Friend to Friend January 20, 2021

As Way Opens

Exodus 20: 2-5

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.”

You probably recognize this as the first commandment in the ten commandments.  When I was younger I used to wonder why this was the first commandment.  It seemed like this was a rule for ancient Israel  that struggled with worshipping other gods from surrounding cultures.  But I have come to realize the danger of creating idols in modern times and the power it can have over us.  Even within the Christian tradition we create idols.  The Bible has important teachings within it but it should not be worshipped.  Those things within our various faith traditions like the Bible, the Eucharist, other rituals that point us to God are not equal with the great mystery of God.  it is a danger to bow down or worship any of these  elements and believe that we are worshipping God.    God is a jealous God and our direct experience and revelation is the mystery and the communion with the God we worship.

Of course, we see plenty of examples of idolatry that is on the earth today.  Our culture almost seems to encourage the worshipping of money, power, status and success.  These nouns are not bad in and of themselves; rather it is the question of what captures our heart.  Who or what are we worshipping?   In our troubled times we need our hearts to be pointed to God, to pray for our world, look out for our neighbor, love our enemy and live in the brilliant and consuming Light of God.

I challenge all of us to examine our heart and what might be our idol?  Is the God of the Israelites that brought them out of Egypt, the God that has been an anchor through times of trouble,  the God that always seeks reconciliation, is this the God we love in our hearts and our north star guiding us in all that we do?

Beth

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Joys & Concerns

Thank you to all who participated in our 24-hour Prayer Vigil for Peace this past Tuesday and Wednesday. At noon on Tuesday we had 20+ people join us on Zoom to kick off the vigil leading up to the inauguration. Then, at 6:30 Tuesday night we gathered in-person and fireside in our courtyard for a short service. Many thanks to those from our meeting (and several outside our meeting across the Midwest) to pray with us as we hold our country, the presidential transition, and our leaders in the Light. May peace prevail in our nation. Thank you to Kathy R, Nancy S and Bob H for taking photos and for Mary B and Ed M for organizing the prayer vigil.

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Looking for an easy project to get you through the winter? Stamping for Dollars, S4$, a small group from First Friends meets weekly to process used postal  stamps which will be sold and the profits used to support Right Sharing of World Resources, a Quaker woman’s self-help group. We could really use some help with the trimming of the stamps, neatly trimming the stamps to a 1/4 inch border. Easily done while watching TV! Mindless work but a contribution to a good cause. Older children can help! You will support women in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and India and learn a lot of cool stuff about postal stamps from all over the world. You can work from home! Contact the office to be a part of this cool project. office@indyfriends.org.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead ~ Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction ~ In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. Contact us for the Zoom info— office@indyfriends.org.

SUPER BOWL TAILGATE! The Connections Team will host a Covid-safe, outdoor Super Bowl party on Sunday, February 7, 3:00-5:00 pm, at the meeting house parking lot. You'll watch the game on your own later that evening but we're going to get "fired" up pre-game. Yes, once again we will have fire pits to help keep you warm. 

What should I bring? - face covering, lawn chair, tailgate food (hot dogs, s’mores) and drink

What are the super bowl activities?
 - wear gear supporting your favorite team even if they are not in the big game (e.g., the COLTS)
 - share a special Super Bowl snack with Friends (safe, individual packaging, please)
 - answer Super Bowl questions correctly and win a prize
 - play our Super Bowl "Punt, Pass, and Kick" game and win a prize
 - predict the score (or come close) and win a prize (awarded later)

Concerned about weather? - we will update status on Facebook, or contact the office at office@indyfriends.org for Jim K’s cell phone number to call for updates.

Creation Care Update ~ “By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches… the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.” Psalm 104:12-13

The Indiana General Assembly is in session and many bills have been introduced. I (Mary Blackburn) volunteer with the Hoosier Environmental Council, a non-partisan advocacy organization that seeks to make Indiana a healthier and more resilient state for all Hoosiers.

Many scientists believe that climate change is the most concerning crisis for the earth. It has a profound effect on weather patterns, drought, heat, and diversity of organisms. The good news is that reducing the carbon in our atmosphere can stop the rise in global temperatures.

I will post bills coming up in the IGA for your consideration and if you feel led, you can contact your legislator to advocate for your position. For more information, click here.

Items of concern:

The IGA is only allowing citizens to give testimony when they go into the Statehouse physically, not allowing remote testimony during the COVID pandemic. Please remember that the Statehouse is typically very crowded and has not mandated wearing masks. Please let your legislator know that citizens should be able to access their statehouse safely or give testimony about bills remotely.

Call your representative to oppose removing local government’s ability from prohibiting unhealthy energy resources in their community. HB 1191 is before the Utilities committee on 1/13/21.

Support Rooftop Solar. If more citizens choose to invest in solar systems, they can help reduce the need to expand fossil fuel plants by selling back any extra energy to their local utility.

Support SB 249 by Ron Alting (R), to extend net metering for another 2 years.

Learn more about why HEC is concerned about coal ash ponds.

This Thursday, January 14 at 6:30 pm Central / 7:30 pm Eastern, HEC will present the first in a series of online legislative forums, beginning with the issue of coal ash. 

Coal ash is the toxic waste product of burning coal and it is a ‘forever pollutant’ that does not break down over time. 

Indiana has started approving plans to leave millions of tons of coal ash in the floodplains of Lake Michigan and Indiana’s rivers where it is contaminating groundwater, threatening those waterways, and endangering communities. In the next few weeks, we have an opportunity to turn this around as the Indiana legislature discusses bills on safe coal ash disposal. 

Our January 14th forum is a collaboration between HEC, Earthjustice, and Just Transition NWI.

RSVP: To learn about the coal ash bills and how you can help, please register for our forum!

You can also find the Marion Count Soil & Water Conservation District newsletter here!

MSPC Early Enrollment ~ Maple Seeds Preschool Coop is accepting new students for 2021-2022! First Friends Families are invited to apply before enrollment opens to the public at the end of the month. If you are interested in signing up your child(ren), please use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1XW3Qw9Q0jR1J2O93gKgV8LGXN11wx9KpjXbcdm6O0max0A/viewform Questions? Contact info@mapleseeds.org.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January:

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Named for a Least-Seen Characteristic

Birds are traditionally named for a prominent feature (Scissor-tailed Flycatcher), outstanding color (Painted Bunting), or location (Carolina Wren). In the latter family, the reason for the name is somewhat apparent: Winter Wren, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, and even House Wren. Wait a minute!! Does the House Wren name come from the fact that it nests in a bird house or that it lives around people’s houses? Both ideas are true, but I digress. This month’s bird, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, lives in or near our Meditational Woods year-round. It may be found on any trip through the woods, but is not guaranteed. I usually hear it before I see it: “Kwir-kwir-kwir” or “chug-chug”. The male has a short powerful drum in the spring.

Let’s talk about its plumage. The reddish-orange cap and zebra-striped back are very noticeable. Either might make a good name. However, it is a red-BELLIED woodpecker. What? Where is the red belly? Some individuals of this species show a quarter-sized pale reddish patch on the belly. But if even the bird has it, the observer might not notice it. I have drawn the male, with its full reddish-orange cap. The female has the reddish-orange on the forehead and on the back of the head, but the center of the cap is gray. If you look on the internet for pictures of this bird, also check out Red-headed Woodpecker while you are there. It has a much different plumage, but people see that name and confuse the two species.

This brings to mind the name “Quaker”. Is it our “red-bellied” misnomer? Do we really quake? Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing Quaker this or that because of the history and distinctives behind the term. However, when I arrive at a gathering for silent meeting for worship, and someone greets me with, “Hello, Friend!” that is really special. Hopefully it refers to our best-seen characteristic. ~ Brad Jackson

Reopening Task Force Report ~ The Reopening Task Force’s most recent statement is available here. Currently, the Meeting-house is open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. To check on availability of small groups, including Zoom options, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

First Friends Pledges: If you’ve not yet had a chance to submit financial pledge information for 2021, please click here to submit your information. If you would like to have a pledge card mailed to you, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

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Queries for the Week

(From self-led guide)

·         Have I been able to name the tensions that are causing my anxiety in this difficult time?

·         How is the Divine, “steadying the pillars,” as the “earth totters”?

·         How am I practicing love and standing up to the evil of this world?

Friend to Friend January 13, 2021

As Way Opens

The week following Christmas, I usually find myself reading a book or two, because I have not been afforded much time to read during the Holiday Season. This year was no different. I received several books for Christmas, and decided to start with Rob Bell’s new book, Everything is Spiritual: Who We Are and What We’re Doing Here.

As I cracked the book open, I found it a bit different than Rob’s previous titles. It is both memoir and spiritual thought. At one point Rob stops to ask some queries. The queries have continued to speak to me as I have been trying to process all that is going on in our world.

Rob starts having the reader consider the following.

“Think of the most obnoxious person you know. Someone who has the supernatural ability to get under your skin. Picturing them? Good. Now, imagine that they’re your teacher. That they’re here in your life to teach you something. I know it is so hard at first. It’s like a muscle, it takes a while to build it up. Let’s imagine they’re here to show you something, to teach you how to more fully participate in the wonder and mystery and vitality of your life.”

He then poses some queries:

• Why do they annoy you?

• What is it about them that gets under your skin? Can you name it?

• Now, is that present anywhere within you? Are you completely free of it?

• Or is there some fear lurking within you that you have this same whatever-it-is within you?

• Is this why they have this unique ability to provoke you like they do?

• Have they come to help you see what you’re terrified about, might be true about you?

• Do they provoke you because they’re holding up a mirror to you, and you do not like what you see?

After posing these queries Rob says, “What a gift this person is.” Wait…What? Did he say a gift? But then he goes on and says,

“Or maybe not. Maybe it’s something awful they do and it is nowhere in you.” And then continues with some more queries:

• Why do you care so much? Lots of people do awful things.

• Why this person, and these things? Does this person ignite these energies within you because this is something you are here to do something about, but you aren’t doing it?

• Have they been sent to wake you up to your work in the world?

Again, he says, “What a gift that person is.” Really, a gift?

Rob still poses some more queries:

• Or does this person crank you up because they are free in some way you aren’t free?

• You resent them, because they cut the cord and now, they fly, and you’re still tied down? Is it fear? You don’t want to disappoint someone? You might fail? People might not understand if you step into the fullness of who you are here to be?

• Is this why they agitate you like they do?

Rob concludes, ”What a gift.”

As I start this new year, I am pondering who are the “gifts” in my life that are trying to teach me more about who I am and how to more fully participate in the wonder and mystery and vitality of life. I have continued to reflect on these queries and must be honest, they have had me looking at those around me in a new way as I begin 2021. Take some time this week to ponder these queries with me and hopefully you, too, will find these special “gifts” in your life this year.

