January 24, 2016

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Stephen and Mary Snyder

10:15 AM Sharing quotes. Bring a meaningful quote or short poem / reading and take the opportunity to share and hear parts of one another’s spiritual journey. Quotes that are written out will be collected and posted somewhere in the meetinghouse. Facilitated by Stephen Snyder and Nancy Helfrich.

11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Michael Bischoff, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Joanne Esser

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.” ~ Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

Michael Bischoff attended this Meeting as a young adult in the mid-1990s, attending unprogrammed worship. Michael has been occupied since then with completing a graduate degree in peace and conflict at Eastern Mennonite University; working six years as a staff person with Friends for a NonViolent World; with his marriage and family; with his business Clarity Facilitation which helps people and businesses integrate the spiritual in their work; and with founding and developing Laughing Waters Friends Worship Group.

Family is central in Michael ‘s life, and some of us have been following photos and videos of the family adventures, travel, and love on Facebook. This past fall, Michael was diagnosed with a virulent brain cancer and his attention has been on grappling with that, medically and spiritually. Michael has been sharing this journey with his wife and children and a wide circle of those who love him. He asked for this opportunity to share with us.

Please pick up your 2015 statement of financial contribution to Minneapolis Friends Meeting and save the Meeting some postage costs! Statements are on the elevator table.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

A Care of the Future planning meeting will be Sat, Feb. 27, 9:30- noon, downstairs. Everyone in the Minneapolis Meeting community is encouraged to attend as we envision how to work toward the future we yearn for. Plan to attend!

The Liaison and Review Committee will be conducting the annual review for Pat Jones, the Director of Ministry, over the next four weeks. L&R members will speak with each committee clerk. Minneapolis Meeting members/attenders are invited to give feedback and share their perspectives with either of the L&R co-chairs, Suzanne or Barbara.

Caring for Creation tip of the week: Try not to let food wilt or sour in your refrigerator. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reports an estimated 133 billion pounds of food is wasted each year in the US; “enough to fill the Sears [Willis] Tower 44 times.”

The George and Elizabeth Watson Discussion Group will meet this Thurs, Jan 28th at 7 PM. We will read together and then discuss another chapter of Karen Armstrong’s book on compassion. No homework, all are welcome to come!

Minneapolis Meeting is hosting the Northern Yearly Meeting interim session March 11-12. Plan to come to this time of meeting, greeting, worshiping, eating, and doing a little business. And consider if you can host overnight guest(s) on Fri night or bring food for snacks and lunch on Sat. For more or to volunteer, contact Carolyn.

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

Friends School of MN seeks an Assistant Front Office Secretary. 25 hours per week, M-F, 1-6 PM. More at fsmn.org/employment/assistant-front-office-secretary . Application deadline has been extended to Jan 29th.

Prospect Hill Meeting gathers at Twin Cities Friends meetinghouse Sunday afternoons from 4-6. An upcoming program on Sun, Jan 31st at 5 PM might be of interest as we recently had an adult program on the same topic: Friends Attitudes about Holidays – worship sharing led by Frank Wood.

The Friends General Conference Gathering will be July 3rd-9th in St Joseph, MN. More than a thousand Friends of all ages from across North America are expected for a week of worship, workshops, recreation, fellowship, and much more.

El Salvador Yearly Meeting, with whom Northern Yearly Meeting has a relationship of inter-visitation, is again seeking two volunteers to help teach English for a month this summer in its Soyapango and San Ignacio schools. Free room and board with Salvadoran Friends, and airfare assistance from NYM. Teach or co-teach classes with an established curriculum or offering enrichment 5-7 hours a day; some additional time prepping. Volunteers should also expect to spend social time with host families and attend several Quaker church-based gatherings per week. Past volunteers have experienced a rich mix of educational, spiritual, social, culinary and musical exchanges with Salvadoran Friends. For more about this opportunity and how to apply, contact Laura Matanah at lauramatanah(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com . Application deadline is March 15; start the process ASAP as a clearness committee is required of all volunteers. For more about the experience, check out the blogs of Savannah Hauge and Laura Matana who volunteered in 2014: savannahbutterfly.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/12-6-14-ocean-jumping ; elsalvadormatanahhaugenym.blogspot.com .

Friends Committee on National Legislation’s Programs for Young Adults: FCNL is expanding programs that support young adults who want to work for peace and social justice. Here are several ways young people can get hands-on experience through FCNL.:

Spring Lobby Weekend (March 12-15, 2016) will draw some 350 young adults to Washington to be trained and then lobby on mass incarceration. For those who need it, financial assistance is available. (fcnl.org/events/slw)

Summer Internship Program (June and July 2016) is designed for college sophomores and juniors. This opportunity provides two months of experience working with the Quaker lobby in DC. (futureadvocate.org/program/internship)

Advocacy Corps (paid, part-time, Aug 2016 to May 2017) includes a 10-day training in Washington, DC followed by nine months of part-time, paid consulting work (25-35 hrs per month) organizing locally to support legislation on comprehensive immigration reform. (fcnl.org/advocacy/corps/directory)

Young Fellows Program (paid, full-time, Sept 2016 to July 2017) brings recent college grads to work full-time in our Washington, DC office learning how to change the world. Nearly 200 young adults have come through this program over the last 40 years, and they’ve gained a keen appreciation for the power of effective, principled advocacy whether they go on to a career in law and policy change or in another field. (futureadvocate.org/program/young-fellows)

For more on any of these programs, please contactEllen Short at ellen(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fcnl.org.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Faithful Voices in the Public Square: The Joint Religious and Legislative Coalition is co-sponsoring an interfaith evening of film and conversation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 519 Oak Grove St, Mpls. View the short documentary “Sisters of Selma” followed by a community conversation about the ways in which Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths continue to call us to the public work of justice. Thurs, Jan 28th, 6:30-8:30pm.

Jim Wallis will be speaking on America’s Original Sin: Racism and White Privilege at a Westminster Town Hall Forum on Feb 4th at noon. Jim Wallis is editor of Sojourners magazine and author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, among other titles. Forums are free and open to all. Music precedes at 11:30 AM, and a reception and book-signing follows. For more, visit westminsterforum.org or contact Susan McKenna, 612-332-3421; smckenna(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)wpc-mpls.org.

Joint Religious Legislative Coalition Days Off the Hill: Feb 18, Feb 23, Feb 25, March 8, March 10 and March 15. JRLC, the legislative coalition of the Minnesota Council of Churches, Minnesota Catholic Conference, Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and the Islamic Center of Minnesota, will not hold the usual Day On the Hill, one-day social justice advocacy event at the State Capitol this year due to construction. Instead, there will be regional days OFF the hill throughout the state. Learn when and where your region’s event will be held at: jrlc.org/day-on-the-hill

The annual White Privilege Conference will be in Philadelphia, April 14-17. A number of Quaker groups, organizations, and yearly meetings are supporting this year’s WPC. Friends General Conference is again able to provide a significant discount to Quakers who pre-register through FGC, fgcquaker.org/wpc . Registration has begun. Information about the conference itself can be found at: whiteprivilegeconference.org .

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones’ work week is Wed-Sun. She will be in the office Wed. from 2:00-5:00 but on vacation Thurs – Sun.
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.