Sunday, December 28, 2025

TODAY’S WORSHIP AND PROGRAM

For the Zoom link for Sunday programming, please email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org.

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM       Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship

Zoom host: John K.

10:15 AM – 11:00 AM   How can we heal from white body supremacy?

Members of the Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice Group will facilitate discussions of white body supremacy. What is it? Where do see it in action? How can we begin to heal from it? Group members will describe their experiences, and we’ll discuss it in small groups. We’ll hear about how the group has been partnering with each other to practice embodied activism.

Zoom host: Rae Beth C.

11:15 AM – 12:15pm   Semi-programmed Meeting for Worship

Care of meeting: Lolly Lijewski, Musicians: Dave Bostrom, Richard O.

Zoom host: Rae Beth C.

Children’s First Day School takes place every week in the lower level during 11:15 AM meeting for worship.

After the closing handshake, we take time for introductions and there are a few moments for worship sharing and joys and concerns, followed by pre-arranged announcements. Preferred practice is to put announcements in the bulletin (you can email office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org). When you’d like to make an after-worship announcement, please notify the person who has care of that meeting for worship, and keep comments brief.

MORE WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT MFM

Sharing the Spirit, held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, is a brief centering time that is open to everyone. We gather at approximately 8:57 AM for ten-minute worship (online, cameras off) beginning at 9:02 AM. Click here for zoom link; use ID 859 3925 1575, passcode 251345; or paste the following into your browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85939251575?pwd=1aHrNcUclfw3o99kyDnc9nAwzwkYGU.1

HOLD IN THE LIGHT

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.

MFM ANNOUNCEMENTS

No postcard-writing this month. Due to the holidays, Peace & Social Concerns Committee will NOT be sponsoring a postcard-writing gathering in December. Of course, send postcards, make phone calls… keep the praise and pressure going. We’ll resume together toward the end of January.

2026 Quaker Motto Calendars are available at the meetinghouse. Pick up a free copy from the information table.

Contributions update: First quarter contributions totaled $26,217, about 19% of our budget. Second quarter contributions totaled $14,549, about 10.5% of the budget. Contributions of $97,567 (70% of the budget) – or $16,261 per month – are needed to meet our budgeted obligations. Thank you, Friends, for your generous financial support of the meeting. There is now a donate tab on MFM’s website (click here). If you would like to set up automatic contributions to the meeting, contact Carolyn VandenDolder, clerk of Stewardship and Finance Committee.

Winter Envelope Gift update: Business Meeting approved the suggestion from Peace and Social Concerns to donate this year’s gift to Quaker Direct Action (a new offshoot of FNVW) and Immigrant Defense Network.

MFM EVENTS

In addition to the special events listed below, there are ongoing groups in the meeting. Pick up a flyer about these ongoing groups from the information table in the meetinghouse hallway, or email the office to request a copy.

Are you feeling led to explore protest or non-compliance in response to the current administration? Are you feeling unsure of how to proceed or would like to talk to other Friends as part of your discernment process? If so, please contact Lynda G. We’ll set up a meeting after the first of the year.

December 29 (in person). A Change! Minneapolis Friends participates in Loaves and Fishes. There has been a development with loaves and fishes – the Holy Rosary Loaves and Fishes site has opened for in-house dining only and is not making meals for takeout. With this development, they are now serving fewer meals. We anticipate serving approximately 150 diners. We will need people available at 2 PM to cook food, 5 PM  for serving, and 6 PM for cleanup. Come serve a meal to feed the multitude. Prepare a nutritious meal alongside TCFM, Mayim Rabim, and members of the Ismaili community. Monday, December 29 from 2:00 – 6:30 PM, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (2424 18th Avenue South, Minneapolis). Contact Greg L. for details .

