March 19, 2023

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Jeannette Raymond; Zoom host – Bill H

10:15 – 11:00 New Member Welcome! Come welcome and celebrate new members. Casual reception to follow. Zoom host – Rae Beth

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Lolly Lijewski – speaker; Dave Bostrom – musician; care of meeting, Jane Furnas; Zoom host – Rae Beth

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

“There is a beautiful complexity of growth within the human soul. In order to glimpse this, it is helpful to visualize the mind as a tower of windows. Sadly, many people remain trapped at one window, looking out every day at the same scene in the same way. Real growth is experienced when you draw back from that one window, turn, and walk around the inner tower of the soul and see all the different windows that await your gaze. Through these different windows, you can see new vistas of possibility, presence, and creativity. Complacency, habit, and blindness often prevent you from feeling your life. So much depends on the frame of vision — the window through which you look.” John O’Donohue from Anam Cara; Clifden, Co. Galway / Ireland

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Please plan to attend a Meeting Threshing Session regarding the masking protocols and the Sunday morning schedule, on Sun, March 26th, 1:30 – 3:30 at the meetinghouse and on Zoom. Same link as March 26th Sunday morning programming.

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: Acts of Kindness. Come explore how simple (or radical) acts of kindness have changed, or even saved, a life. We will watch the short TED talk “I Was Almost a School Shooter” and then discuss the many aspects of acts of kindness, including how such acts have impacted our own lives. Offered by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee.

There is an online 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 is again working on the State of the Society report. If you would like to send a sentence or more regarding your experience of Meeting this past year, please do! Phone, text or email Mary B.

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.

Friends Committee on National Legislation is beginning a process to reconsider the organization’s policy on abortion. The current statement in the World We Seek notes: “Members of the Society of Friends are not in unity on abortion issues. Therefore, FCNL takes no position and does not act either for or against abortion legislation. On occasion, FCNL may appeal to lawmakers not to use the abortion debate to paralyze action on other legislation.” The policy committee is exploring whether or not they should change this position. Doug H and Jim H are MFM representatives to FCNL and would like to hear your thoughts and feelings about this issue, by email or phone in the next month.

Join Settlers Speak of Belonging to a Place, an online conversation with Ranae Hanson, Derartu Berhanu, and Lina Nyaronge about leaving home, displacing others, settling in a place, belonging, longing, and acknowledging. March 23, 6:30 – 8PM(CT). Sponsored by Climate Land Leaders and others. More and register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/settlers-speak-on-belonging-to-place-tickets-551722164847?fbclid=IwAR3No2Crku6lCQbQL41UjizeuEUQkl6HpEJpiT6BPZWtqybApqYr4FDFXm4

Quaker Voluntary Service Minneapolis/St. Paul is hosting a dance with live music and caller at Twin Cities Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave in St. Paul on Sat, Mar 25, 7-9PM. Come have a glass of cider or lemonade, enjoy the music and company, and join in the dancing as desired! No prior experience or partners are required. Contra or circle dances and maybe some square dancing as well. Inside shoes or slippers requested (to protect the wooden floor.) There will be an opportunity to donate to Quaker Voluntary Service, to meet the local QVS Fellows, staff, and local support committee, and to get updates about the program. Masks are and Covid tests prior to the event encouraged – stay home if you’re sick! Let’s have fun together and create some sweet memories!

Quaker Voluntary Service has two program Fridays each month. Could you provide a vegetarian lunch for three on April 14th or 28th? Sign up with Miranda, QVS Local Coordinator: miranda(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org. Also check with Miranda if you are interested in joining her and the two Fellows, Robie and Elsa, for the lunch you provide! THANK YOU, Friends, for this gesture of care and support.

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 GROUP OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

Come for thirty minutes of Lectio Divina and worship sharing at noon on Tuesdays. We hold a short reading from the Bible, Quaker, or other spiritual texts to see if and how it might speak to us today, followed by a time of worship-sharing. Email Stephen for the link.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

WORSHIP

~ Quakers Of Kyiv, Ukraine / Квейкери Києва, given power and internet, invite Friends worldwide to join them for worship Sundays at noon (CT) (8PM their time) Link here; ID: 829 8497 8940; Passcode: 586154. Check for updated information at fb.com/QuakersKyivUkraine .
~ Friends House in Moscow daily worship with a concern for Ukraine, 11AM (CT) Click here to go to online worship ; ID: 416 500 5614; Passcode: 182805
~ Friends General Conference hosts a weekly worship, Sat nights, 8PM: https://forms.gle/GgqEva4KUf4eHFo1A 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 Tues and Thurs morning, 10:30-11AM (CST): https://zoom.us/j/5702463400; password, “worship”
~ 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 put in touch with the coordinator.
~ Quaker Earthcare Witness and Friends General Conference will offer worship sharing in small groups, (respond to queries, explore our experiences, and share.) Register here. Come for spiritual support and connection for those engaged in environmental work and witness Tues, March 28th, 6PM(CT).

