May 24, 2015

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

10:00 AM    meeting for worship, semi-programmed: speaker tbd; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Tom Hoey and Lolly Lijewski*.

We are now on the summer schedule with one combined worship at 10:00 on Sunday mornings.

When there are enough volunteers to host, there will be a time for relaxed coffee/tea and conversation after worship on third. fourth, and fifth Sundays. None today. First Sundays will have a potluck meal following, and second Sundays will have meeting for business, with or without quiet refreshments in the meetingroom.  Sign up (salmon color sheet ) to help host a coffee/tea and refreshments.

HOLD IN THE LIGHT
Northern Yearly Meeting – the gathering and the travels of all to attend.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS
Next Sunday’s worship, May 31, will be unstructured except for reading of a couple queries.

Next Sunday and throughout June there will be an informal group meeting at 9 am for Quaker education and discussion at the picnic table, or at Turtle Bread in event of rain. QuakerSpeak videos, Quaker Pastoral Care newsletter and other brief starting points will be provided.  For next week- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dqqksUEWAW8 questions?, Elizabeth Showalter

Summer Sunday sign-ups to assist with meeting for worship: The sign-ups that were on last week’s volunteer sheet have been transferred to the new unified yellow sign-up sheet on the clipboard, bulletin table.  Lots of microphone carriers needed and quite a few open spots for volunteers from unprogrammed meeting to sit at the head of meeting, with(*), or without speaking responsibilities at the close. (Sheet may answer your questions.)

Lunch Bunch will meet in Bloomington this Weds., the 27th. Please call Louise White no later than Tues.to reserve your lunch.

Next Sunday, May 31st – Sunday afternoon clean up. Please stay and help. Some of the chores include cleaning chairs and pews, a few lower level windows, some pruning of shrubs and plants. We will have all the necessary items available for cleaning. Grab a snack and stay! Many hands keep the workload manageable.!

Zephyra and Roland Shepherd Scholarship applications and eligibility criteria are available on the long table in the east hall and are due June 1st.  This scholarship for post-secondary education was started by the Shepherds in 1977. Applications should be mailed back to the meetinghouse or put in the Shepherd Scholarship file in the blue box.

The George and Elizabeth Watson Memorial Discussion Group will meet Weds, June 3rd, 7 pm. We will read aloud and discuss chp.3 of Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. The chapter is on compassion for oneself. No prep necessary. Come!

Robert Raymond and Gwen Williams are being married under the care of the Meeting Saturday, June 20, in the late afternoon. Please mark your calendar and plan to come. All in a Friends Meeting are encouraged to take part in the called meeting for worship during which the marriage is solemnized.

Unprogrammed and semi-programmed worship use different closing traditions after the handshake at the end of meetings during the school year. Worship planning committee and the summer unprogrammed meeting co-ordinators have agreed on a third plan to be used this summer because of needs with the combined worship.  Following the handshake at meetings for worship this summer, Friends will be invited to share joys and concerns, visitors and new people will be invited to introduce themselves, and pre-arranged (before 10 am- with the facing bench, care of meeting, closer) announcements may be made by the closer or the person who has prearranged to make one (preference and general practice, however, is that people submit all announcements to be in the bulletin instead). We would like this closing time to be brief so that Friends can move on to pot-luck, monthly meeting, tea/coffee and visiting, or their other plans for the day.

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.

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.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Pendle Hill’s Continuing Revolution: A Young Adult Friends Conference on Equality, a six-day intensive exploration of spiritually-rooted activism, will be Jun 5th-10th, exploring the Equality Testimony. Work to unpack your own privilege and power, and develop a greater capacity to confront the many intersecting systems of oppression in our communities and in the world. Workshops, lectures, small group opportunities, fellowship, and both programmed and unprogrammed worship. 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, at Western Carolina University in the Smoky Mountains. Worship, workshops, kids’ program, speakers, films, art, bookstore, Friends from all over the U.S. and Canada. Info at FGCGathering.org. Financial aid may still be available from FGC.. Funds remain through Northern Yearly Meeting. Thinking to help plan the Gathering in 2016? Take this opportunity to experience the event!

The Fellowship of Friends of African Descent’s conference for Friends of Color and their families,  Aug 21 – Aug 23, in Philadelphia. To join the mailing list and receive information: deborahsaunders1(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)aol.com with: last name – first name – phone – street address – city, state – zip code – email address. Info also on FB – Fellowship of Friends of African Descent.

Camp Woodbrooke, a summer camp under Quaker leadership, offers an opportunity for young Friends to have a summer camp experience with Quaker values. For your young camper or for your high school or college student who wants to earn a little money this summer. Some financial aid available through Northern Yearly Meeting. See posted flyer for more. Want just a taste of Camp Woodbrooke? Go to family camp September 4-7! campwoodbrooke.org .

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Veterans for Peace is hosting a Memorial Day observance at the State Capitol grounds, 10:00 AM, tomorrow. Music, poetry, speeches, solemn ringing of bells, and the reading of the names of the Minnesota casualties of Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

F(f)riends are invited to a concert this Friday, May 29, 7 pm (arrive early to start on time), at Frank & AnnLiv Bacon’s house, 4217 Crocker Ave, Edina..  If you like, bring some finger food and/or beverage to share. Classical and jazz. Basil Reeve, former principal oboist with MN Orchestra will play Herbert Howells’ Sonata for Oboe and piano with John Jensen.  Barbara Leibendguth, formerly with MN Orchestra, will play Boiling Suite for flute and jazz trio with John, Harry Pontiff on the bass, and Dave Hagedorn on drums.  Also the trio will play some tunes on their own. frankannliv(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com,952-848-1179">frankannliv(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com,952-848-1179.

Get to know your Muslim neighbors by attending a Taking Heart Ramadan Iftar, June 20 – July 10. Last year nearly 600 non-Muslims attended these dinners at mosques in order to better know one another as neighbors. For a list of Iftar locations and registration info, see: mnchurches.org/respectfulcommunities/interfaithprogramming/takingheart/registration.html