April 21, 2024

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

9:00 – 10:00 meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Sandy Olson; Zoom host – Bill H.

10:15 – 11:00 Quaker Practices, Spoken and Unspoken. As a worshiping community that spends a lot of time sitting in silence, Minneapolis Meeting’s unique workings may seem mysterious to visitors (and perhaps even to members). This program is intended to part the curtain, so-to-speak, and present samples of norms of business meeting, meeting for worship, and committee work in order to help make MFM more welcoming and navigable. Created by Ministry and Counsel Committee; Zoom host – Bill H.

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): John Stuart – speaker; Dave Bostrom – musician; care of meeting, Mary Gochnauer; Zoom host – Bill H.

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

Friends are reminded to silence your cell phone before entering the meetingroom.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: What’s Up With Quaker Voluntary Service? Get the news about what is happening at Quaker Voluntary Service, Minneapolis-St. Paul, new programs, BATS, and much more! Hilary Burgin, Executive Director, with some help from QVS alums, will be sharing all this with us.

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.

Seems like next autumn is forever away – but mark your calendars now for Fall Together October 26th! Make time to gather with Friends at beautiful Fish Lake Park to rest, relax, renew, re-connect and RELISH time together in the great outdoors!

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.

Loaves and Fishes, April 29th: Join other metro-area Friends, the Ismaili Community and the Mayim Rabim congregation to provide a meal at Holy Rosary Church in S Mpls, 2424 – 18th Ave S. Prepare dinner (2PM); pack up and hand out the meals (4PM) or serve meals and clean up (5:15PM.) Fruit donations needed. Covid-19 has created more need and fewer volunteers (and fruit donations.) Email Sue K. to sign up for a shift or to arrange to drop off fruit. Hats/scarves required. Sign up to come if you can!

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 co-clerks, John S. or Ellen S.
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, Jill F, and Jimbo L.

Northern Yearly Meeting created a worship-based, spirit-led working group in fall of 2019 to look at the work on racism that has been done within our yearly meeting, to consider available resources, and to seek allies and ways forward to further the ongoing anti-racist work of the NYM faith community. That (NYM) Anti-Racism Working Group is encouraging participation in the Friends General Conference Institutional Assessment, an opportunity to reflect on the anti-racism work which has occurred and the areas for growth; sparking further conversation and action. NYM ARWG hopes to support sharing and inter-visitation to nourish and cross-fertilize seeds of change. In the future, they also look for a continued and rich dialogue with other Yearly Meetings and with FGC to nurture authentic commitment, accountability, and change. Please take the survey so NYM may have broad participation. Read more about NYM’s process and available resources at https://northernyearlymeeting.org/anti-racism/

SMALL GROUP OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

The Watson Reading Group meets on the fourth Tues of each month, 7-8:30PM via Zoom. We are taking turns reading aloud from Ranae Hanson’s Watershed with time for discussion. Most participants have a copy of the book available to them, but it is not mandatory. If you have interest in joining, please let John D. know.

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.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

LOCAL / REGIONAL

Looking ahead: Participate in Northern Yearly Meeting’s Annual Session – a great opportunity to meet with Quakers around the region! Come explore the theme Inward Guidance, Outward Action over Memorial Day weekend, May 24-27. Business meeting, time to enjoy the company of old and new Friends, opportunity to rest your mind and spirit, the opportunity for spiritual growth, campfires, walks in the woods, boating, swimming, singing, and much more. Children and youth participate in a lively and popular program. Take a look at the NYM Annual Session Brochure (on the NYM website.) Join virtually or in-person: Register for the weekend.