January 4 (hybrid). Experiment with Light: A Process to Deepen Spiritual Connection; At mid-morning program on Sunday, January 4 (10:15 AM – 11:00 AM),  led by Diane Barrett, and including two British Friends, Helen Meads & Susie Toombs, via Zoom. In this MMP, Helen Meads and Susie Toombs will reflect upon how the Experiment with Light, a Quaker meditative process, can be of benefit in spiritual seeking, as reflected in their personal meditative experiences and their decades long involvement in the development of a now international EwL Network.  Time will be set aside for questions and comments.  This will also be an opportunity for Friends to explore whether they might be interested in participating in a Light Group here at MFM.  (There are currently three established groups meeting monthly). Join us!

January 4 (in person). All-Meeting Potluck is once a month on first Sundays. During the academic year, it starts at 12:15 PM. Come after semi-programmed meeting for worship for friendly food and conversation at the potluck downstairs. New attender or seasoned member – all are welcome whether you brought anything or not! If you brought a dish, please label ingredients so everyone can participate without worry.

January 9 (in person). Ice skating with Young Adult Quakers (YAQ). Save the date for ice skating on Friday, January 9 from 5:30 – 7:30 PM at the Linden Hills Park (one block from the meetinghouse). We will join in on the fun at the Fire and Ice Skate Night with free rental skates, bonfires and snacks. YAQs are generally ages 18 – 39, and children are welcome.

January 25 (hybrid). Postcard writing with the Peace and Social Concerns Committee. Save the date for the next postcard-writing session after second worship on Sunday, January 25. The group will not meet in December.

WIDER COMMUNITY

In addition to these events, there are many Quaker events held on a regular schedule in the wider community, and national organizations that offer online resources. You can pick up a copy of a flyer about some of these opportunities from the information table in the meetinghouse hallway, or email the office to request a copy.

December 27 (in person). Song Circle, which includes a few MFM friends, will be in St. Paul on Saturday, December 27, 2:00 PM. If you’d like, bring a snack or a dish to share. Bring your own eating and serving utensils. Bring a friend, your voices, song books (e.g., “Rise Up Singing” or your favorite) and/or song sheets, guitars, ocarinas or basses. Contact Marilyn J, with questions.

January 21 4:30 PM (online). The group, Toward Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples, of Twin Cities Friends Meeting (TCFM), invites Friends in the Twin Cities area to a Zoom discussion with special guest Laura Kildow, the Development Officer of Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF).  TCFM and individuals within TCFM have made payments to ILTF’s Beyond Land Acknowledgement Fund for three years (2025-2027) in the spirit of reparations for our occupation of land unjustly taken from Dakota people. We asked Laura to address what projects ILTF is supporting, how to maximize our impact, and whether she sees opportunities for us to coordinate with other communities of faith and of social conscience towards Indigenous land recovery. For further information, contact Diane P. of TCFM.

February 12-16 (in person). Deepening at the Root: Opening to Guidance. Christopher Sammond, who led workshops for Minneapolis Meeting a few years ago, is offering a workshop at Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA. Come learn how to better connect to the Source, and how to sustain ourselves in a force more powerful. The workshop is for those hoping to deepen their direct experience of the Divine – newcomers to Quakerism as well as more seasoned Friends. Some scholarship support available from Pendle Hill; financial support may also be available from Minneapolis Meeting Trustees. Click here for Pendle Hill’s webpage.

July 7-12, 2026 (in person). FGC Gathering of Friends. The Gathering of Friends is a week of Quaker community for all ages, organized by Friends General Conference. It’s typically in the summer, at varied locations, and every other year is online. In 2026, the event will take place in Burlington VT. Click here for details on FGC’s website.

OFFICE HOURS

The Office Manager, Ariel E., will be in the office in the afternoon on Tuesday, December 30; Thursday, January 1, and Friday, January 2. Is there something you’d like included in upcoming bulletins? Weekly deadline for bulletin items is noon Thursdays. Please call the office (612-926-6159) or send the information to Ariel by email (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org).

The Children and Families Coordinator, Cathy N., is typically in the meetinghouse on Fridays 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM. She is also available by phone or email, working remotely, on Wednesdays 2:30 – 5:00 PM and Thursdays 3:30 – 5:00 PM.