March 20, 2016

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Gayle McJunkin

10:15 AM Rabi Sharon Stiefel of Mayim Rabim will speak about Reconstructionist Judaism and the Mayim Rabim congregation. Mayim Rabim is the congregation which rents the meetinghouse

11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Rae Beth Cornelius, speaker; Dave Bostrom, musician; care of meeting, Clifford Goltz

The end of March marks the end of the Meeting’s fiscal year. If you have outstanding reimbursements for expenses incurred in the 2015-16 fiscal year, please submit your receipts and a completed reimbursement request form (available in the lid of the blue box) to your committee clerk for approval. Clerks, please place approved request forms in the Reimbursements folder.

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

all those who are suffering and those who are beset with fear – at home and abroad.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Adult program next Sunday, March 27 (10:15) – Monthly Meeting for Business and Quaker Process with John Kraft and clerk, David Woolley. New(er) members and attenders especially encouraged to attend. Get a taste of what is at the heart of Quaker process: quakerspeak.com/why-quakers-value-process-over-outcome

The George and Elizabeth Watson reading group will meet Tues, March 22nd, 7:00. Finish Karen Armstrong’s book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, and talk about what to read next. First-timers and regulars welcome – no prep needed.

Adult Program Committee wants feedback on the past year of programs. We have put together a survey so we can better meet the needs of members and attenders. The survey is available online at http://goo.gl/forms/MqZCccg5a5 . Paper copies are available on the elevator table. You can respond until April 2nd.

Caring for Creation Tip of the Week: Especially during spring nesting, please give the birds a chance and keep your cats inside!

A memorial service for Adolph Burckhardt will be held here on Sunday, May 15, at 2 pm.

Minneapolis Meeting Fall Camp is turning sixty! Save the dates Oct 1st and 2nd to trek to Camp Courage and celebrate the years of community, friendship, and fun.

A few Friends General Conference 2016 Gathering advance programs have arrived. View the schedule online by googling: 2016 FGC gathering advance program. Find paper copies on the elevator table along with information about the 2016 Northern Yearly Meeting, Spiritual Deepening – Bringing the Full Depth, Joy and Fire of Quaker Faith into Our Lives.

Anyone interested in unused burgundy carpet squares, (think meetinghouse entry-way), currently in the back storage room, or the desk, chair or chair mat in the conference room? Contact the office for details.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. Our contributions total, through March 13 (50 weeks of the fiscal year,) is $99,652. With an annual budget of $114,838 we are $15,186 short of meeting our obligations, with only two weeks left in fiscal the year. If you are contemplating making a larger or additional contribution to the Meeting, the next two weeks are the time to do it. If we do not cover our expense obligations, we face the painful exercise of eliminating or reducing funds sent to worthy organizations outside the Meeting. Roland, Stewardship Committee.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Jim Bruener invites Friends to a semi-programmed worship at the meetinghouse 6 PM on Good Friday, March 25th – African American spirituals, the passion of Christ according to Matthew, and silence. A simple meal after. ??s to Jim.

The Northern Yearly Meeting newsletter’s new editor, Elizabeth, is eagerly seeking news items and to be included. Deadline for submission: April 10th.

Aimee (of Twin Cities Meeting) recently traveled to Peru for the Friends World Committee for Consultation Plenary. The conference gathered 320 Friends from 37 countries, 77 Yearly Meetings, 8 independent Monthly Meetings, and 2 worship groups. Aimee will talk about her experience of the conference and Peru on Fri, April 8th at TCFM (1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul). Potluck at 6:15pm, program at 7pm. All welcome!

Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Mid-Year Meeting, Understanding Islam, Overcoming Fear, will be April 9 and 10 in Iowa. A schedule and registration information is posed. Jim, Clifford, Steve, and Mary usually attend.

The School of the Spirit offers Inner Journey, Outer Journey, a contemplative retreat in the manner of Friends next spring, April 21-24 at the DeKoven Center in Racine, WI. Some brochures are available. Or see schoolofthespirit.org

Healing Minnesota Stories (HMS) Sacred Sites Tour Sat, April 30th, 11 – 3. Visit sacred sites in the vicinity of B’dote, the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. Tours offer an opportunity to learn, from Native story-telling perspectives, parts of Minnesota history too-often ignored. Register at: spinterfaith.org/healing-minnesota-stories/educational-events.html Six people from Minneapolis Friends have registered. Questions: Nettie.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Every Church A Peace Church bimonthly potluck supper meeting Mon, March 21st, 6:30 PM, St. Joan of Arc, 4537 – 3rd Ave S, Mpls. Speaker: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer on “Nonviolence in an Era of Endless War”

The annual White Privilege Conference will be in Philadelphia, April 14 17. Friends General Conference provides a significant discount to Quakers who register through FGC, fgcquaker.org/wpc . Registration has begun: whiteprivilegeconference.org .

Recovering from Religion: Toxic Theology, PTSD and the Road to Healing, April 6-9, Loft Literary Center, Mpls. Religion plays a major role in the lives of millions, especially in early, formative years. Sometimes this formation is positive but too often it is not. Toxic theology, any theological system that fosters trauma or abuse, is too common in the Christian Church experience. Explore the negative impact toxic theology has on our health and the ways in which we can heal from this trauma. For more and to register: micahprays.org/events/conferences.htm

“A Relationship Transformed: Jewish Gratitude for Catholic Initiative: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate” Sun, April 17th, 4:00 – 5:30, here at the meetinghouse with Yiscah Brachah of the Jewish Community Resource Center. In 1965 the Second Vatican Council passed Nostra Aetate [In Our Times], a Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions. This signaled a significant change in attitude toward non-Christian religions, with a special focus on Jews. The document, which could have been relegated to a shelf, was brought it to life with subsequent initiatives.

OFFICE HOURS

Pat Jones is on vacation until March 30.
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.