Sunday, January 4, 2026

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: Lavender J

10:15 AM – 11:00 AM Experiment with Light: A Process to Deepen Spiritual Communities
Helen M and Susie T, British Friends, will reflect upon how the Experiment with Light, a Quaker meditative process, can benefit spiritual seeking. They will share from their personal meditative experiences and decades of involvement in developing a now international EwL Network. We’ll have time for questions and comments. This is also an opportunity for Friends to explore interest in participating in a Light Group. Here at Minneapolis Friends Meeting, three established groups currently meet monthly.
Zoom host: Marilyn J

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM Semi-programmed Meeting for Worship
Speaker: Beau Denton, Care of meeting: Roger Miller, Musician: Jacque Wiersma
Zoom host: Marilyn J

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

12:15 PM All-Meeting Potluck
Stay 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. We have a potluck once a month on first Sundays.

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

Joe and Linda G of TCFM, as Joe is hospitalized after he fell a few days ago and broke his femur; then in the hospital the doctors discovered that he had blood clots around his heart.

Elaine M of TCFM, who is now in a rehab facility after a long and challenging hospitalization, as she works to build up her strength. Visitors are encouraged; contact TCFM or MFM office for the address.

MFM ANNOUNCEMENTS

Committee Clerks Meeting will be held Sunday, January 11 at 12:20 PM in the meeting room and on Zoom, following 2nd hour meeting for worship. Use the Zoom link for meeting for worship if you’re joining online.

Ad Hoc Safety Committee? Friends! Are we taking reasonable care for the safety of persons attending worship and other activities at the meetinghouse? Before meeting for business on Sunday, January 11, please read the Consider Safety Committee document so that we’re prepared to consider this question. You can find a copy of the document on the meetinghouse info table, or contact the office to request a copy.

As Minneapolis Friends Meeting moves forward with Thee Quaker video project, Friends are being asked to complete a questionnaire that will guide the discernment process about the video’s focus. Click here for the questionnaire on Thee Quaker’s website. Friends have from January 4 – 11 to complete the questionnaire. The submission button at the bottom returns the questionnaires directly to the Thee Quaker Project staff. Our questionnaire is being circulated through the bulletin and on the Google Group. The ad hoc video project committee will meet with Thee Quaker Project staff after questionnaires are completed to determine the video’s focus. We strongly encourage everyone to fill out the questionnaire, which will give planners the broadest perspective. Thanks in advance for your input. Members of the ad hoc committee are Judith J, Jeff N, Stephen S, Kate W, Lynda G, and Roger M.

Our Loaves and Fishes ministry, providing meals for needy individuals and families in South Minneapolis, had a tremendous year in 2025. Over the course of the year, we served 1266 meals, with an average of 19 volunteers at each of the three events we participated in! Loaves and Fishes meal sites have returned to in-house dining, reducing the number of meals that they serve. We have been serving on average 450 meals at the end of the takeout meal program. Now they are aiming to serve approximately 150 individuals. We have a big year planned for 2026, serving meals during months with five Mondays. Please plan to assist with meals on Monday March 30, June 29, August 31, and November 30.

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 V, clerk of Stewardship and Finance Committee.

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. Groups include:
Writing Group (online), 1st Mondays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Next: January 5
Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice (online), 2nd Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Next: January 13
Joyful Aging coffee hour (in person), 3rd Fridays, 10:00 AM – noon. Next: January 16
LGBTQIA+ Group (in person), 3rd Wednesdays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Next: January 21
Peace & Social Concerns Committee (online), 4th Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Next: January 26
Watson Reading Group (hybrid), 4th Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Next: January 27

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 11 (hybrid). Meeting for worship with attention to business is held every second Sunday. Participate at the meetinghouse or online next Sunday, January 11 from 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM.

January 23 (in person). Labor Church: a workshop with resistance songs. While he was a QVS Fellow in Portland, OR, Salem H founded a radical singing space called Labor Church. Salem is visiting Minneapolis Meeting on Friday, January 23, 7:30 – 9:00 PM to hold a pop-up Labor Church event. Come learn protest songs, sing together, and discuss social justice issues related to labor in the United States. Join us at the meetinghouse or click here to attend on Zoom.

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.

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.

January 11, 18, 25 (in person). Eau Claire Quakers offers a series on Conscientious Objection. This three-session program is on Sundays January 11, 18, and 25, from 10:00 – 11:00 AM. Anyone may attend (not just Quakers). The program focuses on serving youth (up to age 25) who may eventually be drafted (if the draft is activated). The location is First Presbyterian Church, 2112 Rudolph Road, Eau Claire, WI and attendance is in-person only. Participants will learn about conscientious objection (definition, laws, guidelines), preparing a letter for a draft board substantiating one’s CO status, and a mock draft board experience. Click here for Eau Claire Friends Meeting’s webpage that includes info about how to register.

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.

OFFICE HOURS

The Office Manager, Ariel E, will be in the office this Sunday, January 4, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM; Thursday, January 8, 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM; Friday, January 9, 11:30 AM – 5:00 PM. 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.