EARLY REGISTRATION for Friends General Conference Gathering ENDS APRIL 23. The Gathering, Rooted in Story, will be over 4th of July weekend at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. All of the available spots might be taken by the time early registration closes so DON’T DELAY! Registering now gives you the best opportunity to get your choice of workshop and housing! For more and to register, go to https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/the-gathering/ . The evening plenaries are rich with people and stories that will draw us in, challenge us, open our hearts, and provide a vision for Quaker action in this troubled world. Work grants are available to make the program go and to help with costs. First-time attenders are encouraged to request scholarship assistance instead of workgrants. More at fgcquaker.org/2024/04/12/how-to-pay-for-fgc-gathering/. Read one person’s life-opening experience with the Gathering here.

CONGRATULATIONS to Friends for a NonViolent World which received the Minnesota Women’s Press’s first BadAss Minnesotan Award! Help raise FNVW’s visibility by tabling at the Friends School of MN Plant Sale, May 10-12. The sale is attended by thousands of people who are likely to be excited by the mission and work of FNVW. Help make the connection! Sign up here. Questions? Contact Joan at: volunteer(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)fnvw.org

The Friends School of Minnesota Plant Sale catalogues are available! Until paper copies arrive at the meetinghouse, take a gander online at https://www.friendsschoolplantsale.com/plants. If you are interested in bringing food to support the sale’s coordinators, sign up here.

The Northern Yearly Meeting Anti-Racism Working Group will next meet on Thurs, April 25th. You are welcome at this regional exploration of structural racism and strategies and opportunities to dismantle it. Email antiracism(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)northernyearlymeeting.org to get the link.

For all Friends who like to sing! The Nightingales, a Friendly group of singers from across Northern Yearly Meeting, will meet next weekend, April 26-28, at Wisconsin Badger Camp, near Prairie du Chien, WI. Bunk beds and with some private rooms available; children welcome. Food is potluck. For more info, email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org SOON to be put in touch with the coordinator.

Camp Woodbrooke – sign up now! Camp Woodbrooke is a small, unique, residential summer camp for ages 7-15 on 162 acres in southwestern Wisconsin, rooted in Quaker traditions of simplicity, harmony, peace, responsibility, and equality. Campers make cooperative decisions about activities, participate in daily work crews and learn life skills such as independence, accountability, negotiation, and decision-making. See more at campwoodbrooke.org/dates-fees. Apply to be part of the summer staff at this link. More at campwoodbrooke.org.

NATIONAL

Quaker Earthcare Witness gathers twice a year to worship, enjoy fellowship, and conduct business. The Spring Gathering, Finding our Prophetic Voice, will be April 25-28 online. You can find the draft agenda here. Register for the full gathering at https://quakerearthcare.org/event/spring2024/. Daniel Schmachtenberger will offer a keynote dialogue, A Civilizational Rite of Passage, on Fri, the 26th at 6PM (CT). Register for the keynote at https://quakerearthcare.org/event/a-civilizational-rite-of-passage-with-daniel-schmachtenberger/.

Pendle Hill is offering a hybrid, Young Adult (18-25) Conference, Continuing Revolution 2024: Restorative Justice as Spiritual Practice, June 7-10, online plus three in-person sites. Restorative Justice seeks to both repair harm and address the root causes of the actions perpetrating harm. There will be hybrid workshops and spiritual grounding exercises as well as site-specific sessions. Participants will gain foundational knowledge about historical and contemporary RJ practices, learning from groups currently organizing for systemic change around RJ in national, local, and interpersonal communities, gaining tools and strategies for practicing restorative justice in their own communities in ways that reflect their values and hopes for building abolitionist futures. Learn more here at https://pendlehill.org/events/continuing-revolution-2024-restorative-justice-as-spiritual-practice/

Thee Quaker Podcast has created a new every-day opportunity – The Daily Quaker Message. Receive an emailed quote, song, poem, or excerpt every day including a weekly journaling / writing prompt / meditation, and a weekly query. Sign up at https://dailyquaker.com/. Find the most recent Thee Quaker Podcasts: Lost and Found: Finding God’s Voice in the Wilderness and Quakers and Poetry, Two Quakers Share Their Love of Verse at https://theequaker.org/

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).