December 13, 2015

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Doug Herron

9:45 AM worship with attention to business: David Woolley, clerk; Tom Ward, recording clerk

11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Stephen Snyder, speaker; care of meeting, Joanne Esser

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Adult Program at 10:15 next Sunday: Singing, accompanied by piano and violin. More instruments welcome. If you feel inspired to bring a (no-dishes-required) fingerfood to share, please do!

Adult program December 27th: Spiritual books. What spiritual book(s) have you read in 2015 that were so good you can confidently recommend them to others? Bring your titles to a lively discussion facilitated by Mary Jean Port and John Stuart.

Friendly Meals are again being organized for February, March and April, 2016! Friendly meals are one-time mixers. Sign up for all three months / meals or sign up as a substitute / on-call participant. Hosts will email the group assigned to them to set a date, provide an entree and coordinate what others are bringing. Other participants bring salad, drinks, appetizer or dessert. Keitha of Welcoming and Outreach Committee will mix and match those who sign up so it is a new group every meal. Flyers with more details as well as the sign up sheet are on the elevator table. Sign-up deadline is January 27.

The George and Elizabeth Watson Memorial Discussion Group will meet Wed, Dec 16th, at 7:00. We are reading Karen Armstrong’s book on compassion together. (A copy of the book is in the conf. room.) No prep needed. Everyone is welcome!

Caring for Creation Tip of the Week: Adjust your thermostat one degree higher in the summer and one degree cooler in the winter. Each degree Celsius less will save about 10% on your energy use. In addition, invest in a programmable thermostat which allows you to regulate temperature based on the times you are at home or away.

Terry has received word that his climate-related workshop proposal for the Friends General Conference Gathering next summer has been accepted. The workshop is entitled, “God Sent an Angel to Soothe the Lions.”

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. If you would like to automate your financial contributions, please talk to Roland, clerk of Stewardship.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Young adult Quakers (age 18-40) from the Twin Cities are planning a camping trip Jan 22-24 at Camp Lakamaga in Marine on St Croix. Modern cabin, cooking our own food, enjoying each other’s company. Cost for both nights, including food, is $45, but all are welcome regardless of ability to pay. Ask Elizabeth if you would like more information or want to attend. RSVP by Jan 4th.

Twin Cities Meeting (1725 Grand in St. Paul) – Meeting for worship with attention to racial justice. In light of the ongoing trauma of racial violence, TCFM’s racial justice committee invites you to a meeting for worship to hold a specific concern for racial justice on the third Friday of the month (this month, Dec 18th) at 6:30.

Friends General Conference annual Gathering, “be humble, Be Faithful, BE BOLD,” will be July 3-9, 2016 at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN. Plan to attend this rich event, almost in our own backyard! Reminder cards are scattered around the meetinghouse. Take one home to help you remember to save the date and make plans to attend! About 2000 Friends, mainly from North America, attend. Very family, gay, singles, couple, young, old – friendly with an excellent children’s program. Workshops, worship groups and speakers at the annual gathering can be valuable resources and offer connections and spiritual nurture for individuals and meetings. When you think ahead to this summer, plan around the FGC Gathering so you can taste the vibrancy and the variety that this event offers. A preliminary schedule will be available in Jan.

With divine guidance, Friends General Conference staff and volunteers provide services and resources for individual Quakers, Quaker meetings, and people interested in exploring Quaker faith and practice. FGC helps meetings deepen Quaker worship and practice; supports a loving Quaker community; and supports Quaker outreach. FGC is an association of regional Quaker organizations primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Founded originally by seven yearly meetings to hold a “general conference” every-other year, it is currently an association of fourteen yearly meetings, along with regional groups and individual meetings. It continues to sponsors the now-annual FGC Gathering.

Friends Committee on National Legislation on Syrian refugees: Recently the House voted overwhelmingly to pause the Syrian refugee resettlement program. Congress is poised to turn away people fleeing violence in search of shelter. Over the past four and a half years of civil war, an average of 146 Syrians have been killed each day, according to conservative estimates. Syria has faced the equivalent of the recent Paris attack every single day for years. Refugees are fellow humans, whose lives matter. Our recognition of their humanity must trump our fear of the violence they, themselves, are running from. Respond to your representative’s vote, and urge him or her to consider how we can break out of this cycle of fear and violence. Read more at: fcnl.org/blog/2c/Thanksgiving_Syrians_Refugees_Faith_Action; fcnl.org/action/alert/2015/1117; fcnl.org/blog/2c/we_must_not_act_in_fear

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Honor the Earth and MN Interfaith Power and Light invite you to a benefit Manidoo Giizisoons Feast (Feast of the Little Spirit Moon) at 4:00, Fri, Dec 18. The evening will include a four-course indigenous feast by The Sioux Chef, featuring Native foods in pre-contact recipes, prepared using the traditions of indigenous ancestors. Come celebrate the winter solstice and the abundance of the north country, and support protection of the sacred waters of our region. SpringHouse Ministry Center, 610 W. 28th St, Mpls. Tickets are $65 / person, or $440 for a table of 8. Register online: honorearth.org/manidoo_mpls

Climate is changing. Shouldn’t we? Join the Reflective Circle to seek the seeds of change in ourselves: Mon, Dec 28th, 6:30-8:30 PM, St. Cecilia’s Church, 2357 Bayless Place, St. Paul. A welcoming place to reflect on our global climate crisis, we respond to simple questions that spark our thinking about the natural and human systems we live in. Please plan to stay for the full two hours. The group meets monthly. Attend as often as or infrequently as you wish. See Transition ASAP.org for more.

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. and Fri afternoons. 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.