Happy New Year,

Bob

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Joys and Concerns

Let’s give a BIG thanks to our Mid-North Food Pantry volunteers last week: Linda and Rik L; David B; Barbara O; Ruth K; Kathy and Bill F; Phil G; Derek S; Brenda R; Christie M; Corinne I. A special thanks to Krishan Coffman who helped Bill Farris pick up food from 2nd Helpings and deliver it to the Mid North Food Pantry. Also, a special “welcome aboard” to Brenda R who helped with the Wednesday group. Our First Friends volunteers braved the cool January weather to provide food to less fortunate folks who rely on the pantry. Thanks to all!

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Adult Sunday School Notice: Friends, as a reminder, Seeking Friends Sunday School class is returning This Sunday, January 17th. To join use the same Zoom link as before. We hope you’ll join us!

Watch out for email scams! We’ve been made aware that email spam/scammers may use “First Friends Church” in their email to get your attention. Please be mindful of emails you receive. First Friends office email will either come from an “@indyfriends.org” address or from “@simplechurchcrm.com”. If you’re not sure if an email is legitimate, feel free to call our office at 317-255-2485.

Praying for Peace: Be a Light in the World

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matt 5:14

During these challenging times, people of faith cry out to God seeking guidance, nurture, and safety. Join together as a Meeting as we pray for wisdom and safety for all our leaders, both nationally and locally.

Starting on January 19 at noon, we will have a live Zoom service to begin our 24-hour vigil for peace. At 6:30 PM, we will have a 30-minute outdoor service to pray as a community. Please dress accordingly. Fire pits will be lit for warmth.

Members and attenders are encouraged to sign up for a 30 or 60-minute time slot over the 24-hour period to pray. Devotional materials will be available on-line for participants to use for inspiration. Keep an eye out for an email coming soon with the Zoom and signup information.

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil: 4:6

Creation Care Update ~ “By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches… the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.” Psalm 104:12-13

The Indiana General Assembly is in session and many bills have been introduced. I (Mary B) volunteer with the Hoosier Environmental Council, a non-partisan advocacy organization that seeks to make Indiana a healthier and more resilient state for all Hoosiers.

Many scientists believe that climate change is the most concerning crisis for the earth. It has a profound effect on weather patterns, drought, heat, and diversity of organisms. The good news is that reducing the carbon in our atmosphere can stop the rise in global temperatures.

I will post bills coming up in the IGA for your consideration and if you feel led, you can contact your legislator to advocate for your position. For more information, click here.

Items of concern:

The IGA is only allowing citizens to give testimony when they go into the Statehouse physically, not allowing remote testimony during the COVID pandemic. Please remember that the Statehouse is typically very crowded and has not mandated wearing masks. Please let your legislator know that citizens should be able to access their statehouse safely or give testimony about bills remotely.

Call your representative to oppose removing local government’s ability from prohibiting unhealthy energy resources in their community. HB 1191 is before the Utilities committee on 1/13/21.

Support Rooftop Solar. If more citizens choose to invest in solar systems, they can help reduce the need to expand fossil fuel plants by selling back any extra energy to their local utility.

Support SB 249 by Ron Alting (R), to extend net metering for another 2 years.

Learn more about why HEC is concerned about coal ash ponds.

This Thursday, January 14 at 6:30 pm Central / 7:30 pm Eastern, HEC will present the first in a series of online legislative forums, beginning with the issue of coal ash. 

Coal ash is the toxic waste product of burning coal and it is a ‘forever pollutant’ that does not break down over time. 

Indiana has started approving plans to leave millions of tons of coal ash in the floodplains of Lake Michigan and Indiana’s rivers where it is contaminating groundwater, threatening those waterways, and endangering communities. In the next few weeks, we have an opportunity to turn this around as the Indiana legislature discusses bills on safe coal ash disposal. 

Our January 14th forum is a collaboration between HEC, Earthjustice, and Just Transition NWI.

RSVP: To learn about the coal ash bills and how you can help, please register for our forum!

You can also find the Marion Count Soil & Water Conservation District newsletter here!

First Friends Pledges: If you’ve not yet had a chance to submit financial pledge information for 2021, please click here to submit your information. If you would like to have a pledge card mailed to you, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Reopening Task Force Report ~ The Reopening Task Force will be reconvening shortly to review when and how to reopen Meeting for Worship. Detailed information is to be shared with First Friends members and attendees at or before Monthly Meeting.

Currently, the Meetinghouse is open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. To check on availability of small groups, including Zoom options, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January:

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Named for a Least-Seen Characteristic

Birds are traditionally named for a prominent feature (Scissor-tailed Flycatcher), outstanding color (Painted Bunting), or location (Carolina Wren). In the latter family, the reason for the name is somewhat apparent: Winter Wren, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, and even House Wren. Wait a minute!! Does the House Wren name come from the fact that it nests in a bird house or that it lives around people’s houses? Both ideas are true, but I digress. This month’s bird, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, lives in or near our Meditational Woods year-round. It may be found on any trip through the woods, but is not guaranteed. I usually hear it before I see it: “Kwir-kwir-kwir” or “chug-chug”. The male has a short powerful drum in the spring.

Let’s talk about its plumage. The reddish-orange cap and zebra-striped back are very noticeable. Either might make a good name. However, it is a red-BELLIED woodpecker. What? Where is the red belly? Some individuals of this species show a quarter-sized pale reddish patch on the belly. But if even the bird has it, the observer might not notice it. I have drawn the male, with its full reddish-orange cap. The female has the reddish-orange on the forehead and on the back of the head, but the center of the cap is gray. If you look on the internet for pictures of this bird, also check out Red-headed Woodpecker while you are there. It has a much different plumage, but people see that name and confuse the two species.

This brings to mind the name “Quaker”. Is it our “red-bellied” misnomer? Do we really quake? Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing Quaker this or that because of the history and distinctives behind the term. However, when I arrive at a gathering for silent meeting for worship, and someone greets me with, “Hello, Friend!” that is really special. Hopefully it refers to our best-seen characteristic. ~ Brad Ja

Retired Ministers Fund Update and Information ~ The WYM Retired Ministers Fund provides a modest retirement benefit to 23 retired ministers and their spouses. These Friends have served in pastoral ministry in WYM Meetings, on the WYM staff and with Friends United Meeting missions/ministries.

Meetings (and individual Friends) of Western Yearly Meeting are encouraged to make an end-of-year contribution to the WYM Retired Ministers Fund to continue to thank and support the Friends who have offered themselves in ministry over many decades.

Click here to read about Keith and Judy Kendall and how they continue to serve in ministry during their retirement. The list of all Friends receiving the retired ministers’ benefit is included.

Check contributions to the Retired Ministers Fund can be made out to WYM Retired Ministers Fund and sent to WYM, PO Box 70, Plainfield IN 46168.

Looking for an easy project to get you through the winter? Stamping for Dollars, S4$, a small group from First Friends meets weekly to process used postal  stamps which will be sold and the profits used to support Right Sharing of World Resources, a Quaker woman’s self-help group. We could really use some help with the trimming of the stamps, neatly trimming the stamps to a 1/4 inch border. Easily done while watching TV! Mindless work but a contribution to a good cause. Older children can help! You will support women in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and India and learn a lot of cool stuff about postal stamps from all over the world.

You can work from home! Contact the office if you’re interested: office@indyfriends.org.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead ~ Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction ~ In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.

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Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

• Are there any persons, ways, and areas I am currently placing limits on God's grace?

• How can I distribute God's grace to myself, my loved ones, my friends, my faith community, and my world?

• How may I need to adjust my soul, my words, my attitudes, and my actions in order to fully offer God's love without limit?

Friend to Friend January 6, 2020

As Way Opens

At the start of each new year, I read Howard Thurman’s poem, Now the Work of Christmas Begins:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among all,

To make music in the heart.

If ever there was a year to embrace these words, it is 2021.  We are called to live out Christmas in our daily lives and its work is in the everyday things we do and the people we encounter.  May we all take these words seriously and turn outward to embody the inward message of Christmas.

Beth

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Adult Sunday School Notice: Friends, as a reminder, Seeking Friends Sunday School class is currently on hiatus and will return January 17th, 2021. We hope you stay happy and healthy this holiday season!

The First Friends Bible study will study the Psalms for 13 weeks starting Thursday, January 7. The current group chose the Psalms because they felt we all need something uplifting in these times. The study meets by Zoom at 7:30 pm every Thursday. It will use this Barclay Press booklet: http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/ILLUMINATE/illuminate-psalms-2011.html. If you'd like to participate in this study, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org. Visitors, drop-ins, observers, auditors welcome!

Jeff Rasley’s Book Hero’s Journey is now an audio book! The inspiring stories of two small-town sports heroes; one never failed, the other became a homeless alcoholic before completing his hero's journey. 

It's a poignant story about John Ritter, the best basketball player from Goshen, Indiana, my hometown. He graduated from Goshen High School in 1969, but still holds all the scoring records in basketball and some in baseball. He was a star for the IU Hoosiers and captain of Bob Knight's first Final Four team in 1973. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and then coached at Ole Miss. He became an executive at Eli Lilly, and then John disappeared. I set out to discover what happened to John and why.    

Check it out at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RDT383P/ref=tmm_aud_swatch or https://www.audible.com/pd/B08RDSRYX3.

First Friends Pledges: Happy New Year! If you’ve not yet had a chance to submit financial pledge information for 2021, please click here to submit your information. If you would to have a pledge card mailed to you, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Reopening Task Force Report ~ The Reopening Task Force will be reconvening shortly to review when and how to reopen Meeting for Worship. Detailed information is to be emailed to First Friends members and attendees prior to each Monthly Meeting.

Currently, the Meetinghouse is open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. To check on availability of small groups, including Zoom options, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January:

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Named for a Least-Seen Characteristic

Birds are traditionally named for a prominent feature (Scissor-tailed Flycatcher), outstanding color (Painted Bunting), or location (Carolina Wren). In the latter family, the reason for the name is somewhat apparent: Winter Wren, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, and even House Wren. Wait a minute!! Does the House Wren name come from the fact that it nests in a bird house or that it lives around people’s houses? Both ideas are true, but I digress. This month’s bird, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, lives in or near our Meditational Woods year-round. It may be found on any trip through the woods, but is not guaranteed. I usually hear it before I see it: “Kwir-kwir-kwir” or “chug-chug”. The male has a short powerful drum in the spring.

Let’s talk about its plumage. The reddish-orange cap and zebra-striped back are very noticeable. Either might make a good name. However it is a red-BELLIED woodpecker. What? Where is the red belly? Some individuals of this species show a quarter-sized pale reddish patch on the belly. But if even the bird has it, the observer might not notice it. I have drawn the male, with its full reddish-orange cap. The female has the reddish-orange on the forehead and on the back of the head, but the center of the cap is gray. If you look on the internet for pictures of this bird, also check out Red-headed Woodpecker while you are there. It has a much different plumage, but people see that name and confuse the two species.

