Friend to Friend February 5, 2020

February 5, 2020

As Way Opens

I am taking a class this semester on Buddhism and Quakers. So many folks participate in a Buddhist practice and as I have been studying Zen Buddhism I can see the benefit and connection to Quakerism. We all know the value to sitting in silence and listening for God’s voice as we experience unprogrammed worship. In Buddhism, “sitting” is foundational to a spiritual practice and the work is to empty the mind of any thoughts, any attachments and to just be present in the moment. The practice of settling our bodies, minds and hearts is so needed in today’s world as we are bombarded with social media, texts, misinformation, streaming etc. As part of the class, I am in meditation every day and it really is powerful for my body and my mind to sit in awareness of my sitting and letting go of the thoughts that keep popping into my head. In the book, Everyday Zen, Charlotte Joko Beck writes “I don’t think we ever let go of anything. I think what we do is just wear things out. If we start forcing our mind to do something, we are right back into the dualism that we are trying to get out of. The best way to let go is to notice the thoughts as they come up and acknowledge them. Oh yes, I’m doing that one again and without judging, return to the clear experience of the present moment. Just be patient. We might have to do it ten thousand times, but the value for our practices is the constant return of the mind into the present, over and over and over.” (page 6)

Jill Frame sent me a great free app called Insight Timer that offers 32,000 free meditations. I have practiced several of them and they have helped me the last week to wake up to the moment and let go of my anxiousness and worry. Maybe more meditation for each of us will give us more calm and peace as we navigate through troubled waters.

Beth

Joys & Concerns

We had a wonderful Super BOWL Sunday with Friends at Woodland Bowl! What a great turnout of Friends to enjoy the afternoon. Congratulations to our high-scoring winners!

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Please send us your bios! We are asking everyone who is comfortable, to share a short, 2-3 sentence bio about themselves. This bio will be used by the office in the bulletin when you serve on Facing Bench, or have news to share via Friend to Friend, social media, etc. It should be a short introduction about yourself so that everyone can know who you are, and maybe learn a little bit about you. Send us your info at https://forms.gle/XL89uH7uUoMJR9Pv5.

Notice: No Gentle Yoga ~ Please note there will be no Gentle Yoga on Fridays February 7th and February 14th.

Have a Room to Rent? A Friend is looking for living space to rent. Just a room is needed, with bathroom access. If you have a room available to rent, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org with details and price. Thank you!

Do you enjoy the Singalongs with Jim K? Then you’re going to love this! Jim and Luke are in a band called The Rodney Boys, and they will be playing live on Saturday, February 8 at the Books and Brews in Noblesville, 13230 Harrel Parkway #100, from 8:00-10:00pm. Come one, come all, if you’re interested in hearing them play!

Scout Sunday~ Current and former Scouts, please let us know if there are any changes or updates for you and your family. This includes scouts, former scouts, and scout leaders. Please submit any updates to the office so we can recognize you that day. Please send your name, Scouting Organization, Troop number and Scout rank. Email office@indyfriends.org or call 317-255-2485. All are invited to our Scout Sunday Service on February 9th! We hope to see you there!

Seasoned Friends invites you! All Friends of retirement age are invited to our next Seasoned Friends luncheon which will be Wednesday, February 12 at 11:30am in the First Friends Parlor. There will be Moroccan stew, rice and fruit. After our luncheon we will watch the classic film Casablanca. If you would like to come and celebrate this day of love with us, please RSVP with the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.

Free Choir Concert ~ The Hamilton Southeastern Choirs, under the direction of Shawn Porter and Danielle Mullen, will hold its 28th annual Jesse Eastwood Memorial concert on Friday February 14. Concert takes places at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on 86th and Meridian Streets and begins at 7:00 pm. Music includes all genres from patriotic to classical to spirituals to folk. Admission is free and so bring your Valentine for an evening of upbeat and uplifting music if you don’t already have plans!

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January

American Robin: The Truth about this “Harbinger of Spring”

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Wait a minute! How can the robin be bird of the month for January? It is not even close to being spring! Friends, the truth is that robins have been hanging around our First Friends Meetinghouse all winter long. I have seen a few or even a flock on every one of my weekly walks here on the property. During this time they scratch on the woodland floor, turning over leaves to find grubs and other goodies which are wintering underneath. Robins also eat the berries of bushes.

When conditions get too difficult for robins to locate sufficient food, they will fly south just far enough to find some. In the rough winters of the late 1970s, we would visit the old part of Camp Atterbury, and see hundreds of robins which had gathered there to feast on the huge crop of berries of the ornamentals which had been planted. That is just 50 miles south of Indianapolis. As the conditions for food supply improve, the birds make their way back north. It may be that people aren’t really looking for them until early spring, and don’t realize they were here all along.

One question: Are the robins that are found here in the winter, the same individuals that nested here? In other words, could it be that the robins that nested here flew south for the winter to Kentucky or Tennessee, and were replaced by the robins that nested up in Michigan and Canada? One would have to find banded birds to get a possible answer. Hmmmm?

So what is the true sign of spring in the bird world? My vote goes to American Woodcock, a species that usually shows up in early March, or possibly a little earlier. ~Brad J

Help Care for Our Organ! The organ needs to have its leathers worked on. When the organ work was done 15 years ago, we did not have this done. It is now time to have this work done. We need to have this done before we lose all or some of the organ. I (Mindy) think Jenny M (choir member) says it all:

Several years ago when I could stand to speak in silent worship I recited this:
Bach gave us God’s Word
Mozart gave us God’s Laughter
Beethoven gave us God’s Fire
God gave us Music that we might pray without words.
We are blessed to have an exceptional organist in Shawn who consecrates us weekly with prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers of meditation and prayers of thanksgiving through the organ. I need music, organ music, to paint the silence of my worship, to connect me to others and to God. I am thankful I can come to First Friends and no matter the problems of the week, be filled with God’s word, laughter and fire through beautiful organ music.

Donations to help complete this organ work can be dropped in the offering plate or sent to the First Friends office.

Living Well with a Serious Medical Condition ~ All are invited to this online class which helps attendees learn how to thrive despite serious medical conditions. In this team-taught class, you’ll work at your own pace, using materials provided. You will be accompanied on this journey by your classmates and instructors who have been through, or have worked extensively with, this life altering transition. During life altering transitions one can tap into tools, resources, and the support network they already have. For more information on the class and information on registering, click here: http://bit.ly/2Slcpj9

Jim and the Band on the Third Friday ~ Singing Friday will be showing up on the calendar on the 21st of February. Jim, and probably Jesse and Luke will also be with us again. If we have as good a time as last month, everyone will have an enjoyable, relaxing evening. You may learn a new song or a few. Gather in the parlor from 7-8:30 or so.

FWCC Sustainability: An Online Conference with Friends Worldwide ~ All are invited to join Quakers around the world to gather the Quaker voice on sustainability. It is being held online on Saturday, February 22, 2020; there will be an online conference spanning 11 hours. You will be able to join one of three start times, for a duration of 3 hours. These start times include 9:00am and 11:00am EST. Each start time will have 45 minutes of videos with 5 speakers. The speakers will come from each of the four FWCC sections and represent diversity of Quaker traditions, ages, and gender in order to represent the fullness of who we are across the world. After hearing from the speakers, there will be two hours for worship sharing. For more information and to register, please visit http://fwcc.world/sustainability/conference2020.

Join us at the Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club as we discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (498 pages) on Tuesday, February 25, 2020. In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come? (Goodreads) Loryne C will be leading the discussion in the Parlor starting at 7 pm, if you’d like to receive the Oak Leaf email, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Queries for the Week

1. In what ways do you need to be “reconciled to God” – to bring true peace into your life?

2. What worries in your life do you need to shape into prayers this week?

3. How are you going to “think on these things” – whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, this week?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 29, 2020

January 29, 2020

As Way Opens

This year, my family and I were in Chicago over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. We were accompanying our son, Sam, on a special visit to take a class at the School of the Art Institute, where he will be attending in the fall. After arriving at SAIC and thawing out from our bitter cold walk, we attended a welcome gathering where we were introduced to the Provost, Martin Berger. Provost Berger was asked to engage us with a lecture about the importance of art in our world and society. In Steve Jobs fashion, with large screen behind him, Berger began to give one of the most important lectures I have ever heard about the power of art, surprisingly also an appropriate “sermon” for Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday. I found myself sensing the lecture transcending its original purpose. What I did not know was that Berger is a Yale scholar and historian whose expertise is in 19th and 20th century US Art History, with a particular focus on the construction of gender and race.

There were several points I took away from Berger’s lecture. Art has always had (and will continue to have) a role in helping us see with new eyes the world that we live in. Art often challenges how we think, brings to light those things kept in the dark, and presents an alternative way to wrestle with and encounter our world. In his talk, Berger gave several examples of artists who have changed or are changing our world. Two artists that Berger spoke of who captured my attention were African American artist, Fred Wilson, and Cuban-born American visual artist, Felix Gonzales-Torres. Wilson’s body of work challenges colonial assumptions of history, culture, and race, while Gonzales-Torres’s body of work is known for simple but evocative presentations dealing with sexual orientation, intimacy, loss, and mortality. (I recommend you check them out).

As Berger had me pondering the importance of art in our society and world, I couldn’t help but think of art’s complicated relationship with Quakers. In a Friends Journal article titled, Quakers’ and Everyones’ Need for the Arts this was emphasized.

