December 10, 2023

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

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

9:45 – 11:15 monthly meeting for business: Stephen Snyder, clerk; Jeannette Raymond, recording clerk; Zoom host – Sandy

11:15 – 12:00 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Gayle Dreon – speaker; care of meeting, Joanne Esser; Zoom host – Sandy

Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org for the link to worship and business meeting.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: What Convinced Me to Attend Minneapolis Friends Meeting for the First Time? conversation and holiday treats. Coffee/tea and holiday cookies . . . Everyone, young and old, will be invited to share their answer to the question above with the intent of getting to know each other better. Hosted by the Welcoming and Outreach Committee.

Looking ahead, there will be a children-presented program as well as a carol sing during mid-morning program on Dec 24th! The festivities start a little early; plan to come by 10AM to share in the joy, music, and potluck treats!

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.

Minneapolis Friends Meeting Young Adult Quakers (YAQs) will be having a potluck and game night at the meetinghouse on Friday, December 15th at 6PM. If you’re a young-ish adult, (18-45,) bring food to share and/or games you want to play. Questions, email Elizabeth S.

Want to practice your A/V Tech skills? Sign up to observe or to operate the system with guidance during December! Contact Marilyn J.

The local Quaker Voluntary Service Program, on hiatus this year, will restart for 2024-2025 and your help is needed! Do you have ideas for possible new sites where the QVS Fellows can work? Progressive, compatible for-profit and non-profit organizations will be considered. Please contact office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org if you have thoughts or contacts with organizations to share, or if you want to explore getting involved with this exciting program, nurturing leaders of today and tomorrow, grounded in Quaker values.

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

Tune in to the Getting to Know You Storytelling Group, this coming Tues, Dec 12th, at 1PM. Come know and be known by hearing stories and sharing stories from your life – every second Tuesday! The prompt for this Tues: Your siblings (biological or chosen) – Who were they growing up? Who are they now? The link: https://zoom.us/j/96998647924?pwd=OXNLMGEyRERjRWxDUGRycGtUa0RwQT09. Contact Kate W-J with questions.

The Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group will meet on Zoom this Tuesday, Dec 12th, 7-8:30PM. ALL ARE WELCOME! Visitors as well as those interested in joining on a regular basis. We are exploring Resmaa Menakem’s call to prepare for what is happening in our nation at this time. We are looking at whether to and how we might engage in non-violent direct action. Please let Nettie S. know if you want a link sent to you.

Small group line-up: Writing Group, first Monday night; Conflict Soiree, first Wednesday afternoon; Getting to Know You Group, second Tuesday afternoon; Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group, second Tuesday night; Right Relationship with Indigenous People, third Tuesday night; Reading Group, fourth Tuesday night; Spirituality of Dance Group, last Tuesday morning in odd months. Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org for more about any or all of these opportunities.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

URGENT ACTION REQUESTED – Friends Committee on National Legislation has made it easy for you to contact your legislators in D.C. to urge a ceasefire, de-escalation, restraint, and respect for international law in Gaza and Israel. Click here. It also provides resources for talking with others in your community about the conflict there – to raise awareness and invite action. Click here.

Friends General Conference offers “God is Within Her: Quakers Experience The Color Purple” this coming Thurs, Dec 14th, 7-8:30PM (CT). Join theologian and FGC staff member nova george for a conversation with a special guest about themes raised in The Color Purple novel and 1985 film. Register for the Zoom event here.

Friends General Conference will be holding a Winter Conference, Changing Times, Jan. 18-21, with four components:
– Connecting to Spirit
– Becoming an Actively Anti-racist Faith Community
– Changing Structures for Changing Times
– The Future of the Religious Society of Friends.  
You can find more information and a preliminary scheduled here. Registration will be open later this month.

Thee Quaker Podcast has a new interview about Quakers and social media, Finding Silence in a Post-Twitter Life. Listen here.

QuakerSpeak’s newest video discusses the Peace Testimony, atonement, and the belief that freedom in the Spirit is concrete and immediate. Watch it here.

Listen to the most recent edition of Friends for a NonViolent World’s Every Day NonViolence Podcast featuring George Lakey: Everyday NonViolence.

Noah Merrill gave the message, As Oil from Gethsemane, at a recent Section Meeting of Friends World Committee for Consultation. You can read it here. There will be an event to allow space to sit together, worship and reflect on Noah’s message on Dec 16, 6PM (CT). Register here.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

Middle East Peace Now will host Mariam El-Khatib who will speak about what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza this Sat, Dec 9th, at 10AM via Zoom. Register here.

OFFICE HOURS

The Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed and Fri afternoons. Phone messages checked daily; email checked during office hours. 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).