This brings to mind the name “Quaker”. Is it our “red-bellied” misnomer? Do we really quake? Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing Quaker this or that because of the history and distinctives behind the term. However, when I arrive at a gathering for silent meeting for worship, and someone greets me with, “Hello, Friend!” that is really special. Hopefully it refers to our best-seen characteristic. ~ Brad J

Retired Ministers Fund Update and Information ~ The WYM Retired Ministers Fund provides a modest retirement benefit to 23 retired ministers and their spouses. These Friends have served in pastoral ministry in WYM Meetings, on the WYM staff and with Friends United Meeting missions/ministries.

Meetings (and individual Friends) of Western Yearly Meeting are encouraged to make an end-of-year contribution to the WYM Retired Ministers Fund to continue to thank and support the Friends who have offered themselves in ministry over many decades.

Click here to read about Keith and Judy Kendall and how they continue to serve in ministry during their retirement. The list of all Friends receiving the retired ministers’ benefit is included.

Check contributions to the Retired Ministers Fund can be made out to WYM Retired Ministers Fund and sent to WYM, PO Box 70, Plainfield IN 46168. (Please be sure to send this as a separate check from Benevolence or Assessments, since these contributions need to be deposited to a separate checking account.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead  ~ Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction ~  In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday,  January 26, 2021.   

Friend to Friend December 23, 2020

As Way Opens

I was so grateful to our parents last week for dressing up their kiddos and recording them to share the Christmas story of Jesus’s birth from Luke and Matthew. The simplicity and yet complexity of this story is beautifully portrayed by the innocence of our children. My mother loved Christmas Eve (it’s the evening of the year that I miss her the most) and made an annual trip to the manger to remind herself of the gift of God’s love and light given in the darkness. How does that manger change us? I am reminded of the words of Martin Luther - “There are some of us who think to ourselves, if I had only been there! How quick I would have been to help the Baby. I would have gone with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger! Why don’t we do it now? We have Christ in our neighbor.” And when we think about it, who is our neighbor? Is not every person, friend, foe, family, enemy potentially our neighbor?

I love Dr King’s sermon on Loving Your Enemies and share part of it here.

"When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. . . .

Probably no admonition of Jesus has been more difficult to follow than the command to “love your enemies.” Some people have sincerely felt that its actual practice is not possible. It is easy, they say, to love those who love you, but how can one love those who openly and insidiously seek to defeat you? . . .

This command of Jesus challenges us with new urgency. Upheaval after upheaval has reminded us that modern humanity is traveling along a road called hate, in a journey that will bring us to destruction. . . . Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, the command to love one’s enemy is an absolute necessity for our survival. Love even for enemies is the key to the solution of the problems of our world. Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.

I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one’s enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talk glibly about the easiness of the moral life. He realized that every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God. So when Jesus said “Love your enemy,” he was not unmindful of its stringent qualities. Yet he meant every word of it. Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it out in our daily lives. . . .

When Jesus bids us to love our enemies, he is speaking of neither eros[romantic love] nor philia [reciprocal love of friends]; he is speaking of agape, understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all people. Only by following this way and responding with this type of love are we able to be children of our Father who is in Heaven."

Friends, this is the time of year for each of us to take our trip to the manger whatever that means for each of us and reflect on the fierce love of this child and how we are called to live this out in our lives. How do we give a total and consistent surrender to God and love our neighbor like this baby showed us and taught us?

Have a blessed Christmas.

 Beth

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Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

IFCL -- Announcing the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission ~ IFCL is one of 25 members of the All IN for Democracy coalition hoping to influence redistricting, the legislative map-drawing in 2021 that will determine Indiana's voting districts for the next decade. IFCL recently participated in a coalition press conference announcing the formation of the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission, part of a project for citizens to take part in redistricting. At the press conference, remarks were made on behalf of IFCL speaking to Quaker reasons for supporting this effort. http://bit.ly/2Kr5YLg.

Friends are encouraged to apply for service on the Commission or urge others to apply. Note, this is neither a Republican nor a Democrat effort. It's a citizens' effort, and anyone of any party affiliation--or no political affiliation at all--is welcome to apply. Below is information from Julia Vaughn of Common Cause Indiana (another coalition member) explaining the criteria for selection to the Commission, and a link to the application. The deadline for application is January 4, 2021. If you have questions, please contact Phil Goodchild (goodch713@aol.com; 317-790-9054). Thank you. 

From Common Cause Indiana:

There will be hundreds of issues debated when the Indiana General Assembly reconvenes in 2021, but the upcoming session really boils down to one thing: redistricting.

Next session the legislature will draw new district maps for Congress and themselves, and those maps will play an outsized role in who gets elected to represent us for the next decade. A fair, politically balanced and transparent redistricting process is more important now than ever.

Unfortunately, despite efforts from 2012 to 2020 to pass redistricting reform legislation through the State House, legislators failed to act.

It’s clear that if we want a better way to draw maps in 2021, we have to do it ourselves. And you can be part of the solution by signing up for our Citizens Redistricting Commission today!

I'LL SIGN UP!

Common Cause Indiana, through the All IN for Democracy coalition, is organizing the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), a diverse and representative group of nine Hoosiers who will lead a public discussion about what criteria should direct redistricting in Indiana and identify important communities of interest throughout the state.

This information will be compiled and delivered to legislators with the request that they follow its recommendations as they embark on their map-drawing efforts.

ICRC members will also serve as judges for a public mapping competition which will invite Hoosiers to get directly involved in redistricting by drawing Congressional and state legislative maps themselves using open source software and public data.

Many of you would be great candidates for a seat on the ICRC because you understand that the future of democracy requires politically engaged people putting aside partisanship for the public interest. Thank you.

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Joys and Concerns

MANY Thanks to our Mid-North Food Pantry Volunteers: Linda and Rik L, Penny P, Phil G, Brad J, Barbara O, Ruth K, Kathy and Bill F, Corinne I, Virginia and Derek S, Christie M, and Carol and Jim D. The snow on Wednesday did not hold back our First Friends volunteers!

Some interesting facts for the pantry for the 2020 year:

Mid North Food Pantry neighbors served January - November, 2020

Families: 10,393
Individuals: 33,341
Children: 13,269
Veterans: 1,997
Homeless: 282

Thanks to all at First Friends who help the Mid North Food Pantry through their financial contributions, their volunteer efforts and their prayers.

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities



Christmas Virtual Sing-A-Long! Warm up your voices and break out the percussion. THE VIRTUAL SING-A-LONG is back! Join Jim and the band for a virtual Christmas sing-a-long TONIGHT, DECEMBER 23, 7:00-7:30 pm. The video will premiere live but will be available to watch any time after that. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/gS5wmYyc2BY. We hope you will join us!

Christmas Eve Service ~ We hope you will join us for our annual Christmas Eve Service on YouTube on December 24th at 5:00pm. This year’s service will be “The Light Always Comes: A Readers Theater Christmas Service.” The service will premiere at https://youtu.be/65P9tCKIoPk. We hope you will join us for this annual tradition!

Join us for Unprogrammed worship on Sunday, December 27th. We will be holding unprogrammed worship on the Sunday after Christmas at 10:15am. After about an hour of worship, anyone is welcomed to stay afterward for a time of fellowship. Thank you to Bill H for hosting this Zoom call. We hope you will join us that day!

Sunday School Notice: Friends, please note that on Sunday, December 27th, there will be no adult Sunday School classes. Children’s classes will meet at their normal times. Also please note that Seeking Friends will be taking an additional 2 week hiatus and will return January 17th, 2021. We hope you stay happy and healthy this holiday season!

The First Friends Bible study will study the Psalms for 13 weeks starting Thursday, January 7. The current group chose the Psalms because they felt we all need something uplifting in these times. The study meets by Zoom at 7:30 pm every Thursday. It will use this Barclay Press booklet: http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/ILLUMINATE/illuminate-psalms-2011.html. If you'd like to participate in this study, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org. Visitors, drop-ins, observers, auditors welcome!

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea The definitive Mexican-American immigrant story, a sprawling and deeply felt portrait of a Mexican-American family occasioned by the impending loss of its patriarch, from one of the country's most beloved authors. Prizewinning and bestselling writer Luis Urrea has written his Mexican coming-to-America story and his masterpiece. Destined to sit alongside other classic immigrant novels, The House of Broken Angels is a sprawling and epic family saga helmed by patriarch Big Angel. The novel gathers together the entire De La Cruz clan, as they meet for the final birthday party Big Angel is throwing for himself, at home in San Diego, as he nears the end of his struggle with cancer and reflects on his long and full life. But when Big Angel's mother, Mama America, approaching one hundred, dies herself as the party nears, he must plan her funeral as well. There will be two family affairs in one weekend: a farewell double-header. Among the attendants is his half-brother and namesake, Little Angel, who comes face to face with the siblings with whom he shared a father but not, as the weekend proceeds to remind him, a life. The discussion will be via Zoom starting at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 29, 2020.

Retired Ministers Fund Update and Information ~ The WYM Retired Ministers Fund provides a modest retirement benefit to 23 retired ministers and their spouses. These Friends have served in pastoral ministry in WYM Meetings, on the WYM staff and with Friends United Meeting missions/ministries.

Meetings (and individual Friends) of Western Yearly Meeting are encouraged to make an end-of-year contribution to the WYM Retired Ministers Fund to continue to thank and support the Friends who have offered themselves in ministry over many decades.

Click here to read about Keith and Judy Kendall and how they continue to serve in ministry during their retirement. The list of all Friends receiving the retired ministers’ benefit is included.

Check contributions to the Retired Ministers Fund can be made out to WYM Retired Ministers Fund and sent to WYM, PO Box 70, Plainfield IN 46168. (Please be sure to send this as a separate check from Benevolence or Assessments, since these contributions need to be deposited to a separate checking account.)

SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!

First Friends Financial Update: The meeting seeks your financial support, both in closing out 2020 and in planning ahead for 2021. For 2020, we currently are facing a deficit at year-end, but your financial support at this time can help us to end the year in the black. To assist, please click on indyfriends.org/support/#givenow and scroll down to the Give Now section.

For 2021, recently a request for pledges was emailed to the meeting. If you need to have the email resent, or if you would like for a pledge card to be mailed to you, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.

While some aspects of First Friends activity are on hold due to the pandemic, the need for financial support continues, as major fixed expenses remain in place. We thank you for your support.

Reopening Task Force Report

At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.

In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December: White-breasted Nuthatch
An Upside-Down Bird to End 2020

This year has been a strange one in almost every way. Instead of giving a list of unusual events, allow me to call it simply topsy-turvy or upside down. Yes, that’s it: Upside down in almost every category. What better way to end this year of Birds of the Meditational Woods, than to select a bird, found here in every month, but especially in December, that fits the upside-down moniker?