“For too long Quakers viewed the arts as a frivolous pursuit, ignoring the need for artistic self-expression except in journals and “good works.” But the climate was different then. In the 18th and 19th centuries religion was in the very air one breathed, and spirituality was expressed in lengthy sermons and discourses. Today’s materialistic, rational, secular times offer a sparse diet of spirituality for the hungry. The hunger for religion and the spiritual life finds needed nourishment in the arts.”

I sense it’s time for a renaissance in Quakerdom! Won’t you join me in getting out our sketch pads, musical instruments, computers, sewing machines, crochet hooks, dancing shoes, etc. Let’s create art that challenges our perspectives (spiritual and secular), brings light to those things kept in the dark (injustices and inequalities), and presents new ways to encounter God, our neighbor, and the world around us! This week go and create!

Grace and peace,

Bob

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Notice: No Gentle Yoga ~ Please note there will be no Gentle Yoga on Fridays February 7th and February 14th.

Come and celebrate the coming of William Daniel M with Nichole and Josh Saturday, Feb 1 from 1-3PM at the Meetinghouse Parlor. We’ll have games, treats, and fun. We would love to have advice for our little guy and us (we may have a book to collect your advice/tips at the shower). If you would like to bring a gift, our biggest needs will be diapers, wipes, and gift cards to Kroger, Walmart, or Target. We are registered at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. We also would like to build him a good library of your favorite kids’ books new or used. To RSVP, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Scout Sunday February 9th ~ Current and former Scouts, please let us know if there are any changes or updates for you and your family. This includes scouts, former scouts, and scout leaders. Please submit any updates to the office so we can recognize you that day. Please send your name, Scouting Organization, Troop number and Scout rank. Email office@indyfriends.org or call 317-255-2485.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January

American Robin: The Truth about this “Harbinger of Spring”

So what is the true sign of spring in the bird world? My vote goes to American Woodcock, a species that usually shows up in early March, or possibly a little earlier. ~Brad J

Several years ago when I could stand to speak in silent worship I recited this:
Bach gave us God’s Word
Mozart gave us God’s Laughter
Beethoven gave us God’s Fire
God gave us Music that we might pray without words.
We are blessed to have an exceptional organist in Shawn who consecrates us weekly with prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers of meditation and prayers of thanksgiving through the organ. I need music, organ music, to paint the silence of my worship, to connect me to others and to God. I am thankful I can come to First Friends and no matter the problems of the week, be filled with God’s word, laughter and fire through beautiful organ music.

Donations to help complete this organ work can be dropped in the offering plate or sent to the First Friends office.

Queries for the Week

1. What do I need to change in my life to find peace?

2. Where am I creating “barriers” for others to find peace?

3. Who are the folks on the fringe I need to identify with so they can experience peace?

4. Where am I using my position to withhold peace?

5. Is my life green and blossoming with opportunities for peace?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 22, 2020

January 23, 2020

As Way Opens

I participated in a MLK Jr celebration on Monday at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church. It was a wonderful service to honor Dr. King and challenge us to live into his legacy. We heard a rousing message from the minister from Allen Chapel AME church and he quoted extensively from Dr. King’s sermon titled Our God is enough.

The message spoke to my heart as we are living in such divided and troubled times in our country as we watch our government face the issue of impeachment. I just heard this morning that Boko Harem, the Islamic terrorist group in Nigeria, executed a leader in the Church of the Brethen this week. I am also personally grieving the loss of my dear brother last week. So much pain and loss. But I do believe that our God is enough for all that we face. Here is an excerpt from Dr King’s message.

"This is the beginning of a new year. It is a time when the startling facts of yesterday and the heightening expectations of tomorrow join hands in the pressing urgency of today. There is no better way to begin this year than with the conviction that there is a God of power who is able to do exceedingly abundant things in our lives and in the life of the universe. To believe in and to live by the fact that ‘God is able’ transforms life’s impending sunsets into glittering sunrises. The conviction that ‘our God is able’ is a conviction stressed and exulted in, over and over again in the New and Old Testaments. This conviction stands at the center of our Christian faith. The God that we worship is not a weak God. He is not an incompetent God and consequently he is able to beat back gigantic mountains of opposition and to bring low prodigious hilltops of evil. The ringing cry of the Christian faith is that our God is able.”

I pray that we live into this belief as we face our troubles and trials. Our God is able to walk beside us, behind us, in front of us and sometimes carries us. When things seem their darkest that is often when God is most at work.

Beth

Joys & Concerns

Thanks to the outpouring of help from First Friends! 105 families were provided food at Mid-North Food Pantry on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Participants included John and Ileen M, Rik and Linda L, Dan M, Stacia B, Tom F, Christy M, Phil G, Becki and Kim H, Kathy, Bill and Beth F. Thank you, volunteers!

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

IFCL -- Statehouse Action on Predatory Lending

Friends:

The General Assembly is moving full steam ahead on the topic of predatory lending -- but in the wrong direction. Please see below an update regarding predatory lending legislation as it is being proposed for this session. This information comes from the Indiana Institute for Working Families, a broad coalition with whom IFCL has worked in the past to help protect consumers from predatory lending practices.

Please contact your legislators to express concerns about the bills referred to in this update. They can't listen if we don't speak out. Thanks for helping our most financially vulnerable Hoosiers.

36% in All the Wrong Places:

Senate committee will hear bill to hike interest rates & fees

In Indiana, a coalition of veterans groups, faith leaders, civil rights and community organizations, and social service providers has united to advance the call to rein in predatory lending. This year, legislators have introduced SB 26 and SB 415 to put a 36% cap on payday loans, and SB 407 and HB 1239, which aim to provide more tools to go after unlicensed lenders.

But instead of advancing these bills, on Wednesday the Senate Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee will hear SB 395. It puts 36% in all the wrong places.

With the exception of the carve out for payday lenders, which allows them to charge up to 391% APR on short-term loans of up to $605, Indiana law currently allows other lenders to choose from a blended rate of 36% on the first $2000, 21% on $2000-4000, and 15% on $4000+ OR a flat rate of 25%.

SB 395 would allow a rate of 36% on ANY SIZE LOAN. Take a moment to digest the thought of a car loan at 36%. THAT'S. NOT. GOOD.

It also allows a fee of $150 to be layered on top.

Meanwhile, SB 395 does not put 36% in the one place consumer advocates want to see it: in the payday loan chapter. So if this bill passed, payday lenders could continue to drain millions per year in finance charges from vulnerable borrowers - a reality SB 395 would make even more likely, as the majority of payday loan borrowers turn to payday lending because they are struggling to pay other bills.

Read more on our blog, then commit to taking action.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

MSPC Early Enrollment ~ Maple Seeds Preschool Coop is accepting new students for 2020-2021! First Friends Families are invited to apply before enrollment opens to the public this Friday, January 24th. If you are interested in signing up your child(ren), please use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1n2pjy-mMjrXna83F9dJWCGBCG-qaHwVOKSsKSswIusE. Questions? Contact info@mapleseeds.org.

Free tickets! Barbara O has three tickets to Second Helpings' fundraiser, “Souper Bowl” that she would like to offer anyone who could use them. The event is this Saturday, January 25, from 11:30 to 1:30, at Second Helpings, 1121 Southeastern Avenue. It's a chance to sample soups from some of the city's well-known chefs. Friends Stacia Murphy and Vicki Wertz both work at Second Helpings and would no doubt be glad to see any of us there. If you are interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

January Monthly Meeting Notice ~ Due to the WYM visioning meeting being held at First Friends on January 19th at 3:30pm, Meeting for Business will be held after worship on Sunday, January 26th in the parlor. Please mark your calendars accordingly!

Join us at the Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club as we discuss The Overstory, by Richard Powers on Tuesday, January 28, 2020. The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of―and paean to―the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours―vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe (from Goodreads). Linda Lee will be leading the discussion in the Parlor starting at 7 pm. If you’d like to receive the Oak Leaf email, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

The Green Team would like to highlight the following website: https://indiana.clearchoicescleanwater.org. The program has easy steps we can commit to that will improve water quality in Indiana. There are activities for kids and steps we can all take that range from water conservation ideas to curtailing lawn fertilizers. Check it out!

Come and celebrate the coming of William Daniel M with Nichole and Josh M Saturday, Feb 1 from 1-3PM at Anna R’s house. We’ll have games, treats, and fun. We would love to have advice for our little guy and us (we may have a book to collect your advice/tips at the shower). If you would like to bring a gift, our biggest needs will be diapers, wipes, and gift cards to Kroger, Walmart, or Target. We are registered at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. We also would like to build him a good library of your favorite kids’ books new or used. Please contact the office if you’re interested.

Several years ago when I could stand to speak in silent worship I recited this:
Bach gave us God’s Word
Mozart gave us God’s Laughter
Beethoven gave us God’s Fire
God gave us Music that we might pray without words.
We are blessed to have an exceptional organist in Shawn who consecrates us weekly with prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers of meditation and prayers of thanksgiving through the organ. I need music, organ music, to paint the silence of my worship, to connect me to others and to God. I am thankful I can come to First Friends and no matter the problems of the week, be filled with God’s word, laughter and fire through beautiful organ music.

Donations to help complete this organ work can be dropped in the offering plate or sent to the First Friends office.

Family Bowling ~ Please join us for a bowling party hosted by the Christian Education Committee. It will be Sunday, February 2nd after worship at Woodland Bowl, 3421 E 96th St. First Friends will provide 2 games, shoe rental, pizza and drinks for everyone. Please RSVP with the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Seasoned Friends invites you! All Friends of retirement age are invited to our next Seasoned Friends luncheon which will be Wednesday, February 12 at 11:30am in the First Friends Parlor. There will be Moroccan stew, rice and fruit. After our luncheon we will watch the classic film Casablanca. If you would like to come and celebrate this day of love with us, please RSVP with the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.

