9:00 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship: care of meeting, Steve Snyder
10:15 AM What is there about your past or your present that fellow Quakers might be surprised to know? Come to a fun, community-building small group discussion facilitated by Mary Jean Port.
11:15 AM semi-programmed meeting for worship: Chester McCoy, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Nancy Helfrich

“Mother to Son”: Well, son, I’ll tell you: / Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. / It’s had tacks in it, / And splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet on the floor— / Bare.
– Langston Hughes

“I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
– Anne Frank

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

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 visitors 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. Particularly to be noted, peanuts, tree nuts (walnut, cashew, etc), meat, poultry, milk, soy, onions, garlic, eggs, fish, shellfish, corn, corn products and wheat.

Adult Program on Jan 6th, 10:15: Nancy P. will speak on her experience and work in the area of racial justice.

Twin Cities area Friends will NOT be serving a Loaves and Fishes dinner at Holy Rosary Church on New Years eve, December 31st. Our next scheduled time to serve is Monday, April 30th.

Global Unwarming tip of the week: Come to a meeting of the Citizen Climate Lobby on Sat, Jan. 5th, 11:45-1p.m.at the Linden Hills Park Bldg, 43rd and Xerxes. Guest speaker: Dr. Robb Willer on How to talk to people about climate change.

The George and Elizabeth Watson Memorial Discussion Group will next tackle Stephen Cave’s Immortality which discusses the four types of immortality that various religions and peoples have believed through the ages. The next gathering is Wed, Jan.9th, 7 pm at the meetinghouse. All are welcome! (It helps if you have time to read the book first.)

Metro Friends is sponsoring another poetry jazz cabaret – an evening of music, poetry reading by kids and adults, and homemade desserts – on Sat, Jan 26, at MFM. Tom Wells and friends will play jazz throughout the evening. The event was a smashing success last year!

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Average contributions of $9,725 per month are needed to meet our budget. First and second quarter contributions have covered only 30% of our approved budget. If you would like to automate your contributions, please talk to Suzanne Ferguson, receiving treasurer. A list of short-term volunteer opportunities is by the offering boxes. Thank you, Friends, for your generous support of the Meeting in all manner of ways.

OUR WIDER COMMUNITY

Prospect Hill Friends Meeting will gather TODAY at TCFM at 3:45 pm for a program, worship sharing on the testimony of integrity, introduced by Ralph Jacobson. Unprogrammed worship will follow at about 4:45, rising about 6pm. Jan 13th: PHFM gathers about 3:45 pm for the program, What we have been reading, led by Cynthia Bartoo. Unprogrammed worship will follow at 4:45, rising about 6pm. All are welcome!

Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed MN ASAP Resolution, (which MFM endorsed,) calling for a reduction and redirection of Pentagon spending back to local communities! If you live in Minneapolis, please send your council member a quick email of thanks.

From Friends Committee on National Legislation: The tragedy in Newtown gives new weight to the continuing debate on gun control. It reminds us of the human cost of laxly regulated and overused guns. But we cannot forget that the 28 who died there represent less than one one-thousandth of the deaths from gun violence every year.
President Obama and Congress need public support to act. Join FCNL in calling for stricter gun control – contact your members of Congress today. FCNL makes this easy at: fcnl.org/resources/pubs/enews/121812/

FCNL Climate Briefing included members of Congress, faith leaders and environmentalist Lester Brown. FCNL Executive Secretary Diane Randall stated, “The solutions will be difficult, but I’m convinced that if we start from a position of faith, of agreeing that we need to address the threat to God’s creation, we can and will act in 2013.” For more about FCNL’s work on climate change, go to: fcnl.org/issues/energy/ . Information on FCNL initiatives, resources, and opportunities, including Program Assistant applications (deadline Jan 31): fcnl.org/resources/pubs/enews/121812/. You can also register here for FCNL’s Spring Lobby Weekend 2013, March 16, – March 19.

Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Concerns Midwinter Gathering You are enthusiastically welcome to the gathering at Bryn Mawr Mountain Retreat and Conference Center in the Poconos of PA, Feb 15-18, 2013. Seek spiritual growth and renewal through unprogrammed worship, learning, fellowship, and play. We will be blessed by the ministry of Niyonu Spann, founder of the Beyond Diversity 101 workshops. For more and to register: flgbtqc.quaker.org/ ; click on Midwinter Gathering or email, flgbtqcmidwinter(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com or phone, 267-713-8694.

MFMers are invited to a private preview screening of My Country Is the World – and the World Is My Stage, a film about the remarkable career of Garry Davis, Citizen of the World – St. Anthony Main Theatre (115 SE Main St., Mpls) on Sun, Jan 6, 3 p.m. The showing is both a test screening – to get your feedback and input – and way to raise funds for the final release of the picture. Limited seating; RSVP required no later than December 31. Contact Gail Hughes: 612-379-7419 or hughe038(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)umn.edu

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones will be in the office Wednesday from 2:00-5:00 and other times Wed, Thurs, Fri. and Sat.
Carolyn 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.