June 16, 2024

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

10:00 – 11:00 AM meeting for worship (unprogrammed): care of meeting, Bill Hendricks; Zoom host – Rae Beth C.

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

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

Children / youth activity today: painting wooden children with acrylic paint to decorate the Minneapolis Meeting Little Free Library.

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

The facilitators and the Indian Boarding School survivors and descendants participating in a Healing Circle in Mpls on June 18th.

People who are grieving or suffering from injustice, conflict, racism, colonialism, displacement, loss, and the climate crisis, and all those who are aiding victims and the dispossessed.

MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Upcoming special events:

Come to Seeding the Future – East Phillips Urban Farm Benefit, Thurs, June 27th, 6:30PM, here at the meetinghouse! Be a part of building a more just and equitable Minneapolis by raising vital funds for the East Phillips Urban Farm project, a vibrant community hub and indoor urban farm right in the heart of Minneapolis. Powered by a massive rooftop solar array, the community’s vision for this development embodies the shared desire for environmental justice and a healthy future for the historically neglected communities of East Phillips and Little Earth. The evening will start with light refreshments and music and an opportunity to build community with your neighbors. This will be followed by a comprehensive overview of the project presented by The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, highlighting its transformative potential, including state-of-the-art indoor farming facilities, communal spaces, affordable housing solutions, and more. A Q&A with the project organizers and description of how you can get involved will round out the evening. There is no cost to attend. For those able to contribute, suggested donation levels are $10, $20, $50, $100, $250, or $500. RSVP here for the event. If you can’t make it, consider donating to the project here and spreading the word about the event to your networks. Our goal is to raise $3,000 for this community-led project. Learn more about the East Phillip’s Urban Farm project at https://www.epnifarm.org/ The link for the event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86299497759?pwd=V0ji6kozUbV1aSWvtJOVMbs7F4CIjF.1; ID: 862 9949 7759; passcode: 649807.

Hibbing native Jeff Halper will give a talk, “From Genocide in Gaza to Decolonizing Palestine: Towards a Democratic State for All Between the River and the Sea,” at 11:00 am following worship on Sun, July 7th. Jeff is an Israeli anthropologist who is a founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and the Palestinian-led One Democratic State Campaign. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize by the American Friends Service Committee in 2006 and has taught at the Friends World College (headed by George Watson before he came to Minneapolis Meeting.) His visit is being organized by the Minneapolis WAMM (Women Against Military Madness). A potluck will follow the talk. Available via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87395438569?pwd=sJa5MEzTnjPcdjZ8RbcHSIQidCMeCa.1; ID: 873 9543 8569; Passcode: 740961

Meeting children and youth will attend the Twins vs Cubs baseball game on Aug. 4th! The Twins scoreboard will display that message: Welcome Quaker Youth from Minneapolis Friends Meeting, so get your picture taken at the game with the scoreboard displaying that message! The first 5,000 youth 12 years and under will get a free Twins backpack. Concession food is half price for kids on that Sunday. We will also get a chance to walk around the bases on Twins field. Let Coordinator Cathy Nagler know how many adult tickets ($18.00) and children (free) you want to reserve for this Aug 4th event. Our seats are reserved viewing third base, and the Twins dugout. This will be a game to remember!

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!

News

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.

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.

Minneapolis Meeting needs you! The Tech Committee will offer regular AV training and refresher sessions through this summer. Running the AV system is not about technology, it’s more like following a recipe. We’re making the process easy with step by step ‘recipe cards’ to operate the system. This is a call to a ministry of making connections – helping connect people remotely with the meetinghouse and back again. Willing to help? Contact Marilyn J. or Roger M.

We are grateful to be welcoming new children and families and offering relationship, care, and planned programming during worship! The time has come for the next step: additional adults coming forward to get to know the young folks now attending meeting. This summer, four adult visitors are being welcomed to tell their story of personal connection to the peace testimony. Email Cathy at canagler(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com with interest. Haven’t gone through the clearness process to work with children of the meeting? Contact Rae Beth C, Child Welfare Coordinator.

Monthly Meeting approved a curtailed 2024-25 budget. In order to meet the curtailed budget, contributions will need to increase 10% over those of last year, and Meeting will still need to use $25,000 of general fund reserves. If we are to make our usual contributions to other organizations and support MFM programming at the usual level this year, contributions will need to increase by about 24% in addition to using the $25,000 reserves. THANK YOU for your past giving to the meeting. Friends are asked to consider anew what financial support they are able to give to the meeting at this time. As this year progresses, Meeting will convene one or more threshing sessions to discern how we can best balance our vision for the future with our energies and finances.

Ranae Hanson, former MFM member, will be back in town for a conversation with Zoe Schlanger about Zoe’s new book, “The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth,” Tues, June 18, 7PM, at Milkweed Books. Reserve your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-person-zoe-schlanger-book-launch-at-milkweed-books-tickets

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.