We now have a NEW Online Directory! We are thrilled to share our new mobile/online directory. This directory, provided by Lifetouch, includes photos from the recently released pictorial directory, and will always include the most up-to-date information the office has. All are welcome and encouraged to use it! You can find the directory here: https://mobiledirectory.lifetouch.com/318079/first-friends-church. Be sure to bookmark it! It is compatible on both computer and cell phone. For privacy reasons, it is password protected. Please phone the office at 317-255-2485 to get the password. This is a great option if you’re on-the-go, can’t find your directory, or if you need info when the office is closed. We hope you will enjoy this convenient directory option!

Queries for the Week

What do I know about other faith traditions?
Do I listen to and honor other faith traditions different than my own?
How do I build bridges with those that practice faith differently than I do?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 15, 2020

January 15, 2020

As Way Opens

It seems over the past couple of days, I have been dealing with what some may label, The Unexpected. Here is a short rundown of mine since Friday…

Friday morning, our son, woke up sick – unexpected.
Friday afternoon, our bathroom shower decided to spring a huge leak and the water to our home was turned off – unexpected.
Friday evening, my wife, Sue was informed that one of her fellow teacher’s mother passed away – unexpected.
Saturday night, Beth Henricks called and informed me that her brother suffered a heart attack and was most likely going to die – unexpected.
Monday evening, just after our bathroom shower was fixed and water fully restored to our home, Hamilton County issued a “boil water” alert – unexpected.
Tuesday morning, as I drove into work a rock hit my windshield and put a big chip in it – unexpected.

I am sure there were more, but I think you get the gist. Life is full of The Unexpected. Some people even say that the best things in life are unexpected – not so much for me these past few days. But all this unexpected had me reflecting again on three words I learned from Val Wright in her blog post titled, The Best Way to Respond to Unexpected Changes.

FREEZE WALLOW MORPH

Somethings unexpected cause us to freeze in our tracks because of shock or surprise. The query we should be considering is What will it take to defrost (adapt or change) to this new reality?

Somethings unexpected focus on disappointment or unfairness, and we wallow in what could have been. The queries we should consider in these times are What can I control? How can I stay positive? And who do I need in my life during this time?

Somethings unexpected call for a quick metamorphosing to help adapt to a situation. The query we should consider in these times is, How might we need to modify our behaviors or actions when the unexpected comes?

I pray you will join me in becoming more aware of our responses and what queries we may need to process so that we may find success in moving forward when the unexpected arises.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

IFCL Plans in Redistricting Event at Statehouse

The 2020 General Assembly started last Monday, and it's a short session this year. Our legislators will be packing up and heading home by early March. That leaves us very little time to reform redistricting before new legislative maps are drawn in 2021.

We hit the ground running on the first day of session with a very successful Statehouse press conference to announce two redistricting reform bills being introduced by Sen. John Ruckelshaus-R, Dist.30. A bipartisan team of legislators who attended pledged their support for redistricting reform by publicly signing the End Gerrymandering Pledge, a national initiative championed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eric Holder.

It's extremely important we continue to make redistricting reform visible and keep it at the top of the legislative agenda. Citizens can help make a difference right now by joining the AllIN4Democracy Lobby Day on January 16.

WHAT: Redistricting Reform Lobby Day

WHEN: Thursday, January 16 at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Indiana State Library, 315 West Ohio Street, History Reference Room

After a briefing on the status of the bills and some talking points, you are encouraged to walk across the street to the Statehouse and talk to your legislators about reform. It's best to call their offices in advance and make an appointment. (One way to get their telephone numbers can be found on the Indiana General Assembly website under “Find Your Representative.”)

At least two more Republican legislators, Rep. Woody Burton-R, Dist. 58, and Sen. Greg Walker-D, Dist. 41, have publicly signed the End Gerrymandering Pledge just this week. After the struggle to find support among Republicans the last several years, this is great news!

Please join us on January 16 to learn how to talk with your representatives about supporting this vital reform, then meet with them. They need to hear from us!

If you can RSVP NOW >> , that will help planners know how many to expect. Thank you.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Join us for our next meeting tomorrow, Thursday, January 16 at 7:00pm. See Winter/Spring 2020 locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingSpr2020.

January Happy Singing Songs ~ Third Friday Sing Along is flying toward us: January 17th at 7:00pm in the Parlor. Jim K will be choosing the songs and projecting at least some of them onto screen, as he did at Christmas. I (Linda) will now be a helper for Jim along with Jesse and Luke, but step back as far as organizing music. Curious? Enjoy singing? Come Sing Along!

Western Yearly Meeting – New Vision! As part of WYM’s visioning process, a listening meeting will be held at Indianapolis First Friends on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. in the Parlor. The meeting will be conducted by Margaret Fraser, the consultant hired by WYM. This session is open for anyone to attend! Here’s what to expect:

• Listening Sessions are approximately one hour long.

• Gather in a circle.

• Margaret (our facilitator) asks five questions and sets the timer to ensure time for each.

• People are asked to speak just once until everyone has had an opportunity.

• A designated note taker writes down responses, and Margaret makes notes, too.

• Everyone is asked to sign an attendance list to see which Meetings are represented.

• We are careful to make sure that answers are recorded, but not attributed to any specific person.

• The aim is to build up a picture of what’s on the hearts of people in WYM.

We hope everyone will attend and share to improve WYM. Please join us!

Martin Luther King Jr Service! All are invited to this Shalom Zone celebration service and community luncheon honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It will be held on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Monday, January 20, 2020 at 11:00am at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, 5233 East 79th St, 46250. Our guest preacher will be Rev. Dr. Charlestonfontaine Macon, Sr Pastor of Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Everyone is welcome to this free event. For more information, find the flyer at http://bit.ly/2rlcBFU. We hope you will join us!

Touring, Trekking, and Mounaineering in the Himalayas ~ Jeff Rasley will be giving a talk and slide show about touring, trekking, and climbing in the Himalayas at REI Castleton, Indianapolis on Tuesday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m. REI is located at 8520 Castleton Corner Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46250. It is free and open to the public, but REI requests you register at https://www.rei.com/events/94908/touring-trekking-and-mounaineering-in-the-himalayas/267185. There are limited spots remaining! We hope to see you there.

Experiment with Light ~ Friends, our monthly Experiment with the Light (EWL) is Tuesday, January 21, at 7 pm in the parlor. All are welcome, whether this is your first time or you’re a regular. Attenders find it a remarkable experience. Please join us. We begin promptly at 7 pm and end at 8:30. Peace and love, ~Mary Ellen L.

Several years ago when I could stand to speak in silent worship I recited this:
Bach gave us God’s Word
Mozart gave us God’s Laughter
Beethoven gave us God’s Fire
God gave us Music that we might pray without words.
We are blessed to have an exceptional organist in Shawn who consecrates us weekly with prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers of meditation and prayers of thanksgiving through the organ. I need music, organ music, to paint the silence of my worship, to connect me to others and to God. I am thankful I can come to First Friends and no matter the problems of the week, be filled with God’s word, laughter and fire through beautiful organ music.

Donations to help complete this organ work can be dropped in the offering plate or sent to the First Friends office.

Come and celebrate the coming of William Daniel with Nichole and Josh Saturday, Feb 1 from 1-3PM at Anna R’s house. We’ll have games, treats, and fun. We would love to have advice for our little guy and us (we may have a book to collect your advice/tips at the shower). If you would like to bring a gift, our biggest needs will be diapers, wipes, and gift cards to Kroger, Walmart, or Target. We are registered at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. We also would like to build him a good library of your favorite kids’ books new or used. To RSVP, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

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Friend to Friend January 8, 2020

January 8, 2020

As Way Opens

Ever since Meeting for Worship this past Sunday, I have had people asking me about the New Year’s Resolutions I shared at the end of my sermon. After worship I posted on our Facebook pages the full blog post from Wendy Swallow, blog editor of Reno Friends Meeting. (Here is a link to the full post: https://www.renofriends.org/new-years-resolutions-for-the-spirit/).

Due to the fact that some of you do not participate in social media (or have resolved not to in 2020), I have included Wendy’s resolutions below. As I mentioned in my sermon, I believe as Quakers, our first resolution must be an inward journey. For me, that journey included seeking an answer to Wendy’s original query, “How can I move forward in the New Year with a more solid foundation for my spirit so that I can bring my best self to the world?” Her well-articulated resolutions not only spoke to my condition, but will help foster a sense of direction, guidance, and hopeful possibilities for the New Year. My hope is they will do the same for you.

1. I will take advantage of the Silence to reconsider my choices around work and commitments. Which things are most important? Am I being realistic in the projects I take on? Can I still contribute while doing a bit less and giving myself more time to regroup and refresh?

2. I will take advantage of the Silence to reassess my energy and my gifts. Am I honoring my strengths by taking on commitments that line up with what I can do competently and happily? Can I give in these ways without depleting myself?

3. I will spend time with people who lift me up. I will intentionally seek them out and connect with them.

4. If a new commitment arises, I will give myself permission to sit with it and ask for spiritual guidance before jumping in. I will respond to my spirit and heart, rather than to the chorus of “shoulds” in my head.

5. I will give myself time for a hobby or activity that makes me happy and relaxed. The goal is to do something I’m interested in, and to do it without judgement.

