Bulletin: March 5,2017
March 5, 2017
MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM
TODAY
9:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed)
10:15 AM John Stuart and Mary Jean Port will speak about their spiritual journeys, including their experience with Buddhist practice
11:15 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Jeff Naylor, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Judith James
You are welcome at the potluck today at the rise of semi-programmed worship! Come for some good food, good conversation, and some relaxed time with one another. Potlucks are do-it-yourself affairs. Look for ways to help the effort – help clear and wash tables, put away chairs, wash and dry dishes – you get the idea. Many hands make light work!
From the Meeting’s First Day School students: THANK YOU, thank you, thank you!!! Thanks to your generous donations to our bake sale last week, a check for $423 is being sent to the International Red Crescent. THANK YOU!!!
UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS
Worship with attention to business is next Sunday, March 12th, from 9:45-11:15. On the agenda: Nominating Committee’s new year (April ’17-March ’18) committee slate, Stewardship and Finance Committee’s new annual budget, and more!
Upcoming mid morning programs at 10:15:
March 19 – Choose your own exploration: Is there something you would like to discuss with Meeting friends? A Quaker faith and practice topic? Current global condition? Sharing faith journeys? Exploring how day-to-day life activities are informed by Quaker testimonies? The possibilities are endless! Jeannette Raymond will facilitate a quick process to identify topics and toorganize people into groups. The remaining time will be for discussion. Want to propose a topic? Please arrive by 10:15.
March 26 – Guest speaker, Ted Bowman, on grief . Coordinated by Ministry and Counsel Committee.
Come to a discussion / practice of having meaningful conversations with folks who disagree with you. Maybe it is a relative who supported a different presidential candidate than you did. Maybe it is someone in Meeting who has a very different view of Christianity than you do. How do we have meaningful dialogue in these situations? Role playing and perhaps “real” examples, we will also talk about how we might connect with people who seem so different from us in the broader community. Come help create the means to connection and understanding March 19th at 12:45 in the conference room. Questions: Nettie or Jeff.
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. Received the top Showcase Award from the MN/WI Flyway Film Festival and several other awards when released in 2014. A discussion focusing on the ways we might cross today’s political divide will follow. Refreshments will be served.
NOTE CHANGE OF DATE: the Watson reading group will meet Thurs, March 23rd at 7 PM in the conference room. No need to read ahead – read Out of the Silence: Quaker Perspectives on Pastoral Care and Counseling and discuss together! One-times and regulars – everyone is welcome!
Zephyra and Roland Shepherd Scholarship applications and eligibility criteria are available on the long table in the east hall and are due April 1st. This scholarship for post-secondary education of members or member’s children was started by the Shepherds in 1977. Applications should be mailed to the meetinghouse or put in the Shepherd Scholarship file in the blue box.
The Peace and Social Concerns Committee is accepting nominations for recipients of the Meeting’s 2016-17 carbon tax contribution ($1470.00). This contribution is intended for organizations or actions that help off-set our fossil carbon use.
There are now three Experiment with Light groups meeting at MFM. They meet monthly and practice a meditation based on early Friends “experiments” in unprogrammed worship. The groups will be open to new participants this summer. However, if you are curious and would like to start “experimenting” on your own before then, there’s no reason to delay! It’s a simple process, and I would be glad to get you started. If interested, please contact Diane.
OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS
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. Bill might be going, if you are interested in ride-sharing. If you wish to stay in a home of Madison Friends contact the office (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org) by March 15th. Requests should include whether pet free, stairs-free housing, etc.
Meetings for Worship/Learning with attention to Justice and Action. Liz Oppenheimer, from Laughing Waters Preparative Meeting, will be convening these meetings for worship/learning as part of her participation in a 4-month program on Justice Ministry Education. The meetings will be under the care of Laughing Waters – Thursdays, March 16-May 4, 6:30-8:30 pm, at Spring House Ministries, 610 W 28th St, Mpls. Contact Liz for more.
George Lakey will interview Jonathan Matthew Sucker, author of Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals addressing the question, “How do we build enough collective power to not only demand a better world, but actually create one?” tomorrow, 7:30 ET; livestreaming available to registrants. More at pendlehill.org/events/reaching-beyond-choir/#.WK4KxPkrK71
Iowa Yearly Meeting will have its mid-year meeting, Quakers and Quaker Schools, on March 25 and 26 in Bear Creek Meeting near Earlham, IA. More about the weekend and registration is posted.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) Community Workshop. Join Friends for a NonViolent World for an AVP workshop to learn effective ways to deal with conflicts creatively and explore a variety of nonviolent solutions possible in almost every situation. Participants will realize their own power to transform conflicts and create solutions; learn nonviolent communication skills and tools; enrich family and community relationships; and practice living peace and justice. The workshop will be held NEXT WEEKEND, Fri, March 10th noon-9:00 pm, and Sat, the 11th, 9:00 am -9:00 pm, at Zion Lutheran Church, 1697 Lafond Avenue, St. Paul. Contact Hannah to register: fnvwhannah(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com.
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.