January 23, 2022

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

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

10:15 – 11:00 My Journey: Roland Barrett will share some things about himself, his spiritual journey, and his Quaker identity; Zoom host – Stephen

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Sandy Olson – reader; care of meeting, Mary Jean Port; Zoom host – Stephen

Email office @minneapolisfriends.org for the link to Sunday worship and mid-morning program.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: Yemen. Friends Committee on National Legislation is again focusing on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the United States’ role in supporting the Saudi Arabian war there. Doug H and Jim H, MFM’s FCNL Representatives and Local Advocacy Team members.

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.

Please come to Andy Sippel’s retirement party! NEXT SUNDAY, Jan 30th, 12:30-1:15 (after second worship). Bring a story or an appreciation for Andy. Andy became a member in 1985 (an associate member in 1975) and has contributed so much to the life of Minneapolis Meeting! Congrats Andy! If you don’t know Andy yet, come and meet him!

One of the joys and responsibilities of being part of the Minneapolis Meeting community is to help accomplish the work and ministry of the meeting, as we are able. Nominating Committee is working on the slate of committees and other service nominations. Please consider the different ways you could be a part. From being a Zoom host to serving as clerk of the meeting, we grow together as we work together, grounded in the spirit: minneapolisfriends.org/committees/ Contact a Nominating Committee member with questions or interest: Doug H, Jim L, Connie A, Bill H, Annamary H, or Carolyn V.

Ministry and Counsel Committee (M&C) asks individuals 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.

Two Friendly Meals (via Zoom) are coming up! The Welcoming and Outreach Committee invites you to dinner Saturday Jan 29 and/or Sat Feb 19, both at 6PM. We will break into groups of 5 or 6 people for fellowship as we eat our own meal, together online. When signing up, let us know if your significant other will join you on one screen or two. (If you join on separate computers, you must be in different rooms to avoid audial interference.) On the night of the Meal, prepare your food and drink, load up your plate(s) and log into Zoom at 6PM, sharp. As soon as all registered participants have logged in, Deborah J, the host, will put us into breakout rooms. Promptness is important so that food doesn’t get cold. Register with Keitha H by the preceding Wed (Jan 26 / Feb 16). The Zoom link will be sent to all participants by the Friday before the Meal. Come enjoy the friendly fellowship!

Loaves and Fishes needs volunteers and fruit donations for Mon, Jan 31st. Join area Friends along with the Ismaili Community and Mayim Rabim to provide a nutritious meal at Holy Rosary Church, 2424 18th Ave, S. Volunteers are needed: 2PM (prep of burritos, fruit, and salad); 4PM (making burritos and serving); and 5:15PM (clean –up in the kitchen and serving area). Instead of serving meals in the dining room, meals will be to-go, increasing the work of serving but reducing cleanup time. Contact Sue K to sign-up for a shift, ask questions, or to discuss fruit donations! If you’re interested in helping at other times please contact loavesandfishesmn.org. Masks, gloves, and hats required. This remains a COVID risk. Sign up to come if you can!

Northern Yearly Meeting’s Spring Interim Session will be Feb 17-20. Minneapolis Meeting is a member of NYM along with 31 monthly meetings and worship groups in the upper Midwest. NYM is a vehicle for are Meetings to support and nurture each other. Recently, NYM’s Anti-Racism Working Group and monthly first day school offerings have provided opportunities for collaboration and resources for individual meetings. Get to know and be inspired by the life and witness of Friends and Meetings in our area! Find details and registration information coming soon.

Need to schedule a Zoom meeting for a committee meeting or Minneapolis Meeting activity? Please send a request, including date, time, and purpose to office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org to have it set up.

SMALL GROUPS OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

Join Lectio Divina at 11:25AM on Wednesdays. Hold a short reading from the Bible, Quaker, or other spiritual text to see if and how it might speak to us today. Rather than reading for information, in Lectio, read for insight – open to the Divine and allow the text to speak to our life and times. Followed by a time of worship sharing. Email Stephen for the link.

