December 8, 2013

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Sandy Olson
9:45 AM worship with attention to business: Ranae Hanson, clerk; Tom Ward, recording clerk
11:15 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed today): care of meeting, Joanne Esser

TODAY

Monthly Meeting (today at 9:45) will consider and likely decide where Fall Camp will be held next year. Please come!

In First Day School at 11:15, we will continue the prison theme with Alternatives to Violence games. Then we will build on last week’s presentation on the Jewish faith by making scrolls and mezuzas. All ages are welcome!

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are awesome! On behalf of Friends for a Non-Violent World, thank you for your generous donation of time, work, and finances to the Holiday Fair! You totally outdid yourselves in volunteering! We hope you had a fun, relaxing time with family and Friends/friends at the event. – Tom and Rae

The White Envelope Gift, a long tradition at Minneapolis Friends Meeting, is a special Christmastime offering that is designated for one-time gifts. We are celebrating this gift the Sunday before Christmas, December 22.
Monthly meeting approved the following to be White Envelope Gift recipients this year
– $120 for a goat for a family somewhere in Africa through ONE and Heifer International,
– $200 for teaching supplies for Joanne Esser to take to Light of Hope School in Kenya
The remaining funds will be divided equally between:
– Project Sweetie Pie (a gardening cooperative in North Minneapolis that involves many young people)
– Reclaim (a Twin Cities program centered on meeting the needs of queer youth of color),
– water wells for Vietnam (see http://www.mqivietnam.org/), and
– a scholarship fund for the Quaker Refugee Fellowship for girls in Kenya.

Upcoming Adult Programs at 10:15:
Dec. 15th: Celeste Robinson, a Macalester student and coordinator for the Northern Yearly Meeting High School Program, will speak about her work with Occupy Homes MN. This group opposes unjust foreclosure and eviction. She will speak about how her work for housing justice ties into Quaker faith and practice.
Dec.22nd: Carol sing and social hour. Bring your favorite, festive breakfast treats and best singing voices!
Dec. 29th: Devin Helfrich will speak on his legislative work related to climate / environmental policy

Anyone interested in what we, as a meeting, might do next around climate change is invited to Kenwood Isles at 6:30pm, this Mon, Dec 9th. The agenda will be wild, unfocused discussion over a soup supper followed by a lengthy silence. Possible actions will be offered out of the silence. Need more? Call Mary or Stephen.

Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is a method of reading and listening deeply. It draws out ways in which a text may speak to us today. Come join lectio-based worship sharing on a biblical text at 11:30-noon this Wed, Dec 11, Kenwood Isles. Light lunch offered after. For more, phone Steve or Mary.

The George and Elizabeth Watson Memorial Discussion Group will meet on Wed, Dec 11, at 7:00 at the meetinghouse. ALL are welcome. There is no homework. We are reading Letters to a Young Seeker by Steve Chase.

The Quaker women’s group will meet 12:30 PM, this Wed, Dec 11 in the lower level of the Becketwood chapel. Bring fruit or cookies to share and a mug for coffee or tea and a bag lunch, if you wish. The topic will be how our mothers presented Christmas and what we took from that to create our own families observances.

One remaining request from Peace and Social Concerns: a volunteer to investigate the Duluth/Superior Meeting’s request to protest the new taconite mine in WI. Interested? Contact Nancy, Roland, or Ranae.

Mayim Rabim Congregation invites all to join in the dialogue at its Human Rights Shabbat this Fri, Dec 13, from 6:00-8:30 PM: a brief Sabbath service followed by conversation about how we can maintain hope in a world so much in need of healing and how to choose where to focus our energy toward change. Members of both MR and MFM will share stories and journeys. A dairy veggie potluck will follow. Bring a dish to share; regardless, please stay and share the meal.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Average contributions of $9,725 per month ($2,431 per week) are needed to meet our budget. In November, $8,164.30 was contributed to the general budget; an average of $2,041.08 per week. The winter quarter contributions historically have covered 40% of the budget. Thank you, Friends, for your generous support of the Meeting in all manner of ways.

OUR WIDER COMMUNITY

Night of Big River Stories – Dec 12th, 6-8: the Iraqi American Reconciliation Project invites you to a night of art and storytelling in the City Hall Rotunda. Come mark the five year anniversary of Minneapolis and Najaf as sister cities with music, art and story by people from these two places, both near major rivers.

Ellen Longfellow, a civil rights attorney for The Council on American-Islamic Relations-MN (CAIR), will speak about the work of CAIR whose mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. Sat, Dec 14, 9:30 A.M., Southdale Library, 7011 York Ave, So. CAIR-MN received the Non-profit Mission and Excellence Anti-Racism Award from the MN Council of Non-profits in 2011. For more, see http://www.mepn.org

Sing-a-long Messiah at Como Park Lutheran Church, West St. Paul, 3 PM Dec 15. Email Roberta to carpool!

Save the Date: The next White Privilege Conference is in Madison, WI from March 26-29, 2014 with the theme of “Building Relationships! Strengthening Communities! Seeking Justice!” Friends General Conference’s Ministry on Racism program encourages all members of mid-western meetings to attend. Like last year, FGC expects to be able to provide a sizable discount for Friends’ participation!

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones will be out of the office until December 14.
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.