August 25, 2024

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

10:00 – 11:00 AM meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Gib Pellet – speaker; Jacque Wiersma – musician; care of meeting, Joanne Esser; Zoom host – Kate W-J.

Request the link to worship by emailing office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org.

Friends are encouraged to turn off your cell phone before entering the meetingroom. At the least, please silence it.

Welcome the coming of autumn while enjoying the last days of summer at the ice cream social TODAY at the rise of worship. Come to the North lawn for an icy treat and warm conversation. Sponsored by the Welcoming and Outreach Committee.

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

Teachers, students, and families as they prepare for the start of the school year.

Those who are grieving the recent loss of a loved one, and those who are approaching anniversaries – birthdays, wedding or first meeting dates, date of loss or other days of personal importance – that can cause grief to swell.

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.

SPECIAL EVENTS

NEXT SUNDAY at the rise of worship – Welcoming and Inclusion of New (and old) Attenders at MFM will be the topic offered in a presentation by Windy Cooler, co-tutor of an upcoming course offered at Woodbrooke Center in England, “Friend, Guest, or Family? Deep Hospitality in Quaker Communities.” This is a rare, exceptional opportunity to understand unconscious barriers to bringing newcomers (and even some old-familiars!) into fuller belonging in the meeting. Please come if you are in town! The regular first Sunday potluck will follow the presentation. Windy’s presentation is sponsored by the Welcoming and Outreach Committee.
There is still time to register for the month-long, online course at Woodbrooke. Find out more: https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/friend-guest-or-family-deep-hospitality-in-quaker-communities/

The Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing Our History and Ourselves, a presentation by Paula Palmer, can be found at https://friendspeaceteams.org/trr/#trrcalendar (you have to scroll down a little.) Paula Palmer will offer the mid-morning program at MFM on Sun, Sept 22nd.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Heads up: the school year schedule begins on September 15th – the third Sunday of September: 9AM worship (unprogrammed); 10:15AM mid-morning program; 11:15AM worship (semi-programmed)

Mid-week worship is suspended in August.

The Shepherd Scholarship, created in 1977 by Roland and Zephra Shepherd, offers educational scholarships for members of a Quaker Meeting of at least five years standing, or their children. Interested adults and young adults can apply by filling out an application (available on the long table in the hall or on the website: https://minneapolisfriends.org/shepherd-scholarship-fund/) Application deadline, Sept 15. Return applications to the Shepherd Scholarship file in the blue box (on the long table) or email to Betsy S.

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 Jo..

The hint of autumn has been in the air! Make Fall Together, October 26th, one of your autumn events! Gather with Friends at beautiful Fish Lake Park to rest, relax, renew, re-connect and RELISH the company of Friends in the great outdoors! Start practicing your talent show offering NOW!

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee will meet tomorrow night, Aug 27, 7PM via Zoom. If you are interested in Minneapolis Meeting’s peace and justice focus and witness, you are warmly welcome to come:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89914391038?pwd=WE1JOE9VdmpHWWJlSlVEMkFvSUprZz09; ID: 899 1439 1038; Passcode: 455959.

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. Contributions in the first quarter of the budget year totaled $31,307.39. $101,027.61 in contributions is needed this year to meet our curtailed budget obligations; roughly $12,629 per month. Contributions in July totaled $9,634.00. If you would like to set up automatic contributions to the meeting, contact Mike F. Thank you, Friends, for your generous financial support.

SMALL GROUP OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

Please join the monthly “Conflict Soiree,” meeting on Zoom , Tues, Aug 27th, 2PM. This is an ongoing group and drop-in’s are always welcome! We explore conflict and difference in our individual lives and in the meeting. We propose that becoming more skillful and comfortable with difference might cause us to be more authentic peacemakers everywhere we go. Contact Nettie S. for a Zoom link. Questions: Ask John S, Kate W-J or Nettie.

The Watson Reading Group meets on the fourth Tues of each month, 7-8:30PM via Zoom. We are starting Becoming Wise, An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, by Krista Tippett. 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; Getting to Know You Group, second Tuesday afternoon; Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group, second Tuesday night; Conflict Soiree, fourth Tuesday afternoon; Reading Group, fourth Tuesday night.

OPPORTUNITIES AMONG FRIENDS

Friends for a NonViolent World is hiring! Details available on the FNVW website – Admin Assist. / AVP Coordinator .

Palestine
* urge Congress to resume U.S. funding for life-saving Palestinian aid. The situation for Palestinians in Gaza continues to be desperate. All parties involved need to restore food aid to this population in peril. 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.

Don’t miss the chance to enjoy beautiful Camp Woodbrooke, and support this Northern Yearly Meeting camp as well as young families at Family Camp, Labor Day Weekend, Aug. 31-Sept. 2, Sat. lunch through Mon. breakfast. Rustic cabins accommodate up to eight family and friends. Near Richland Center, WI – swim, hike, crew, craft, play, garden, eat, rest, and enjoy summer fun and fall reflections. Details and registration at campwoodbrooke.org.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

JOIN THE COMMUNITY CHOIR! The choir rehearses on Thurs evenings, 7PM, here at the meetinghouse, starting Sept 12. No audition, friendly neighbors, really funny director, gifted accompanist, and music ranging from the fun and festive to the sublime. What more could you want? Registration, schedule, fees, and more at https://form.jotform.com/242254048609154 Register by Sept 6.

Check out the performances at the New Native Theater at the State Fair! Productions challenge the many different stereotypes held about Indigenous people and offer the opportunity to hear Native stories in an authentic voice. Short performances at the Grandstand Plaza on Mon, Aug 26 and Tues, Aug 27, 9:30, 10:15, and 11:45AM and 12:30PM.
Also at the Fair – there will be Indigenous People’s Day on TODAY, Aug 25th with music, dancers, food, educational demos, an exhibitor tent, and much more from New Native Theatre, Dream of Wild Health, and the Indigenous Food Network. The events will take place at Dan Patch Park.

Nick Estes, Lead Editor at Red Media, is a Lakota activist, writer, and scholar whose work delves into settler-colonialism, indigenous history, and decolonization. This you tube recording explores the intersection of the struggles faced by Palestinian and Indigenous peoples in America on the Red Nation podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzDRe3VmBE8

Isaiah Highlight from Twin Cities Friends Meeting –
Join ISAIAH’s Building Multi-racial Democracy at Shiloh Temple (1201 W Broadway Ave, Mpls 55411) on Sat, Sept. 21st, 1-5PM. Get equipped to take action together in the face of rising White Christian Nationalism; talk with Governor Walz’s administration and top elected officials about how to make Minnesota a place where we all can thrive regardless of skin color, salary, or zip code; talk about the stakes of this election and receive concrete training on how to engage with friends and neighbors in a way that breathes hope and agency into people’s feelings of anxiety and powerlessness: https://secure.everyaction.com/ihQq90vR9kCie5DFwSHN_g2

OFFICE HOURS

The Meeting Coordinator will be in the office Wed, Thurs and Fri, afternoons. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur.

The Children and Families Coordinator will be available: Wed. 12-5PM via phone/computer; Fri. 12-5PM at the meetinghouse; Sun: 9AM-2PM at the meetinghouse.