February 6, 2022

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Mary Bosserman; Zoom host – Marilyn

10:15 – 11:00 The Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice. Participants in this MFM group will briefly describe the work they are doing and will share stories that have come out of this work. There might also be some exercises and questions for all attending. Presenters: Jimbo Lovestar, Nettie Smith, Peter Wragg, John Stuart, and Mary Jean Port. Zoom host – Stephen

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): no planned speaker; care of meeting, Nettie Smith; Zoom host – Stephen

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

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Monthly meeting for business will be next Sun, 9:45-11:15. On the agenda: Stewardship and Finance Committee’s draft budget, hybrid tech overview, and a committee nomination slate.

Ministry and Counsel Committee (M&C) asks Friends to attend to their day and thoughts, examining if any elements might become planned vocal ministry in worship. Those who feel led to offer planned ministry / a reading during second worship, please contact Bill 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.

Don’t miss Feb’s Friendly Meal (via Zoom)! The Welcoming and Outreach Committee invites you to dinner Sat, Feb 19, 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. 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, we will be put into breakout rooms. Promptness matters! Contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org by noon Wed (Feb 16,) to participate. The link will be sent to participants by the Fri the 18th. Come enjoy the friendly fellowship!

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 area Meetings to support and nurture each other. Recently, NYM’s Anti-Racism Working Group and collective first day school offerings have provided resources and opportunities for collaboration among individual meetings. Get to know and be inspired by the lives and witness of Friends and Meetings in our area! Find details and registration information here. Zoom hosts are sought. Contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org with interest.
*****Friends in Action: Bismarck-Mandan Friends Acting on Indigenous People’s Issue will kick off the interim session, Thurs, Feb. 17, 7PM. Hear about three actions relating to Native American issues in which Bismarck-Mandan Meeting has engaged. There will be time to consider what questions their experience raises for your own meeting/worship group’s anti-racism efforts. See link above for details.

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

Quaker Voluntary Service has two program Fridays each month. Could you provide a vegan lunch for seven (including one gluten-free option) on 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 this gesture of care and support.

Zoom Updates – There are frequent updates to the Zoom software. Updates improve reliability, fix security issues, and apply new features. The most recent update was released on Jan 24. Instructions for installing it can be found here.

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.

Stephen Harlan-Marks died Jan 25th. Steve and Pat Harlan-Marks attended MFM as young adults and again a decade or so ago. You can read his obituary here.

SMALL GROUPS OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

Join Lectio Divina at 11:25AM most Wednesdays – Hold a short reading from the Bible, Quaker, or other spiritual text to see if and how it might speak to us today. Email Stephen for the link.

The Writing Group will gather this Mon, Feb 7th, 7-9PM. Come connect with each other, writing with prompts and sharing what we write (opt). ALL INVITED, whether or not you have participated. Contact Jane or Carolyn for more.

The Deep Inner Work of Creating Racial Justice Group will meet this Tues, Feb 8th, 7-9PM. This group is open to all, if you have come before or not. Contact Nettie or Jim L. for more.

IN THE WORLD OF FRIENDS

Embodied Quakerism, a Pendle Hill first Monday lecture, will be offered Feb 7, 6:30-8PM (CT) by Katy Hawkins. More and to register, click here.

American Friends Service Committee announces the FIRST Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival, Feb 12 – April 9. Quakers of Color have remained within the margins of the Society of Friends and the wider world. Every-other Saturday at noon (CT), from Feb 12th until April 9th, a film centered on a Quaker of Color with an introduction from a guest expert and a follow up discussion facilitated by Black Quaker Project’s Dr. Harold D. Weaver, will be screened. Register here.
ALSO, AFSC’s Twin Cities’ Healing Justice program has published a recent report summarizing activities in 2021 and plans for 2022. Click here for more.

Friends Journal’s annual Student Voices Project: Young people are witnessing the consequences of the climate crisis and choosing to get involved in sustainable solutions, building the youth-led movement to demand action on climate change. In this year’s Student Voices Project, young people are asked: What has been your personal experience with climate activism and sustainability? Essays (300 – 900 words) from students between sixth and twelfth grades welcomed. 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.

Queries such as, “Where is that of God in my child and in me?” challenge us to look deeper into the foundation of our faith and our family life. Join Quaker Parenting Initiative’s Searching to Better Nurture and Guide Our Children and use these kinds of questions to reflect on your family life, its joys and frustrations, and discover alternative scenarios that reflect your values and spiritual aspirations. Wednesdays in March. For more, see the Quaker Parenting Initiative website.

Friends General Conference Spiritual Deepening eRetreats in Feb: Silence and Light (Feb 16-March 16) and Silence and Light for Quaker Newcomers (March 12-April 9).

Quaker Voluntary Service is seeking applicants for 2022-23! Grounded in the Quaker faith tradition and open to people of all backgrounds, QVS is a year-long Fellowship program in which young adults (age 21-30) build intentional community, work full time at social service and social change agencies, and explore themes of spiritual and personal growth with local Quakers. QVS currently has houses in Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Portland OR. Applications for the 2022-23 year (late Aug – early July) are due Feb 28. See the QVS website for a Fellow job description and testimonials, current service partners, and the application portal. Invite the young people in your life to apply!

Friends for a NonViolent World is offering February community education classes on violence prevention and conflict resolution led by trained Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) facilitators and incorporating AVP workshop curriculum and exercises. More information and registration links found in their recent e-newsletter.

Friends School Plant Sale – signing up to volunteer has begun: FriendsSchoolPlantSale.com/volunteer / (651) 621-8930. The Plant Sale will be held May 6-8 at the State Fair Grandstand. Volunteers are needed! Volunteers shop early! A catalog will arrive in March. To see it online, available March 16, go to FriendsSchoolPlantSale.com.

IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

White Privilege Conference, March 9-12, in Charlotte, NC. Friends General Conference will again offer a pre-registration form for the conference providing a lower group rate registration cost. With over ten years of FGC support, there has often been a large attendance of Friends at the conference, creating a community that has enriched the conference and work after. Open to both Friends of Color and white Friends. More at FGC’s White Privilege Conference Landing page. Once you pre-register, FGC will send you a discount code which will give you the reduced rate. The pre-registration form does not register you for the retreat. You must register for the conference on their website once you get the discount code. Both in-person and virtual attendance are options this year. For in-person attendance, the hotel conference rate is available only through Feb 13.

The MN Council of Churches adopted an initiative in 2020 to move member congregations forward in the area of racial justice – a program including truth-telling and reparations for the African American and Native American communities in MN. If you were unable to join a recent session describing the program, you can hear it here.