November 19, 2023

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Lindy Venustus; Zoom host – Marilyn J.

10:15 – 11:00 Witness for Peace Delegation Travel to Cuba. Linda Coffin traveled to Cuba in December 2022 as a member of a Witness for Peace delegation. She will describe the trip and share photos of what she saw and learned there. Zoom host – Kate W-J

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): no planned speaker; no planned music; care of meeting, Bill Hendricks; microphone carrier, Bobby S.; Zoom host– Kate W-J

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

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

Those for whom the time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day brings feelings of isolation or loneliness and those for whom Thanksgiving feels like a celebration of injustice and trauma.

Those who are traveling for Thanksgiving.

Those living in the midst of violence and the threat of violence, those who have had to flee their homes, those grieving the death of loved ones, those fearful of the safety of friends and family, those devastated by need of electricity, food, water, and/or goods, and those in positions to change many of these conditions.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: Friends for a NonViolent World: Quaker Values in Action. Created by members of the local Quaker community over 40 years ago, FNVW continues to put Quaker testimonies into action in our community today. FNVW’s Executive Director, Leah Robshaw Robinson, will share updates on FNVW’s current violence prevention and peace-building work, including a new Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) youth program!

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.

The Winter Gift is an annual, special collection Minneapolis Meeting makes in the winter months. The Peace and Social Concerns Committee is tasked with recommending the recipients of the gift. If you have an organization you would like to nominate as a recipient, please send an email, with information about and the address of the organization, to the P&SC Committee clerk Deborah J.) by Mon, Nov 27th.

Thanksgiving dinner at the meetinghouse is back! Gather Thurs, Nov 23rd, at 4PM for half an hour of worship, then everyone will pitch in to get ready for the meal, hoping to eat around 5. Board games and conversation after dinner. A sign up sheet will be on the table by the elevator – put your name and what you would like to bring to contribute to the meal. Questions or to sign up (If you’re not in the meetinghouse before Thanksgiving,) call Jim L. or Jane D.

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 L. 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.

Being a Zoom Host or a substitute A/V Tech is a great way to support the Meeting’s worship. Interested in being trained for either of these positions, or just finding out more? Contact Marilyn J.

Plan to shop the Friends for a Nonviolent World Holiday Fair, Dec 1, 1 – 9PM, and Dec 2, 10AM – 4PM at the Friends School of Minnesota, 1365 Englewood Ave, St Paul. Event Website: fnvw.org/holidayfair. Purchase crafts and other gifts; listen to festive holiday music; hang out with local Quakers! Dinner from the café available 4-9 on Friday; lunch available 10-3 on Saturday.

The Care and Counsel Committee facilitates pastoral care for Minneapolis Meeting members and attenders, understanding the Quaker tradition that Friends minister to each other. If you are dealing with illness, grief, a major transition, or a stressful personal problem, we would like to be there for you. Contact committee clerk, Sandy O.
If a confidential discussion would support you as you make a decision, we will set up a clearness committee with you. Email John S. to explore that opportunity.
Other committee members are Connie A., Mary G. and Ellen S.

SMALL GROUP OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

The Right Relationship with Indigenous People group will meet this coming Tues night, Nov 21st, at 7PM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84679072882; ID: 846 7907 2882; passcode 482476. Open to all interested, this group meets every third Tues night.

Small group line-up: Writing Group, first Monday night; Conflict Soirees, first Wed afternoon; Getting to Know You Group, second Tuesday afternoon; Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group – now open to visitors / new members – second Tuesday night; Right Relationship with Indigenous People, third Tuesday night; Watson Reading Group, fourth Tuesday night; Spirituality of Dance Group, last Tuesday morning in odd months. For more about any of these, contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org / 612-926-6159.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

