June 25, 2017

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

10:00 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Lolly Lijewski, speaker; Nancy Lichtenstein, musician; care of meeting, Joanne Esser, Ann Kelley, Sue Kearns (mic)

“How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.

“So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Following the closing handshake, visitors are invited to introduce themselves as everyone says their name. Following introductions, there will be a few moments to share joys and concerns. All announcements should be pre-arranged with the closer. Please let the closer know you have an announcement before worship and they will call on you after worship. Announcements should be brief and Meeting-related.

Stay for a cup of coffee, a nibble, and brief visit today after worship. (Sign up to host coffee and conversation following worship this summer. The sheet is on the elevator table.) Then stay a little longer for Property Committee’s clean-up day! Rags and cleaning solutions supplied – bring willingness and some elbow grease as we wash outside windows and tend to other annual tasks. Even a few minutes’ effort before you leave the building will make the work manageable! Thanks to Terry for cleaning all the inside and front entry windows this past week!

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

Friends traveling to Friends General Conference later this week.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Children and youth are always welcome in meeting for worship. Friends should be mindful of the presence of young people who might be in worship in the summer months. Pray for vocal ministry that might be meaningful to them, and be sensitive to the inappropriate nature of some subjects.

The ad hoc Transition Committee offered a revised plan at June’s business meeting for the time immediately following Pat’s retirement at the end of September. Much of July’s worship with attention to business will be devoted to the ad hoc Transition Committee’s developing plan. Please consider and hold the current plan, as well as the Meeting, in prayer, and ask clarifying questions of the ad hoc Transition Committee members in advance of the July 9 business meeting. And plan to attend on July 9th as we discern our way forward. Committee members are: Roland, Renae, Maddi, Jeannette, Evelyn, and Tom.

Watch Requiem for the American Dream at the meetinghouse THIS Wed, June 28th, 7 PM. Through interviews filmed over four years, Noam Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to an unprecedented inequality, tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority. Offered by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee, refreshments served.

There will be a Quaker Voluntary Service House opening in the fall of 2018 with six fellows living, working, and worshiping in the Twin Cities area. The QVS Working Group (representatives from Twin Cities Meeting, Prospect Hill Meeting, and Minneapolis Meeting) and the QVS National Support Committee are asking for your help. Job placements, working with underserved communities or other non-profit organizations, are needed for the fellows. Also sought are applicants for house coordinator – a half-time, paid, position working with the fellows and the placements agencies. If you have any ideas or leads for placement organizations or house coordinators, please send them to: Ed (MFM); Mary Ellen (TCFM); or Dan (PHFM). For more about QVS, see QuakerVoluntaryService.org.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Alternatives to Violence Project introductory workshop – June 30th-July 1st. AVP workshops teach participants how to communicate nonviolently, practice living peacefully, grow as individuals and solve conflicts without the use of violence. Fri, June 30th, 12-8pm and Sat, July 1st, 9am-9pm at the Twin Cities Friends meetinghouse, 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul. Register, contact Troy Ikeda. fnvwtroy(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com or 651-917-0383; cost: $150; No one turned away for lack of funds. Space is limited.

Come to the last listening session with Friends for a NonViolent World’s Executive Director, Jenn Hamrick, Sat, July 15th, 10 am-12 pm, at the FNVW Office 1050 Selby Ave, St Paul. Let Jenn know if you need to set up another time.

The second annual Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) / Friends for a NonViolent World picnic; Como Park picnic shelter, St Paul, 4:30 – 9:00 pm; this Wed, June 28th. Donated BBQ food; bring a side dish or dessert. A movie about the AVP shown at 8:00 pm. This picnic is for adults 18 and older only due to some attendees’ prison release conditions.

* Friends United Meeting Triennial, gathering Quakers from all over the world, will be at Friends University in Witchita, KS, July 12-16 More at regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1877598
* Iowa Yearly Meeting’s (Conservative) annual sessions will be at Scattergood Friends School in West Branch, IA July 25-30. Program description and registration are posted. Jim and Clifford often attend.
* Iowa Yearly Meeting (FUM) will be in Oskaloosa, IA July 26-29.

Nightengales will gather Friday evening July 28 through Sunday lunch, July 30 in Stoughton, WI for a weekend of fun and singing (and a few chores). All are welcome; details are posted.

Register for People Camp, Friends for a Nonviolent World’s week-long experience of cooperation, community living, and exploration, Aug 13-19 at a comfortable and accessible facility on a lake. Theme: “What Do We Do Now: Organizing for Resistance in a Changing Political Climate.” Workshops and children’s programming in the morning; interest groups, music, recreation and fellowship the rest of the day. Great for all ages! Shared tasks make camp work. More at bity.ly/fnvwPCx.

The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) is having its annual gathering August 18-20 at Quaker Hill in Richmond, IN. Musical programs by Annie Patterson, (of Rise Up Singing,) workshops, an outing to the Levi Coffin House, a panel discussion of the role of the Bible in religious education and much more. Registration, flyers and detailed information available at quakers4re.org .

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Discovery: A Comic Lament, a new play by Ted & Company TheaterWorks about the Doctrine of Discovery – the legal framework that justifies theft of land and oppression of Indigenous peoples, will be performed this Thurs, June 29th, 7 – 9 PM at Calvary Church, 2800 Blaisdell Ave in Mpls. tedandcompany.com/shows/discovery-comic-lament/

Turning Points, a collection of stories from writers and activists about the various turning points that shaped them will be released by The Peace & Social Justice Writers Group at The Loft in Mpls. Anthology contributors have had a variety of turning point experiences that led them to pursue their long-held passions.

OFFICE HOURS

Pat Jones’ work week is Wed-Sun. She will be in the office Wed. from 1:00-4:00 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.