January 2, 2022

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Keitha Herron; Zoom host, Stephen

10:15 – 11:00 Experiment with Light: A Quaker Meditative Practice with Diane Barrett (MFM) and Daniel Mudd (North American Light Network). Experiment groups at MFM are currently open to new members. Come see if this practice is a fit for you! Zoom host – Bill

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): there is no planned speaker; care of meeting, Allen Gibas; Zoom host– Bill

Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org by noon Friday for the link to Sunday worship and mid-morning program in January.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Birthdays, as well as many other celebrations, don’t have to be solo affairs! Happy birthday to Pat G (the 2nd) Jane D (the 3rd), Napoleon S (the 8th), Terry H (the 16th), Suzie K (the 19th), and Mary (the 23rd). Let Friends acknowledge and celebrate you! Send the month and date of your birth, (no year necessary,) to Judith.

Worship with attention to business is next Sunday, 9:45-11:15. The agenda includes: hybrid worship update; Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair report; Stewardship and Finance Committee quarterly report.

There is mid-week worship every Wed night, 7PM. Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org by noon Wed for the link.

Ministry and Counsel Committee (M&C) asks those who feel led to share a prepared message or a reading during semi-programmed worship, to contact Bill H or other members of M&C. M&C is also looking for closers for both worships. Serving as a closer is a ministry of service to the meeting.

Northern Yearly Meeting will offer an all-NYM first day school opportunity for young Friends, ages 6 – 11, on Sun, Jan. 16, 10–11AM. The theme – Quilting Together: Stories of Black Americans. Registration required – click here.

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. Please wear a mask in the common spaces of the building – entryway, hallways, stairs, bathroom, etc. 612-926-6159; office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org .

SMALL GROUPS OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

Lectio Divina will not meet on Jan 5th, but will return on Jan 12th.

The Writing Group will meet this Mon, Jan 3, 7PM. The group meets every first Monday night of the month. Come to connect with each other, writing with prompts and sharing what we write. ALL INVITED, whether or not you have participated before. Contact Carolyn for the link..

Coming up –
The Right Relationship with Indigenous People Group 2nd Monday night, (Jan 10th)
The Deep Inner Work of Creating Racial Justice Group 2nd Tuesday night, (Jan 11th)
Police Reform Group 3rd Tuesday night, (Jan 18th) Email John S to join and get the link.

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee’s MOVIE NIGHT presents The Biggest Little Farm, Jan 20th, 7PM. This is the hopeful, inspirational story of John and Molly who quit city life to move to a barren farm of 200 acres. Their dream to live in harmony with nature leads them to uncover secrets of biodiversity that transcend their wildest imagination! Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org for the link.

IN THE WORLD OF FRIENDS

Evolutionary Creativity: Bridging Creativity, Spirituality, and Social Action, a Pendle Hill first Monday lecture with Jan Phillips, tomorrow, Jan 3rd, 6:30 – 8PM (CT) via Zoom. This session offers an opportunity to rethink creativity and to examine the ways we are creating our lives and co-creating our culture. Registration required; click here.

Friends for a NonViolent World and the Northern Yearly Meeting Anti-Racism Working Group will host Gerri Williams, Quaker and author of “Beyond the Books: A Way Forward for White Allies in Democracy,” Thurs, Jan 13th, 7 – 8:30PM. Shift the focus beyond self-examination and feelings about anti-racism to generating strategies and actions, exploring successful examples of anti-racism outreach, and identifying resources and communities of support. More and link here.

Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) will host a three-part discussion on the book, The Depths of Our Belonging: Mysticism, Physics and Healing by Mary Conrow Coelho, (Jan 11 and 25 plus Feb. 8,) with the author and facilitated by Shelley Tanenbaum. Each session will start at 7PM (CT) via Zoom. No cost; advance registration required. Read the book beforehand. Author, Mary Conrow Coelho, a Friend from Cambridge, MA, has a background in science and theology.

Friends for a NonViolent World is offering an Alternative to Violence Project Basic, Advanced, and T4F Combo workshop online over two weekends – Jan 14/15 and Jan 21/22. This four day workshop offers a holistic, experiential, safe, and lively approach to learning the tools to discover your own power to build safer communities and transform conflict and frustration in your life. For more and to register, click here.

The Pendle Hill reading group is back for January! Read and discuss Bill Taber’s Four Doors to Meeting for Worship, Jan 12. More here. Pendle Hill is also offering Aiming for Justice: Race Reparations and Right Paths, an online weekly series, in Jan (3-27.) Designed by Black feminist scholar, K. Melchor Quick Hall, the month-long workshop will be facilitated by – and offered for – U.S.-based, white inheritors of wealth. More here.

IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

Spotlight on Democracy Rally – Jan 6, 6-7PM, MN State Capitol. Come to St. Paul, one of 239 similar gatherings across the country, urging elected leaders to pass needed legislation, including the Freedom to Vote Act, the Protecting Our Democracy Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. In 2021, more than 360 voter suppression bills were introduced in 47 states, including MN. Masks required; dress warmly; plan ahead – no facilities. Click here for more.

Joint Religious Legislative Coalition housing webinar series, first Thursdays, Jan 6, 6:30 – 8PM – Special Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusion. Are you concerned about those impacted by homelessness, the high cost of rent and the scarcity of affordable or supportive housing and want to understand housing issues from a variety of perspectives? Come to these in-depth looks at statewide housing issues. Register and more here.

OFFICE HOURS

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