6. I will take time to sit in silence and listen to God, especially when things turn difficult. If a bad day is unfolding, I will retreat for a half hour to calm my heart and listen to what arises. I will practice lifting problems into the Light so I can understand them better.

7. I will make things simpler. When given a choice, I’ll try the doable way and learn to accept help gracefully. I will save my energy for the most important things.

8. I will take an occasional retreat day: Every now and then (maybe once a week), I will give myself a day off without deadlines or engagements, to read, relax and do easy chores. This will give me time to reconnect with my happy self.

9. I will take time to consider my faith journey and deepen my connection with Spirit through readings or retreats or gatherings that expand my faith experience.

10. I will take advantage of the Silence to ask myself: what would I do if I were not afraid? I will think of new ways to deal with recurrent problems, and try to imagine a life lived fearlessly.

Happy New Year,

Bob

Joys & Concerns

A delayed “Thank You” to our Food Pantry volunteers from Wednesday, December 18th: Bill F, Dan H, David B, Linda and Rik L, Beth F, Mara S, Phil G, Carol & Jim D. 103 families were provided food by the First Friends volunteers that week. A big Thank You to all First Friends’ volunteers during 2019 without whom this outreach would not be possible!

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Women’s Gathering This Sunday ~ All women are invited to join us in the parlor after worship this Sunday, January 12, for lunch, sharing and discussion. Please RSVP with the office if you plan to attend—office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.

Youth Group this Sunday ~ A reminder that this Sunday, January 12 will be Youth Group in the basement at 11:30 am. We hope all our youth will be there!

Help Care for Our Organ! The organ needs to have its leathers worked on. When the organ work was done 4 years ago, we did not have this done. It is now time to have this work done. We need to have this done before we lose all or some of the organ. I (Mindy) think Jenny M (choir member) says it all:

Several years ago when I could stand to speak in silent worship I recited this:
“Bach gave us God’s Word
Mozart gave us God’s Laughter
Beethoven gave us God’s Fire
God gave us Music that we might pray without words.”
We are blessed to have an exceptional organist in Shawn who consecrates us weekly with prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers of meditation and prayers of thanksgiving through the organ. I need music, organ music, to paint the silence of my worship, to connect me to others and to God. I am thankful I can come to First Friends and no matter the problems of the week, be filled with God’s word, laughter and fire through beautiful organ music.

Donations to help complete this organ work can be dropped in the offering plate or sent to the First Friends office.

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Join us for our next meeting on Thursday, January 16 at 7:00pm. See Winter/Spring 2020 locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingSpr2020.

• Listening Sessions are approximately one hour long.

• Gather in a circle.

• Margaret (our facilitator) asks five questions and sets the timer to ensure time for each.

• People are asked to speak just once until everyone has had an opportunity.

• A designated note taker writes down responses, and Margaret makes notes, too.

• Everyone is asked to sign an attendance list to see which Meetings are represented.

• We are careful to make sure that answers are recorded, but not attributed to any specific person.

• The aim is to build up a picture of what’s on the hearts of people in WYM.

We hope everyone will attend and share to improve WYM. Please join us!

January Monthly Meeting Notice ~ Due to the WYM visioning meeting being held at First Friends on January 19th at 3:30 pm, Meeting for Business will be held after worship on Sunday, January 26th in the parlor. Please mark your calendars accordingly!

Join us at the Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club as we discuss The Overstory, by Richard Powers on Tuesday, January 28, 2020. The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of―and paean to―the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours―vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe (from Goodreads). Linda L will be leading the discussion in the Parlor starting at 7 pm. If you’d like to receive the Oak Leaf email, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

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Friend to Friend December 18, 2019

December 18, 2019

As Way Opens

Early Monday morning after hearing that my wife and boys were having a 2-hour school delay, I found myself out in our driveway shoveling snow. Actually, on our street I was the only person outside in the dark at 6:30am. As I began shoveling, I became keenly aware that I was making way too much noise. I was almost annoyed at how the scraping of the shovel seemed louder than usual. So, I stopped. I leaned the shovel up against my house and simply paused a moment to take in the silence. If any of my neighbors were watching out their windows, they may have wondered a bit.

I am sure at some point you have experienced how the silence after a snowfall is like no other silence. There are no voices, cars, or cell phones ringing, just a peaceful serene blanketing silence expectant of what the day will bring. It reminded me of the following poem.

How Is It That the Snow

By Robert Haight

How is it that the snow
amplifies the silence,
slathers the black bark on limbs,
heaps along the brush rows?

Some deer have stood on their hind legs
to pull the berries down.
Now they are ghosts along the path,
snow flecked with red wine stains.

This silence in the timbers.
A woodpecker on one of the trees
taps out its story,
stopping now and then in the lapse
of one white moment into another.

As you celebrate the holidays and close another year, take a moment to allow the silence in your life to be amplified. Find a quiet place to center down and allow the God of the Universe to blanket you in expectation of what the New Year will bring.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Bob

Joys & Concerns

First Friends was pleased to host the Earlham School of Religion Alumni Event on Tuesday, Dec. 10. You may see some familiar faces including former First Friends' pastor, Stan Banker on the guitar. The guest speaker for the event was ESR Alumni, Brent Bill. (Photo Credit: Brent Walsh)

What a great day filled with Christmas cheer this past Sunday - from the annual Christmas Tea to Caroling around town! Thank you to everyone who contributed cookies and who shared joy with our Friends through caroling. A great time was had by all!

What a great time we had at our Babysitting Coop this past Saturday! We were so glad to have a great group of kids participate. Thank you to Beth Henricks and Tiffany Beaver for hosting. It was a fun night!

Thank you to everyone who bought soup-in-a-jar, cookies-in-a-jar, coffee, oil or chocolate this past Sunday to support Quaker Voluntary Service. Thanks to you, we raised $394 for QVS. Thank you!

Many lovely toys were delivered to Linwood Church Saturday to replenish their meager supply of toys in time for Christmas. Thank you to all who generously donated. The delivery was very much appreciated!

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Youth Christmas Party! ~ All our youth (6th - 12th grade) are invited to our annual Youth Christmas Party this Friday, December 20th at 6:15 pm (please note the date has been CHANGED). We will have a gift exchange, great Mexican food, and games. If you are interested in signing up your youth, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Christmas Sing Along with Jim, Jesse and Luke! We will be singing familiar Christmas Carols on December 20th, third Friday in the Parlor. Jim and the band will lead us in a selection of traditional carols, plus other songs Jim has chosen, as well as opportunity for requests. We will be using the burgundy hymnals, since that one has the most familiar words. Please join us from 7:00 to 8:30 PM!

As a Reminder, there is no Sunday school this Sunday, December 22nd, or the following Sunday the 29th. We will see you back in Sunday School in January. Happy holidays!

Children’s Pageant ~ Join us during our Meeting for Worship on Sunday, December 22 as our children depict and read the story of Jesus' birth. As well, the congregation will join in with singing hymns together. This is an annual tradition that you do not want to miss! If your kids will be participating, please be here by 9am that day!

Christmas Eve Service ~ You won't want to miss this year's very special Christmas Eve service. It will be a worship experience featuring a Jazz band, worshipful art, and a selection of thoughtful reflections to help the worshipers find their place in the Christmas story! Bring your family and join us on December 24th at 5:30pm for this special service.

Please note, due to the holidays the office will be closed next Wednesday, December 25 and Wednesday, January 1st. On these days there will also be no Friend to Friend. Also, there will be no Wednesday Unprogrammed Worship on December 25th. We hope you have a wonderful time with your family and loved ones during these weeks. Happy holidays!!

Unprogrammed worship on Sunday, December 29 – Please note that due to the holidays we will be holding unprogrammed worship in the parlor on Sunday, December 29th at our usual time of 10:15. This is a nice quiet time for us to worship in the traditional Quaker manner. There will be no unprogrammed 9am worship that day. Thank you to Mary B, who will be leading us in worship that day. We hope you will join us if you can. Happy holidays!

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading is the last Monday of this year! The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone on the 30th of December at 7 pm at Kathy R’s home. Contact office@indyfriends.org for directions. Click link for the NY times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/books/tell-us-5-things-woman-who-smashed-codes-jason-fagone.html NPR: https://www.npr.org/2017/09/30/548666129/from-dinner-parties-to-spy-rings-the-woman-who-smashed-codes-bursts-with-detail All are welcome!

Food Pantry Notice ~ Please note that our normal Mid-North Food Pantry volunteer day lands on January 1st. Due to the holiday, we will not be volunteering that day. Please enjoy the holiday with your loved ones, and we will see you at the next volunteer day, Wednesday, January 15! Thank you!

Thank you for your pledges! First Friends would like to sincerely thank all Friends in support of our ministries. We are grateful to everyone who’s turned in a pledge for 2020 and/or have turned on automatic donations through their bank. This helps us plan a budget for the new year and plan wonderful Ministry & Fellowship activities such as Vespers. If you’d like to make a pledge for 2020, you can fill out a card at the Meetinghouse, fill out our online form at https://forms.gle/Nb1r1ctRrfgAPigY8 or simply contact the office. As we close out 2019, we hope you will consider including First Friends in your year-end giving.

Help for Right Sharing! Stamping for dollars can earn 10¢ for each cancelled stamp on the Christmas cards you receive. Place in the box at the donation station in Fellowship Hall. Recent/new stamps are wanted by a Canadian dealer. Please remember to bring in your stamps!