PLAN TO SHOP the Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair: Dec 1st, 1-9PM and Dec 2nd, 10AM – 4PM at the Friends
School of Minnesota, 1365 Englewood Ave, St Paul. Purchase unique crafts and other gifts – soaps, used books, desserts, Christmas wreaths, Quaker treasures and more; listen to festive holiday music; hang out with folks from local Meetings, eat at the Friendly Café! (open Friday, 4-9PM and Sat, 10AM-3PM.) Check out the event at https://fnvw.org/holidayfair.
Here’s how you can help this important Quaker community event and FNVW funding source:
~ play an instrument! If you would like to play for the Holiday Fair this year, Dec 1 and 2, contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org to be put in touch with Tom W. The Fair would love to have you!!
~ create crafts to be sold or preserve the bounty of your garden! Work on your own or parallel play with a group of friends! Jams, honey and salsa are popular sale items. And of course, it’s always a good time to teach one of your skills to a younger person!
~ Approach your favorite businesses and ask if they would make a contribution to sell at the Fair! Print a few copies of this Holiday Fair Business Letter to share with the businesses you frequent to ask for their support.
~ Clean up those Quaker Treasures to prepare them for their next life. Items with special meaning and value to the Quaker community are most fun to have.
~ Donate books! (We would also love multi-gallon storage tubs, and a few bookcases!) Contact info(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org to donate.
~sign up to VOLUNTEER! Pick up and deliver books, decorate, take a shift cooking or prepping food for the café, bring desserts, help with set-up, be a cashier, be a welcomer, accept craft, treasure and food donations, take your pick here.
Let FNVW know what you’d like to donate to the sale – FNVW Holiday Fair Donation Sign Up

The Friends Committee for National Legislation toolkit for calling for an Israel – Palestine ceasefire can be found here. To watch and share a recording of the powerful conversation hosted in late Oct, “Calling for a Ceasefire: Israel-Palestine Briefing,” click here. The transcript of the chat with additional resources is available here. The American Friends Service Committee, working for a just and lasting peace in the area since 1948, has a Gaza resource page available here.

Community Song Circle, co-hosted by Twin Cities Meeting and MN Interfaith Power and Light, Dec 3, 1:30-3:30 at the St. Paul meetinghouse: 1725 Grand Ave. All are welcome.

Friends Committee on National Legislation’s (FCNL) Annual Meeting & Quaker Public Policy Institute 2023 will be Nov 15 – 19, in person in D.C. and online. Join hundreds of Quakers and friends in fellowship and worship to seek unity around decisions about organizational priorities, bylaws, and budget for the coming year. Through the Quaker Public Policy Institute, hundreds of advocates lobby their federal officials to advance just public policies. Workshops, plenaries, worship sharing, and other events bring the work of FCNL to the wider Friends community and offer an opportunity to meet the dedicated FCNL staff who work to lobby for legislation that reflects Quaker values. Go to fcnl.org for more.

The most recent, highly recommended, Pendle Hill first Monday lecture, Awakening the Witness: Convincement and Belonging in Quaker Community is available at: https://www.youtube.com/live/ygHpj5IFCME?si=kXnl1NOpX1qgcGkQ .

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

Every Friday, Women Against Military Madness hosts a rally to end the siege in Gaza, 4-5PM at the corner of Snelling and Summit in St. Paul.

The Division of Indian Work staff will have a table and recipe samples (while they last) at Linden Hills Co-op (9AM-noon) through November. “Round up” your purchase during the month to benefit DIW, too!

Healing the Broken Land: Indigenous Leadership in the Face of Climate Crisis, a webinar, is being offered Nov 19th at 3:30PM. Sponsored by Tonatierra, American Indian Law Alliance, Eastern Woodlands Rematriation, Honor the Earth, Hawaii Peace and Justice Center, Indigenous Solidarity Network, Catalyst Project, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), 350.org, and Nuns & Nones Land Justice. Register here. More here.

Living Lightly: Consider adding a daily prayer or awareness of gratitude for the natural world that surrounds you each day. Intentionally notice the beauty more than you have before.

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).