9:00 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship: Judy Sausen on the facing bench
10:15 AM American Friends Service Committee healing justice – what will AFSC with an office in the Twin Cities and how will it affect FNVW? Michael Bischoff and Erica Thorne will fill us in.
11:15 AM semi-programmed meeting for worship: Mary Jean Port, speaker; Dave Bostrom, musician; Mary Leikvold on the facing bench

“The career of flowers differs from ours only in inaudibleness.”
– Emily Dickinson to her cousins Louise and Frances Norcross, ca. April 1873.

TODAY

All are invited to the monthly potluck in the lower level at the rise of semi-programmed worship today. Come even if you didn’t bring food, and share in relaxed fellowship. Friends are encouraged to help in the clean-up process by busing your own dishes, washing a few dishes before you depart, and helping wipe down and put away tables and chairs if you’re here toward to end. Many hands make light work! Interested in getting to know a great group of people and providing the foundation for these times of fellowship? Talk to Susan Hoch (612-724-0877) about being on Social Committee!

If you have any requests for reimbursement from this past fiscal year (April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012), please submit them to the office ASAP. Request forms are in the top of the blue box in the long hall.

All are welcome at the Peace and Social Concerns committee meeting today, April 1st, downstairs at 10:15

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

Friends World Committee for Consultation World Gathering in Kenya, those preparing for it, and all those traveling to attend including MFMers, Connie Archbald, Mary and Steve Snyder and Annette Smith.

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

Friends are encouraged to shake hands with those immediately around you to signify the close of worship. Standing and extending wider greeting is invited after introductions and announcements.

Do you remember the great Easter brunch we enjoyed last year? If you are male and know how to cook, please talk to Jim Lovestar (612-588-8984) or Tom Laughlin (763-228-1628) about bringing a dish next Sunday, Easter, at 10:15.
The next monthly meeting for business will be April 15th, starting at 9:45.

“Sounding the Divine” workshop April 28th, at Twin Cities Friends Meeting (1725 Grand Ave. St. Paul, MN). Vonn New, a released friend of New York Yearly Meeting, will present a day-long workshop to explore non-verbal forms of creative expression and sensory experiences which can be doorways to deeper union with the Spirit and may be the most effective way to defy violence and build peace. Participation is limited, pre-registration is required. Register at 715-220-3212 or sharonwoods(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)dishup.us . Sponsored by Metro Friends CC and NYM’s A and O. There will be a potluck supper at 5:30 and family folkdance at 6:30. Come for the whole day or come for the evening! See salmon flyers for more.

Celebrate the 70th(!) birthdays of Nancy Helfrich (April 9) and Doug Helfrich (May 31) on Friday, April 6th, 7 pm, at the meetinghouse. No gifts, no potluck – all are invited!

The International Friends Church that was started in the north metro area is hosting George Kamwesa from OH next Sun, Easter, April 8. All are warmly invited – call Phena for location: 763-420-8409.

The next NYM Middle School retreat is April 20-22 at the Twin Cities Friends Meetinghouse in St. Paul. The schedule, sign-up sheet, what-to-bring list, and directions can be found: nymyouth.org/middle/index.html, but can also be found by going to the NYM website, selecting “Links”, “Northern Yearly Meeting Youth”, and then “Middle School”. It’ll be a weekend full of fun, food and F/friends. We will do a service project at a local animal shelter (basically petting cute animals that need attention) and cook our own meal on Sat. night. Questions, email Thomas Greenler.

Chester McCoy is interviewed in this short and wonderful video.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Our new fiscal year begins today. Our approved budget for the year is $114,624.00. To meet our budget obligations, we need to average $2,204.00 in donations per week. Thank you to Friends who generously support the Meeting in all manner of ways.

OUR WIDER COMMUNITY

Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends mid-year meeting, “Who We Are Today and Where Are We Called?” will be at Bear Creek meetinghouse near Earlham, IA, April 21-22nd. See posted schedule and registration forms for more.

Friends School of Minnesota’s plant sale will be at the MN State Fair Grandstand Fri-Sun, May 11-13. Catalog online today: FriendsSchoolPlantSale.com

Creating a Culture of Peace, a national program of training in the practices, principles, and spirituality of nonviolent peacemaking, will be holding a weekend workshop Fri afternoon, Apr 13th through Sun, Apr 15th, with executive director Janet Chisholm and professor and activist Phil Stoltzfus. Explore dimensions of violence in our culture, resources for interpersonal nonviolence, dynamics of nonviolent social movements, perspectives on community building, and strategic action planning. All are welcome, both newcomers and those wanting to deepen their understanding. Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd St., Mpls. Registration deadline: TODAY; cost: $100, scholarships available. Details and registration forms: faithmennonite.org. For more: minstaff(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)faithmennonite.org, or creatingacultureofpeace.org.

Parker Palmer will speak on “Healing the Heart of Democracy” at Westminster Town Hall Forum, Thurs, April 19th. Music at 11:30, forum 12:00, reception and discussion at 1:00. Westminster is at Nicollet Mall and 12th Str. Mpls. Free.

The Islamic Media Center is offering an eye-opening speech by Odeh Muhawesh about Islamic shariah law along with a question and answer time and a free lunch (from Holy Land deli) April 21, 12:00-3:15, Ridgedale Regional Center, Robert Rohlf Room, 12601 Ridgedale Drive, Minnetonka. RSVP by April 19th: or 612-216-2478.

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.