IN THE WORLD OF FRIENDS

Opportunities to worship with the wider family of Friends :
~ Friends General Conference hosts a weekly worship, Sat nights, 8PM: https://www.tfaforms.com/4816591 For other opportunities, see: https://www.fgcquaker.org/resources/online-worship-opportunities
~ Pendle Hill Study and Retreat Center has daily worship, M-F, 7:30-8:10 AM (CT): https://pendlehill.zoom.us/j/432071090?pwd=aU5OOWk4ZGJkcWNUbzI5TXdjdVpSdz09
~ Quaker Voluntary Service has daily worship M–F, 10:30-11AM (CST): https://zoom.us/j/5702463400
~ Ben Lomand Quaker Center (California) meeting for worship daily 9:30 – 10AM. Instructions and to join visit http://www.chatzy.com/frame/QuakerCenter
~ Quaker Center in California has a Wed worship sharing at noon (CT) with Friends from around the world responding queries based on short readings. JOIN HERE; password, email: BobFisher(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)QuakerCenter.org
~ Global meeting for worship is offered every Wed, 1 PM (CT). Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org to be connected to the link.
~ monthly worship sharing with Quaker Earthcare Witness and Friends General Conference Thurs, Jan 27th, 7PM (CT) – gather in small groups to respond to queries, explore our own experiences, and share deeply with each other. Register here. This is a monthly event on fourth Thursdays, opportunities for spiritual support and connection for those engaged in environmental work and witness.

The Radical Quaker Spiritual Journey, a free two-hour webinar with Quaker author Marcelle Martin, will be offered Sun, Jan 30th, 6-8PM (CT). The transformative process Marcelle learned about, while studying the experiences of both early and contemporary Friends, can enable us to face our present challenges with radical faithfulness and God-given strength. Learn more and register here.

Friends Journal announces the annual Student Voices Project. The youth-led movement to demand action on climate change has exploded in recent years. More and more, young people are witnessing the consequences of the climate crisis and choosing to get involved in sustainable solutions. For this year’s Student Voices Project, we’re asking young people: What has been your personal experience with climate activism and sustainability? We welcome essays (300 to 900 words) from students between sixth and twelfth grades. Deadline for submissions is Feb 14. Click here for more.

MFM Friends are welcomed to Twin Cities Meeting’s online workshop, Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change, a Paula Parker workshop, on Sat, Feb 26, 2-4PM (CT). Learn the real history of this country through the voices of Native Americans, Euro-American colonists and historians; experience the history anew; understand why this history matters; and interact with Native and non-native people to build relationships based on truth, respect, and justice. Register here. Space limited

Quaker Voluntary Service News and Needs:

~ COVID has come to the QVS house. Fellows would be grateful for any meals (vegan for six, with one gluten-free option,) dropped off at the house during their isolation and recuperation. Contact Miranda with offers: miranda(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org . THANK YOU, Friends, for this gesture of care and support.

~ QVS has two program Fridays each month. Could you provide a vegan lunch for seven (with one gluten-free option) on Feb 4th, March 4th, or March 18th? Sign up with Miranda, QVS Local Coordinator: miranda(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org . THANK YOU, Friends, for allowing Fellows to tend to their time together rather than on food.

~ Learn more about Quaker Voluntary Service, the program that offers young adults a year of service learning, Quaker spirituality, and community living, on Wed, Feb 2nd, 7 PM, via Zoom. Come hear about the impact this vibrant experience has on the Fellows who participate as well as on those who work to support the program – from Mpls/St. Paul alumni, national alumni, staff, and local support committee members. There will be a little entertainment, an opportunity to hear from Fellows about life after QVS, and a chance to talk in small breakout groups! Register here. Plan to come!

School of the Spirit Contemplative Retreat, “All Shall Be Well: Contemplation in an Age of Crisis,” will be offered Thur – Sun, April 7-10, at the Siena Center in Racine WI. For more, see: https://www.schoolofthespirit.org/ .

Northern Yearly Meeting has annual sessions over Memorial Day weekend – a time for Friends in the upper mid-west to gather together for worship, play, learn, and conduct business. Two volunteers are needed for the upcoming, in-person (we hope) Annual Sessions gathering this May to act as registrar and housing coordinator. The majority of the work comes between March and May when the registration forms are coming in. Please contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org with interest.

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).