November 24, 2024

MEETING SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM

TODAY

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

10:15 – 11:00 Gathering Together in Thanksgiving – guided small group discussion, refreshments; hosted by Welcoming and Outreach Committee; Zoom host – Kate W-J

11:15 – 12:15 meeting for worship (semi-programmed): John Cutler – speaker; Lavender Jeffries – musician; care of meeting, John Kraft; Zoom host – Kate W-J

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

NEWS FOR MINNEAPOLIS MEETING FRIENDS

Sign up for the Friendsgiving potluck at the meetinghouse! All are welcome to the warmth and support of this Friendly feast and worship! Worship at 4:00PM; meal prep at 4:30PM. Sign-up sheets are on the table by the elevator today – or contact Jimbo L. or David D.

Feeling stressed? Discouraged? Fearful? Come to mid-week worship, Wed nights, 7PM. Email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org by noon Mon for the link.

Mid-Morning Program next Sunday at 10:15: How Prompts and Paint Chips Lead to Spiritual Insights, Laughter, and Community. Have a taste of how the Writing Group approaches writing. Each member of the group will read a short original, and we’ll offer the Meeting a chance to experience spontaneous writing. Folks on Zoom should have writing materials at hand. The writing group welcomes anyone interested; current writers include: David and Jane D, Joanne E, Rob H, Marilyn J, Carolyn V, and Barb Z.

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.

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee will meet tomorrow night, Nov 25th, 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.

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 Mary G, and Jimbo L.

Contributions update: Thank you, Friends, for your generous financial support. Contributions from April 1 to October 31 totaled $67,895.00. Contributions of $12,888 per month, through March, are needed to meet the curtailed budget ($132,335.) Contributions of $15,685 per month, through March, are needed to fund the aspirational budget ($146,320.) In the first three weeks of November, contributions have totaled $4,760.00. If you would like to set up automatic contributions to the meeting, contact Mike F. or Carolyn V, co-clerks of Stewardship and Finance Committee.

SMALL GROUP OPPORTUNITIES AT MINNEAPOLIS MEETING

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

Join the monthly Conflict Soiree, meeting on Zoom, Tues, Nov. 26th, and every last Tues, at 3:30PM. This is an ongoing group, meeting on the fourth Tues afternoon. 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 taking turns reading aloud from Krista Tippett’s Becoming Wise 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: Lectio Divina – every Tuesday noon; Writing Group – first Monday night; Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group – second Tuesday night; LGBTQIA+ Support Group – third Wednesday night; Reading Group – fourth Tuesday night; Conflict Soiree – last Tuesday afternoon.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER WORLD OF FRIENDS

December will be here before you know it! What will you do for the Friends for a NonViolent World Holiday Fair, on the SECOND weekend of Dec, the 13th and 14th, at Friends School of MN, 1365 Englewood Ave, St. Paul? Create crafts or food to contribute? Winnow your home libraries for books to donate to the book sale? Gather small, giftable items that need new homes (Quaker Treasures)? Keep space in your schedule to be a musician, help set up, and/or clean up? Make dates with friends and relatives to meet you at the Fair for shopping and eating? All of the above? This is an important fund-raiser for FNVW. Put your holiday dollars to work for peace and justice! Sign up to volunteer through sign up genius.

From Friends Committee on National Legislation, via Jim H: This week Quakers at the Friends Committee on National Legislation meeting in Washington DC visited members of Congress to ask for support for Sen. Sanders’s Joint Resolutions of Disapproval. These resolutions block the sale of certain, particularly destructive, offensive weapons to Israel. The US Senate will vote on them this week. FCNL urges Quakers to call or email their US Senators to encourage their support for these resolutions. (These resolutions do not limit defensive weapons.) Contact your Senator through FCNL at https://fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/75157/

The Middle East
* 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
* Charlie U. (Twin Cities Meeting) has put together a googledoc of activites and opportunities to educate yourself about and to support the ongoing struggle for Palestinian rights and peace. Find it here.

Friends General Conference Annual Gathering, A Spring Whose Waters Never Fail, will be February 1-9, online only. As of 2024, on-site Gatherings occur in even years while online Gatherings are held in odd years. Smaller, Young Adult & Youth (YAY) events are also held during odd years to offer continuity of programming for younger friends. Everyone – newborns to nonagenarians; life-long Friends to Quaker newcomers – are welcome to attend the Gathering of Friends. In structure, it’s part conference and part family camp. In content, it provides an abundance of opportunities to learn about Quakerism, foster spiritual life, and have fun. More at https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/the-gathering/
~ A summer gathering for Young Adults (18-35) and Youth will be held in Clarkson, MI, July 2-6. See fgc.org for more.

Friends General Conference offers discussion/affinity groups and worship online: Gen X Quakers, Neurodivergent Quakers, Poetry as Spiritual Practice, and Newcomers. Details and dates at https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/spiritual-deepening-program/spiritual-deepening-eretreats-and-online-offerings/. In addition, there is a monthly online worship for Friends of Color (https://www.fgcquaker.org/event/virtual-worship-for-friends-of-color-monthly-worship/) and online worship for White Friends Confronting Racism (https://www.fgcquaker.org/event/virtual-worship-for-white-friends-confronting-racism-thursday/)

School of the Spirit Quaker Ministry New Program, God’s Promise Fulfilled: Encountering and Embodying Grace in the Shadow of Empire, beginning in May 2025 and lasting two years is described here https://www.schoolofthespirit.org/gpf/ There are both in-person and online options for participation. Register for the program by December 31, 2024.

American Friends Service Committee – From Election to Action: How we can work together for lasting change. Watch the recording of our recent webinar to hear a conversation with Joyce Ajlouny, AFSC General Secretary, AFSC’s Global Policy and Strategy team, and program leaders on transforming this moment into sustainable progress. Learn about concrete ways to organize, advocate, and act for peace, justice, and equality for all people. Watch the webinar and read the recap here.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY

Despite bipartisan support, House leaders have yet to schedule a vote on The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, even though it would likely pass with overwhelming approval. The bill passed unanimously through the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2023. Congress reconvenes on Nov 12th. If this bill isn’t passed by the end of the year, we’ll have to start all over again. Call and urge your House and Senate leaders to bring the Truth and Healing bill to the floor for a vote: https://boardingschoolhealing.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2409f90592cd87d4d9c47cad&id=9829d669dc&e=f15eb9f575.

Memorialize the Movement (MTM) is a living archive dedicated to collecting, preserving, and activating the plywood protest murals that were created during the Minneapolis Uprising of 2020 and beyond. By providing space for youth, artists, and our BIPOC community to heal, reflect, and learn, MTM seeks to address the issues of police brutality, community safety, and representation for Black and Brown creatives and conservators. Open now through Dec. 7th at the Katherine Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota.

OFFICE HOURS

The Meeting Coordinator will be in the office Mon and Fri afternoons. 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).

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.