May 8, 2022

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM
TODAY

9:00 – 9:40 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Keitha Herron; Zoom host – Rae Beth

9:45 – 11:15 monthly meeting for business: John Kraft, clerk; Stephen Snyder, recording clerk; Zoom host – Marilyn

11:15 – 12:00 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): speaker unknown; care of meeting, Mike Finley; Zoom host – Marilyn

Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapoisfriends.org for the link to worship and Sunday morning programming in May.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Let’s celebrate each other! Happy birthday to: John C (May 2nd,) Barbara Z (May 6th,) Andy S, (May 10th,) and Terry K (May 30th)! Let Friends acknowledge and celebrate you! Send the month and date of your birth, (no year necessary,) to Judith.

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15 will be hosted by Ministry and Counsel Committee.

Due to increasing infection rates and COVID restrictions, the previously scheduled mid-morning program for May 22 has been postponed. Instead, we will be learning about what Quakers are doing in response to our Native brothers’ and sisters’ request to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. Does MFM want to embark on this work, too? Come to learn more and contribute to the discernment. More about the Doctrine from Northern Yearly Meeting can be found here.

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

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 John C 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.

FUN WITH FRIENDS BIRD WALK, Thurs, May 12 at 10:30AM. Stroll at Veterans Memorial Park in Richfield, one of the best places in the Twin Cities for birding! Bring a sack lunch, we’ll walk for about an hour and then have a picnic. Meet by the pavilion/playground. Rain date 10:30, Sat, May 14. Check Google group Thurs for cancellation. Come join the adventure! Questions, contact David or Jane.

Donate to a NorthPoint food drive on Fri, May 13, from 10AM – 3PM at the meetinghouse. You may leave your donations just outside the York Ave door (someone will bring them inside) or bring them into the building yourself if you want, (wear a mask.) Most-needed items include oatmeal, canned meat, (tuna, chicken, and salmon,) and hygiene products such as shaving cream and razor blades. Organized by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee. If you have questions, email Deborah.

Northern Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions May 27-30. This year’s annual session will be in two parts:
* Family and Youth Camp in person at Lyons Camp, Rosholt WI. Registrations accepted through May 20: cognitoforms.com/NYM3/NYM2022YouthAndFamily Camp.
* Adult structured Sessions for Business, Workshops, and Plenaries held over Zoom. Register before May 27: cognitoforms.com/NYM3/nym2022online.
– Volunteers are still needed for both Annual Sessions, especially day program or overnight for Family and Youth Camp. For updated information see northernyearlymeeting.org.

SMALL GROUP 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. Contact Stephen for the link.

The Right Relationship with Indigenous People group will meet this coming Monday night, May 9, at 7PM. Open to all interested, this group meets every second Monday night. Contact Carolyn for the link.

The Deep Inner Work of Creating Racial Justice Group will meet this Tues, May 10, 7-9PM. This group meets on the second Tuesday of the month and is open to all members and attenders, whether you have come before or not. Contact Nettie S. or Jim L.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

VOLUNTEER

Friends for a NonViolent World will host a Walkathon fundraiser to support FNVW’s programs teaching alternatives to violence and championing a foundation of nonviolence upon which to build a society that respects the dignity of every human being. Sat, May 21, Lake Nokomis, Mpls, 9:30AM – 12:30PM. More at: Walkathon Sign Up and Pledge Form.

Members of Congress are in their districts for their spring recess. Friends Committee on National Legislation suggests that Quakers concerned about climate change and income disparities write or call their Senators and Representatives with their concerns. Congress has not given up on these concerns and will try to advance them in a reconciliation process, which requires only 50 Senate votes. Find more and help contact your Congresspeople at: https://fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/37304/?utm_source=fcnlaction

WORKSHOPS, FILMS, RETREATS, PROGRAMS, PRESENTATION, EVENTS

Shop the Friends School Plant Sale, May 6-8 at the State Fair Grandstand. This sale, the largest in the country, is an important source of funding. Come experience the event and support FSMN! FriendsSchoolPlantSale.com .

From Northern Yearly Meeting’s AntiRacism Working Group: Land Acknowledgement Open Forum, Thur, May 12, 7-8:30PM. The land where we live and worship was once the home of Indigenous people. While Friends wish to raise our awareness of this history and its implications, do land acknowledgements more than add rote repetition to gatherings? Do land acknowledgements affect our anti-racist actions? Share our hopes and fears, our thoughts and feelings and look for Divine direction: Link here ; ID: 823 1234 9285; Passcode: 901686.

The 2022 Friends General Conference Gathering, “. . . and follow me” will be July 3-9, online. Advanced Programs with a list of workshops will be available soon. Learn more and register for the Gathering on the FGC website. Registration deadline for in-person attendance is June 10.

Early Bird registration for Friends for a NonViolent World’s People Camp (Aug 7-13) ends May 31st. People Camp is an intergenerational experience of cooperation, exploration and community living. Come rest and refresh your mind, body, and spirit through a variety of workshops, group activities and recreation. More here.

Friends General Conference is offering the Spiritual Deepening eRetreat, Building a Meaningful and Connected Life May 19th – June 16th. Explore and practice the spirituality of meaning-making, resiliency, renewal and life transitions. Participants will ask themselves and each other, what choices can we make and what steps can we take now to nurture our inner life, creative life, and connected life? More here.

Seeking Truth, Healing, and Right Relationship: Quakers and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools , offered by Friends Committee on National Legislation, will be May 25, 5:30-6:30PM. This online event presents Quaker efforts underway to reveal and understand the full trauma created by Indian Boarding Schools and their present-day effects, as well as the current plan to get the federal government involved in creating remedies. FCNL’s Congressional Advocate for its Native American Advocacy Program, Portia K. Skenandore-Wheelock, joins Paula Palmer and Jerilyn DeCoteau. Palmer belongs to Boulder Friends Meeting and is Co-Director of Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples along with DeCoteau, who is an Ojibwe attorney and educator.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

Minnesota Council of Churches invites you to an information session about the ACTION Project Three-Year Cohort, Tues, May 10, 7PM. Learn about this opportunity for your congregation to join with other people of faith to learn, experience and grow in attitudes around race and intercultural competency. ACTION, or “A Commitment To Inclusion in Our Neighborhoods” explores how the present situation of racial injustice came to be, what our current climate of life and faith are, and looks for tools to be in solidarity with those on the margins. Learn more here . There is a cohort forming to begins in September. Curious? Register for next week’s information session.

Middle East Peace Now recently hosted renowned historian, social activist, and author, Ilan Pappé, presenting a logical historical and analytical framework for viewing today’s situation in Palestine/Israel. He asserts that the lens through which we must interpret the situation there is colonialism. The settler colonialism that determines the structure and actions of Israel and its repression of Palestinians is untenable and unsustainable for both Israelis and Palestinians. Prof. Pappé concludes that the solution is one united state for Israelis and Palestinians that provides equity for all citizens. Click here for the forum presentation.

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).