OPPORTUNITIES AMONG FRIENDS

Baskets, Books and Pottery Sale for the benefit of Friends for a NonViolent World, Sun, June 16th, 12:30 – 3PM. We are sadly closing up the home of Glenn and Carol Bartoo at 1725 Lincoln Ave, purchased in 1971. Friends may purchase some of the lovely things the family cannot use – pottery, including from some well-known potters; baskets; and then there are the books . . . Cynthia and other family members will be there to visit.

The local Quaker Voluntary Service program is shaping up – QVS is on track to have about 20 Fellows serve across four cities, more than double the number of Fellows in the 2023-2024! Locally, a couple of the non-profit organization placements this year will require the use of a car, which the prospective Fellows don’t have. Do you have a car we can use for the months of September through mid-June? Please contact MSP Local Coordinator Kate Cowie-Haskell,
kate(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org.

Friends General Conference Annual Gathering, June 30-July 6. You can still register for the (in-person or online) Gathering in Haverford until June 25, though in-person registration will carry a $60 late fee. Registration for accommodations on campus is closed. Passes for virtual plenaries and Bible Half Hour remain available. Some of the workshops still available include: An Introduction to 21st Century Eldering (Gordon Bishop / Dorothy Henderson); Braiding Sweetgrass; Challenging Ethnic and Racial Divisions; Crafting a Purpose-Driven Career (Keira Wilson); Daily Extended Meeting for Worship (Jorge Arauz); Friends Decision-Making and Clerking (Steve Molkhe); How Will Quakers Change the World, Again? (Daquanna Harrison); Living into Belonging: Seeing Through the Eyes of the Other (LVM Shelton); Mark as Story (Gail Thomas); Reparative Justice: A Tool for Racial Healing (Lucy Dunca / Rob Peagler); Spirit-led Community-Building (Rachael Carter / Ruth Cutcher); The Practice of Nonviolent Direct Action (Eileen Flanagan). For more and to register for in-person or online participation, see https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/the-gathering/registration-and-logistics/.

Friends General Conference offers monthly, virtual, worship for Friends of Color – third Sundays, 7PM – next TODAY, June 16th. These worships offer a place for Friends of Color to come together in community and worship in an environment with Friends who experience marginalization in their lives and Quaker meetings because they are a Person of Color. For more and to request the link, go to https://www.fgcquaker.org/event/virtual-worship-for-friends-of-color-monthly-worship

A Young Adult Quaker Gathering is being organized in the UK August 21-25! Come join a group of YAFs from around the world to wait on the living Spirit together, and to consider the transforming experience of early Friends and what this might mean for us today. There will also be lots of time for fun and fellowship. The Gathering will center on the promise around which early Friends gathered, ‘where two or three gather in my name, there I will be in the midst of them’ (Matt. 18:20). The Gathering will happen at the historic Jordans Friends meetinghouse & Quaker Centre, not too far from London, with some space for free accommodation nearby. Friends can attend for as much as they’re able to. Register at this link. If Friends in your area are led to support the Gathering, that can be done at this link. A longer write-up about the Gathering can be found in the Friend at this link.

Gaza
* urge Congress to resume U.S. funding for life-saving Palestinian aid. The situation for Palestinians in Gaza continues to deteriorate though there is hope for a ceasefire. All parties involved need to restore food aid before mass starvation occurs. If starvation reaches an advanced stage, the human body loses the ability to utilize food, and death may occur even with medical treatment. Quakers need to continue to demand a ceasefire. Friends Committee on National Legislation action link: https://fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/51886/?utm_source=fcnlaction
* join AFSC every Friday at 11AM for an Action Hour for a Cease-fire Now.
* worship with attention to peace in Palestine and Israel with Friends across the U.S. every Thurs, online, at 4:30PM. Sign up to get the link at https://afsc.org/events/meeting-worship-attention-peace-palestine-israel.
* AFSC and partner organizations recently released a new resource documenting violations of U.S. and international law committed by Israel. The report highlights Israel’s illegal use of U.S. weapons against Palestinians over the last seven months. Read more.

WIDER COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES

MN Interfaith Power and Light will offer its first of four Summer Policy Series, CO2 Pipelines in MN: Fossil Fuel’s Quiet Game Plan for Drilling More Oil, Thurs, June 20, noon-1PM (Zoom). Learn more about issues MNIPL is focusing on to transition Minnesota into a safe and equitable green future! Each session will offer important context and information about the topic and offer ways to get and stay involved this summer and beyond! This webinar will cover the dangers of pipelines to people and ecosystems, where and why they are being proposed, the process for approval, and how we can engage to stop them! Register at https://mnipl.nationbuilder.com/co2_pipelines?utm_campaign=co2_pipelines_webinar&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mnipl

OFFICE HOURS – the Meeting Coordinator, will be in the office Wed, Thurs and Fri, afternoons. Phone messages checked daily. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Bulletin items may be emailed to office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org; or phoned into the office via 612-926-6159.