The white-breasted nuthatch is our only resident bird which can regularly move on the bark of a tree in an upside-down orientation. Several species crawl up the trunk, looking for insects, spiders, and the eggs of each, but when you see one moving upwards, and then suddenly change direction into a head-down posture, it is this guy. Its smaller cousin, the red-breasted nuthatch, shares the upside-down ability, but is found in Central Indiana only from October through April, and I have yet to see one of that species in our woods.

The white-breasted is bluish-gray on the back and white underneath. It has patches of brownish-orange on each flank. Notice the bill shape and size, and the short tail. If the cap is bluish-gray, the individual is a female. If black, as shown here, it is a male. I almost always hear the “yank, yank” call before I see the bird, and always enjoy adding this sometimes upside-down bird to my day’s list from the Meditational Woods. ~Brad J

Remember to save your holiday stamps! As you receive Christmas cards this season, remember to save your stamps for Right Sharing! Of course, all stamps are welcomed. Just bring or mail them to the meetinghouse anytime. Stamping is still going on, even through this pandemic! Happy Holidays!

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf book club titles for 2021!

January 26 ~ The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

February 23 ~ Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

March 30 ~ My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

April 27 ~ The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

May 25 ~ A Promised Land by Barack Obama

June 29 ~ The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

July 27 ~ The Soul of America by Jon Meacham

August 31 ~ Still Life by Louise Penny

September 28 ~ The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

October 26 ~ The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

November 30 ~ Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

December 28 ~ Heartland by Sarah Smarsh

The group meets at 7pm either on Zoom or in the Parlor. To sign up for the email list, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

The Joys and Sorrow of Zoom~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org. Here are some comments. Please send us yours.

Amy P says she likes having less driving, not having to buy gas so often, and having more time at home with her husband. In addition to Monday Meditational Worship and Fellowship time, she can also visit the Arizona Native Plant Society. Arizona desert retreats have been an important part of her spiritual journey.

"I don’t know how Zoom worship works. Maybe that is of the Spirit…What I do know is that I often have the sense of a gathered Meeting for Worship and this nourishes me." -Catherine S

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Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

·         What are the things we need to release into the grace of God? Things we can’t control?

·         During this advent season, what pregnant possibilities are we waiting for?

·         How might we understand the destiny of our personhood within dark days?

(From self-led guide)

·         Am I experiencing the holiday season with all of my senses?

·         Where has shalom been disrupted in my life?

·         How am I anticipating the coming of Christ this Christmas?

Friend to Friend December 16, 2020

As Way Opens

“The true Christmas spirit is putting others’ happiness before our own, and finding you’ve never known such happiness.” – Toni Sorenson

This year having Thanksgiving dinner with our immediate family with a computer screen at the end of the table so extended family could join via Zoom, was not how we had envisioned the holiday taking place. With Sue’s aunt dying from complications from Covid and my aunt’s Covid diagnosis debilitating her ability to take chemo in her battle against breast cancer (both since the Thanksgiving holiday), we are being even more careful and planning to hunker down once again for our Christmas celebration.

When Covid hits this close to home, it almost makes one need to question safety protocols or whether we should be wearing masks seem ludicrous. I often hear people say, “I don’t know anyone who has had Covid, so it must not be as bad as they say.” Yet almost every day, I hear a report of someone else who has been infected (Ironically, I was just interrupted while typing this article informing me of another case that hits close to home.) It saddens me deeply that people still are not taking this seriously and doing their part in protecting their fellow humans.  

My gratitude abounds for the scientists and health care workers on the frontlines who are laboring so hard to prepare the vaccine and risking their lives to take care of the sick. And I am especially thankful for the psychologists, therapists, and mental health professionals whose workload has increased by staggering levels during this pandemic. It is clear that our mental health is unstable, and it is taking a toll on our lives. 

As I have spent countless hours listening, pastorally counselling, and helping people during this pandemic, I have found an increased need to remind myself and those I am speaking with to be aware of our emotions and mental health.  With life continuing to be a challenge and again our beloved holiday plans coming to a halt, we are struggling. I needed to hear how one director of behavioral health services put it,

“Once you have made the decision to skip the holiday trip or family gathering, you will have to cope not just with your own emotions, but your family’s emotions as well. For everyone involved, acknowledging the negative emotions and the sadness or disappointment is very important. Remember, ignoring emotions is not the same as controlling them; it’s just suppressing them…It’s OK to admit that you are sad and disappointed and that you will miss these events. But it’s entirely possible to still turn the holidays into a positive experience with alternative plans, even if they’re not the plans you’d hoped for. Traditionally, holidays create a spirit of giving and excitement which is good for our mental health — embrace the traditions you have and create new ones. They will ‘look’ different, but they can still provide a sense of stability and belongingness.”

I appreciate this perspective, because it turns us back to some positive and encouraging advice which gets to the true spirit of the holidays. Let’s be honest, life is hard, celebrating during a pandemic is hard, and often family is hard, but I pray that the hope and joy of this holiday season is a balm to your ailing lives. That it would provide some stability to the imbalance and help you embrace anew the Spirit of giving this Christmas.

Grace and peace,

Bob

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Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

IFCL -- Announcing the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission ~ IFCL is one of 25 members of the All IN for Democracy coalition hoping to influence redistricting, the legislative map-drawing in 2021 that will determine Indiana's voting districts for the next decade. IFCL recently participated in a coalition press conference announcing the formation of the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission, part of a project for citizens to take part in redistricting. At the press conference, remarks were made on behalf of IFCL speaking to Quaker reasons for supporting this effort. http://bit.ly/2Kr5YLg.

Friends are encouraged to apply for service on the Commission or urge others to apply. Note, this is neither a Republican nor a Democrat effort. It's a citizens' effort, and anyone of any party affiliation--or no political affiliation at all--is welcome to apply. Below is information from Julia Vaughn of Common Cause Indiana (another coalition member) explaining the criteria for selection to the Commission, and a link to the application. The deadline for application is January 4, 2021. If you have questions, please contact Phil Goodchild (goodch713@aol.com; 317-790-9054). Thank you. 

From Common Cause Indiana:

There will be hundreds of issues debated when the Indiana General Assembly reconvenes in 2021, but the upcoming session really boils down to one thing: redistricting.

Next session the legislature will draw new district maps for Congress and themselves, and those maps will play an outsized role in who gets elected to represent us for the next decade. A fair, politically balanced and transparent redistricting process is more important now than ever.

Unfortunately, despite efforts from 2012 to 2020 to pass redistricting reform legislation through the State House, legislators failed to act.

It’s clear that if we want a better way to draw maps in 2021, we have to do it ourselves. And you can be part of the solution by signing up for our Citizens Redistricting Commission today!

I'LL SIGN UP!

Common Cause Indiana, through the All IN for Democracy coalition, is organizing the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), a diverse and representative group of nine Hoosiers who will lead a public discussion about what criteria should direct redistricting in Indiana and identify important communities of interest throughout the state.

This information will be compiled and delivered to legislators with the request that they follow its recommendations as they embark on their map-drawing efforts.

ICRC members will also serve as judges for a public mapping competition which will invite Hoosiers to get directly involved in redistricting by drawing Congressional and state legislative maps themselves using open source software and public data.

Many of you would be great candidates for a seat on the ICRC because you understand that the future of democracy requires politically engaged people putting aside partisanship for the public interest. Thank you.

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Joys and Concerns

Thank you to even more food pantry volunteers! We’d like to thank additional volunteers who have been helping Mid-North Food Pantry on days other than Wednesday: Corinne I, Ruth K, and Barbara O. Thank you so much for your hard work!

Sunday Video Correction Notice: Please note a correction from this past Sunday’s video: Our handbell ringers were: Corinne I, Jake S, Lindsay D, Lynda S, Tiffany B, and Carolyn T. Many thanks to them for a beautiful performance!

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Sunday School Notice: Friends, please note that on Sunday, December 27th, there will be no Sunday School classes (as there will be no service that day). There will be unprogrammed worship at 10:15am. Also please note that Seeking Friends will be taking an additional 2 week hiatus and will return January 17th, 2021. We hope you stay happy and healthy this holiday season!

Remember to save your holiday stamps! As you receive Christmas cards this season, remember to save your stamps for Right Sharing! Here are some examples of some new stamps you might see this year (right). Of course, all stamps are welcomed. Just bring or mail them to the meetinghouse anytime. Stamping is still going on, even through this pandemic! Happy Holidays!

Christmas Virtual Sing-a-long! Warm up your voices and break out the percussion. THE VIRTUAL SING-A-LONG is back! Join Jim and the band for a virtual Christmas sing-a-long WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 7:00-7:30 pm. The video will premiere live but will be available to watch any time after that. The video link will be available soon on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZfU5zoW_wKzWzMWhXAZvQ. We hope you will join us!

Watch out for Zoom Scams! There are new Zoom phishing attacks you need to watch out for.

Out of the blue, you receive an email, text, or social media message that includes Zoom’s logo and a message saying something like, ‘Your Zoom account has been suspended. Click here to reactivate.’ or ‘You missed a meeting, click here to see the details and reschedule.’

You might even receive a message welcoming you to the platform and requesting you click on a link to activate your account". The BBB warned:

·         Double check the sender’s information. Zoom.com and Zoom.us are the only official domains for Zoom. If an email comes from a similar looking domain that doesn’t quite match the official domain name, it’s probably a scam.

·         Never click on links in unsolicited emails. Phishing scams always involve getting an unsuspecting individual to click on a link or file sent in an email that will download dangerous malware onto their computer.

·         Resolve issues directly. If you receive an email stating there is a problem with your account and you aren’t sure if it is legitimate, contact the company directly. Go to the official website by typing the name in your browser and find the ‘Contact Support’ feature.

Remember: “Think Before You Click." It is more important than ever these days.

First Friends Financial Update: The meeting seeks your financial support, both in closing out 2020 and in planning ahead for 2021. For 2020, we currently are facing a deficit at year-end, but your financial support at this time can help us to end the year in the black. To assist, please click on indyfriends.org/support/#givenow and scroll down to the Give Now section.

For 2021, recently a request for pledges was emailed to the meeting. . If you need to have the email resent, or if you would like for a pledge card to be mailed to you, please contact the office at  office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.

While some aspects of First Friends activity are on hold due to the pandemic, the need for financial support continues, as major fixed expenses remain in place. We thank you for your support.

SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!

Reopening Task Force Report

At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.

In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December: White-breasted Nuthatch
An Upside-Down Bird to End 2020

This year has been a strange one in almost every way. Instead of giving a list of unusual events, allow me to call it simply topsy-turvy or upside down. Yes, that’s it: Upside down in almost every category. What better way to end this year of Birds of the Meditational Woods, than to select a bird, found here in every month, but especially in December, that fits the upside-down moniker?

