September 28, 2014

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Carol Bechtel

10:15 AM Welcome to Keitha and Doug Herron who have recently transferred their memberships here!

11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Bill Hendricks, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstien, musician

TODAY

Happy Birthday to Dick Magraw! Dick will be 95 on Thursday, October 2nd!

This morning there is a special bike outing for first day school students! Gather at 11:00.

Nursery care today is downstairs with Susie Kanimitsu.

Parents are asked to fill out First Day School registration forms TODAY – available on the elevator table.

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, salt restrictions, vegetarians, etc can participate. Particularly to be noted, peanuts (walnut, cashew, etc), salt, meat, poultry, milk, soy, onions, garlic, eggs, fish, shellfish, corn, corn products and wheat.

Warning: Twin Cities Marathon is next Sunday, October 5th. Be prepared for road closures around the former Metrodome, downtown Minneapolis and over toward the State Capitol. Specific closures can be found at tcmevents.org.

Loaves and Fishes – our next turn is Monday, Sept 29th: Volunteers needed for food prep (2:30-4:30), serving chili and salad (4:45-6:45), and post-meal cleanup (5:30-7:00) as well as donations of nutritious deserts such as fruit, cookies and bars. Information and a sign-up sheet is available on the bulletin table. Holy Rosary Church, 2424 18th Avenue S, Mpls.

The Quaker reading group will meet Wed, Oct 15th at 7 in the conference room. All are welcome – on an on-going basis or for one-time visits! We will be selecting something good to read and plotting the schedule for the fall. The group was created as a memorial to George and Elizabeth Watson who read Quaker writings voraciously through the entirety of their lives.

Need a nametag? Sign up on the sheet on the elevator table! Finished nametags will appear on the elevator table when done and are afterward stored around the corner in the long hall.

Northern Yearly Meeting (NYM) Interim Session, Fri and Sat, Oct 24-25, will be in St. Paul at Twin Cities Friends Meeting. All Friends are encouraged to attend these sessions! Overnight housing is needed from area Quakers, for those coming from afar. Hear preliminary reports offering a glimpse of what NYM is doing and take advantage of the smaller size which makes it easier to mix and get to know people! Friday evening session will be from 7pm – 9pm; Saturday from 9am – 5pm. TCFM will provide simple lunch Saturday. Friday dinner options: some Friends eat en route, others bring food to share, and others go to a local restaurant.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Please give as you are able.

OUR WIDER QUAKER COMMUNITY

A thank-you from the Twin Cities Meeting Art Fair people: the art fair was a great success! Including an appearance from Deborah of Minneapolis Friends Mtg! Photos at Four Rivers Friends: quakercofe.ning.com, Events; Announcements.

Are you put off by Salvation? Susan and Paul (Twin Cities Friends Meeting) are offering a class at TCFM called “Quakers and Those Scary Christian Words” for five Thursdays, 7:00 to 9:00 pm, beginning Oct 2. Commitment to all five meetings and preregistration required; limited to 40.

Friends for a Non-Violent World is a Quaker-inspired organization that was founded in 1981 and has since been working to affirm the dignity inherent in each human being. FNVW is committed to advancing nonviolence as an ethic for honoring human dignity and a strategy for achieving peace and justice. FNVW offers newsletters with action ideas and excellent source material on a variety of issues and developments concerning peace and justice. Oct 10 is FNVW’s annual autumn Fundraiser/Celebration: engaging speakers, great conversation and wonderful food. Details to be announced.

The next Racial Justice Gathering hosted by American Friend’s Service Committee’s Healing Justice program will be Wed, Oct 22, 5:30-8:30 pm, at the AFSC office, 1671 Summit Avenue, St. Paul. The first gathering identified three areas of interest: convening again for support, insight and coordination; more education about the ways in which systemic / institutional white privilege operates; and development of some action steps. Sharon Goens-Bradley sgoens(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)afsc.org; 651-789-3852.

“Finding Strength and Hope as We Transition to a Just and More Sustainable Future” workshop will be Sat, Nov 1st from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm here at the meetinghouse. We will briefly share what we are already doing and then explore our personal and corporate visions for the future. All are welcome!

The St. Paul office of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has a survey for Friends in the greater metro area to fill out. Please fill it out online (http://bit.ly/AFSC_TC2014_survey) by October 22.

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL): The U.S. Shouldn’t Bomb Iraq and Syria. Congress has voted to train and provide military equipment to rebel groups in Syria. While Congress is not likely to authorize military force in Iraq and Syria until after the election, this vote puts the U.S. on a path to an expanded war in the Middle East. Members of Congress need to hear that there are still alternatives to military action in this crisis. See more: fcnl.org/action/alert/2014/0918 .

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.