February 11, 2024

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 9:40 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Keitha Herron; Zoom host – John K.

9:45 – 11:15 monthly meeting for business: Steve Snyder, clerk; Jeannette Raymond, recording clerk; Zoom host – Marilyn J.

11:15 – 12:00 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Cathy Nagler – speaker; care of meeting, Jill Frew; Zoom host – Marilyn J.

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

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

All who are weary and heavy laden and need rest.

Those living in the midst of violence and the threat of violence, those who fear for the safety of loved ones, those who want for basic necessities.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

TODAY at monthly meeting Friends will consider the final recommendation from the ad hoc Solar Panel Committee. After more than a year of research, expert advice, and an attractive funding package, the ad hoc committee will make its recommendation for this project. Preliminary budget and nominating committee reports will also be presented as well as worship-sharing in preparation of the State of Society Report, (how is Minneapolis Meeting doing?) The query we will consider is, “How do we care for one another, nurture connections among one another, and deepen the spiritual life within our meeting community (including families and children)?” You can find previous State of Society reports here. Please come be part of the discernment!

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.

Northern Yearly Meeting will host a High School and Middle School Winter Retreat at Duluth-Superior Friends Meeting House (1802 E 1st St, Duluth, MN 55812) the weekend of Feb 23-25th. The theme: Self Care and Practicing Hygge. We will cultivate a time to be in comfort, warmth and coziness during this winter season, including such things as crocheting nose warmers, making candles, and baking with possibly an ice skating outing thrown in! Be ready for some amazing charade games as well as board games and puzzles. Plan to come! If you are able to provide a ride or are in need of a ride, please email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org to be put in touch with the volunteer ride coordinator. Also mark your calendars for our tentative NYM High School Spring Retreat at Scattergood Friends School, April 19-21.

Quaker Voluntary Service, a program supported by Minneapolis and Twin Cities Meetings, needs your help! Progress is being made toward re-launching the Quaker Voluntary Service program in the Twin Cities, but a few more partner non-profit site organizations are required. Please reach out to friends and family for ideas of possible local non-profits which could provide good professional work experience for a skilled young adult while supporting Quaker values. Contact Jane F, Ed S, or Tom W. with ideas.

Plan to attend the Winter NYM Interim Session: Sat, Feb. 24th, 8:30AM – 4:30PM via Zoom. Register here. Also pencil in Sunday afternoon from 1-4 – if we have more items than we think we can comfortably accommodate 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 Getting to Know You Storytelling Group will meet this Tues (and every second Tuesday!) at 1PM. This month’s prompt – “What is one truth that you believe in most or that you lead your life by?” Email Kate W-J. Come get better acquainted!

The Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice group meets every second Tues night, 7-8:30 and is exploring and practicing the inner and outer work of direct action using Resmaa Menakem’s book The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning. There is a core group; visitors / newcomers are warmly welcome. Email Nettie S. with interest and to request the link.

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.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

Friends for a NonVIolent news highlights:
~ FNVW People Camp registration is now open! Get Early Bird rates (until May 31) to attend camp this summer – a rich experience of shared community life and work, recreation and connection, social justice learning and action opportunities for children and adults. Find out more and register here.
~ FNVW Alternatives to Violence Youth Workshop Kick-Off – young-ish people, ages 10-30, are invited to the first AVP Youth workshop Sat and Sun, Feb 17 and 18. Learn to resolve conflict nonviolently in community with one another, supported by facilitators who recognize the power younger people have to create lasting change. No cost; meals provided; transportation help available. For more and to get connected, click here or email katie(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org.
~ FNVW Annual Meeting – save the date, Sat, March 2nd, 9-noon at Twin Cities Meeting or via Zoom. Attend to connect with the network of FNVW supporters, celebrate the successes of the past year, and increase the impact in facing coming challenges. Register online for more details (and to be entered in a door prize drawing!) Want to join the FNVW Board of Directors? More and apply by Feb 21 here.
~ FNVW is joining Earth Quaker Action Team’s online Thursday night Direct NonViolent Action training sessions. Find out more here.

Volunteer registration for the 2024 Friends School of MN Plant Sale (May 10-12) is now open. You can get a sense of the different tasks to be done, and sign up, here. If you’d like to be part of the energy and life that is the plant sale, plan to volunteer – and don’t forget, volunteers get to shop first!

Right Sharing of World Resources invites Friends to an online workshop, The Power of Enough, meeting on Wednesdays, Feb 14th through March 13th. What is essential? How is my use of time, energy, and things in right balance to free me to do God’s work and to contribute to right order of our world? Through personal reflection, discussion and worship-sharing, explore queries to discover our power of enough. For more and to register, click here.