The white-breasted nuthatch is our only resident bird which can regularly move on the bark of a tree in an upside-down orientation. Several species crawl up the trunk, looking for insects, spiders, and the eggs of each, but when you see one moving upwards, and then suddenly change direction into a head-down posture, it is this guy. Its smaller cousin, the red-breasted nuthatch, shares the upside-down ability, but is found in Central Indiana only from October through April, and I have yet to see one of that species in our woods.

The white-breasted is bluish-gray on the back and white underneath. It has patches of brownish-orange on each flank. Notice the bill shape and size, and the short tail. If the cap is bluish-gray, the individual is a female. If black, as shown here, it is a male. I almost always hear the “yank, yank” call before I see the bird, and always enjoy adding this sometimes upside-down bird to my day’s list from the Meditational Woods. ~Brad J

Join the First National Experiment with Light Group! Dan and Jaimie Mudd invite Friends to the first monthly online North American Experiment with Light meditation. It takes place on the 15th of every month. The mediation will begin at 7:30 PM Eastern time with the Zoom room being opened at 7:00 PM Eastern. Those new to the Experiment are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 so that they can receive a brief overview of what to expect.

The following Zoom link is for the next twelve months. You may want to copy and save it for future reference. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85812637962?pwd=cU9SZDArRExvZWRhaUEyR0tDa0h0dz09

To register and for further questions, contact Dan and Jaimie at lightsways@gmail.com.

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf book club titles for 2021!

January 26 ~ The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

February 23 ~ Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

March 30 ~ My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

April 27 ~ The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

May 25 ~ A Promised Land by Barack Obama

June 29 ~ The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

July 27 ~ The Soul of America by Jon Meacham

August 31 ~ Still Life by Louise Penny

September 28 ~ The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

October 26 ~ The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

November 30 ~ Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

December 28 ~ Heartland by Sarah Smarsh

The group meets at 7pm either on Zoom or in the Parlor. To sign up for the email list, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

The Holiday Season is here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.

The Joys and Sorrow of Zoom~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org.

Here are some comments. Please send us yours.

Amy P says she likes having less driving, not having to buy gas so often, and having more time at home with her husband. In addition to Monday Meditational Worship and Fellowship time, she can also visit the Arizona Native Plant Society. Arizona desert retreats have been an important part of her spiritual journey.

"I don’t know how Zoom worship works. Maybe that is of the Spirit…What I do know is that I often have the sense of a gathered Meeting for Worship and this nourishes me." -Catherine S

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Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

·   Currently, who is helping me see hope in the world?

·   Do I consider myself a co-worker, co-creator, co-hope-bearer with Christ?

·   How am I being called to be a living hope and continue the legacy of Christ, this Christmas?

(From self-led guide)

·         Where do I see hope outside my window?

·         How is God’s presence in my life bringing hope this Christmas?

·         In what ways can I “roll up my sleeves” and get to work for hope this week?

Friend to Friend December 9, 2020

As Way Opens

I was so moved by the Blue Christmas service on November 29th where we remembered family and friends connected with First Friends that passed away this year. I was part of that group as I lost my beloved brother last January and the reverence and symbolism of lighting candles meant so much to me. There were 25 names that we read so there has been a lot of physical loss of loved ones this past year.

Last week I called Tom Price to check in on him and see how he was doing. I heard his updates (which were significant as he has bought a home on an acre of land on the northside and moved from The Stratford into this home on November 24th and his daughter Jessica will move into his home this spring). He then said that he watched the Blue Christmas service and at that moment I realized with horror that we had not read Pat’s name. I felt sick to my stomach as I contemplated this oversight. I don’t know how we all missed this. Pat became my close friend during the last 18 months of her life as I visited her a number of times. She was a person that showed me how to deal with a terminal illness with grace, dignity and a selfless attitude where she continued to always want to hear about how I was doing. i fell in love with Pat during her illness.

What happened during my conversation with Tom last week was my advent experience. While Tom was surprised that we did not mention Pat, he was gracious and forgiving about our oversight. He appreciated the service, and it was meaningful to him. He did not want me to feel terrible about this and offered supportive messages. I cannot express the sense of care and love I experienced from Tom. This is what advent and this season is about. The idea of offering grace and forgiveness to each other and to ourselves. This is the coming of Christ that we wait for each year. The experience of grace, forgiveness, and love. May we offer this to each other and to ourselves this year.

Beth

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Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

IFCL -- Announcing the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission ~ IFCL is one of 25 members of the All IN for Democracy coalition hoping to influence redistricting, the legislative map-drawing in 2021 that will determine Indiana's voting districts for the next decade. IFCL recently participated in a coalition press conference announcing the formation of the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission, part of a project for citizens to take part in redistricting. At the press conference, remarks were made on behalf of IFCL speaking to Quaker reasons for supporting this effort. https://drive.google.com/file/d/18GfY-kBw24At2buvL0CLZTUd-1DE_E8z/view?usp=sharing

Friends are encouraged to apply for service on the Commission or urge others to apply. Note, this is neither a Republican nor a Democrat effort. It's a citizens' effort, and anyone of any party affiliation--or no political affiliation at all--is welcome to apply. Below is information from Julia Vaughn of Common Cause Indiana (another coalition member) explaining the criteria for selection to the Commission, and a link to the application. The deadline for application is January 4, 2020. If you have questions, please contact Phil Goodchild (goodch713@aol.com; 317-790-9054). Thank you. 

From Common Cause Indiana:

There will be hundreds of issues debated when the Indiana General Assembly reconvenes in 2021, but the upcoming session really boils down to one thing: redistricting.

Next session the legislature will draw new district maps for Congress and themselves, and those maps will play an outsized role in who gets elected to represent us for the next decade. A fair, politically balanced and transparent redistricting process is more important now than ever.

Unfortunately, despite efforts from 2012 to 2020 to pass redistricting reform legislation through the State House, legislators failed to act.

It’s clear that if we want a better way to draw maps in 2021, we have to do it ourselves. And, you can be part of the solution by signing up for our Citizens Redistricting Commission today!

I'LL SIGN UP!

Common Cause Indiana, through the All IN for Democracy coalition, is organizing the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), a diverse and representative group of nine Hoosiers who will lead a public discussion about what criteria should direct redistricting in Indiana and identify important communities of interest throughout the state.

This information will be compiled and delivered to legislators with the request that they follow its recommendations as they embark on their map-drawing efforts.

ICRC members will also serve as judges for a public mapping competition which will invite Hoosiers to get directly involved in redistricting by drawing Congressional and state legislative maps themselves using open source software and public data.

Many of you would be great candidates for a seat on the ICRC because you understand that the future of democracy requires politically engaged people putting aside partisanship for the public interest. Thank you.

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Joys and Concerns

MANY THNAKS to our Food Pantry Volunteers: Linda and Rik L; Christie M; Penny P; Phil G; Bill F; Derek S; Carol and Jim D. Our First Friends volunteers braved the chilly weather to serve 72 very thankful families. Thanks to everyone at First Friends for the support given to the Mid North Food Pantry.

Happy Birthday, Lowell! Dr. Lowell R is celebrating his 100th birthday today! Wow!!

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Remember to save your holiday stamps! As you receive Christmas cards this season, remember to save your stamps for Right Sharing! Here are some examples of some new stamps you might see this year (right). Of course, all stamps are welcomed. Just bring or mail them to the meetinghouse anytime. Stamping is still going on, even through this pandemic! Happy Holidays!

Watch out for Zoom Scams! There are new Zoom phishing attacks you need to watch out for. The Better Business Bureau has three great tips.

Out of the blue, you receive an email, text, or social media message that includes Zoom’s logo and a message saying something like, ‘Your Zoom account has been suspended. Click here to reactivate.’ or ‘You missed a meeting, click here to see the details and reschedule.’

You might even receive a message welcoming you to the platform and requesting you click on a link to activate your account". The BBB warned:

• Double check the sender’s information. Zoom.com and Zoom.us are the only official domains for Zoom. If an email comes from a similar looking domain that doesn’t quite match the official domain name, it’s probably a scam.

• Never click on links in unsolicited emails. Phishing scams always involve getting an unsuspecting individual to click on a link or file sent in an email that will download dangerous malware onto their computer. If you get an unsolicited email and you aren’t sure who it really came from, never click on any links, files, or images it may contain.

• Resolve issues directly. If you receive an email stating there is a problem with your account and you aren’t sure if it is legitimate, contact the company directly. Go to the official website by typing the name in your browser and find the ‘Contact Support’ feature to get help.

Remember: “Think Before You Click." It is more important than ever these days.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December: White-breasted Nuthatch
An Upside-Down Bird to End 2020

This year has been a strange one in almost every way. Instead of giving a list of unusual events, allow me to call it simply topsy-turvy or upside down. Yes, that’s it: Upside down in almost every category. What better way to end this year of Birds of the Meditational Woods, than to select a bird, found here in every month, but especially in December, that fits the upside-down moniker?

The white-breasted nuthatch is our only resident bird which can regularly move on the bark of a tree in an upside-down orientation. Several species crawl up the trunk, looking for insects, spiders, and the eggs of each, but when you see one moving upwards, and then suddenly change direction into a head-down posture, it is this guy. Its smaller cousin, the red-breasted nuthatch, shares the upside-down ability, but is found in Central Indiana only from October through April, and I have yet to see one of that species in our woods.

The white-breasted is bluish-gray on the back and white underneath. It has patches of brownish-orange on each flank. Notice the bill shape and size, and the short tail. If the cap is bluish-gray, the individual is a female. If black, as shown here, it is a male. I almost always hear the “yank, yank” call before I see the bird, and always enjoy adding this sometimes upside-down bird to my day’s list from the Meditational Woods. ~Brad J

Order Poinsettias and Fair-Trade Goodies! ~ This year we are offering poinsettias and various fair-trade foods/gifts—virtually! You are still welcome to buy a poinsettia in honor or in memory of a loved one. We will deliver your orders to you personally before Christmas!

The fair-trade co-op relies on a lot of churches and service organizations, so their business has declined, and this is a great opportunity to purchase treats and gifts for the holiday. Some of the funds for the purchase will go towards our youth group activities. You can browse https://shop.equalexchange.coop if you would like to order different items beyond what we normally offer.

6" Poinsettia pot - $8 (Red or White)
Coffee - $10 (Love Buzz, Hazelnut Creme, Breakfast Blend, Decaf)
Tea - $ 3.50
Chocolate $3.50 (lots of types)
Olive Oil - $12
Hot Cocoa - $5

If you’re interested, you can place an order at https://forms.gle/EtGaScUVKUCgt1du8. Payment can be made by sending a check to the office at 3030 Kessler Blvd E Dr, Indianapolis IN 46220, with the notation of "poinsettias" or "fair trade purchase"; or visit https://www.indyfriends.org/support to pay electronically. Under funds choose either "Flower Order" or "Fair trade food/gift order." Please place your order by December 9th. Happy Holidays!

