9:00 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship: Phil Simard on the facing bench
10:15 AM Small groups will consider daily meditation / prayer practice as a response to Marian’s presentation three weeks ago
11:15 AM semi-programmed meeting for worship: Frank Wood, speaker; Kathy Webster, musician; Clifford Goltz on the facing bench

“To everyone who conquers…I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” – Revelations 2:17 in part

TODAY

Worship Planning Committee will meet today at 12:30 in the conference room

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

A new Quaker CSA, Avodah, starting to deliver produce this summer. More at avodahfarm.net or 715-647-3033.

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

We are nearing the end of our fiscal year. Please make reimbursement requests for the 2011-2012 budget year before March 31. Forms and instructions are on the blue box in the long hall.

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

The Quaker Women’s group will meet on Wed, March 21st at TCFM for pot-luck lunch at 12:00. The discussion will be led by Caroline Basset on wisdom, the basis of her PhD dissertation. Guests are welcome – come and bring your friends.

There will be a meeting for worship for healing with attention to the proposed constitutional marriage amendment Thurs, March 29th. Worship 7-7:45; social time to follow until 8:30.

The Peace and Social Concerns meeting scheduled for next Sunday (March 25) has been postponed until April 1.

“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. 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!

Lolly will soon return with her new dog. The first few weeks are vital in the development of Lolly and her dog’s working partnership. Among the recommendations: greet the dog and owner in a relaxed manner. Do not rush up to them. Do not stare at the dog. Give the dog a chance to adjust to its new surroundings gradually. More directives are posted.

Pam Lipe and Don Johnson invite Friends to worship in their home, Wed, March 21st at 6:00, and Thurs. the 29th at 7:00.

Northern Yearly Meeting asks each constituent monthly meeting to have a representative to attend NYM Executive Committee meetings and to serve as a liaison between the monthly meeting and the yearly meeting. Interested in serving as MFM’s NYM rep, please tell Pat Jones. Nancy Peterson has been serving in this capacity for several years.

An article appeared in Friends Journal about convergent Friends – Quakers from all three major branches of Quakerism who have found each other on the web and have been asking, together, what it means to live the Quaker faith authentically. Related to Mary Snyder’s presentation at adult program two weeks ago and the spirit of Friends World Committee for Consultation, (whose five-year gathering will be this summer in Kenya,) it makes interesting reading: friendsjournal.org/eight-questions-convergent-friends . Liz Oppenheimer’s book on this same subject is in the library.

International Friends Church that was started in the north metro area is hosting William Penn University students and the ministry director next Sunday, March 25. George Kamwesa from OH will visit on Easter weekend April 18. All are warmly invited – 11am in the office building of Strawberry Commons, 7278 72nd Lane, Brooklyn Park 55428

Chester McCoy is interviewed in this short and wonderful video.

Come hear sacred stories from various traditions around the world. Mayim Rabim Congregation proudly presents Carla Vogel, and her husband Barry Nienstadt, in an evening of spiritual storytelling at MFM, Sat, March 24th. Havdalah Service at 6:30 pm, storytelling at 7 pm, followed by middle eastern desserts and Turkish coffee! All are welcome; childcare will be provided. There will be another storytelling session for MFMers on April 18. Save the date!

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Our fiscal year ends March 31st. As of last Sunday, we had contributed $100,030.00 toward our budget of $116,748.00. Please give as you are able.

OUR WIDER COMMUNITY

An unprogrammed meeting for worship in NE Minneapolis will be held on the fifth Friday evenings beginning March 30th at 6:45 followed by a community meal at 7:30. Held at the Grace Center for Community Life, 1500 Sixth St NE. Contact Lyn Egolf Grider, 612-788-0303.

Have you ever thought about traveling to Central America? Are you interested in learning about other forms of Quakerism? The El Salvador Committee of Northern Yearly Meeting is sponsoring a trip to visit El Salvador Yearly Meeting in August, 2012. Open to Friends ages 15 and up – teens, adult young Friends, adults and physically fit elders. Interested or more: Ruby Steigerwald at 612-721-7040 by 01-31-2012.

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.

Joint Religious Legislative Coalition Day on the Hill, “And What Does God Require?,” is this Tues, March 20, 8:30-3:30.
Registration required. Phil Simard is going. Tell him if you would like to carpool. jrlc.org/register-for-day-on-the-hill.

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones is away until the end of the month.
Carolyn Sherer VandenDolder, the Administrative Assistant, will be in Wed, 2-5 and Fri 10:30-4. 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.