Western Yearly Meeting – New Vision! At the November 16, 2019 meeting of WYM Administrative Council a two-year visioning process was approved which will result in a new Strategic Plan for Western Yearly Meeting. It is hoped to have this plan developed and approved by meetings/churches within WYM by September 2020 and by the WYM Administrative Council by December 2020. One result of this visioning process will be the selection of new leadership for WYM at the 2021 WYM Yearly Meeting. A more detailed time frame for this process will be announced shortly.

As a part of the visioning process a listening meeting will be held at Indianapolis First Friends on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. in the Parlor. The meeting will be conducted by Margaret Fraser the consultant hired by WYM. More information about this important meeting will be forthcoming.

Save the Date: Martin Luther King Jr Service! All are invited to this Shalom Zone celebration service and community luncheon honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It will be held on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Monday, January 20, 2020 at 11:00am at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, 5233 East 79th St, 46250. Our guest preacher will be Rev. Dr. Charlestonfontaine Macon, Sr Pastor of Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Everyone is welcome to this free event. For more information, find the flyer at http://bit.ly/2rlcBFU. We hope you will join us!

January Monthly Meeting Notice ~ Due to the WYM meeting being held at First Friends on January 19th at 3pm, Meeting for Business will be held after worship on Sunday, January 26th in the parlor. Please mark your calendars accordingly!

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf book club titles for 2020! If you’d like to be on the email list for the group, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

January 28 ~ The Overstory by Richard Powers

February 25 ~ Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

March 31 ~ Beartown by Fredrik Backman

April 28 ~ Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

May 26 ~ A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

June 30 ~ Doing Justice by Preet Bharara

July 28 ~ Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

August 25 ~ Becoming by Michelle Obama

September 29 ~ Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn

October 27 ~ The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

November 24 ~ Why Religion? by Elaine Pagels

December 29 ~ The House of Broken Angels by Luis Urrea

The group meets at 7pm in the Parlor. All are invited!

Please Help Us with Memorials! We are still in need of volunteers to write memorials for some of our dearly departed Friends. Like an obituary, but more personal, we keep record of our Friends lives and their role in the Meeting in a memorial book in our library so that they may always be remembered. If you are willing to help, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485. Thank you for helping to honor our departed Friends!

People still needing memorials: Alice T, Janet S, Bonnie H, Mark K, Bob D, Duffy F, Ed T, Hugh G, Bob C. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.

This Week’s Queries

Where have you seen “love shining out like gold stiches in a piece of embroidery” in your life, lately?
Where has God been carrying you through the darkness of life?
What in your life has caused you to be “speechless”?
How is God giving you a new voice?

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Friend to Friend December 11, 2019

December 11, 2019

As Way Opens

Every Christmas season I pull out Howard Thurman’s book The Mood of Christmas to re-read. I share his introduction that capture this time of year in a beautiful way:

“Christmas is a mood, a quality, a symbol. It is never merely a fact. As a fact it is a date on the calendar - to the believer it is the anniversary of an event in human history. An individual may relate himself meaningfully to the fact or the event, but that would not be Christmas.
The mood of Christmas - what is it? it is a quickening of the presence of other human beings into whose lives a precious part of one’s own has been released. It is a memory of other days when into one’s path an angel appeared spreading a halo over an ordinary moment or a commonplace event. It is an iridescence of sheer delight that bathes one’s whole being with something more wonderful than words can ever tell. Of such is the mood of Christmas.
The quality of Christmas - what is it? It is the fullness with which fruit ripens, blossoms unfold into flowers, and live coals glow in the darkness. It is the richness of vibrant colors - the calm purple of grapes, the exciting redness of tomatoes, the shimmering light on the noiseless stirring of a lake or sunset. It is the sense of plateau with a large rock behind which one may take temporary respite from winds that chill. Of such is the quality of Christmas.
The symbol of Christmas - what is it? It is the rainbow arched over the roof of the sky when the clouds are heavy with foreboding. It is the cry of life in the newborn babe when, forced from its mothers’ nest, it claims its right to live. It is the brooding Presence of the Eternal
Spirit making crooked paths straight, rough places smooth, tired hears refreshed, dead hopes stir with newness of life. It is the promise of tomorrow at the close of every day, the movement of life in defiance of death, and the assurance that love is sturdier than hate, that right is more confident than wrong, that good is more permanent than evil.”

My prayer for us all is to step back from the commercial aspect of this season that bombards us with ads and emails to buy more and more stuff. My prayer is that we think about the mood, quality and symbol of Christmas and live into this not just on December 25th but through every season of our lives.

Beth

Joys & Concerns

This past Sunday night we held our annual Vespers concert. It was a time filled with joy, singing, and peace. Thank you to all who made Vespers possible this year—Eric B (piano and choir director), Shawn P (organ), Lynda S (handbell director), Jim & Leslie K (special music) Ed M and Jed K (ushers), and the choir. Also many thanks to the Fellowship committee, who held a wonderful reception in Fellowship Hall afterward. Thank you all for another wonderful year!

Thank you to everyone who donated gifts to families in need with our Easterseals Christmas gift drive. Easterseals picked up the presents today and were thrilled! Thank you to all who made this possible!

Many thanks to our food pantry volunteers last week! Kathy and Bill F, Phil G, Linda L, David B, Christie M, Beth F, Mara S, Dan H and his daughter Statia B, and Carol and Jim D. A great volunteer group served 90 families. Thanks to all!

Update on Kian from Bob Henry:

Last week, I had the privilege of spending a lunch hour with Kian and Naomi in the Outpatient Rehab Unit at Riley Children’s Hospital. As I entered Kian’s room, I was moved literally to tears finding him sitting up, fully dressed in his new Dunder Mifflin Inc. Ugly Christmas Sweater, writing out his menu for the next day. The only visible evidence of his hospital stay was the feeding tube in his nose (now only used for hydration at night). The shock of this beautiful site has not worn off. Immediately, Kian engaged in conversation on just about any topic. We talked as he worked a couple of wooden puzzle games and even a Lego set of a race car. He told me about many things including his love for only Apple Juice, how he took a walk outside yesterday for the first time the day before, and how he was going to go on a field trip that afternoon to the Incrediplex. He also told me how he had been playing video games, that he was going to start watching his new Harry Potter Blu-Rays, and that he enjoyed drawing (one of his recent drawings was hanging on the wall of his room - which amazed me). Most mornings Kian is in multiple therapies to help him regain his abilities. Most of his bones are healing really well, they are still being cautious with his collar bone. I was amazed at his cognitive connecting and memory. He knew who I was and he remembered my sons when we talked about them, and he even talked about our Meeting. At one point I told him that many people were praying for him from our Meeting and several other churches. Immediately he asked, “How many?” Currently, Kian has an affinity for the number 5000 and words starting with the letter “d"- part of his brain reorganizing. So we joked about it definitely being about 5000 people (which it very likely might be). Kian has fond memories of this past Thanksgiving for it was on Thanksgiving morning that a “switch” flipped on in his brain and he started to remember and communicate more productively (talk about something to give thanks for.) As I left Kian and Naomi, I watched as Kian put on his coat and gathered with a couple of the other rehab kids to go enjoy his first time outside of Riley Hospital since the accident. Today, Kian took a step closer to having normal liquids after a swallow study that allowed him to have semi-thick liquids. Each step he has taken is progress toward full healing. Thank you for your continued prayers and for sending love and light to Kian, Naomi, Cora, and their family. -Pastor Bob

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Please note that due to the holidays it will be held tomorrow, Thursday, December 12 at 7:00pm. See locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingFall19.

Babysitting Co-Op ~ Our babysitting co-op is happening this Saturday December 14, 5:30 - 9:30. Dinner will be provided for the kids. Please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org if you would like to have your kids join in the fun that evening!

Sunday School Notice: This Sunday, December 15 will be our last day of Sunday School this year. There will be no Sunday school on either Sunday, December 22nd or 29th. Happy Holidays!

This Sunday Beth will be selling cookies-in-a-jar and soup-in-a-jar. She will also be selling coffee, chocolate and oil. These make great last-minute Christmas gifts so be sure to bring cash or your checkbook if you’re interested! All proceeds benefit Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS). QVS is an 11-month experiment, living at the intersection of transformational spirituality and activism. Young adults work full-time in professional positions at community-based organizations addressing a wide range of issues, while living in a cooperative house and worshiping with, and being mentored by, local Quakers.

Annual Christmas Tea ~ Please join us on December 15th immediately after worship in the Parlor for the annual Christmas Tea. There will be lots of cookies and punch and fellowship. If you can donate two dozen cookies, they can be dropped off the morning of Sunday, December 16th in the parlor or on Saturday, December 15th between 10-11am. Due to allergies, please DO NOT bring any cookies containing peanuts, peanut butter or any peanut product. For more information or if you need to schedule a different dropoff time, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org. Happy holidays!

Indy Winds Flute Choir will have their winter concert on Sunday, December 15th at 3:00 at Roberts Park United Methodist Church and we encourage folks to attend. Carl B and Lynda S are both members of the flute choir.

Join First Friends for Caroling! ~ If you’d like to join us for caroling to some of our dear Friends and neighbors, meet us on Sunday, December 15 at 3:30 at The Stratford (visiting Tom and Pat Price). Meet in the main lobby. We will also travel to Ursula Roberts house (91st and Meridian area), then to Kathy Farris’s father’s house (Solana near Keystone and 77th) and end at American Village. We should be done by 6:00 p.m. and then will gather for dinner at Some Guys Pizza on Allisonville and 62nd. If you’d like to carpool, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org and meet us at the Meetinghouse at 2:50 that day. We hope you will join us!

