Sunday, April 5, 2026

TODAY’S WORSHIP AND PROGRAM

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

9:00 AM Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship
Zoom host: Lavender

10:15 AM It’s Easter. What’s on your spiritual mind?
Easter is about a spiritual journey and all that it implies. We are all on a spiritual journey. What are the questions we need to be asking about our own journey? This mid-morning program will include a planned reading of of an excerpt from Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet.”
Zoom host: Mary B

11:15 AM Semi-programmed Meeting for Worship
Speaker: Joanne Esser, Care of meeting: Steve Snyder, Musician: Jacque Wiersma
Zoom host: Mary B

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. Families are making an effort to come on first Sundays. Don’t forget young palates when deciding what to bring! There is a potluck every first Sunday.

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

Would you like to ask the Meeting to hold you or someone else in the light? Email the name and anything else you’d like to share to office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org for inclusion in the bulletin.

MFM ANNOUNCEMENTS

April 1 marks the start of the new fiscal year for Minneapolis Meeting. The approved budget is just under $139,000; $11,583 per month in contributions is needed to meet our budgeted obligations. Thank, Friends, for your financial support of the meeting. There is a donate tab on the MFM website (click here), offering boxes are inside the main doors of the meetingroom, and checks can be received by mail. If you would like to set up automatic contributions to the meeting, contact John K, clerk of Stewardship and Finance Committee.

Thank you, Friends, for the seen and unseen work and ministry that you do within and on behalf of the Meeting. As we start a new fiscal and service year on April 1, it’s a good time to express our gratitude to each other. For your financial support, your time, your care, and the lending of your gifts to committee work this past year, thank you. For your continued support and willingness to embrace Meeting roles in the coming year, we all are grateful!

Special thanks to everyone who helped make the Loaves and Fishes meal on March 30 successful. Seventeen volunteers and two staff members cooked a meal for 150 servings. We served 81 take-out meals, and the leftovers were served at lunch and dinner the next day. We cooked and cleaned and served a meal in a new kitchen environment. The new staff members, who are warm and welcoming, encouraged us to return to Great Is Thy Faithfulness Church for our next meal, on June 29.

Care and Counsel Committee facilitates pastoral care for Minneapolis Meeting members and attendees, understanding the Quaker tradition that Friends minister to each other. If you’re 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, Jeff N, Mary B, and Jimbo L.

MFM EVENTS

Below you’ll find special events held by Minneapolis Friends 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. Ongoing groups’ meetings include:
Writing Group (online), 1st Mondays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Next: April 6
Deep Inner Work of Racial Justice (online), 2nd Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Next: April 14
LGBTQ+ Potluck (in person), 3rd Wednesdays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Next: April 15
Joyful Aging coffee hour (in person), 3rd Fridays, 10:00 AM – noon. Next: April 17
Peace & Social Concerns Committee (online), 4th Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Next: April 27
Watson Reading Group (hybrid), 4th Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Next: April 28

April 10 (in person). Joyful Aging will meet for lunch on Friday, April 10 at noon at Mercado Central (Lake Street & Bloomington Ave, Minneapolis). Come support immigrant businesses and see your friends. The Mercado has half a dozen Mexican kitchens serving food that you eat in a central room. Good food, good to buy from folks who lost a lot during the ICE invasion.

April 12 (hybrid). Meeting for worship with attention to business is held every second Sunday. Participate at the meetinghouse or online next Sunday, March 8 from 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM.

April 12 (in person). Several folks in the Joyful Aging group will hold a vigil at the sites of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s murders. After worship on Sunday April 12, they will leave the meetinghouse at 12:45 PM to Renee Good’s memorial and offer their sorrow, then go to Alex Pretti’s memorial. Then the group will eat lunch together on Eat Street, where there are many BIPOC-owned restaurants to support. Bring a candle if you wish.

April 15 (in person). LGBTQ+ Potluck. Save the date for this monthly group’s next gathering at the meetinghouse. Come for good conversation and a good dinner on Wednesday, April 15 at 7:00 PM.

April 19 (hybrid). How do the testimonies inform our Quaker practice as we live our lives today? At this week’s mid-morning program (Sundays at 10:15 AM), a panel of meeting attenders and members who have been active in local peace and anti-ICE protests will speak about how their spirituality – particularly the Quaker testimonies – supports and leads them in their activism.

