February 12, 2017

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 9:40 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Roland and Jackie (mic) Barrett

9:45-11:15 AM worship with attention to business: David Woolley, clerk; Stephen Snyder, recording clerk

11:15-12:00 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Maddi Kraft, speaker; care of meeting, Joanne Esser

TODAY at 3:00: Mayim Rabim invites Friends to hear Odeh Muhawesh, an Adjunct Professor of Theology at the U of St. Thomas, speaking on: What are the origins of extremism and radicalization in the world’s Islamic communities? 3:00-4:30 PM, here.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Next Sunday at the 10:15 mid-morning program: Cynthia Bartoo, Brianna McMicheal, Ed Souther on our membership in Northern Yearly Meeting and Friends General Conference.

Read Living Buddha, Living Christ with F(f)riends at the Watson discussion group, this Thurs, Feb 16th at 7 PM in the conference room. No need to read ahead – read and discuss together! One-timers and regulars – everyone is welcome!

The Meeting library is a valuable resource for all to share. Currently, dozens of items have been checked out for more than a year. Please check your shelves to see if you have any library materials that can be returned so that others may make use them!

Ross Hennessey, Assistant Director of Quaker Volunteer Service (QVS) will be visiting the Twin Cities Feb 21- 26. There will be a potluck and opportunity for Friends to meet and visit with Ross on Wed, Feb 22, 6:15 here at the meetinghouse. Friends are encouraged to find out more about this exciting, monthly-meeting-approved initiative of starting a QVS house in the Twin Cities area. Questions, contact Tom or Carolyn.

Beyond the Divide will be shown at the meetinghouse on Wed, March 22nd, at 7:00. The film is about a Vietnam veteran and a peace advocate who together forge a path to healing old wounds from the Vietnam era in Missoula, MT. A discussion focusing on the ways we might cross today’s political divide will follow. Refreshments will be served.

Northern Yearly Meeting is in the middle of its nominating season. Friends are being sought for the Advancement and Outreach Committee (traveling to visit and worship with far-flung Meetings and worship groups); Ministry and Nurture Committee, (responsible for caring for worship and a welcoming, worshipful atmosphere at NYM gatherings); Communications Committee (responsible for newsletter oversight and inter-Meeting communication); and Finance Committee. If you feel led to consider taking up any of these responsibilities, contact the office: office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

CHANGE OF PLACE FOR the Young Adult Friends, (ages 18-35,) dinner and worship to be held Thurs, Feb 23rd at 6:00 pm at the home of Matthew and Hillis. A 30 -minute unprogrammed worship will be followed by a vegan dinner at 6:30 pm. Ross Hennessy, Assistant Director of Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS), will be there, talking about ways area young adult Friends can get involved in the QVS house, opening in the Cities in the fall of 2018. Questions? Contact Hillis.

Friends for a NonViolent World Annual Meeting, Sun, Feb 26th, 1:00 – 3:00PM at Twin Cities Friends Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul. Hear about the new Police and Community Initiative; programming updates from Alternative to Violence Project, People Camp, and Peace Education and Advocacy; meet new board members; and more!

Registration is starting for summer sessions at Friends School of MN! Programs available for ages 4-14, starting June 14th. See a list of classes on the long table in the east hallway or go to fsmn.org/summer-camp/summer-programs .

Play with other musical F(f)riends (ages 10-18) at Friends Music Camp, musical growth in a caring community, July 9 – Aug 16, Earlham College, Richmond, IN. More at friendsmusiccamp.org

Northern Yearly Meeting spring interim session (a gathering of NYM reps from NYM Meetings, presiding clerks, and other interested NYM Friends,) will be March 24-25, in Madison, WI. Friends who wish to stay in the homes of Madison Meeting Friends should contact the office by March 15th. Requests should include whether pet free, stairs-free housing, etc.

Young adult opportunities through Friends Committee on National Legislation:

*Spring Lobby Weekend (fcnl.org/updates/spring-lobby-weekend-30) on March 18-21, 2017 will draw 350 young adults to Washington to be trained and then lobby on income inequality. For those who need it, financial assistance is available.

*Young Fellows Program (fcnl.org/updates/young-fellows-program-32) offers paid, full-time positions from late August 2017-July 2018, bringing recent college grads to work full-time in the Washington, DC office, learning how to change the world. Nearly 200 young adults, including Devin Helfrich, have come through this program over the last 40 years, gaining a keen appreciation for the power of effective, principled advocacy – whatever they next pursue. Apply by Feb 15.

*Summer Internship Program (fcnl.org/updates/summer-internship-33?utm_medium=email) in June and July, designed for college sophomores and juniors, offers experience working with our Quaker lobby in Washington, DC. Apply by March 6.

Friends World Committee for Consultation is having a Section of the Americas meeting in Stony Point, NY, March 23-26. Speakers from Pacific, Cuba, and New England Yearly Meetings. Search for ways to bridge the divergences in the Quaker spectrum, seeking pathways to an attitude of both/and rather than either/or. More at fwccamericas.org under “events”. Help with travel costs may be available from the Meeting. Registration has begun. A list of speakers is on the elevator table.

White Privilege Conference will be held in Kansas City April 27-30. Once again, Friends General Conference (FGC) will offer deeply discounted group rates for interested Quakers to attend, and Friends in Kansas City will provide hosting. Receive information as soon as registration opens through FGC by filling out and information form at: fgcquaker.org/register-2016-white-privilege-conference. More on the conference: whiteprivilegeconference.com/.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Alternative to Violence volunteers are offering a screening and discussion of “13th” an in-depth look at the history of race and the criminal justice system in the U.S. The 13th amendment made it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a slave. It grants freedom to all Americans – except criminals. The film makes the case that the U.S. criminal justice system really serves as a strategy to control people of color – in essence, slavery by another name. TODAY, 1:30pm-5:00pm at Benilde-St Margaret, 2501 Hghwy 100, St Louis Park, MN

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition’s Day on the Hill, is Thurs, Feb 23rd, 8:30-3:30. The JLRC is a voice of 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! Register at: JRLC.org/day-on-the-hill-registration . Keynote speaker, Lisa Sharon Harper, Sojourners in DC. Pat is going if you are interested in carpooling.

Help create self-organized structures for community-building, individual and collective healing, and shared solutions, in the form of one of humankind’s most ancient—and deceptively simple—rituals – sharing a meal. More at: 100days100dinners.us.

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, 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.