Experiment with Light! ~ Friends, our monthly Experiment with the Light (EWL) is Tuesday, December 17, at 7 pm in the parlor. You may hear some call it, Mind the Light (MTL). The names are interchangeable.

All are welcome, whether this is your first time or you’re a regular. For those who are new or need a refresher, let me explain what happens:

We begin with a 45-minute guided meditation. This is the time to let anything on your heart come forward and call on the Spirit to help us, with Her comfort or insight
In the next 15 minutes, we capture our experience through art or writing. Like a dream, it may flit away if we don’t record it.
Then we share for 15 minutes in small groups of 4 or 5. In a safe, sacred space, we share our experience. Of course, anything shared is strictly confidential.
We end back in the large group for 15 minutes of more sharing and to wrap up.

Attenders find it a remarkable experience. Please join us. We begin promptly at 7 pm and end at 8:30. ~Peace and love, Mary Ellen L

The Green Team wants to let the Meeting know about two opportunities to support conservation legislation. Find out who your representative is at www.house.gov. Call him/her and ask them to cosponsor HR3742. This is the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA). Indiana would receive $18 million a year from this Act. Call your representative AND your senator (www.senate.gov) about the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Ask them to support HR3195 and S1081. These bills would provide millions for LWCF which will affect funding for national parks, wildlife refuges, and state and local parks.

Youth Christmas Party! ~ All our youth (6th - 12th grade) are invited to our annual Youth Christmas Party on Friday, December 20th at 6:15 pm (please note the date has been CHANGED). We will have a gift exchange, great Mexican food, and games. If you are interested in signing up your youth, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Used Toys Needed ~ Linwood Christian Church, a lower income church on the eastside of Indianapolis, is in need of used toys/books for their Christmas sale for their families. Any used toys/books that you have would be appreciated. Please put them in the box at the meetinghouse.

More info about Linwood Christian Church: Linwood Christian on East Michigan has a small, older congregation. Their food pantry is open to individuals living in the area from Washington St to 21st and Emerson to Rural and once a week serves about 120 people. They also have a Rummage Room open 4 mornings a week. Proceeds go to a Benevolence Fund for special needs. At Christmas time they focus on getting age-appropriate gifts for the children of the Food Pantry clients, gently used toys, books, games, etc.

Please note, due to the holidays the office will be closed on Wednesday, December 25 and Wednesday, January 1st. On these days there will also be no Friend to Friend. Also, there will be no Wednesday Unprogrammed Worship on December 25th. We hope you have a wonderful time with your family and loved ones during these weeks. Happy holidays!!

Unprogrammed worship on Sunday, December 29 – Please note that due to the holidays we will be holding unprogrammed worship in the parlor on December 29th at our usual time of 10:15. This is a nice quiet time for us to worship in the traditional Quaker manner. Thank you to Mary Blackburn, who will be leading us in worship that day. We hope you will join us if you can. Happy holidays!

Western Yearly Meeting – New Vision! At the November 16, 2019 meeting of WYM Administrative Council a two year visioning process was approved which will result in a new Strategic Plan for Western Yearly Meeting. It is hoped to have this plan developed and approved by meetings/churches within WYM by September 2020 and by the WYM Administrative Council by December 2020. One result of this visioning process will be the selection of new leadership for WYM at the 2021 WYM Yearly Meeting. A more detailed time frame for this process will be announced shortly.

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf book club titles for 2020! If you’d like to be on the email list for the group, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org

January 28 ~ The Overstory by Richard Powers

February 25 ~ Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

March 31 ~ Beartown by Fredrik Backman

April 28 ~ Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

May 26 ~ A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

June 30 ~ Doing Justice by Preet Bharara

July 28 ~ Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

August 25 ~ Becoming by Michelle Obama

September 29 ~ Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn

October 27 ~ The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

November 24 ~ Why Religion? by Elaine Pagels

December 29 ~ The House of Broken Angels by Luis Urrea

The group meets at 7pm in the Parlor. All are invited!

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December: Cedar Waxwing

Party Time in the Woods

There was a party going on in our Meditational Woods, and I had to crash it. I had heard the racket the moment I got out of my car. I assumed it was the robins eating berries in the nearby bushes, and thought I had disturbed them. But no, the sound was coming from deeper in the woods, and it was not the robins’ “tewk-tewk” sound of alarm; it was the sound of…pleasure. Yes, the same sound as when birds find a feeder full of food. As I walked down the paved path toward the fountain waterfall, I saw more birds there than ever before: ten American Robins, eight Cedar Waxwings, and four Carolina Chickadees. The robins were bathing in the top and middle pools, while several waxwings at a time were drinking at the bottom. Communal bathing and public drinking within sight of the meetinghouse?? It was most unQuakerly to my way of thinking. There were a few squabbles between the one robin at the top that did not want to share the bath space, and others that wanted a turn. The chickadees seemed to just be hanging out, watching the action. Shortly thereafter, I left the party to do my normal walking route around the property. A flock of House Finches were having their own gathering, getting something from the sweet gum balls (not gumballs) in the tree in the patio courtyard. The already cool temperature seemed to drop ten degrees in the next half hour, and the mist turned into a rain. The weather did not break up the party, as I could hear it still going on as I came inside the meetinghouse.

I have pictured a Cedar Waxwing in one of the conifers overlooking the waterfall, waiting for a turn to drink. The genders are identical, with overall colors of tan and gray, and noticeable head crest, black mask, yellow tail tip, and the small red projections from the back of the inner wing, that together look like a drip of sealing wax. From that apparent wax drip, the bird gets its name. ~Brad Jackson

People still needing memorials: Alice Thatcher, Janet Stimson, Bonnie Hollingsworth, Mark Kishego, Bob Davis, Duffy Fankboner, Ed Thomas, Hugh Grimes, Bob Coffin. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.

This Week’s Queries

What are the things in life (the noise, trouble, the hard things) that are causing me to not have peace?
What may I need to reconcile to see peace in my life?
What is God birthing inside of me this Christmas season that will help bring peace to my world?

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Friend to Friend December 4, 2019

December 4, 2019

As Way Opens

For several weeks now, Selah – a created pause for reflection, contemplation, rest, meditation and prayer – has been the focus of our Meetings for Worship. As Ed Morris said to our Ministry & Council this week in an email, “It seems like a good way to begin the Christmas season; to slow down, get centered, go inward and listen.” Each year, I try to do this during the weeks leading up to Christmas. While growing up in more liturgical churches, we had a name for this time of the year – Advent. It was a set-apart time for preparing for the birth of Jesus. Most of the time my family would participate in some type of Advent devotional which we would read together while lighting the candles of our Advent wreath. Today, I still keep up the practice of reading an Advent devotional. On Sunday morning, as I was preparing for worship, I read the first devotional by Elder Nancy G. Maxwell, titled, “Lighting the Way to . . . Unfamiliar Peace.” In the devotional Maxwell notes that “Jesus created space for himself to find a personal peace.” Even Jesus modeled the need for this time of Selah or what Maxwell calls an “unfamiliar peace.” Here is the full devotional to read and ponder as you prepare this holiday season.

Isaiah 2:3b-5a

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Holy One from Jerusalem. The Holy One shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Israel, come, let us walk in the light of the Holy One!
How we long, like Israel before us, for a great peacemaker. The prophet Isaiah gives us such a hopeful image – an arbitrator of the people – one who will have the ability to rule so that countries would no longer use weapons against one other, and nations “shall learn war no more.” Several verses later in Isaiah we read the words memorialized in Handel’s Messiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
The Jews in Jesus’ time needed that kind of liberator, one who would cast out the Roman tyranny. It was a time when a Roman soldier could randomly kill a Jew on the street without fearing any consequence. It is no wonder many Jews desperately hoped the Messiah would be a Warrior King, who could drive out the enemy and restore peace in Israel.
But the Prince of Peace was not the Warrior King the Jews deeply desired. He came out of the wildness, an unknown, an itinerant preacher, who had little to say about the Roman occupation. Instead he challenged the Jews who were in complicity with the oppressors – those who protected their high station in the midst of their people’s misery. He challenged the religious authorities who applied the Jewish law with rigidity and lacking compassion for their people living with the daily oppression of foreign rule.
Jesus, the transgressive teacher, went out to the margins of Jewish society – he even spoke to the people the Jews had reviled for centuries – the “half-breed” Samaritans and the Phoenicians. He spoke directly to women, a scandalous action for a Jewish man during Jesus’ day. There was nothing particularly peaceful about his lifestyle of deliberately and strategically disregarding Jewish religious law. His disruption of the status quo brought him to the attention of the religious authorities, whose response was to devise a way to eliminate this disruptive element in their midst. Even the Roman ruler in Jerusalem found Jesus innocent of any wrongdoing. It was Jesus’ own people who declared Jesus’ death sentence, shouting in the public square.
But he was, nonetheless, the Prince of Peace – an unfamiliar peace. It is that unfamiliar peace we are called to embrace this Advent season. Jesus created space for himself to find a personal peace. It was a peace found in being still to hear the whisperings of the Holy, of engaging in open-hearted contemplation before taking action, and in finding compassion and similarities in those most unlike himself.
May we travel this Advent season, modeling Jesus’ unfamiliar peace. May we create personal space, seeking shelter within ourselves. And in that embrace, we will come home to ourselves, steadying ourselves for taking on Jesus’ role of working in the margins of our world today.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Amen.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Joys & Concerns

Kian continues to be in rehab at Riley Children's Hospital. Most mornings he has a full schedule of therapies. His voice is still very quiet, but he is communicating through words. Some exciting news is that Kian will be going on a field trip with two other boys from rehab this Thursday. Naomi was able to make it to Meeting for Worship on Sunday and she enjoyed being with all of us. Many thanks to anyone who has contributed to help Naomi during this time. We continue our prayers for Kian and surround him and his family in love and Light.

