October 20, 2024

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

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

10:15 – 11:00 Developmental Life Stages and Tasks. As the Meeting welcomes more generations, understanding the stages and tasks for each generation will help us care for each other. Large and small group discussion. Facilitated by the Care and Counsel Committee; Zoom host – John K.

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): Barbara Ziegenhagen – speaker; Jacque Wiersma – musician; care of meeting, Lindy Venustus; Zoom host – John K.

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

TODAY: Plan to stay for a threshing session on the budget at 1PM (same link as worship). Session questions:
1. Should funding of Quaker organizations be a responsibility of individuals only, or does Meeting have a responsibility to contribute to some or all of these organizations?
2. Which Quaker organizations should get priority for funding? Local Quaker organizations? National ones? Quaker organizations most dependent on Minneapolis Meeting donations?
3. Given the varied interests of members and the many community organizations needing funds, should Meeting leave support of such organizations to individuals rather than giving Meeting funds?
4. If not, what criteria would we use to decide which of the many valued community organizations should be given financial support by Meeting?

Friends are invited to bring a simple bag lunch to eat between worship and the start of the session.

A threshing session is a meeting at which a variety of different opinions can be openly, and sometimes forcefully, expressed – not with the expectation of coming to unity but to increase our common knowledge and understanding of the issue before monthly meeting – to “thresh away” the emotions or triggers around an issue and discover the grains of truth from which we may be led to a decision.

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

The people of Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel, and the leaders who are unwilling to stop the expanding war.

Those suffering from injustice, conflict, racism, colonialism, displacement, loss, and the climate crisis, including those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Those aiding victims and the dispossessed.

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: The Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group’s Direct Action in the Community. Come hear about the direct action the group has undertaken.

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.

Autumn is in the air! Plan to attend 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! If you’re planning to come, please invite another Friend to come along! Personal invitations work best. Paper copies of the schedule (orange) are near the main meetingroom doors.

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee reviews and makes recipient recommendations to monthly meeting for the meeting’s Winter Gift in December. If you have a suggestion of an organization that might be considered, please contact Deborah J. The meeting approved a P&SC focus on the Quaker testimony of Peace for this year.

The Children and Families Committee invites Friends of all ages to help pack meals at the Coon Rapids Feed My Starving Children site on Sat, Oct. 19th (401 – 93rd Ave NW, Coon Rapids 55433). Potluck finger food tailgating at 1:30; project starts at 2:30. Bring your own drink and leave dangling necklaces and bracelets at home. Carpooling can be coordinated. Questions? Contact Tom W.

Diane B. will offer an Experiment with Light Meditation focusing on the Nation on Fri, Nov 1 at 7PM, via Zoom. Experiment with Light is a Quaker spiritual practice, based on seventeenth century Quakers’ experience, redeveloped as a systematic discipline in 1996. Open to everybody. ID D: 875 2440 0215; passcode: 589275; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87524400215?pwd=WGD2QD1NVPGRvfkwGZI3QxanY2hYrz.1

A forming LGBTA+ group will meet on Wed, Oct. 30th at 7PM – at the meetinghouse (lower level) and online. We increasingly have visitors to meeting who are trans and gender-fluid, gay, and lesbian. A few LGBTA+ Friends met and decided we would like to get together and explore how Minneapolis Meeting might be more welcoming to those who are LGBTQAI+. We request that only Friends who are LGTBQAI+ attend. Contact Bill H. for more and for the link.

Contributions update: Thank you, Friends, for your generous financial support. Income from the first two quarters of the year, April 1 to September 30 totaled $58,876.03. Contributions of $12,243 per month, through March, are needed to meet the curtailed budget which totals $132,335. Contributions of $15,241 per month, through March, are needed to fund the aspirational budget, totaling $150,320. If you would like to set up automatic contributions to the meeting, contact Mike F.

SMALL GROUP OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

Lectio Divina has recommenced. Come to thirty minutes of Divine Reading, followed by worship sharing on ZOOM. Each Tuesday at noon we will hold a very brief reading from the Bible, Quaker, or other spiritual text to see how it might speak to us today: ID: 841 7819 0647; passcode: 657826;
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84178190647?pwd=bD2CyakraDGxNudS4QgzEeeNQlYFRx.1 .

Join the monthly Conflict Soiree, meeting on Zoom, Tues, Oct 22, and every fourth Tues, at 3PM. Drop-in’s are always welcome! We propose that becoming more skillful and comfortable with difference might help us 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 taking turns reading aloud from Krista Tippett’s Becoming Wise with time for discussion. Most have a copy of the book available to them, but it is not mandatory. Contact John D. for the link.

