October 13, 2019

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 9:40 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Roland Barrett; Renae Bonde (mic)

9:45 – 11:15 worship with attention to business: John Kraft, clerk; Tom Ward, recording clerk

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

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

People and communities who are living with violence and fear of violence including Hong Kong, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine, Eritrea, Libya, Yemen, Cameroon

UPCOMING MEETING EVENTS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: Exploration of the Meeting Visioning Session. Friends will participate in a mini-visioning session to explore the question, “What would the Meeting be like for it to come alive for you?” as a preview of the half-day visioning session scheduled Nov 9th. Judith James and Nettie Smith facilitating.

YOU are invited to come to “Fall Together”, now only two weeks away, 9AM – 9PM, Oct 26th. Come for fun and refreshment at the lovely and convenient Fish Lake Park in Maple Grove. Check your email for the handy on-line brochure containing all the important details. (Paper copies on elevator table.) No registration this year! We’re trying out an easier-to-plan, more laid-back event. We’re each bringing our own food and dishes, so be sure to read the brochure for all you need to know. Prepare a variety show act, bring something fun to do, or just be in the mood to enjoy one another’s company. Carpool sign-up is in the hall. Please come!

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.

Read the Quaker classic, Testament of Devotion, by Thomas Kelly at the Watson reading group this Tues, Oct 15th at 7 PM in the conference room. No need to read ahead – we’ll read together! One-timers and regulars – everyone is welcome!

Come to a second unprogrammed public worship at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, St. Paul, at noon, Mon, Oct. 21. There will be an opportunity to meet at 11 AM with the community relations officer for ICE to voice our concerns. 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 information. The Federal Building houses ICE and Homeland Security offices, and the Bloomington Immigration Court.

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.

There will be a retreat for Northern Yearly Meeting middle school youth Nov 1-3 at Twin Cities Meeting in St. Paul. Volunteers to serve as Kindly Adult Presences sought. Contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org and your information will be forwarded.

Heads up: There will be no first day school programming during MEA, Sunday, October 20.
There will be a discussion – support, common searching, tales of experiences – around Quaker parenting at the Nov. 3rd potluck.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AMONG QUAKERS

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). Crafts created 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? Get started on your own crafts, canned goods, or baked goods plans!

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.

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

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Hennepin County Library Film Series, this Thurs, the 17th, 7-9:30PM at the Mpls Central Library. “Milwaukee 53206” chronicles the people living in the ZIP code where the highest percentage of black men in the US are incarcerated – up to 62%. The intimate stories of three residents demonstrate the toll that mass incarceration takes on individuals, families, and communities. Discussion with filmmaker following. More at: hclib.bibliocommons.com/events/5d44620410f3d73900992ac8.

Bringing it Home: The Need for Nonviolent Protection in North America. Nonviolent Peaceforce will share the most successful practices used among unarmed civilian peacekeeping organizations around the world like Nonviolent Peaceforce, peaceworkers at the Mexico/ US border, Standing Rock, and those working with urban and gang violence in Minneapolis, New York, and DC, all of whom are applying similar unarmed peacekeeping principles. Find out what is working best and if some practices could be replicated or scaled up to protect our neighbors and resolve community conflicts. Thurs, Oct 24 5-6:30PM Plymouth Congregational Church. For more, see nonviolentpeaceforce.org/about-4/events

Dakota Sacred Site Tours, Oct 27th, 1-5PM; meet at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, St. Paul. Visit sites in the Twin Cities sacred to the Dakota people and experientially learn about the history of our land in a way that facilitates healing. To register, contact Jim Bear Jacobs, at jimbear.jacobs(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)mnchurches.org

Storytelling Workshop: The Power of Healing Stories, Nov 14, 8:30AM – 12:30PM, with Michael Bischoff, Annie Brewster, and Jonathan Adler. The workshop will be hands-on for people, both individually and within healthcare organizations, who want to be trained to listen to and tell stories of illness and trauma in ways that are healing; finding a greater sense of coherence and meaning in illness; feeling seen and heard; bearing witness to suffering and resilience; strengthening and re-humanizing the patient/provider relationship. At Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave, St. Paul. More at eventbrite.com/e/the-art-of-healing-stories-tickets-64174974075

The Overcoming Racism Conference at Metropolitan State University, St. Paul this Nov. is sold out. You may livestream the plenareis on Fri and Sat mornings: youtube.com/c/MetropolitanStateLive/live. A schedule and more at: overcomingracism.org/programs/conference/2019-2/ . The 2019 Overcoming Racism Conference is dedicated to dismantling its power, its structures, and the culture that enables it to thrive.

OFFICE HOURS

Carolyn VandenDolder, the interim Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed – Fri, 10:30-3. 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.