We’d like to extend a big thank you to Leslie K for decorating the Meeting so beautifully for Christmas! She did a wonderful job.

On Tuesday, November 26 we hosted the Shalom Zone Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service. We had a wonderful time with our Shalom Zone friends and the combined choir had a great performance. Thank you to all who came!

Please pray for Larry S, who will be undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery tomorrow. Let us hold him and his family in the Light as we all pray for a successful surgery and a quick recovery for Larry.

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Earlham School of Religion holiday gathering! You are invited to gather with ESR alumni and current students here at First Friends on Tuesday, December 10 from 6:30-8:30pm! The gathering will be led by Brent Walsh, Director of Student & Alumni Engagement at Earlham School of Religion, and hosted by Beth H, currently an ESR student. The time will include visiting and fellowship over dinner and dessert, as well as a time of music, stories and fun. There is no cost for this holiday gathering. You are invited to attend the whole time or come for what best fits your schedule. Please RSVP here: https://esr.earlham.edu/IndyHolidayGathering. For more information contact Brent Walsh at walshbr@earlham.edu.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Serenity Now December 5 Meeting Reminder ~ Serenity Now, the First Friends support group for those experiencing family and relationship challenges, will meet from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the parlor on the first Thursday of each month. We will discuss chapters 3 and 4 of The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz and share our personal experiences. If you would like to try out the group without buying the book, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org and Jan will arrange to get you a copy of the reading. Sharing is confidential and all are welcome.

Vespers Annual Concert~ This Sunday, December 8th at 5:30pm we invite you to attend our annual Vespers concert, this year themed, “Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, Light!” Our performers have been practicing hard for this concert, and it should be quite a delight. Following the concert there will be a complimentary light dinner, hosted by our Fellowship Committee. Please plan to join us for the evening!

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Please note that due to the holidays it will be held on Thursday, December 12 at 7:00pm. See locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingFall2019.

Babysitting Co-Op ~ Our babysitting co-op is happening on Saturday December 14, 5:30 - 9:30. Dinner will be provided for the kids. Please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org if you would like to have your kids join in the fun that evening!

Annual Christmas Tea ~ Please join us on December 15th immediately after worship in the Parlor for the annual Christmas Tea. There will be lots of cookies and punch and fellowship. If you can donate two dozen cookies, they can be dropped off the morning of Sunday, December 16th in the parlor. Due to allergies, please DO NOT bring any cookies containing peanuts, peanut butter or any peanut product. For more information or if you need to schedule a different dropoff time, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.. Happy holidays!

Join First Friends for Caroling! ~ If you’d like to join us for caroling to some of our dear Friends and neighbors, meet us on Sunday, December 15 at 3:30 at The Stratford (visiting Tom and Pat P). We will also travel to Ursula R’s house (91st and Meridian area), then to Kathy F’s father’s house (Solana near Keystone and 77th) and end at American Village. We should be done by 6:00 p.m. and then will gather for dinner at Some Guys Pizza on Allisonvile and 62nd. If you’d like to carpool, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org and meet us at the Meetinghouse at 2:50 that day. We hope you will join us!

All are welcome, whether this is your first time or you’re a regular. For those who are new or need a refresher, let me explain what happens:

We begin with a 45-minute guided meditation. This is the time to let anything on your heart come forward and call on the Spirit to help us, with Her comfort or insight
In the next 15 minutes, we capture our experience through art or writing. Like a dream, it may flit away if we don’t record it.
Then we share for 15 minutes in small groups of 4 or 5. In a safe, sacred space, we share our experience. Of course, anything shared is strictly confidential.
We end back in the large group for 15 minutes of more sharing and to wrap up.

Attenders find it a remarkable experience. Please join us. We begin promptly at 7 pm and end at 8:30. ~Peace and love, Mary Ellen L

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading’s pick for the month of December is The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone! The discussion will be on MONDAY December 30th at 7 pm at Kathy R’s home. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/books/tell-us-5-things-woman-who-smashed-codes-jason-fagone.html NPR: https://www.npr.org/2017/09/30/548666129/from-dinner-parties-to-spy-rings-the-woman-who-smashed-codes-bursts-with-detail Contact the office at office@indyfriends.org if you’d like to receive email updates and/or for directions for this month’s discussion.

People still needing memorials: Alice Thatcher, Janet Stimson, Bonnie Hollingsworth, Mark Kishego, Bob Davis, Duffy Fankboner, Ed Thomas, Hugh Grimes, Bob Coffin. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December: Cedar Waxwing

Party Time in the Woods

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Friend to Friend November 27, 2019

November 27, 2019

As Way Opens

Last week I joined our "seasoned friends” over a delicious lunch provided by Kathy Farris and others and heard a talk from Bill Henry, a lifelong Quaker about his spiritual journey. He mentioned that two of the most important books of his life were by Thomas Kelly - Testament of Devotion and The Eternal Promise. I have read Testament of Devotion numerous times and it’s one of my favorites. I read The Eternal Promise a number of years ago but had not revisited it for some time. I pulled out my copy this week and went through it and it is as profound as Testament of Devotion. I share a couple of paragraphs with you here:

“We are men and women of double personalities. We have slumbering demons within us. We all have also a dimly-formed Christ within us. We’ve been too ready to say that the demonic man/woman within us is the natural man/woman and that the Christ man/woman within us is the unnatural and unreal self. But the case is that our surface potentialities are for selfishness and greed, for tooth and claw. But deep within, in the whispers of the heart, is the surging call of the Eternal Christ, hidden within us all. By an inner isthmus we are connected with the mainland of the Eternal Love. Surface living has brought on the world’s tragedy. Deeper living leads us to the Eternal Christ, hidden in us all. Absolute loyalty to this inner Christ is the only hope of a new humanity. In the clamor and din of the day, the press of Eternity’s warm love still whispers in each of us, as our deepest selves, as our truest selves.

“The spring of hope is this: We simple, humble men and women can bear the seed of hope. No religious dictator will save the world; no giant figure of heroic size will stalk across the stage of history today, as a new Messiah. But in simple, humble imperfect men and women like you and me wells up the spring of hope. We have this treasure of the seed in the earthen vessels - very earthen vessels….. these demonstrations of love and goodwill are being carried on by just such earthen vessels. These tasks shine like tiny candles in the darkness - deeds done in the midst of suffering, through which shines the light of the Living Christ.”

I have been reading a lot of philosophers for my class in the past few weeks and have been contemplating who and what is God. One of them suggested that God cannot be God without

humans. The more I think about that the more it resonates with me. God needs humans to demonstrate love, grace, charity, goodwill…… to impact the world.

I pray that we will live into this seed of Christ and become God’s earthly vessels to allow God to be God in this world. I also hope we will spend time this week reflecting on the blessings of relationships and communities that support our lives.

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving!

Beth

Joys & Concerns

Let’s give a big thank-you to our food pantry volunteers! Linda L, Kathy R, Kathy and Bill F, Phil G, Mara S, Dan H, Beth F, Carol and Jim D. We needed all of these volunteers as we served a new record number of clients, 139. We are always looking for additional volunteers. First Friends staffs the food pantry the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month from 10 am until 1:30 pm. If you are interested in helping (even for part of the time), please contact one of the listed volunteers for information. Thank you!

Nancy S had successful knew surgery last week and is now at home recuperating. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Kian was moved yesterday to inpatient rehab. He is more on a school schedule, and will actually do some academic testing next Monday. They do about 3 hours of PT, OT and ST every day. He is being seen by an ENT doc today, because his voice has not come back past a whisper.

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Quaker Earthcare Witness & QuakerSpeak ~ We’re excited to share Quaker Earthcare Witness' collaboration with QuakerSpeak, a project of Friends Journal. Their newest video features Shelley and Hayley (QEW staff), Beverly Ward (Southeastern Yearly Meeting’s Field Secretary for Earthcare and Representative to QEW) and Barb Adams (Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Representative to QEW). You can watch the new video here: https://quakerspeak.com/the-work-of-quaker-earthcare/

Help Support Nikki Holland ~ Nikki Holland and her family are in Belize because of the generosity of Friends who have committed to this ministry. If you would like to help support the work of Belize Friends Ministries, please visit: https://donorbox.org/nikkiholland to make a safe and secure online donation. You can read Nikki’s testimony at: https://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org/journal/ministering-as-a-young-mother.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Youth Christmas Party! ~ All our youth (6th - 12th grade) are invited to our annual Youth Christmas Party on Friday, December 6th from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. We will have a gift exchange, great Mexican food, and games. If you are interested in signing up your youth, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Christmas Sing Along with Jim, Jesse and Luke! We will be singing familiar Christmas Carols on December 20th, third Friday in the Parlor. Jim and the band will lead us in a selection of traditional carols, plus others Jim has chosen, as well as opportunity for requests. We will be using the burgundy hymnals, since that one has the most familiar words. 7:00 to 8:30 PM.