Join the First National Experiment with Light Group! Dan and Jaimie Mudd invite Friends to the first monthly online North American Experiment with Light meditation. It will start on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. The mediation will begin at 7:30 PM Eastern time with the Zoom room being opened at 7:00 PM Eastern. Those new to the Experiment are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 so that they can receive a brief overview of what to expect. To register and for further questions, contact Dan and Jaimie at lightsways@gmail.com.

Show Your First Friends Christmas Spirit ~ First Friends has “adopted” a family to help this Christmas. While the family would like to remain anonymous, we do have a little info to share about the family. There are 5 children and a mom. The kids are ages 14 (girl), 13 (girl), 12 (boy), 9 (girl), and 9 (boy). Rather than ask folks at First Friends to purchase gifts as we have done in the past, at this time we intend to provide gift cards for the kids and mom and possibly a few smaller gifts. Please contribute as you are led to help provide a very Merry Christmas for this family. Checks can be sent to the First Friends office with a notation of “Christmas Family” in the memo section, or you can give online at https://www.indyfriends.org/support, or text Christmas to 317-768-0303. We may seek out a second family if enough monies are collected. We plan to purchase the gift cards for this family next week so please send whatever contribution you plan to make to the First Friends’ office THIS WEEK. Thanks to everyone for their support.

Vespers Benediction ~ For those asking and for anyone else interested, here is the Benediction from this past Sunday’s Vespers service!

A Christmas Benediction – anonym

At Christmas may God open

Your heart to His love,

Your mind to His wonders,

Your ears to His voice, and

Your life to His presence.

May you experience

His peace for your troubles,

His forgiveness for your guilt,

His presence for your loneliness,

His light for your path,

His guidance for your journey, and

His joy for your life... Amen!

Reopening Task Force Report

At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.

In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

First Friends Financial Update: The Meeting currently is collecting pledges for 2021 to help plan for the new year. While some aspects of First Friends activity are on hold due to the pandemic, the need for financial support continues, as major fixed expenses remain in place. Recently, a request for pledges was emailed to the meeting. If you need to have the email resent, or if you would like for a pledge card to be mailed to you, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485. Kindly return pledges by December 13.
Note: For your convenience, you may make arrangements with your bank for donations to First Friends to be made automatically. Contact the office if you have questions about this option.

Use our online directory for the holidays! This holiday season, we encourage you to use our online directory to get the most up-to-date addresses when you send out holiday cards. You can find the directory at https://mobiledirectory.lifetouch.com/318079/first-friends-church. We hope this online resource will serve you well!

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf book club titles for 2021!

January 26 ~ The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

February 23 ~ Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

March 30 ~ My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

April 27 ~ The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

May 25 ~ A Promised Land by Barack Obama

June 29 ~ The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

July 27 ~ The Soul of America by Jon Meacham

August 31 ~ Still Life by Louise Penny

September 28 ~ The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

October 26 ~ The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

November 30 ~ Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

December 28 ~ Heartland by Sarah Smarsh

The group meets at 7pm either on Zoom or in the Parlor. To sign up for the email list, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

The Holiday Season is almost here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.

The Joys and Sorrow of Zoom~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org.

Here are some comments. Please send us yours.

Amy P says she likes having less driving, not having to buy gas so often, and having more time at home with her husband. In addition to Monday Meditational Worship and Fellowship time, she can also visit the Arizona Native Plant Society. Arizona desert retreats have been an important part of her spiritual journey.

"I don’t know how Zoom worship works. Maybe that is of the Spirit…What I do know is that I often have the sense of a gathered Meeting for Worship and this nourishes me." -Catherine S

SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!

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Queries for the Week

(From self-led guide)

·         In this time of waiting, where do I feel alone or consumed by the darkness around me?

·         Where am I clinging to a specific path and not allowing God to guide me?

·         How is my life a “Advent of patient waiting and trust”?

Friend to Friend December 2, 2020

As Way Opens

When I was young child, I remember going with my uncle to visit his friend Skip Handy (yes, that was his name) at his clothing store across town. It was Christmas and Skip was known to have an extensive collection of very expensive German Nutcrackers on display throughout his store. I remember stepping through the front door of his shop into what looked like a winter wonderland. Then I caught a glimpse of hundreds of Nutcrackers of all sizes and shapes standing at attention to welcome the customers. I have to admit, I was in awe. Still today, I find myself lining up my Nutcracker collection on top of our entertainment center in the same way (only mine have sentimental rather than financial value).

 To appreciate Nutcrackers, one has to go back in history. Even before Peter Tchaikovsky adapted an 1816 E.T.A. Hoffman Christmas story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King for the ballet, the wooden dolls symbolized good luck in German tradition.

One popular origin myth, related by Rittenhouse, holds that a wealthy but lonely farmer who found the process of cracking nuts to be detrimental to his productivity offered a reward to whoever could come up with the best solution. Each villager drew on his own professional expertise—a carpenter advocating sawing them open, a soldier shooting the suckers. But it was the puppet-maker—a profession that seems to loom large in European tall tales —who won the day, building a strong-jawed, lever-mouthed doll.

I love that the most unlikely profession came up with a solution to crack a nut and win the day. Who thinks, “I will make a puppet that cracks nuts”? Yet, consider for a moment, how often those that think completely outside the box, have a unique perspective on life, and are faithful to their talents leave us with long-lasting gifts that keep giving and bringing us joy.

If you have ever tried to crack a nut with most Nutcrackers today (as I have tried), you will find most are simply ornamental in nature and lacking any ability to crack a nut (maybe those should have just been puppets). Yet, what if the Nutcrackers that grace our homes could be considered miniature monuments to “out of the box” thinking, making the best out of the talents that one has been given, and bringing a lasting joy to our world.

During this ongoing pandemic and this stressful holiday season, I sense we need more “puppet-makers” who are willing to think outside the box, to give us a new perspective, and to make our normal experiences just a bit more joyful. Or as Howard Thurman put it, so well,

“The movement of the Spirit of God in the hearts of men and women often calls them to act against the spirit of their times or causes them to anticipate a spirit which is yet in the making. In a moment of dedication, they are given wisdom and courage to dare a deed that challenges and to kindle a hope that inspires.

My hope is that we too, would choose to be people that “dare a deed that challenges and kindles hope that inspires” this holiday season! Just maybe, you and I will create our own “nutcracking puppets” for the world.

Grace and peace,

 Bob

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Joys and Concerns

Thank you to our Mid-North Food Pantry volunteers! Linda and Rik L; Kathy and Bill F; Derek and Virginia S; Ruth K; David B; Christie M; Penny P; Barbara O; Carol and Jim D. Much food was distributed to 86 families.

Congratulations to First Friends’ members Heather D and Joshua C as they were married last Wednesday, November 25 in a private ceremony at the Meetinghouse. After the ceremony, they had a surprise visit from their clearness committee outside on the front steps. Together, we hold their marriage in the Light and celebrate with Mr. and Mrs. Curry! 

Congratulations! Kathy and Gary R’s granddaughter was born today at 2:28 pm! We welcome Norah to the world, weighing 8 lb 15 oz. Prayers would be appreciated: She had a little trouble breathing so they took her for chest x-rays and are going to help her clear her lungs with CPAP machine. Congratulations to Kathy and Gary and to the proud parents!

Happy Birthday, Lowell! Dr. Lowell R will be celebrating his 100th birthday on December 9th! Wow!!

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Reopening Task Force Report

At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.

In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

The Holiday Season is almost here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.

Order Poinsettias and Fair-Trade Goodies! ~ This year we are offering poinsettias and various fair-trade foods/gifts—virtually! You are still welcome to buy a poinsettia in honor or in memory of a loved one. We will deliver your orders to you personally before Christmas!

The fair-trade co-op relies on a lot of churches and service organizations, so their business has declined, and this is a great opportunity to purchase treats and gifts for the holiday. Some of the funds for the purchase will go towards our youth group activities. You can browse https://shop.equalexchange.coop if you would like to order different items beyond what we normally offer.

6" Poinsettia pot - $8 (Red or White)
Coffee - $10 (Love Buzz, Hazelnut Creme, Breakfast Blend, Decaf)
Tea - $ 3.50
Chocolate $3.50 (lots of types)
Olive Oil - $12
Hot Cocoa - $5

If you’re interested, you can place an order at https://forms.gle/EtGaScUVKUCgt1du8. Payment can be made by sending a check to the office at 3030 Kessler Blvd E Dr, Indianapolis IN 46220, with the notation of "poinsettias" or "fair trade purchase"; or visit https://www.indyfriends.org/support to pay electronically. Under funds choose either "Flower Order" or "Fair trade food/gift order." Please place your order by December 9th. Happy Holidays!

Show Your First Friends Christmas Spirit ~ First Friends has “adopted” a family to help this Christmas. While the family would like to remain anonymous, we do have a little info to share about the family. There are 5 children and a mom. The kids are ages 14 (girl), 13 (girl), 12 (boy), 9 (girl), and 9 (boy). Rather than ask folks at First Friends to purchase gifts as we have done in the past, at this time we intend to provide gift cards for the kids and mom and possibly a few smaller gifts. Please contribute as you are led to help provide a very Merry Christmas for this family. Checks can be sent to the First Friends office with a notation of “Christmas Family” in the memo section, or you can give online at https://www.indyfriends.org/support, or text Christmas to 317-768-0303. We may seek out a second family if enough monies are collected. We hope to finalize this fundraiser by the end of November so please consider making your donation at your earliest convenience. Thanks for your consideration.

First Friends Financial Update: The Meeting currently is collecting pledges for 2021 to help plan for the new year. While some aspects of First Friends activity are on hold due to the pandemic, the need for financial support continues, as major fixed expenses remain in place. Recently, a request for pledges was emailed to the meeting. If you need to have the email resent, or if you would like for a pledge card to be mailed to you, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485. Kindly return pledges by December 13.
Note: For your convenience, you may make arrangements with your bank for donations to First Friends to be made automatically. Contact the office if you have questions about this option.

The Joys and Sorrow of Zoom~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org.

Here are some comments. Please send us yours.

"It is just nice to see people and to hear what they have to say. For our Monthly Meetings it is nice to have the ability to see and speak to one another.” -Sara E

“I can just roll out of bed and Zoom, I’m at Sunday School.” -Ed M

“I typically use Zoom at FF for meetings. Zoom is quite efficient for typical meetings, but can be frustrating for large, casual group gatherings such as Fellowship Hour. Bill Heitman has done as well as possible in facilitating. But, if one person talks very much, it distracts from the overall group. However, a large group doesn't allow for much in-depth conversation, so it's really not ideal. I have heard what some persons said, and then followed up with a personal phone call later. That has worked pretty well. Because of the limitations of Zoom for large groups, I believe that it is important to gather in person whenever we can.” -Sue M

Amy P says she likes having less driving, not having to buy gas so often, and having more time at home with her husband. In addition to Monday Meditational Worship and Fellowship time, she can also visit the Arizona Native Plant Society. Arizona desert retreats have been an important part of her spiritual journey.

SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!

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Queries for the Week

(From self-led guide)

·         How will you let the Divine prepare my heart this season?

·         Where am I seeing Christ coming in and around my life?

·         What might be the benefit of celebrating the season of Advent as the birth of a saving, healing, Truth?

Friend to Friend November 25, 2020

As Way Opens

This Sunday will be our Blue Christmas service where we will remember and reflect on family and friends that we have lost this past year. Our Circle of Care started this event a number of years ago and it’s become such a special service to share together. Circle of Care has traditionally hosted a lunch and invited those that have experienced a significant loss to gather in the parlor and break bread together and then have a time of sharing in a circle expressing their experiences and feelings. Unfortunately, we are living in a pandemic with numbers in Indiana dramatically increasing and we won’t be able to gather together for this meaningful time. But Bob did put together a beautiful virtual service that we recorded together yesterday, and I felt so emotional from participating in this and experiencing the sense of reverence and mystery that brings life and death together in a web of connectivity.

I am so thankful for our Circle of Care. This is an umbrella group started by our friend Barbara Oberreich to provide a variety of care for folks that experience illness, birth, death, loss, short term needs, and a plethora of other issues. We have had a prayer chain and a meal ministry for some time and Circle of Care expanded these important ministries to include rides to appointments, home care, computer help, and other concerns for our community. For me, the care, concern and love we feel for each other is the foundation of First Friends. This will attract and draw folks into our community as we all need to feel a sense of connection and oneness.

Asking for support is terribly hard for many of us. It was only my experience of dealing with my Jerry’s Alzheimer’s for six years that brought me to a place where accepting help was honoring the ministry of others. Asking for support is not a sign of weakness but an opportunity to connect with the community and allow others to express their love in a tangible way. Friends, we want you to let us know if there is something we can provide to support you. Please email the office (office@indyfriends.org) or myself if there is anything we can do for you in this time or in the future (beth.henricks@indyfriends.org).

The ministries under Circle of Care are also a wonderful opportunity to offer love, care and support to others. We need more folks to be part of our meal ministry, our prayer chain and our group of volunteers that can provide rides, computer assistance and other areas of support. If you would like to join any of these ministries please email the office at office@indyfriends.org.

During these difficult times we need each other more than we ever have. I am thankful for each of you and your gifts and the ways that we bring ourselves to each other. I love this quote from Richard Rohr that describes our connectedness and unity with God and each other.

"Oh, God, we are one with You. You have made us one with You. You have taught us that if we are open to one another, You dwell in us. Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection. Oh God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept You, and we thank You, and we adore You, and we love You with our whole being, because our being is in Your being, our spirit is rooted in Your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse  ways, united in this one spirit which makes You present in the world, and which makes You witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious. Amen.”

Happy Thanksgiving.

 Beth

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Reopening Task Force Report

At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.

In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

First Friends Financial Update: The Meeting currently is collecting pledges for 2021 to help plan for the new year. While some aspects of First Friends activity are on hold due to the pandemic, the need for financial support continues, as major fixed expenses remain in place. Recently, a request for pledges was emailed to the meeting. If you need to have the email resent, or if you would like for a pledge card to be mailed to you, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485. Kindly return pledges by December 13.
Note: For your convenience, you may make arrangements with your bank for donations to First Friends to be made automatically. Contact the office if you have questions about this option.

Order Poinsettias and Fair-Trade Goodies! ~ This year we are offering poinsettias and various fair-trade foods/gifts—virtually! You are still welcome to buy a poinsettia in honor or in memory of a loved one. We will deliver your orders to you personally before Christmas!

The fair-trade co-op relies on a lot of churches and service organizations, so their business has declined, and this is a great opportunity to purchase treats and gifts for the holiday. Some of the funds for the purchase will go towards our youth group activities. You can browse https://shop.equalexchange.coop if you would like to order different items beyond what we normally offer.

6" Poinsettia pot - $8 (Red or White)
Coffee - $10 (Love Buzz, Hazelnut Creme, Breakfast Blend, Decaf)
Tea - $ 3.50
Chocolate $3.50 (lots of types)
Olive Oil - $12
Hot Cocoa - $5

If you’re interested, you can place an order at https://forms.gle/EtGaScUVKUCgt1du8. Payment can be made by sending a check to the office at 3030 Kessler Blvd E Dr, Indianapolis IN 46220, with the notation of "poinsettias" or "fair trade purchase"; or visit https://www.indyfriends.org/support to pay electronically. Under funds choose either "Flower Order" or "Fair trade food/gift order." Please place your order by December 9th. Happy Holidays!


Free Books to a Good Home ~ A Friend would like to donate a free book(s) to anyone who might be interested. They are three D. Elton Trueblood books: “Alternative to Futility “(1948), “The Recovery of Family Life” (1953) and “The Common Ventures of Life” (1949). If you are interested in any of these books for your collection, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Thanksgiving Prayer ~ Thanks to Nancy Scott for sharing this Thanksgiving prayer. Sometimes, as a gratitude exercise, people list blessings starting with each letter in the word Thanksgiving. I decided to borrow from that idea to make a little prayer. Try it yourself!

Thank you God, that

Humanity is created in Your image.

Animals abide with us in

Nature, a magnificent gift with which you have blessed us.

Keepers of a peaceful and loving world: our mission.

Simply living and living simply can be a goal while we are

Giving and sharing what we can.

Imagining the best that we can be, we strive to live up to Your image.

Verily, You said unto us that Your love is everlasting.

Nothing need stand between us and Your love.

Grant us the courage to accept Your gift and then, to re-gift it.

The Holiday Season is almost here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.

Show Your First Friends Christmas Spirit ~ First Friends has “adopted” a family to help this Christmas. While the family would like to remain anonymous, we do have a little info to share about the family. There are 5 children and a mom. The kids are ages 14 (girl), 13 (girl), 12 (boy), 9 (girl), and 9 (boy). Rather than ask folks at First Friends to purchase gifts as we have done in the past, at this time we intend to provide gift cards for the kids and mom and possibly a few smaller gifts. Please contribute as you are led to help provide a very Merry Christmas for this family. Checks can be sent to the First Friends office with a notation of “Christmas Family” in the memo section. We may seek out a second family if enough monies are collected. We hope to finalize this fundraiser by the end of November so please consider making your donation at your earliest convenience. Thanks for your consideration.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea The definitive Mexican-American immigrant story, a sprawling and deeply felt portrait of a Mexican-American family occasioned by the impending loss of its patriarch, from one of the country's most beloved authors. Prizewinning and bestselling writer Luis Urrea has written his Mexican coming-to-America story and his masterpiece. Destined to sit alongside other classic immigrant novels, The House of Broken Angels is a sprawling and epic family saga helmed by patriarch Big Angel. The novel gathers together the entire De La Cruz clan, as they meet for the final birthday party Big Angel is throwing for himself, at home in San Diego, as he nears the end of his struggle with cancer and reflects on his long and full life. But when Big Angel's mother, Mama America, approaching one hundred, dies herself as the party nears, he must plan her funeral as well. There will be two family affairs in one weekend: a farewell double-header. Among the attendants is his half-brother and namesake, Little Angel, who comes face to face with the siblings with whom he shared a father but not, as the weekend proceeds to remind him, a life. The discussion will be via Zoom starting at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 29, 2020.

Advent Waiting: Clearing Space for New Life and Light ~ All are invited to “Advent Waiting,” a 3-session virtual gathering led by Sara Beth Terrell (leader of our current women’s gathering). This experience invites reflection on Advent themes in a year of waiting and uncertainty. Using contemplative prayer exercises, we will ask what we might learn from the dark places we’ve been as we anticipate the Light coming into our lives in new ways. The sessions will take place on December 1, 8 and 15 from 4-5:30 PM EST. The cost is $63, but scholarships are available upon request. For more information and to register, visit https://www.imaginingtheword.com/upcomingevents/advent-waiting. The Zoom link will be sent before the first session.

SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!

The Joys and Sorrow of Zoom~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org.

Here are some comments. Please send us yours.

"It is just nice to see people and to hear what they have to say. For our Monthly Meetings it is nice to have the ability to see and speak to one another.” -Sara E

“I can just roll out of bed and Zoom, I’m at Sunday School.” -Ed M

“I typically use Zoom at FF for meetings. Zoom is quite efficient for typical meetings, but can be frustrating for large, casual group gatherings such as Fellowship Hour. Bill Heitman has done as well as possible in facilitating. But, if one person talks very much, it distracts from the overall group. However, a large group doesn't allow for much in-depth conversation, so it's really not ideal. I have heard what some persons said, and then followed up with a personal phone call later. That has worked pretty well. Because of the limitations of Zoom for large groups, I believe that it is important to gather in person whenever we can.” -Sue M

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Queries for the Week

(From online service)

·         Who allows me to vent my frustrations and struggles? Have I acknowledged my gratitude for their presence?

·         Since gratitude is a choice, where in my life do I need to choose gratitude over becoming bitter?

·         This week, how will I look for God to unveil hope in my life?

(From self-led guide)

·         How am I expressing my gratitude and thanks to God in this difficult time?

·         Where is gratitude transforming my openness and receptivity to people different than me?

·         To whom should I send a special written note or make a phone call to this week to let them know of my gratitude for them being a fit to my life?

Friend to Friend November 18, 2020

As Way Opens

This week, I came across a prayer of thanks I shared on social media back on November 17, 2011. Thanks to social media platforms, we can now go back and see what all was going on that very day – almost like reading a personal diary.

In November of 2011, our family was fairly new to Silverton, Oregon. On the 17th, the Christian school that was connected to our Meeting had their annual Thanksgiving Celebration. This included a “some-what” historical dramatization by the students and a following feast put on by the room mothers and fathers. Even though the stereotypes were running rampant as the mostly white students dressed as pilgrims and Native Americans filed into our gymnasium, the proud dad in me saw both of my boys with their crafty pilgrim hats and big smiles.

That day, as the pastor, I was asked by the principal to pray a Prayer of Thanksgiving for the families who had joined with their children for the Thanksgiving Feast. I prayed the prayer and later that day posted it on social media for me to find in 2020. People have always said, most prayers are universal and continue to speak to our condition. I am so glad I found this prayer again this week, as it clearly speaks to our current condition. May it help you center your gratitude and thanks this week in preparation for your Thanksgiving Feast!

To us, your children,

Mother and Father God, you have opened your hands and have shared with us the wonders of your world: sun and sky, leaf and flower, surf and shore.
 
