December 4, 2016

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Sandy Olson and John Dunham

10:15 AM Finding Your Social Justice Leading – large group discussion and small group discernment, presented by Jeff Naylor and Elizabeth Showalter from the Peace and Social Concerns Committee.

11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Lolly Lijewski, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Clifford Goltz

“An authentically empowered person is humble. This does not mean the false humility of one who stoops to be with those who are below him or her. It is the inclusiveness of one who responds to the beauty of each soul. . . . It is the harmlessness of one who treasures, honours, and reveres life in all its forms.”
– Gary Zukav in “The Seat of the Soul”

“Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”
– Romans 11:18 ESV / 122

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.
– Marcus Aurelius

THANK YOU to all who helped with the Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair!
The callers, the planners, the coordinators, the cooks, the crafters and the pricers, the people who did set-up and the people who did clean-up, the musicians and check out people, the greeters and shoppers, the decorators and display organizers – everyone did a wonderful job and created a lovely event. Thank you!!

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

The protectors at Standing Rock and others who forsake comfort and safety for a greater good.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

The Envelope Gift is a designated, one-time, winter contribution, outside of the operating budget. This year’s gift recipients are Doctors Without Borders (in Haiti,) Standing Rock, and Urban Homeworks (working in No Mpls to provide dignified housing opportunities, create space for construction training, intentionally weave together a network of engaged neighbors, and to mobilize volunteers.) Envelope Gift checks should be made out the Minneapolis Meeting with “Envelope Gift” in the memo line.

Liaison and Review Committee, in preparation for Pat’s retirement, is planning a threshing session for Sat., Jan 7th at 10 am. Please plan to participate.

Come one, come all to the Christmas Sing and social hour with coffee and cider at 10:15, Dec 18th. Bring instruments and/or song sheets if you have them.

There will be two more opportunities to experience the Experiment with Light meditation: this Wed. evening, Dec. 7th, starting at 7PM; and next Sat. afternoon, Dec. 10th, starting at 1:30 PM– both at the meetinghouse. After these sessions, two on-going groups will form. The groups will be closed to new members until next summer. Interested? Curious? Have questions? Planning to attend? Let Diane know.

Read Living Buddha, Living Christ with F(f)riends at the Watson reading group, Thurs, Dec 15th at 7:00 PM in the conference room. No need to read ahead – read and discuss together! One-times and regulars – everyone is welcome!

Might you be interested in serving as a Minneapolis Meeting representative to Northern Yearly Meeting? This involves participation at Northern Yearly Meeting annual sessions Memorial Day weekend in Rosholt WI and in NYM interim meetings in the autumn and spring. Carolyn or John can tell you more!

Quake that Rocked the Midwest, a gathering of high school teens from Illinois Yearly Meeting, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting, Lake Erie Yearly Meeting, Northern Yearly Meeting, and Scattergood Friends School, will be Jan 13th – 16th, 2017. Teens will do a workshop, out-trip, have daily worship groups, attend Sunday worship with Evanston Friends and have free time to hang out. We stay at Evanston Friends meetinghouse in Chicago. For more, contact the office: office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org .

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Friends are welcome to worship with Friends School of Minnesota students, teachers, and staff at the weekly meeting for worship, Wednesdays 9:30 – 10:00 am, 1365 Englewood Ave. in St Paul. Check in at the front office when you arrive.

From Friends Committee on National Legislation: President Obama invoked the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force to launch airstrikes in Libya. This law has allowed two presidents to take military action around the world. In Jan 2017, it could continue and give our next president the power, alone, to wage war. The president, acting alone, has yielded: special ops in 150 countries; drone strikes with countless civilian deaths; warrantless surveillance of Americans; indefinite detention in Guantanamo Bay. For more, see: fcnl.org/about/policy/issues/wars-militarism/endless-war .

American Friends Service Committee is developing work on Islamaphobia, and offers Five Things your Congregation Can Do to Stop Islamophobia at: afsc.org/5-things-your-congregation-can-do-to-stop-islamophobia

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Hear Bill Fletcher, Jr., labor, racial justice, and internationalist activist speak on the crisis in Syria and its relevance to Black Internationalism in the Trump era. Presented by St Peter’s African Methodist Episcopal Church of Mpls and the MN Committee in Solidarity with the People of Syria. TODAY, Dec. 4, 1 pm at St Peter’s, 401 E. 41st St, Minneapolis.

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national organization working to engage white people to address racism and dismantle white supremacy: showingupforracialjustice.org . Find a discussion guide on how to converse about the recent presidential election by googling “Showing Up for Racial Justice Thanksgiving” and clicking on the discussion guide link.

OFFICE HOURS

Pat Jones will be on vacation until Dec 15th. In case of emergency, Friends may call Tom, clerk of Death and Memorial Service Committee, David, presiding clerk of the Meeting, or Carolyn, clerk of Ministry and Counsel Committee.

Carolyn VandenDolder, the Administrative Assistant, will be in the office Wed. Thurs. 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.