org

Please consider donating any winter-type clothing (new or used) to folks who need it. St. Stephen’s Human Services will distribute any children’s, women’s or men’s items to those who need them. This can include blankets, sleeping bags, and hand and feet warmer packets. Place them in large sage green plastic container inside York Ave doors. They will be taken to St. Stephen’s after next Sunday, Dec. 18. Thank you for sharing!

The 13th White Privilege Conference, Intersectionality: Vision, Commitment, and Sustainable Partnerships will be March 28-31, 2012 at the Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, NM. WPC presents a transformational experience based on three tenets: understanding, connecting and respecting. It has become a venue for fostering difficult and critical dialogues around white privilege, diversity, multicultural education and leadership, social and economic justice, and intersecting systems of privilege and oppression. WPC provides an opportunity for participants from all dimensions of life to discuss how white privilege, white supremacy, and oppression affect daily life while gaining strategies for addressing issues of privilege and oppression and advancing social and economic justice. whiteprivilegeconference.com

Friends for a Non-Violent World’s Syria Solidarity Network continues to monitor the nonviolent people’s movement in Syria, and to update our SSN web pages with recent information and links. Please use it to stay abreast of this crucial, largely nonviolent struggle, and please forward the link to concerned friends and colleagues. Next meeting of Syria Solidarity Network: Monday, January 9, 2012, 7:00-9:00pm at the FNVW office, 1050 Selby Ave, St. Paul.

OFFICE HOURS
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.