February 10, 2019

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 9:40 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, John Dunham; Carol Bechtel (mic)

9:45 – 11:15 monthly meeting for business: John Kraft, clerk; Stephen Snyder, recording clerk

11:15 – 12:00 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Carolyn VandenDolder, speaker; care of meeting, Gib Pellet

It’s cold and flu season. Please be thoughtful of others and remember that viruses are contagious as long as symptoms persist. Some Friends attending worship may be immunocompromised or susceptible to infection. Please take precautions to prevent the spread of winter maladies: wash hands frequently; cough / sneeze into your sleeve; clean and disinfect surfaces touched by many; consider staying home.

It’s snow and grit season too. Please help care for the meetinghouse by cleaning or removing boots / shoes which retain snow and grit in order to spare the carpet and wood floors.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: Come hear from each of the five Quaker Voluntary Service Fellows and the Local Coordinator about their placements and their experience in the QVS program: Taylor Wicklund (Friends for a NonViolent World), Alina Yaman (MN Interfaith Power and Light), Dillon Sebastian (Heart of the Beast), K.T. Glusac (Our Savior’s Housing), Angelica Brown (Green Central Elementary), Eli Phillips (Bridging), and Sonja Sponheim coordinator.

The Nominating Committee has begun work for the upcoming year. Please help forward the work of the committee by responding to phone calls and emails from committee members. If you would like to become more involved in Minneapolis Meeting, participating in a committee is an excellent way to get to know people and learn more about how the Meeting works. If you would like to know more about committees or the work they do, questions or interests may be directed to Doug, Annamary, Debbie, Jim, and Rick. Thank you for your commitment to MFM.

Read Primitive Quakerism Revived by Paul Buckley at the Watson reading group this Tues, Feb 19th at 7 PM in the conference room. No need to read ahead – we’ll read together! One-timers and regulars – everyone is welcome!

Five members of MFM are working with the Twin Cities Advocacy Team of Friends Committee on National Legislation. They are visiting offices of Congressional representatives and U.S. Senators to lay groundwork to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed after 9/11/2001 which has served as an open-ended authority for the President to engage in war. Jim and Doug would like to hear from Friends who are in the districts of Angie Craig and Dean Phillips and are willing to visit them.

There will be a Northern Yearly Meeting middle school retreat over NEXT WEEKEND, Feb 15-17 at Grace Lutheran Church, 202 W Grand Ave, (downtown,) Eau Claire, WI. Topic: Build Bridges Not Walls – with music-making, games, art, thoughtfulness, silliness and more. Email mscoordinator(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)northernyearlymeeting.org for more.

Quaker Earthcare Witness is coming to the Twin Cities! Last autumn, MFM approved co-hosting the QEW Steering Committee’s semi-annual meeting from April 11-14. Local Friends are warmly invited to attend whatever part(s) of the meeting that interests you. Click here for registration (helpful for a meal count if you want to stay and eat lunch Thurs– Sat) and schedule info.

Marilyn and Dave invite Friends to Song Circle at their home this Sat, Feb 16th at 7 PM. Bring songbooks and instruments if you have them; and a snack to share. For more, contact Marilyn or the office (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org) .

Frank and AnnLiv will open their home for a concert on Fri, Feb 22nd at 7 PM. Pianist, John Jensen, and cellist, Jim Lach, will play Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano. John will also play some jazz. If you can attend, please bring finger food and/or a beverage to share.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Friends School of MN currently has a number of job openings. Click here for more .

Friends for a Non-Violent World will offer the opportunity to watch a few short videos on solitary confinement, starting a discussion on what we can do to reduce and eliminate this practice: Wed, Feb 27th, 6:30-8 PM, 393 N Dunlap St, 4th floor conference room, St. Paul. Quakers originated solitary confinement to induce criminals to change from within, offering them a Bible and keeping them isolated from one another and from the corruptions of the outside world. For more: Libby(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org

Save the date: the Friends for a NonViolent World annual meeting on Sunday Feb 24th, 1-4 PM.

The Quaker Parenting Initiative is offering an online opportunity to explore a seasoned set of queries with among Friends who are parents. A seasoned Friend will facilitate. The first 90-minute session in this six-week series will be Feb 19th at 6:30 PM. It will introduce the queries and how parents can use them. Attending each session, though not required, best supports both individual understanding and group sharing. The cost is $50 per family for the remaining 5 weeks. If time is too early for parents in the Midwest, the series can be hosted later in the evening. For more, see: quakerparenting.org .

Northern Yearly Meeting’s (NYM) Spring Interim Session will be March 22-23 at Madison Monthly Meeting on Friday night, March 22, 7-9 PM, and Saturday, March 23, 9 AM-5 PM. Madison Monthly Meeting will provide overnight hospitality to those who request it, (watch for details.) Come spend time among Friends, hear about NYM committee work, and enjoy the life and business of Northern Yearly Meeting.

Friends General Conference (FGC) will again provide a discount to the upcoming White Privilege Conference, (March 20-23 in Cedar Rapids, IA, – whiteprivilegeconference.com ,) a secular conference that unpacks how whiteness originated; what systemic racism looks like; how race, gender, and class intersect (as privilege, oppression, or a combination); and more. Registration is now open. Pre-register through FGC here in order to receive the discount code to apply to your registration and to request hospitality with local Friends. Click here to read about FGC’s past involvement in WPC.

A bipartisan group of members of Congress has filed Yemen War Powers legislation in both the House (H.J.Res. 37) and the Senate (S.J.Res. 7). In December, the Senate passed this legislation on a vote of 56-41. Now with new House leadership, votes in both houses are expected in the coming weeks. If successful, it will be the first time that Congress will have sent a War Powers Resolution to end U.S. involvement in a war to the President’s desk. Click here for more about helping to end U.S. complicity in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

OFFICE HOURS
Carolyn VandenDolder, the interim Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed – Fri, 10:30-4:00. Phone messages checked daily. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Bulletin items can be phoned in to the office (612-926-6159), emailed (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org), or written and put in the bulletin file of the blue box.