Small group line-up: Lectio Divina – every Tuesday noon; Writing Group – first Monday night; Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group – second Tuesday night; Conflict Soiree – fourth Tuesday afternoon; Reading Group – fourth Tuesday night.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

Northern Yearly Meeting (NYM) Fall Interim Session will be next weekend, Fri, Oct 25 (7-9PM) and Sat, Oct 26 (9AM-3PM) and held at Twin Cities Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave. Consider attending Friday night, and then enjoy MFM’s Fall Together on Sat! Interim sessions will be hybrid. Please register if you plan to attend any part: https://forms.gle/yUaPkZGipsmgsnG56

Free film screening, Duluth for Mandela: A Northland Celebration, MN History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul, next Sun, Oct 27, 2-4PM. Film producer/director Gerri Williams, from Duluth Friends Meeting, and Carl Crawford, Equity and Inclusion Specialist for St. Louis County, will speak following. The film highlights how the Duluth community honored the centenary of Nelson Mandela.

It’s not too early to be thinking about the Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair, this year on the SECOND weekend of Dec, the 13th and 14th, at Friends School of MN in St. Paul! Plan what crafts or food you can contribute; start collecting books to donate to the book sale; hold space in your schedule to be a musician, help set up, and/or clean up; and for sure invite friends and relatives to meet you there for shopping and eating! This is an important fund-raiser for FNVW and a lovely opportunity for community. Put your holiday dollars to work for peace and justice!

Save the Date for the Northern Yearly Meeting High School and Middle School Retreat, Explorations and Curiosities…Dark of the Year Celebrations (Halloween; Dia de los Muertos, etc,) in Madison, Fri dinner, Nov 1 – Sun lunch, Nov 3. Some potential activities include: fun at the Madison Circus Space with circus staff time to teach circus skills; carving pumpkins; costume reveal; silent night hike / stargazing; Ofrenda Altar (our own version of honoring our loved ones we have lost) Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org to be put in touch with the coordinators.

Nightingales, an informal group of Northern Yearly Meeting Quakers who love to sing, will gather at the Wisconsin Badger Camp in Prairie du Chien Nov 1-3. For more and the link to register, email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org with Nightingales in the subject line.

The Middle East
* from American Friends Service Committee – urge Congress to act now and prevent the escalation of a deadly regional war. As violence and death invades Lebanon, Quakers need to continue to press for de-escalation. Friends Committee on National Legislation action link: fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/51886
* action to block arms shipment: Senators Bernie Sanders (VT), Peter Welch (VT), and Jeff Merkley (OR) introduced resolutions to block arms shipments slated to go to Israel. Contact your Senators today and urge their support for these resolutions for de-escalation at https://fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/75157/
* 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

Friends Committee on National Legislation’s Quaker Public Policy Institute (QPPI), Nov 13-14, will focus on stopping new offensive weapons going to Israel. Lobby members of Congress for peace and make sure no new weapons are sold to Israel. At Annual Meeting, November 15-17, prepare for the new Congress and make important governance decisions. See a preliminary schedule for more on the Annual Meeting. See answers to FAQ here. Coming in person? Register by Oct 21 to get a room in FCNL’s hotel block. More and register here!

Resources from Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) for actions to support voting: https://fcnl.actionkit.com/mailings/view/76619?akid=76619.75282.nAkUSH&c0=76619.4_IDBn&rd=1&t=4&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ak&utm_term=76619.75282.nAkUSH

Quaker Call To Action offers Priority Actions to Support Democracy. CLICK HERE to download. Friends are invited for a time of worship, reflection, inspiration and preparation two days before this consequential election; Sunday evening, November 3 from 6-7PM (CT). You can register HERE.

The most recent QuakerSpeak video features Paula Palmer of Toward a Right Relationship with Native Peoples. View it at https://quakerspeak.com/video/the-lasting-trauma-of-quaker-indigenous-boarding-schools/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=button

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

A gas pipeline was recently approved, with conditions and despite opposition voiced by some Tribal nations, near pipestone quarry, Pipestone National Monument, sacred to Indigenous people. Read more about it at https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/09/18/gas-pipeline-pipestone-quarry-sacred-indigenous-people-commission-permit-magellan

Friends of the Falls, or Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, was recently featured on TPT’s Almanac. To see the episode and learn more about Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, go to https://www.tpt.org/almanac/video/land-restoration-and-reclamation-41007/

The film, Spaces of Exception, exploring the parallels between Palestinian refugee camps and the “American Indian” Reservations, will be shown Oct 23 (Wed), 7PM at Trylon Cinema, 2820 E 33rd St, Mpls. Info at https://mizna.org/

OFFICE HOURS

The Meeting Coordinator will not have regular office hours this week. Bulletin deadline, noon Thur. Email and phones will be checked W-F.

The Children and Families Coordinator, will be available: Mon and Wed, 2:30-5PM via phone/computer; Thurs 3:30-5PM at the meetinghouse; Sun: 9AM-2PM at the meetinghouse.