April 26, 2015

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 AM    meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Connie Archbald

10:15 AM    Feeding yourself/your family this year. Raise your own food; enjoy summer days. Conversation about soil, plants, and compost. Bring your questions and insights. With Jim Lovestar, composter and green-grower extraordinaire, and Marilyn Johnson, soil master and CSA devotee

11:15 AM    meeting for worship (semi-programmed): speaker, Gayle McJunkin; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Carolyn VandenDolder

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

Young adults who grew up in the Meeting and are entering a new phase, graduating from college this spring.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Next week at 10:15: Mary Jean Port, writer and long-time Meeting member, will talk about her journey as a poet and memoirist at the May 3rd adult program.

Minneapolis Friends Meeting has launched a planning process to consider how to care for the future of the meeting. The first step in this process is to do an assessment of the current state of the meeting and consider opportunities for the future. Last week during adult program, a brainstorming session was held to consider the strengths, challenges, risk and opportunities facing the Meeting. If Friends have additional thoughts or were not able to attend on the 19th, there is an online survey where you may contribute additional thoughts: surveymonkey.com/s/WM2VT2J . The responses collected on-line will be folded into those generated last Sunday. During a second adult program on May 17th, the strengths, challenges, risks and opportunities lists that have been generated will be reviewed. Those in attendance will be asked to draw conclusions from this assessment. These conclusions and the brainstorm lists will inform the rest of the planning process.

MFM and Mayim Rabim will host a showing of Inequality for All, a film about wealth disparity in the US, on Wednesday evening, May 20th. Save the date! For more about the movie, see IFA.com.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Thank you, Friends, for your financial support of the Meeting’s budget. Copies of the Meeting’s new 2015-16 budget are available on the table in the long hall. Stewardship and Finance Committee will report on the final numbers from last fiscal year at a monthly meeting for business, likely in May.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Friends are welcome to celebrate Mukosa graduation on Saturday, May 9th at the home of Phena. Festivities start at noon. No reservations, just bring yourself!

Come to an open house honoring Lili Herbert and thanking her for her years of faithful service and leadership as head of Friends School of MN – May 17th at Friends School, (1365 Englewood Ave, St. Paul), 10 AM – 2 PM. RSVP by May 5th to lili-farewell(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fsmn.org.

Register by May 1st for Northern Yearly Meeting Annual Session (May 22-25), “Climate Change: Turning awareness into action.”  Enjoy fellowship, spiritual enrichment, and discussion with regional Quakers. Wonderful programs for children and teens. Held at a beautiful lakeside camp near Rosholt, Registration and schedules are available online at northernyearlymeeting.org/article/2015-annual-session-may-22-25 . Paper copies are available on the elevator table.

The Friends General Conference, 2016 Gathering Planning Committee Meeting will be held the weekend of May 1-3 at Twin Cities Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul. Help is needed to provide soup, bread, and salad for Friday dinner, and Saturday lunch. Contact the office for details: 612-926-6159 / office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org

Don’t miss the Friends School of MN Plant Sale! May 8-9-10 at the MN State Fair Grandstand. All you need to know about the sale can be found in the catalogs near the elevator. All Friends School plants are neonicotinoid-free (bee-friendly!)

Are you interested in building broader Quaker connections and enjoying deeper involvement with Friends in the region? Minneapolis Friends is a member-meeting of the regional gathering of Friends called Northern Yearly Meeting (NYM). For some, the best way to build connections is by working together. Northern Yearly Meeting offers many ways to engage in the life of the yearly meeting: support our children and youth during the annual session and throughout the year; help with Yearly Meeting operations in finance, budgeting, audit, and annual session planning; support the spiritual life of the meeting through Ministry and Nurture or Outreach. NYM also has representatives to national and international Quaker organizations like Friends General Conference, American Friends Service Committee, Friends World Committee for Consultation, Quaker Earthcare Witness, Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer Concerns, and others. And NYM has a relationship with the El Salvador Yearly Meeting sponsoring inter-yearly meeting visitation. If you already enjoy the Northern Yearly Meeting annual session and would like to deepen your connection, or if you would like to engage in NYM, please let us know how you’d like to participate.

Pendle Hill’s Continuing Revolution: A Young Adult Friends Conference on Equality, a 6-day exploration of spiritually-rooted activism, Jun 5th-10th. Explore the Equality Testimony, unpack your own privilege and power, develop a greater capacity to confront the many intersecting systems of oppression in our communities and in the world. Workshops, lectures, small groups , fellowship, both programmed and unprogrammed worship. Designed for all young adult Friends who feel a movement in their generation to create the world we believe is possible and to live into right relationship with the Divine, one another, and the earth. Rolling application; space is limited. More at: pendlehill.org/learn/conferences-institutes/yafcon

Friends General Conference (FGC) Gathering will be held July 5 – July 11, 2015, in the Smoky Mountains. The Gathering has worship, workshops, kids’ program, speakers, films, art, bookstore, etc. AND Friends from all over the U.S. and Canada. Info at FGCGathering.org. Registration has begun and financial aid is available from FGC. Also funds remain through Northern Yearly Mtg. If you are considering helping plan the 2016 Gathering – take this opportunity to experience the event!

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Black Lives Matter – a three-part journey of preparation, action, and reflection. Events and schedule on Black Lives Matter facebook. – events led by a racially-mixed team of people of faith: Lena Gardner, Liz Loeb, Justin Schroeder. FIRST TRAINING EVENT TODAY 1:30-4 at First Universalist, 3400 Dupont Ave S, Mpls.

QUAKER-RELATED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Friends School of Minnesota is seeking a K-8 music teacher (.8 FTE) for the 2015-16 school year. Applications due May 15th. Description at:  fsmn.org/music-teacher-8-fte . A paper copy is posted on the bulletin board in the long hall as well.

Twin Cities Meeting in St. Paul is looking for a new resident caretaker to start in July! This position offers the opportunity to live rent-free in the meetinghouse in exchange for taking care of the building. For more information about the job and how to apply, go to tcfm.org and click the “Applicants wanted for Resident Caretaker” link. Applications accepted through May 15th.

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones’ work week is Wed-Sun. She will be in the office Wed. 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.