Introduction to Advocacy with Friends Committee on National Legislation, online, Feb 15th, 7 – 8PM (CT). Come for an engaging, informative session on how you can effectively advocate for the issues that matter most to you. At FCNL, we believe in the power of grassroots advocacy to bring about positive change, and we’re excited to share valuable insights and strategies with you. Register: https://act.fcnl.org/event/intro_to_advocacy/3213/?source=fcnlweb

The American Friends Service Committee, with The BlackQuaker Project, will offer “The Bayard Rustin Legacy Forum,” hosted by BlackQuaker Project Director Harold D. Weaver Jr. and moderated by Sa’ed Atshan, Palestinian-American Quaker scholar and chair of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. Come explore the remarkable life and contributions of Bayard Rustin, a gay Black Quaker civil rights leader and activist whose brilliance and skillful organizing of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was portrayed in a feature-length film produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. Sat, Feb 24th, noon (CT). Register here.

Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns, a Quaker organization that has existed for 30 years, focuses on support, radical inclusion, and radical love. FLGBTQC generally meets twice yearly – once at Friends General Conference, and once over President’s weekend. This year, the national midwinter gathering will be virtual with some in-person regional gatherings. Madison Meeting will be one of the regional host sites. Friends can gather in Madison 6PM Fri, Feb 16th through 8AM Sun, Feb 18th. Camping out in the meetinghouse on Fri and Sat nights is available for those coming from a distance. If you are interested in attending, whether virtually, or in person in Madison, or a mix of both, please use the registration link: https://airtable.com/apppmXyb8Dbf2CCIX/pagNZKAYJssIWuFH7/form. If you are seeking, if you are questioning, if you are exploring, if you are supporting others, if you are interested, you are invited to come! Questions and sharing about spirituality, gender, identity, about belonging and more, are welcome.

The Friends World Committee for Consultation, Americas Section Meeting, Living Ubuntu: Responding with hope to God’s call to cherish creation and one another, will be online March 16th. You can register to attend here. Go to the section website for the schedule, and advance documents and spiritual preparation materials (posted in coming weeks). After you register, you will receive updates when materials are available. Register today!

Friends General Conference Spiritual Deepening Program is offering Encountering Spirit, an online retreat, April 12-14. For seasoned Friends as well as newcomers, explore the fundamental aspect of Quaker spirituality – the direct encounter with God. What can early Friends teach about finding Truth and feeling the principle of God? How do we open ourselves to the gift of direct relationship? One of four Gathering Anew Experiments to explore Friends’ spiritual needs, find out more here.

Camp Woodbrook – Registration for 2024 has started! Camp Woodbrooke is a small summer camp for ages 7-15 on 162 acres in southwestern Wisconsin, rooted in Quaker traditions of simplicity, harmony, peace, responsibility, and equality. Secure your favorite session(s) before it’s too late at this link. Apply to be part of the summer staff at this link. More at campwoodbrooke.org.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

American Friends Service Committee alum Rabbi Brant Rosen wrote about the dramatic vote in Chicago in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. “ . . . more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza. More than 80% of the population has been internally displaced. According to the World Health Organization, the population of Gaza is ‘starving to death.’ International scholars and courts have now suggested that Israel’s military actions in Gaza may well be considered genocidal. Given such a desperate reality, government resolutions — at any level — represent a refusal to remain silent . . . calls for caution and compromise are essentially calls to prolong an intolerable status quo . . . the current moment demands courage from our political leaders.” Minneapolis City Council recently over-rode a similar, vetoed, resolution. Reach out to your city councilperson in support of or in challenge of their position.

Ramadan falls between March 10 and April 9 this year. MN Council of Churches, in partnership with the Muslim American Society, is once again coordinating Taking Heart Ramadan Iftars. Sign up to observe the prayer, share a meal, and get to better know our Muslim neighbors. Check the available dates and locations here.

Rise and Repair, a diverse alliance bringing together Minnesotans from across the state to push for bold proposals to advance climate justice and Indigenous rights, will welcome and encourage legislators to be bold on climate justice and Indigenous rights on Mon, Feb 12th, 10AM-1PM at the Capitol. Gather in conference room 316. More, RSVP, and register here.

Middle East Peace Now will host a potluck and Discussion of the Israeli-Hamas War at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 Snelling Ave S, St. Paul, Feb 17, 11:30-2:30. Three panelists, Mariam El-Khatib, Muslim, Ruben Slomianski, Jewish, and Joan Deming, Christian, will lead us through the history and current challenges facing the Palestinians, the Israelis and affecting the entire Middle East. RSVP by Feb 14.

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).