January 1, 2017

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed)
10:15 AM all-age gathering on themes of home and family- art and writing materials, small groups
11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Barbara Mohr, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, David Woolley

All are welcome at the potluck today at the rise of second worship. To regulars, bring lots so we can invite visitors to stay and begin the new year with warm camaraderie.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

A threshing session will be held this coming Sat., Jan 7th at 10 am. When a Quaker community or Meeting faces a complex issue where there are likely to be differences of feeling or understanding, a threshing session, free from the necessity of reaching a decision, offers a time at which different, sometimes controversial, opinions can be openly expressed to help the process of mutual understanding – a time where, under God’s guidance, chaff might be threshed from the grain of truth, preparing the way for later action. Please plan to participate.

Ministry and Counsel Committee will meet this Thurs, Jan. 5th, 7 pm, at the meetinghouse.

A documentary, “The House I Live In,” will be shown here on Weds, Jan. 11th, at 6:30 pm, sponsored by Peace and Social Concerns Committee. The film examines how the war on drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests; cost more than $1 trillion; damaged poor communities; and made the U.S. the world’s largest jailer. It shows how drug laws have affected everyone from the nonviolent user to the grieving mother to the jailer and the federal judge. Come and bring others!

The Welcoming and Outreach Committee is again organizing Friendly Home Meals so we can get to know each other over a relaxed meal in a home. Groups of 5 or 6 people, of different configurations each month, will meet in Feb, March and April. Those who sign up to participate for all three months will be expected to host one meal in their home. Individuals and couples (including significant others) may sign up. If you are an individual who doesn’t have room to host, you are encouraged to find another Friend to sign up and co-host a meal with you. If you can’t participate for all three months, sign up as an “on call” participant to fill in as needed. Sign-up, starting today, on the sign up sheet on the lobby table. Sign-up deadline is January 15. For comments or questions, contact Keitha.

Loaves and Fishes: Mon, Jan 30th is the next opportunity for MFM to help serve dinner to the people of the Phillips neighborhood at Holy Rosary Church, 2424 18th Av. S. Please help if you have a few hours between 1:30pm and 7pm that day. Volunteers sign up for shifts: chopping veggies or prepping dessert fruit 1:30 4:30pm; serving food 4:45 6:30pm; clean up 5:30 7pm. Fresh fruit donations for dessert are needed, too.

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. Pat, Carolyn or John can tell you more!

The Envelope Gift recipients this year will be Urban Homeworks, Doctors Without Borders Haiti work, and the Standing Rock Pipeline Resistance. If you have not made a special contribution for this and wish and are able to, please make your check for this, today, written to Minneapolis Friends Meeting with “envelope gift” in the notation line.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

We Were Made for this Moment, an online course offered by Eileen Flanagan, Board chair of Earth Quaker Action Team, on Mondays of Jan – 7:30 to 9:00pm EST – starting TOMORROW. Cost is $50; $30 if you recruit a friend to take the course with you. In the face of tumult, fear, and hatred, the world needs the gifts that you were born to share. You may not be sure what they are, where to use them, or how to use them to greatest effect, but you know you need to do something to work for a more just and loving world. You are not alone! The purpose of this online course is to help you meet this moment. Blending social change theory, spiritual discernment, and personal empowerment., you will learn about different social change roles and what makes them effective; you will practice inward listening and discernment about what role you are meant to play; and you will explore what gets you stuck, learning tools to help you take action even when you are afraid. Recordings of the class sessions will be available in case you can’t make every session. eileenflanagan.com/we-were-made-for-this-moment/

All Quaker middle school and high school students are welcome to participate in the 2016-17 Student Voices Project, hosted by Friends Journal. Write a letter to President-elect Donald J. Trump suggesting what you think he should focus on during his first year. Find more information on the website, including a list of six ideas to get started. Handwritten as well as typed submissions accepted electronically or via post; 100-500 words; deadline, Feb. 13, 2017. friendsjournal.org/studentvoices.

Alternative to Violence Project is offering a Basic Workshop Fri, Jan 20th, Noon-8pm and Sat, Jan 21st from 9am-8pm at Twin Cities Friends Meetinghouse, 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul. AVP workshops develop effective ways to deal with conflicts creatively and explore a variety of nonviolent solutions to many possible situations. Come realize your own power to transform conflicts and create solutions; learn nonviolent communications skills; enrich family and community relationships; practice living peace and justice. To register, contact Hannah at 651-644-5851, fnvwhannah(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com; or register online at surveymonkey.com/r/VTZS9S5 . Cost is $150. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Celebrate MLK Weekend 2017 with One Voice Mixed Chorus, Minnesota’s LGBTA chorus. Out of the Shadows is a concert honoring African-American artists and activists. The concert includes the world premiere of The Man Behind the Dream which honors the life and work of openly gay Quaker civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was pushed to the margins of the movement due to his sexuality. Featuring guest artists, T. Mychael Rambo. More at OneVoiceMN.org. Use the code, “Faith” for a ticket discount; Sat, Jan 14th, 2 PM and Sun, Jan 15th, 3PM; at the Ordway..

FREE Martin Luther King Jr. Concert on Mon, Jan 16th, 7:30 PM at South High School in Mpls.

SAVE THE DATE for the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition’s Day on the Hill, Thurs, Feb 23rd, 8:30-3:30. The JLRC is supported by the MN Council of Churches, the MN Catholic Conference, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Islamic Center of MN. Let your faith speak by lobbying for justice and dignity for all Minnesotans!

Help warmly welcome new neighbors by donating to MN Council of Churches’ welcome kits, easing the strain of resettlement.: Shampoo, stock pots or sauce pans with lids, silverware, measuring cups and spoons, can openers, sharp kitchen knives, and tupperware with lids. For more: mnchurches.org/refugeeservices/get-involved/donation-needs.

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 Tues, Thurs, 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.