9:00 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship: Phil Simard on the facing bench
10:15 AM The three state amendments that will be on your ballots this year, led by John Stuart, Phil Simard, and Barbara Mohr
11:15 AM semi-programmed meeting for worship: Mary Leikvold, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; Clifford Goltz on the facing bench

TODAY

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.

International Friends Church that was started in the north metro area is hosting William Penn University students and the ministry director today, March 25. George Kamwesa from OH will visit on Easter weekend, April 8. All are warmly invited – 11am in the office building of Strawberry Commons, 7278 72nd Lane, Brooklyn Park 55428

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

Friends World Committee for Consultation World Gathering in Kenya and Connie Archbald as she travels there this coming week.

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

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.

Lunch Bunch will meet Wed, March 28, 11:30. Call Louise White, 952-948-2672, by Tuesday to make a reservation.

Next week, all are welcome to the monthly Sunday potluck lunch. To regulars, please bring plenty of food so there will be ample to accommodate guests and those at the end of the line. Also, please label your pot-luck item/s with ingredients or your name so those with allergies, vegetarians, etc can participate.

Adult Program next Sun, April 1st, at 10:15: American Friends Service Committee healing justice – what will AFSC do if they establish an office in the Twin Cities and how will it affect FNVW? Michael Bischoff and Erica Thorne will fill us in.

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 on Easter, April 8th, at 10:15.

The next monthly meeting for business will be April 15th, starting at 9:45.

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 next Peace and Social Concerns Committee meeting will be April 1, 10:15, (originally scheduled for today – March 25.)

“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!

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 is in Kenya this April,) it makes interesting reading: friendsjournal.org/eight-questions-convergent-friends . Liz Oppenheimer’s book on this same subject is in the library.

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 worship in NE Minneapolis will be held on the fifth Fri evenings beginning March 30th at 6:45 followed by a community meal at 7:30; Grace Center for Community Life, 1500 – 6th Str NE. Contact Lyn Egolf Grider, 612-788-0303.

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: April 1; cost: $100, scholarships available. Details and registration forms: faithmennonite.org. For more: minstaff(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)faithmennonite.org, or www.creatingacultureofpeace.org.

Anyone interested in volunteering for MN Alliance of Peacemakers – volunteers are being sought to staff a literature table
at the State Fair. Contact Judy Sausen with interest or visit MAPM.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.

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.

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones is away until April 1.
Carolyn Sherer VandenDolder, the Admin Assistant, will be in Wed afternoon 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.