September 12, 2021

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

10:00 – 11:00 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Diane Barrett – speaker; care of meeting, Ellen Swanson

11:00 –12:30 worship with attention to business: John Kraft, clerk; Stephen Snyder, recording clerk

“Great ideas, it has been said, come into the world as gently as doves. Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, the gentle stirring of life and hope. Some will say that this hope lies in a nation; others in a man. I believe rather that it is awakened, revived, nourished, by millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and works every day negate frontiers and the crudest implications of history. As a result, there shines forth fleetingly the ever-threatened truth that each and every man {person}, on the foundation of his {their} own sufferings and joys, builds for all.” ~ Albert Camus

Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolis.org for the link to Sunday morning programming in September.

THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW

The fall schedule will resume NEXT SUNDAY, Sept 19th: 9AM worship (unprogrammed); 10:15AM mid-morning program; 11:15AM worship (semi-programmed). Sept 19 and 26 programming will continue to use the same link as today. First day school via zoom on Sunday morning is suspended for now. Watch for other opportunities for youth to get together!

DOUBLE YOUR GIFT in support of the new A/V system. The meeting has received an anonymous matching grant of up to $10,000 to fund the new audio-visual system being installed in the meetinghouse to enable reliable hybrid worship. Any amount that you contribute between now and the end of October will be doubled by this matching grant. Please consider giving something to help fund this important new technology that will make our meetings more accessible to those who cannot attend in person. Make checks out to MFM Trustees with A/V system in the memo line.

Fall Together at Fish Lake: The Fall Together Committee is considering an outdoor gathering of vaccinated Friends at Fish Lake Regional Park on Sat, Oct 9th, 1–5PM. Would you attend? On the tentative schedule: worship, a scavenger hunt, hiking/biking, and other fun activities. Fish Lake s beautiful and inviting, and it would be lovely to share time with each other, enjoying the park. Children warmly welcome, since we’ll be outside. The committee is happy to plan the event if there is interest. Please contact Clifford by Sun, Sept 19.

Planned vocal ministry: Take the opportunity to nurture and encourage each other! If you think someone has a message for the meeting community, recommend them to Ministry and Counsel Committee or encourage them to speak with someone from M&C themselves. Likewise, if you feel you have been given a message to share, contact Bill so a Sunday may be made available to you.

Friends who must visit the meetinghouse or who want to meet on the meetinghouse grounds are asked to schedule those visits with the office to help avoid conflicts and make sure you are aware of COVID safety precautions: 612-926-6159; office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org .

OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

There is mid-week worship every Wed night, 7PM. There will be a brief reading at the beginning of worship on the first and third Weds. Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org by noon Wed for the link.

The Writing Group will host an informal writing session TOMORROW, Sept 13th, 7-9PM. These sessions offer a chance to connect with each other, writing with prompts and sharing what we write. YOU ARE WELCOME! Contact Jane with questions or interest.

Yearning to gather even if we’re not yet meeting on Sundays at the meetinghouse? Come to an outdoor get-together at 6:30PM TOMORROW, Sept 13th at Beard’s Plaisance Park (on the hill on the west side of Lake Harriet at Upton and 46th,) for vaccinated Friends. Children welcome. Meet near the metal “picnic ground number 2” and “no parking in the park” sign. Bring your own chair or towel to sit on, and your own food and/or drink (NOT A POTLUCK!). Informal visiting and connecting. If it’s raining or there is an air quality warning, we will cancel and meet on Thur, Sept. 16th, same place, same time.

The Deep Inner Work of Creating Racial Justice Group will meet 7-8:30PM this Tues, Sept 14th. Tools and exercises from My Grandmother’s Hands: Healing Racialized Trauma in Our Heart and Bodies are used. Come share your experience with implicit bias in your racial justice work. The group meets every second Tues. You are welcome, whether or not you have come before! Questions or request for the link to Nettie or Jimbo.

Upcoming mid-morning program needs your input! On Oct 31, Care and Counsel Committee will offer a mid-morning program of Friends telling of experiences as kids in First Day School or in other faith communities. Can you tell your story? Contact Nettie or John S.

OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH OTHER FRIENDS

Northern Yearly Meeting High School Fall Retreat – Save the Date: Fri, Oct 8th – Sun, Oct 10th.

Northern Yearly Meeting still seeks a Middle School coordinator. Job description and application here.

Northern Yearly Meeting Fall Interim Session via Zoom – Save the Date: October 28-31. More to come.

Join the Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair Planning Committee! The Holiday Fair is FNVW’s biggest fundraising event of the year and includes a craft sale, café, used book sale, values board, photo booth, live music and more. The planning committee makes it all possible! Volunteer to take on one of a variety of available roles. Your skills are needed to make the fair a success and enable FNVW’s work to move forward. Contact Leah at leah(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org for more.

Friends for a NonViolent World is partnering with Minneapolis Community Education this fall! Executive Director Leah Robshaw Robinson is leading a wellness talk, “Good Trouble: Nonviolent Action Then and Now” on International Peace Day, Sept 21st, 10:30 – 11:30AM; And Alternatives to Violence Project facilitators are leading a two-week class on “Reimagining Community Safety,” Tues, Oct 5th and 12th, 6:15-8:15PM. Register online at: https://mplscommunityed.com See https://commed.mpls.k12.mn.us/home for the full schedule (FNVW on pgs 6, 7 and 19).

COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES

The Minnesota Multifaith Network (MnMN) invites you to the next online interfaith conversation in October – In a Time Such as This: The urgent need for building stronger multifaith communities in Minnesota, October 7 & 13, 10am-12pm, via Zoom; Registration required: https://mninatimesuchasthis.eventbrite.com. Gathering across faith traditions can be a powerful salve to the wounds of systemic oppression, division, isolation, and trauma that our communities have been struggling with. Inspiring speakers and interactive breakout conversations on Thur, Oct 7 (10AM-noon). Relationship building and learning across shared areas of interest will be the focus on Wed, Oct 13 (10AM-noon.) Featured guests include Shanta Premawardhana, a national and international speaker who trains people of faith to act collaboratively and effectively to counter religious extremism and religion-based injustices; and Whitney Terrill, an Environmental Justice Program Manager at Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, and a speaker for Islamic Resource Group, who is deeply committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Hear from, join with, and enter relationship with Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Sikh, Unitarian, and other communities working for a more just and loving world. Contact MnMN at info(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)mnmultifaith.org or visit www.mnmultifaith.org for more.

From the Minnesota Council of Churches: Help Needed for Afghan Evacuees. While individuals with refugee status continue to be resettled, numerous families evacuated from Afghanistan are also expected in Sept. Most will be coming to Minnesota having been granted “humanitarian parole,” which means that they won’t be eligible for all the same financial and program supports as refugees. Are you able to help support meeting families’ direct needs and help MCC connect Afghan and refugee families to housing, schools, health care, and the community resources they need to start their lives in Minnesota? Donate household items or volunteer or co-sponsor a family, whether from Afghanistan or another refugee family. Email Kathryn at rsvolunteers(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)mnchurches.org to let us know if you are interested in co-sponsorship, helping set up apartments, or helping transport individuals to key appointments.

OFFICE HOURS

Carolyn VandenDolder, Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed, Thurs and Fri, afternoons. Phone messages checked daily; email checked W-F. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Phone items in to the office (612-926-6159), or send via email (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org).