October 6, 2019

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Sandy Olson; Dan Jensen (mic)

10:15 – 11:00 A QuakerSpeak video, A Quaker Perspective on Economics

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Hilary Burgin, speaker; Jacque Wiersma, musician; care of meeting, Gib Pellet

You are welcome at the potluck today at the rise of second worship. Come whether or not you can bring anything! There are two opportunities during potluck:

~ Hilary Burgin, Executive Director of Quaker Voluntary Service, will be available for informal conversation about the QVS program – its goals, successes, challenges – and the young people who have been part of the program. Look for her table.

~ MFM families are encouraged to join the discussion in the large classroom. Give your input about a possible Sunday morning schedule change and how you think the morning schedule can best support a thriving first day school program and an intergenerational Meeting. Childcare provided. More about possible changes on the elevator table.

To regulars, please help with this do-it-ourselves affair before you head home: clear, wash, dry and put away dishes, tables, and chairs.

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Monthly meeting for business, next Sunday at 9:45.
Please review the Child Welfare Committee’s revised child protection policy. It has been sent out via Google Group (Aug 20) and is posted on the website (minneapolisfriends.org/category/business-minutes/). A few paper copies are by the elevator.

Come one, come all, let’s Fall Together! This annual event is now only THREE weeks away. Come for fun and refreshment at the lovely and convenient Fish Lake Park in Maple Grove. You can bring your bike or canoe, games, puzzles, and your own favorite mug. It’s a do-it-yourself affair, we will bring our own food and share a potluck supper. The beloved Variety Show caps off our day together. Check your email for the brochure containing all the important details. If you don’t use email, pick up a paper brochure on the elevator table, or click here. Carpooling sign-up in the hall.

Northern Yearly Meeting (NYM) is holding Interim Session here on Nov. 1-2 (Fri night and Sat.) Fri evening will be devoted to small group discussion and discernment on how we use our time together. What have been our times of greatest collective growth, uplift, impact and inspiration, and how can we have more of these moments together? The voices and insights of those who ordinarily do not attend Interim Sessions are particularly sought! Sat afternoon we hope to consider some possible concrete steps we can take together during upcoming sessions. Please come!

Hospitality Needed: Minneapolis Meeting agreed to host Northern Yearly Meeting’s Interim Session on Nov 1st and 2nd.
* Friends who can provide accommodation for out of town guests on Fri (and possibly Sat) night and breakfast the following morning(s) are needed! Some guests may also need transportation help to the meetinghouse. This is a great opportunity to connect with Friends in the Yearly Meeting. Contact Stephen with offers. Include information about the type of accommodation, number of beds and transportation you can offer. Please contact him as soon as possible.
* Can you bring / help with food, lunch set up, or clean-up on Sat, Nov 2? Contact Jim.
* Can you help any time during the weekend with setting up the meetingroom, keeping refreshments refreshed, etc.? Contact John.

Two Fridays each month, Quaker Voluntary Service Fellows have a development day for programming. Are you willing to drop off (vegetarian) lunch for eight Oct 11th at Twin Cities Meeting (or another drop-off can be arranged) so the Fellows can make the most of their program time? Let Eli know: eli(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org. Thank you, Friends, for this act of care.

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee is working to start a program teaching knitting and crocheting skills to women inmates at the Shakopee State prison. Local Friends with knitting and/or crocheting skills with interested in providing this training are sought. Sessions will likely be on Tues, Wed, or Thurs evenings; frequency tbd. We hope the training will be continuous, working with the women as they acquire more advanced skills. Volunteers will need to provide a copy of a driver’s license (could be an email) for a security check before entry to the Shakopee facility. There will likely be some organized transportation (carpooling). Contact Roland with interest or for more.

Come to a second unprogrammed public worship at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, St. Paul at noon, Mon, Oct 21st. Meet at the back entrance, accessible from the parking lot. Bring a chair or a blanket to sit on. Contact Debbie or Nettie for more. The Federal Building houses ICE offices, Bloomington Immigration Court, and the Homeland Security offices.