April 19 (in person, offsite location). Movie night series with Mayim Rabim continues on Sunday, April 19. Join us for a free screening of “Annie Hall,” the next film in a series organized by the Joyful Aging group (a social collaboration between Minneapolis Friends and Mayim Rabim). The event is open to all ages, but please use parental discretion because the movie is rated R. We’ll start the evening at 6:00 PM with a vegetarian potluck meal and show the movie around 7:00 PM. Come for food, film, or both. Please RSVP to Jeff N so we’re sure to have enough chairs. If you need the address, please ask when you RSVP (same location as last time for folks who attended in November).

WIDER COMMUNITY

Earlham College is hiring a Dean of The Earlham School of Religion (ESR), its Quaker seminary. Please share this news widely to help potential candidates learn about the position. Click here for the job description.

Registration is open for Northern Yearly Meeting annual session. Northern Yearly Meeting (NYM) gathers regional Quakers over Memorial Day weekend, May 22 – 25. We hold business meetings, enjoy the company of old and new Friends, seek spiritual growth, and enjoy campfires, walks in the woods, boating, swimming, singing, and much more. Children and youth participate in a lively and popular program. Attendance is also available via Zoom. The theme for 2026 is “Courage in Witness, Stronger Together: How do we partner to make change in the world as Quakers?” Cost is never a reason to stay away, as there are inexpensive food and sleeping options, as well as generous scholarships. Click here for the brochure and registration on NYM’s website. You can also find printed brochures on the meetinghouse’s info table.

April 7 (in person). Environmental Justice opportunity. For 30 years, residents of Minneapolis’ inner city have tried to shut down the Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center (HERC), the incinerator next to Target Field. HERC currently burns 40% of the trash generated by Hennepin County. A broad environmental coalition is encouraging folks to pack the Senate hearing room on Tuesday, April 7, 3:00 – 5:00 PM. Click here for more on Sierra Club’s website.

April 10 – 11 (hybrid). AFSC Corporation Program: Spirit-Led Activism for Our Suffering World. Friends are invited to attend workshops online on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11. The hybrid plenary talk features Anton Flores-Maisonet, the founding director of Casa Alterna, a ministry under the care of Atlanta Friends Meeting. Casa Alterna provides short and long-term housing to immigrant communities and cultivates supportive spaces for healing and new beginnings. Click here to learn more and register.

April 10 – 12 (in person). Northern Yearly Meeting Youth Retreat, grades 8 – 12, at Scattergood’s School and Farm. Disconnect from technology, doom-scrolling and the 24-hour news cycle to re-connect with yourselves and each other through art-making, storytelling, and music. Attendees will also have plenty of downtime to enjoy games, bonfires, and more. There might be transportation made available, depending on interest. Click here for more on Scattergood’s website. Registration deadline is April 3. Contact Carolyn V about transportation.

April 11 (online). “Navigating Inevitable Mistakes: Quaker Communities Working Towards an Anti-Racist Culture.” Kat Griffith leads an online workshop to improve pastoral care within Northern Yearly Meeting. We’ll discuss recognizing patterns and triggers, and seeing how our identities affect how we show up on race issues. Sign up by April 9. The training will take place on Saturday, April 11, 2:00 – 4:00 PM CT. Click here to register. Contact antiracismnym(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com with questions.

April 11 (in person). “Taste of People Camp” potluck at Twin Cities Friends Meeting House (1725 Grand Ave, St Paul). Meet old friends and prospective People Campers, and share the spirit over games, song, and a potluck meal. (This year’s camp dates are August 9 – 15. Click here for information on FNVW’s website.) Questions? Contact Karen V.

April 24 – 25 (in person). Nightingales Singing Weekend at a camp near Prairie du Chien, WI. Join other Northern Yearly F/friends to sing, enjoy nature, share meals and fun. Contact Janet A.

OFFICE HOURS

The Children and Families Coordinator has the following schedule:
Wednesdays 2:00 – 5:00 PM available by phone, text or email, working from home.
Thursdays 2:00 – 5:00 PM available by phone, text, or email, working from home. 
Fridays 12:00 – 3:00 PM available by phone or in person at Minneapolis Friends Meetinghouse.
Sundays 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM available in person or by phone at Minneapolis Friends Meetinghouse.

The Office Manager will be in the office in the afternoon Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 10 from noon – 5:00 PM. Is there something you’d like included in upcoming bulletins? Weekly deadline for bulletin items is noon Thursday. Please call the office (612-926-6159) or send your announcement by email (office(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)minneapolisfriends.org).