VOLUNTEER

Friends for a NonViolent World warmly invites Friends to its annual meeting on Sat, Apr 1st, 9AM-noon. Come celebrate FNVW’s 2022 accomplishments, learn about plans for the future, welcome new board members and greet old Friends! Breakfast and door prizes for those who come in-person – Twin Cities Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul! Can’t be there in person? Join via Zoom – https://default.salsalabs.org/Taae9b73e-dcef-4583-a844-5e092b798e1c/b2dba806-8d6b-4084-9ed3-ac3e130b83ae; ID: 840 8245 2330; Passcode: 894621

Friends School of MN Plant Sale Volunteer Sign Up has started! The Friends School Plant Sale (the largest in the country!) is an incredibly important part of school life and a very important fundraiser. It takes over a thousand volunteers to make the plant sale happen. Volunteers come from all over the Twin Cities to perform jobs at all skill levels. For more and to sign up to help, click here. And remember – volunteers get to shop first! Not ready to commit to getting over to St. Paul? Thousands of newspaper plastic sleeves are needed for the bulbs sale. Bring yours to the collection box at the meetinghouse. And, if you are willing, collect strawberry / tomato boxes the next time you go grocery shopping. Hold on to them at home and we’ll let you know when you can drop them at school in May!

WORKSHOPS, FILMS, RETREATS, PROGRAMS, PRESENTATIONS

Friends for a NonViolent World has been invited to lead a mini-Alternatives to Violence session at the Changemakers Alliance event, Bodily Autonomy. Come get a taste of AVP while learning collective actions we can take to reduce gender-based violence – domestic violence, rape, and sex trafficking. Sat, March 25th, 10AM-3PM, First Unitarian Society of Mpls, 900 Mt Curve Ave. Find out more here. To register, click here.

Quaker Youth Retreat at Scattergood Friends School, April 14-16! This will be a great opportunity for rising 8th-12th graders who want to visit Scattergood for a weekend aimed at service, leadership, and finding one’s voice. This is a free event; limited lodging/meals for drivers. For more information, contact: Sadie at skirschenman(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)scattergood.org.

The first annual Quaker Leadership Conference will be April 27-29 at Earlham in Richmond, IN. Gather to share, listen, learn, and discern how God is working through us and among us and how we might contribute to a vital future for the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker leaders under the age of 40 are eligible for a discount code. For more, see https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1st-annual-quaker-leadership-center-conference-tickets-548018276417

“What are you doing here?” the interplay of Quaker Values and Spiritual Accompaniment in Quaker and Non-Quaker Settings will be offered Thurs, April 20 – Sun, April 23, at Quaker Hill Conference Center, Richmond, IN, and online. Consider how we as Friends engage in spiritual care with each other and in our multi-faith settings. How do hierarchies play out in Quaker and multi-faith settings alike? How do we explain what we do to different audiences? How do we maintain our own spiritual integrity as we accompany people with a variety of spiritual beliefs and practices? Through participatory workshops, insight sessions, and small group sharing, attenders will have a chance to engage with issues such as professional and spiritual authority, theological grounding, and the dynamics of seeking, finding and helping or accompanying others. Register and learn more at QPCC.US.

Save the date for Friends for a NonViolent World’s People Camp, “Caring for Our Future,” Aug 6-12, Northern Pines Retreat Center, Park Rapids, MN. Registration is now open and discounted $40 until May 31. Link is here.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

There will be a rally in support of The Clyde Bellecourt Urban Indigenous Legacy Initiative, a campaign to transform the Indigenous landscape of the Twin Cities on Tues, March 21, 1-4PM at the MN State Capitol in St. Paul. Read more about the initiative here.

The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery asks for prayers for Apache Stronghold, a movement to protect Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site, believed to be home to their creator, Ussen, the rights which were signed over to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of foreign mining company, Rio Tinto. Protecting Oak Flat is protecting religious freedom. The case will be argued in court on March 21st. More at http://apache-stronghold.com/?blm_aid=24165397

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition’s Day on the Hill is March 29, 6:30 – 8:45PM, online and March 30. The program this year will be focused on homelessness in our state and advocating for HF1872, the Sacred Settlements bill. Register to attend a virtual issue brief and advocacy training program, then schedule an advocacy appointment for March 30 by contacting your legislators. Minneapolis Meeting is a member of JLRC.

The Muslim American Society of Minnesota and Minnesota Council of Churches have built relationships, reduced Islamophobia, and fostered conversations between people of different faiths through Taking Heart Ramadan Iftars. During Ramadan you are invited to an open house at a mosque where you can witness prayer, learn about your neighbors and enjoy a fast-breaking meal. Sign up to attend a Taking Heart Iftar.

OFFICE HOURS

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).