New in our Library~ Conversation with Christ: Quaker Meditations on the Gospel of John by Douglas Gwyn

Douglas Gwyn has published at least seven books of his own and more in collaboration. He shares many insights about how early Quakers interpreted the Gospel of John and they behaved as they did. I quote from Stephanie Ford, Earlham School of Religion:

“Doug Qwyn takes a novel, creative approach to key conversations….Using guided meditation, Gwyn invites the reader to engage in her or his own conversation with the living Christ. Insights from biblical scholarship, Gwyn’s own meditation and early Quaker seekers provide a rich backdrop for the reader’s own journey.” ~Linda L

Please Help Us with Memorials! Memorials are articles written for our Memorial Book about a passed away member of the Meeting and are often written by members or attenders of the meeting. A memorial is like an obituary, but more personal and is signed by the writer. it should contain some information about the person’s roles or participation within the meeting (committees served on, member of the choir, care of grounds, etc.) Recently we have had a number of people pass away that we do not have memorials for—see below for a list of names. We need help catching up on these. Please review these names and see if there is one you would like to volunteer to write a memorial for. Below you will find a link that will give you a general idea of what a memorial would look like. If you are willing to do one, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485. Thank you for helping to honor our departed Friends!

People needing memorials: Alice Thatcher, Janet Stimson, Bonnie Hollingsworth, Mark Kishego, Bob Davis, Duffy Fankboner, Ed Thomas, Hugh Grimes, Bob Coffin. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.

Directory Feedback Requested! We are asking all members and attenders of the meeting to fill out a short survey regarding the First Friends pictorial directory. Whether you participated in the photoshoots or not, we are hoping you will take a couple of moments to answer a few questions. This will greatly help the office in future directory endeavors, as well as give you a chance to voice your thoughts! Find the survey here: https://forms.gle/brcxacSzhA7RwNp76. Thank you for your time!

Queries for the Week

Am I looking for that of God in those around the Thanksgiving table?
Where do I need to “lay aside the immaturity and seek to walk in the way of insight” this Thanksgiving?
How am I being extravagantly generous and loving this Thanksgiving?

Comment

Friend to Friend, November 20 2019

November 20, 2019

As Way Opens

This past week I traveled to Portland Oregon for the Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) board meeting and a visit to Jon and Ruthie Tippin's home in Kalama Washington. It was so good to catch up with Jon and Ruthie and hear about their new life out west. The QVS board meeting was intense and inspiring as the board provides oversight and direction for the organization’s mission of providing young people a transformative year of service, intentional community and deepening spiritual practices. The whole trip was a whirlwind including trying to get adjusted to the 3 hour time difference (and then leaving to come home after finally getting my sleep clock on west coast time). I took an Uber ride to the airport early Sunday morning. The prior couple of days had been damp, dreary, cloudy and cool (some might say typical Oregon weather). It was still cloudy and cool when I hopped into the Uber driver’s Prius. During the short ride to the airport I had my head down in my phone trying to catch up on emails. Just before arriving at the airport, the driver told me to look up and there in the cloudy sky was an amazing breakthrough of Light. It was not a sunrise but just magnificent beams of Light breaking through the clouds. I had an overwhelming sense of hope and peace staring at the flash of Light. I felt God’s spirit speaking in that Light saying that even when things seem dark, uncertain and troubling, the Light is there and will break through.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that Light in the sky and the sense of assurance and calm I felt that morning. It does feel like we are living in some dark times, but the Light is there and we have to be looking for it. I almost tragically missed it because my head was down and I was focused on the busyness of daily life and responsibilities. I pray that we all keep our head up looking for this Light today.

Beth

Joys & Concerns

Was this a joy or concern? Our first snowfall of the season and Brad J beautifully captures the moment in our meditational woods.

Greetings from Jon and Ruthie T in Kalama Washington. Beth H traveled to Portland for the Quaker Voluntary Service board meeting this past weekend and got to spend a couple of days with Jon and Ruthie.

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Seasoned Friends invites you! All Friends of retirement age are invited to our next Seasoned Friends luncheon and wiener roast which will be Thursday, November 21 at 11:30am here at First Friends. If you are able to bring a dessert to share, please do so. After our luncheon we will hear from guest speaker Bill Henry who will tell about the history of Quakerism. Bill Henry is a graduate of Earlham College and a life-long Quaker who has been active in the FGC for over 50 years. He has served as the Mayor of Marion from 2000-2004. He started his Quaker journey as a member of First Friends Church in Marion, Indiana. If you would like to come, please RSVP with the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.

Indy Winds Flute Choir will have their winter concert on Sunday, December 15th at 3:00 at Roberts Park United Methodist Church and we encourage folks to attend. Carl B and Lynda S are both members of the flute choir.

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Join us for our next meeting Thursday, November 21 at 7:00pm. See locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingFall2019.

College Care packages - It is time to send care packages to our college students as they prepare for their exams at school. We are asking that everyone help fill the boxes with goodies like candy, cookies, cards, and other treats. Please bring enough for all 4 of our college students. Don’t have time to shop? We will gladly accept monetary donations—and we will do the shopping for you! Just leave your check in the offering plate on Sunday with the notation “college packages” or send your donation to the office. Please make sure all donations are in by Sunday, November 24. Thank you for your support!

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading’s 6th Annual Lasagna Dinner will be this Tuesday night. It will be hosted by Ruth K in her home on November 26th at 6:30 pm. We will be discussing Educated by Tara Westover led by Carrie Sample. Please bring a covered dish (see below) and a book for our 6th Annual Holiday Book Swap. If your name ends with the letters: A-L Salads/Covered Dishes and M-Z Fruit Dishes/Desserts. Please RSVP to the office at office@indyfriends.org by Sunday, November 24th. Hope to see everyone there, feel free to bring a friend if you’d like! The deadline to vote for 2020 Oak Leaf book titles is Thursday the 21st at noon. Please click here today to VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XTL5Z

Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service at First Friends! On Tuesday, November 26th at 7pm, First Friends will be hosting the Shalom Zone Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service. Join us for a night of giving thanks, singing, and sharing! Pastors from Allisonville Christian, St. Pius X, and Cross & Crown will be participating in the service, as well a combined choir from all of our churches led by Eric Baker. An offering will be taken and all proceeds will benefit the School on Wheels. Afterward we will enjoy fellowship time and some light snacks. This is always a wonderful event for our community to give thanks together!

People needing memorials: Alice Thatcher, Janet Stimson, Bonnie Hollingsworth, Mark Kishego, Phyllis Hurley, Charles Johnson, Bob Davis, Duffy Fankboner, Ed Thomas, Hugh Grimes, Bob Coffin. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.

Meditational Woods Bird-of-the-Month for November
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: The Busy Friend

firstfriendscopier@gmail.com_20191111_133921_001.jpg

Recently I met a Friend (of the Quaker variety) who had a noticeable quality. She spoke quickly, moved quickly, and got things done. Hustle and bustle. I’m not objecting; in fact, I think every organization needs at least one of these people to keep things moving. However, sometimes I am worn out by the constant movement!!

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet visits our woods in April and May on its way northward, and again in October and the first bit of November while returning to the south. This tiny bird is constantly on the move. By the time I have my binoculars on its location, the kinglet has moved nearby. The motion is continuous, and, in addition, as it inches its way across the branch, the bird gives its wings a flick with each inch. The ruby-crowned has one of most impressive songs, especially for its size. All I heard last week, however, was the call, “gee-dit”.

I have pictured a male, with its tiny, hard-to-see red crown patch. The female lacks this mark. Its cousin, the golden-crowned kinglet, has a different eye pattern and crown patch, but has the same movement.

I admire the energy of these Friends, both human and avian, but whew!! Take a moment to rest!! ~ Brad J

Community Garden Update

Thank you to Ben for one last weed eating session around the Community Garden plots timed for the season’s close. Thanks to Dan M. and Ed K. for help in starting the Monarch garden. Thanks to Ed M., Linda, Ed K., Jackie, Sam and Nancy for working to clear and fertilize extra plots. Thanks to all the hardworking gardeners who made this season a success!

Thanks to Paula K, we have one more requested recipe from the Harvest Pitch-In that you might want to use for Thanksgiving. According to Paula, “It is easy to adapt as needed/desired and seems to be a hit!”

Three Bean Salad Makes 6-8 servings

1 1-pound can cut green beans 1 1-pound can cut wax beans

1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans ½ C. chopped green pepper

¼ C. onion, finely chopped

*************

½ C. sugar 2/3 C. vinegar

1/3 C. salad oil ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Make the salad a day in advance. Keep refrigerated in a covered container until time to serve, except for the several times you will remove it from the frig to stir it.

Drain green beans, wax beans, and kidney beans. Thoroughly rinse then drain the kidney beans or any other vegetables that are canned in a thick liquid. As they are draining, mix the sugar, vinegar, salad oil, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Combine the beans, green pepper, and onion in a large bowl. Pour the contents of the saucepan over the vegetables. Stir gently but thoroughly.

Notes: I will freely substitute for the yellow beans or kidney beans if they are not available. I have used cans of corn, carrots, chickpeas, or black beans as whimsy or need indicates. The green pepper I used in the harvest meal pitch-in was from the Meeting’s garden.

Queries for the Week

When have I experienced a Life Selah? How did I respond?
How might I develop a better discipline of rest in my life?
How might we encourage opportunities for rest at First Friends?

Comment

Friend to Friend

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Beth

Joys & Concerns

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Bob

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

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Beth

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Bob

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Bob

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Bob

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Beth

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This Week’s Queries

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Bob

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Beth

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Beth

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Indianapolis First Friends Meeting

Compassionate • Christian • Quaker