June 4, 2023

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

10:00 – 11:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Mary Bosserman; Zoom host – Marilyn Johnson

Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org to get the zoom link for worship.

WE ARE CURRENTLY ON THE SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE. In the summer months, there is a single worship at 10AM. First and third Sundays have unprogrammed worship; second and fourth Sundays have semi-programmed worship. A finger-food potluck follows worship on first Sundays. Monthly meeting for business follows worship on second Sundays. Masking is welcomed and optional. There is seating under the west windows for those who wish to mask and distance.

TODAY a Threshing Session on Sunday morning worship, programming, and schedule will follow meeting for worship at 11:15AM. Do our forms of worship, the mid-morning programs, meetings for business, programming for children and the time frame for these activities still nurture the spiritual life of our community? Come and share your questions and concerns and listen deeply to those shared by others as we discern what the Spirit is asking of our community. A threshing session is not a decision-making meeting. The aim is simply to move towards clarity and a greater understanding of an issue; to separate the grain of truth from the chaff. It is a time to voice, lovingly and broadly, concerns, questions, and opinions around an issue. Doubts and anxieties can be expressed without obstructing a decision and there is an interval for reflection (between the threshing session and the meeting for business,) before a decision is considered.

ALSO TODAY, following the threshing session, bring a bag lunch and drink and / or potluck fingerfood and linger with F(f)riends! A couple of tables will be set up in the meetingroom. Pull up a chair!

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

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

Minneapolis Meeting is looking for an In-house Audio Visual Operator to support hybrid worship and programming, starting in August. Detailed job description and application information found here. Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org or call 612-926-6159 for more.

Fun with Friends: Summer is here, and it’s time for Shakespeare! Last year, Shakespeare in the Park was one of the best-attended and favorite events of the summer. This year, we’ll meet in a different park, for a different play – Much Ado about Nothing at Lake of the Isles, Sat, June 17th. Gather at 5:30PM; bring your own picnic supper and a lawn chair or blanket. Play starts at 7PM. Sponsored by the Welcoming and Outreach Committee.

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 Lolly or other member 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.

People who are interested and willing to learn / review how to work the meetinghouse AV system, a few sessions are being planned during and after worship in June and July. Please let Terry K or Roger M know of your interest.

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.

Please remember to schedule committee meetings, events, and visits to the meetinghouse with the office to help avoid conflicts: 612-926-6159; office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org . Masks are worn in common spaces of the meetinghouse – hallways, stairways, etc.

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. Contact Stephen for the link.

Established writers as well as dabblers will have an informal writing session tomorrow night, June 5th, 7-9PM. This is a chance to connect with others, writing with prompts and sharing what we write. ALL INVITED, whether or not you have participated before! Contact Jane D with questions or interest or for the link.

OPPORTUNITIES AMONG FRIENDS

WORKSHOPS, FILMS, RETREATS, PROGRAMS, PRESENTATIONS

Listen to Thee Quaker Podcast (created by Jon Watts and supported by MFM contributions!) The newest episode: George Fox and the Birth of Quakerism

Marcelle Martin and Mary Ann Percy will introduce Faithfulness Groups, ongoing small groups to support Friends (and others) in their work, ministry, and leadings around Earthcare, environmental witness, environmental justice, ecological grief, education about climate change, and building resilient communities. Come learn more at an introduction on June 7th, 7:30 – 9PM (ET). REGISTER HERE. Those who participate in this evening event and wish to learn more, and/or find others to join an ongoing group will have the opportunity to sign up for a three-hour workshop held on June 10 (1-4PM ET; noon-3PM CT). For more information about faithfulness groups, including links to videos on the subject, visit Marcelle’s website, AWholeHeart.com.

The 2023 Friends General Conference Gathering (FGC), Listen So That We May LIVE, will be July 2-8 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR. Plenaries will be hybrid. FFI, see fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/the-gathering/

Camp Woodbrooke registration is now open – Camp Woodbrooke is a unique, residential summer camp located on 162 acres in southwestern Wisconsin. Campers ages 7-12 can explore the natural world in a caring, safe community. Campers make cooperative decisions about activities, participate in daily work crews and learn life skills such as independence, accountability, negotiation, and decision-making. An additional program for teenagers 13-15 expands on experiences and skills developed as younger campers. Teens take either a bike or canoe trip and camp along the way. Dates and more information at Camp Woodbrooke’s website: www.campwoodbrooke.org.

People Camp, offered by Friends for a NonViolent World (August 6-12) is a great summer adventure vacation at a very affordable cost! This is a great experience for parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, couples, and singles. Take a look at a slide show here and an information page and video along with link to registration, here, to get a glimpse!

VOLUNTEER

Help recruit for Quaker Voluntary Service in Minneapolis/St. Paul! There are three Fellow positions still available for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Quaker Voluntary Service program. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis through early June. Placement organizations available are Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL), Spanish fluency required; Friends for a NonViolent World (FNVW); and Minnesota State Horticultural Society. Find position descriptions for all three here: https://z.umn.edu/QVS_Openings. If someone in your friends and family circle is looking for their next opportunity after finishing college or taking a break (age 21-30), encourage them to consider Quaker Voluntary Service – eleven months living in community and working full-time for a non-profit organization that is congruent with Quaker values. Training, support from a coordinator and local Friends, housing, a stipend, and spiritual and vocational development resources are included. The program year starts with a national retreat; jobs begin in September, going through the following July. Application at this link, or contact Miranda Dils at miranda(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org with questions.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

MN Council of Churches’s ACTION (A Commitment to Inclusion in Our Neighborhoods) Program will accept applications for its second cohort soon! This three-year commitment offers History (How did we get here? facilitated by BIPOC educators), Life and Faith (the current climate – includes training in community organizing and local government,) and Solidarity (as defined in the margins; includes consultation with faith communities.) Designed for congregations to enroll together, the program is being made available to individuals without a congregational commitment. Learn more here. ACTION Project information opportunities are happening on Tues, June 13th, noon-1:00PM; Thurs, June 15th, 7-8PM; Mon, July 10th, 7-8PM; and Wed, July 19th, noon-1PM. Zoom link for the sessions here.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with 26 Senators as co-sponsors, recently reintroduced legislation S.1723 to establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States. S.1723’s commission will conduct a full inquiry into the assimilative policies of the U.S. Indian boarding schools. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition asks you to reach out to your Senator and urge their support and passage of S.1723 to create a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian boarding schools.

OFFICE HOURS

Carolyn VandenDolder, Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed, Thurs and Fri, afternoons. Phone messages checked daily. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Phone items in to the office (612-926-6159), email (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org), or write and put in the bulletin file of the blue box.