Northern Yearly Meeting High School Fall Retreat will be October 11-13 here at Minneapolis Meeting. Adult help with transportation and company needed on Sat; the NYM Middle School Fall Retreat will be Nov 1-3 at Twin Cities Meeting.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

Pendle Hill First Monday Series: Hope at the Intersection of Climate, Race, Justice, and Democracy, a panel presentation by the Friends Economic Integrity Project. Tomorrow, Oct 7, 7:30-9PM EST. More and to register: pendlehill.org/events/hope-at-the-intersection-of-climate-race-justice-and-democracy/

Middle East Peace Now will host Sandra Tamari, St. Louis, MO, Quaker and Acting Director of Adalah Justice Project, Sat, Oct 12th, at St. Stephen Lutheran Church Chapel, 8400 France Ave. S. Bloomington. Sandra’s talk is titled, Justice Cannot Exclude Palestinian Citizens of Israel. 9:30AM, coffee; 10AM, presentation. (mepn.org/events/monthly-forum-october)

Friends Committee on National Legislation is celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Join FCNL lobbyists Kerri Colfer (Tlingit), Lacina Onco (Shinnecock/Kiowa), and former FCNL staffer Ruth Flower for an evening of dialogue, education, and advocacy. October 23 at 5:30PM – sign up to participate electronically: act.fcnl.org/event/quaker-welcome-center-events-watch-home_attend/1129?t

Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) Community Workshop – Oct 25-26. Interested in learning new skills and attitudes to address, prevent, and transform violence? Consider this two-day workshop offering a holistic, experiential, safe, and lively approach to learning the tools to discover your own power to transform conflict and frustration in your life. 12-9PM Fri; and 9AM – 9PM on Sat. 393 N Dunlap St, St Paul. Attendance both days is expected. To register (required) or questions, contact Miranda: 651-917-0383; Miranda(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org; or bit.ly/avpoctober. Cost: $150; no one turned away for lack of funds.

It’s not too early to think about the Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair! Come socialize and support the work of FNVW at a low-key crafting event Sun, Oct 27th, 1:30- 3:30PM at Twin Cities Meeting (1725 Grand Av, St. Paul). The unique crafts we create will be sold at the Holiday Fair in December. All ages and creative inclinations will find a place in the craft-making fun! Questions to Leah Robshaw Robinson, FNVW Volunteer Engagement Specialist, 651-917-0383 / leah(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org. Can’t make it on the 26th? Plan what crafts, canned goods, or baked goods you can offer this year!

Plan to gather and worship with hundreds advocates for a more just and peaceful world at the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s annual meeting and public policy institute, Love Thy Neighbor (No Exceptions): Working Together for Peace and Justice , Nov 13-17. Lobby to end the U.S. strategy of endless war, give input on FCNL’s legislative policy positions, and be inspired to act in the year ahead! Visit fcnl.org/updates/annual-meeting-and-quaker-public-policy-institute-2019-27 for a schedule and more details. Some financial assistance is available for young adults. For more, contact Annie (annie(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fcnl.org)

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Christ in Crisis: Peggy Flanagan and Jim Wallis, Oct 9, 6:30 – 8 PM, Hennepin Avenue UMC, Mpls. Come hear a conversation between author Jim Wallis and Lt Gov, Peggy Flanagan. Jim’s new book, Christ in Crisis, examines the state of our nation and the ways in which the solution to our current political and spiritual crises is rooted in a return to Jesus’ foundational teachings.

Overcoming Racism Conference, Nov 15-16, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul. White supremacy manifests in ways that are far more insidious and damaging than white hoods or tiki torches. Culturally speaking, white supremacy is the idea that white people are better and more deserving of wealth, power, and privilege than people of color. It is a self-perpetuating system that continues to fuel colonialism, exploitation, oppressions, inequities, and the brutalities that people of color continue to endure. The 2019 Overcoming Racism Conference is dedicated to dismantling its power, its structures, and the culture that enables it to thrive. Learn more and register here.

OFFICE HOURS

Carolyn VandenDolder, the interim Meeting Coordinator, will be in the meetinghouse Thurs and Fri, 10:30-4. 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.