In your grace, Mother and Father, you have given us one another. Into our keeping you have placed ourselves that, united in your love, we may mold your earth into a home for each and every person: where we may live in peace and share in the love that alone warms life and gives its meaning.

For this, all of these things both small and great, and for the greatness caught within the smallest of your creatures we thank you.

Mother and Father God, despite our best, our world is still weighted with sorrow: your sons and daughters still go hungry; your children take up the weapons of Cain against their brothers and sisters; we gouge the face of your world with greed and leave a wasteland where nothing, not even your children, may grow.

Keep us thankful, Mother and Father God, so that we may touch all things, and all people only with the delicacy of reverence and love. Keep us aware of the work, your work, that you have given into our hands. For only in your Spirit will your kingdom come, and that day shine when all people will see clearly that there is indeed reason for thanksgiving.

This, all of this, we ask in your Spirit, Amen.

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Bob

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Joys & Concerns

First Friends is very grateful to receive a scholarship from Western Yearly Meeting for our women’s virtual gathering. These gatherings have been very enriching, and we are thankful to receive this aid in this worthy endeavor!

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Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Reopening Task Force Report

At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.

In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Why Religion?: A Personal Story by Elaine Pagels. Why is religion still around in the twenty-first century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions. These questions took on a new urgency for Pagels when dealing with unimaginable loss—the death of her young son, followed a year later by the shocking loss of her husband. Here she interweaves a personal story with the work that she loves, illuminating how, for better and worse, religious traditions have shaped how we understand ourselves; how we relate to one another; and, most importantly, how to get through the most difficult challenges we face. (goodreads) Rhonda C will be leading the discussion via Zoom starting at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.

Thanksgiving Fellowship hour with Friends ~ Friends, many of us are unable to gather with our families in the same way this year. Let's gather for an online fellowship hour and sharing of thanks for those that are interested and able. Please join us and bring your own pie and/or coffee. It will be Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26 at 10:30am.

RSWR Stamp Program Newsletter ~ The stamp group here at First Friends has just released a new issue of their newsletter! If you’d like to view the newsletter, click here: https://bit.ly/StampNewsNov2020 As you may know, a group here at First Friends has been running this fundraiser program for Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) for some time now. If you’re interested in the stamp program, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Order Poinsettias and Fair-Trade Goodies! ~ This year we are offering poinsettias and various fair-trade foods/gifts—virtually! You are still welcome to buy a poinsettia in honor or in memory of a loved one. We will deliver your orders to you personally before Christmas!

The fair-trade co-op relies on a lot of churches and service organizations, so their business has declined, and this is a great opportunity to purchase treats and gifts for the holiday. Some of the funds for the purchase will go towards our youth group activities. You can browse https://shop.equalexchange.coop if you would like to order different items beyond what we normally offer.

6" Poinsettia pot - $8 (Red or White)
Coffee - $10 (Love Buzz, Hazelnut Creme, Breakfast Blend, Decaf)
Tea - $ 3.50
Chocolate $3.50 (lots of types)
Olive Oil - $12
Hot Cocoa - $5

If you’re interested, you can place an order at https://forms.gle/EtGaScUVKUCgt1du8. Payment can be made by sending a check to the office at 3030 Kessler Blvd E Dr, Indianapolis IN 46220, with the notation of "poinsettias" or "fair trade purchase"; or visit https://www.indyfriends.org/support to pay electronically. Under funds choose either "Flower Order" or "Fair trade food/gift order." Please place your order by December 9th. Happy Holidays!


Help Support First Friends This Holiday Season! ~ Every holiday season, First Friends Meeting conducts a pledge drive asking for financial support, and this year is no different. Even though the Meetinghouse is mostly closed at present, our major fixed expenses – staff/administration, building and grounds maintenance, and Christian education – are still in place. To help us plan for the new year, as you are able, please prayerfully consider how you can support the Meeting by filling out a 2021 pledge form. Click here to access a form online, or contact the office, 317-255-2485, for a pledge card to be mailed to you. We ask that you kindly return your pledge by Sunday, December 13. Additionally, if you have been a financial supporter of the Meeting this year, thank you!

First Friends Meeting has been a haven of peace, hope and love for more than 150 years. With your help, we look forward to beginning a bright new year together. To borrow from Dr. Seuss’s Christmas classic, let us move forward, “heart to heart and hand in hand.”

Free Books to a Good Home ~ A Friend would like to donate a free book(s) to anyone who might be interested. They are three D. Elton Trueblood books: “Alternative to Futility “(1948), “The Recovery of Family Life” (1953) and “The Common Ventures of Life” (1949). If you are interested in any of these books for your collection, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

The Holiday Season is almost here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.

Show Your First Friends Christmas Spirit ~ First Friends has “adopted” a family to help this Christmas. While the family would like to remain anonymous, we do have a little info to share about the family. There are 5 children and a mom. The kids are ages 14 (girl), 13 (girl), 12 (boy), 9 (girl), and 9 (boy). Rather than ask folks at First Friends to purchase gifts as we have done in the past, at this time we intend to provide gift cards for the kids and mom and possibly a few smaller gifts. Please contribute as you are led to help provide a very Merry Christmas for this family. Checks can be sent to the First Friends office with a notation of “Christmas Family” in the memo section. We may seek out a second family if enough monies are collected. We hope to finalize this fundraiser by the end of November so please consider making your donation at your earliest convenience. Thanks for your consideration.

Use our online directory for the holidays! This holiday season, we encourage you to use our online directory to get the most up-to-date addresses when you send out holiday cards. You can find the directory at https://mobiledirectory.lifetouch.com/318079/first-friends-church. This is the most current directory available, as addresses are kept updated according to the office’s most recent knowledge. Due to the pandemic, we will not be handing out physical copies of the directory this year, but we hope this online resource will serve you well!

Apartment available ~ North Meadow Circle of Friends presently has a one-bedroom apartment available on the second story of the Meeting House in downtown Indianapolis. They maintain an affordable housing intention. Monthly rent is $650 including heat/cool, water, electricity and WIFI access. parking may be designated. Since the apartment is accessed through public Meeting House space that often may have programmed activities, including live singing, etc., tenants must be socially prepared to co-inhabit such an environment. Alternatively, all the facilities of the Meeting House (Library, Kitchen, front and rear sitting porches, garden plot, compost toilet, etc.) are available to the tenant. Interested parties should contact David Duvall 317-260-0601 or by e-mail, dblantonduvall7811@gmail.com.

Advent Waiting: Clearing Space for New Life and Light ~ All are invited to “Advent Waiting,” a 3-session virtual gathering led by Sara Beth Terrell (leader of our current women’s gathering). This experience invites reflection on Advent themes in a year of waiting and uncertainty. Using contemplative prayer exercises, we will ask what we might learn from the dark places we’ve been as we anticipate the Light coming into our lives in new ways. The sessions will take place on December 1, 8 and 15 from 4-5:30 PM EST. The cost is $63, but scholarships are available upon request. For more information and to register, visit https://www.imaginingtheword.com/upcomingevents/advent-waiting. The Zoom link will be sent before the first session.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for November

Sandhill Crane – The Wise Traveler

Today would have been a perfect day to listen and look up! An absolutely clear blue sky was overhead, with a cool breeze from the north. What you are listening for is a call, variously described as “ga-roo” or “hah-akkkk” or a bugle trill or a far-off soft bark of a dog. If you hear something, glance up, and what you are looking for is a flock of Sandhill Cranes, with as many as 150 or more individuals flying in and behind a loosely organized V-pattern. They will not be in a tight V like geese, or as fast, but will usually be much higher, almost out-of-sight. You may see one flock directly overhead, and at the same time have more flocks behind and off to one side. In the fall they gather by the tens of thousands at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in NW Indiana, and then, from late October to early December, they leave in large groups heading toward the Texas coast. In groups this large, these huge birds seem to find safety in numbers.

Sandhill Cranes stand three and one-half feet tall and are mostly gray with red on the crown. Immatures are brown. In flight one can see their outstretched necks, and feet trailing behind their tails. They should not be confused with Great Blue Herons, which nest nearby us, although some call those birds “cranes”.

Several weeks ago, as I walked in our woods, I found two Swainson’s Thrushes in the bushes above the waterfall. They were sitting silently, side-by-side, watching my movement. I wondered if these two had come together, all the way from Canada. Perhaps, instead, they met here, in the woods, and recognized each other, like two Ball State grads who just happen to pull in beside each other at a rest area in Arkansas. Either way, their migration is less conspicuous than that of the cranes.

This time of year some of us start preparing our Christmas cards. I like the ones depicting the journey of the Wise Men to visit the Christ Child. Usually in fabulous colors, those cards show three men on three camels traveling alone through the desert. But can that be? Instead of being like the two thrushes, wouldn’t it have been more like the hundreds of sandhill cranes? I believe there were three huge entourages of wise men, their servants, and hirelings, with skills in cooking, defensive safety, and animal herding: travelers all moving through possibly-foreseen dangers, together, trying to reach their destination.                      

~Brad J

SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!

The Joy of Zoom ~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org. Thank you!

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Queries for the Week

(From online service)

• Where might I need to remove myself from the conversations, the news and social media, and even my own family members to become silent and center down?

• To whom in my life do I need to be more fully present?

• Who are the people in my life that make me laugh? How might I bring a little joy into someone’s life who needs the healing of humor?

• In what areas of my life, might I need to take a humbler position, allowing other perspectives to be heard?

(From self-led guide)

• How am I seeing the Image of God in my life and the lives of those around me?

• How in this polarized world am I finding ways to bring unity and peace?

• In what ways am I overwhelmed and feeling beyond my natural capacities? How might prayer and quiet meditation help me find strength and guidance?

Friend to Friend November 11, 2020

As Way Opens

Last Saturday afternoon I raked leaves and mulched my backyard and just before dark headed in with a feeling of completion and satisfaction. The lawn looked pristine and all the leaves that had been in my beds and on my driveway were gone. But before heading in I looked up above my garage and saw this tree that had a full head of hair of leaves! It was amazing to me that on November 7th after that wild windstorm we had 2 weeks ago, this tree was still hanging on to its leaves.

I usually consider the fall a time of release, of emptying myself, of letting go of all the things that I cling to. I am reminded every fall that the trees freely give away their leaves to nourish the ground and provide the cover for winter and the sustenance for the birth that will happen next spring. But here was this tree stubbornly clinging to its leaves. And I reflected on the idea that sometimes we need to just hang on. Even when we don’t know outcomes, have become discouraged and impatient, we just need to hang on and ask God to give us strength to do just that. This certainly speaks to my condition of a pandemic that continues to expand, uncertainties in the election process and fear about our current political situation. I have decided I am going to hang onto my leaves and be patient, be strong and unwavering and know that as Julian of Norwich has said “All will be well”.

I pray that you may also hang on this week and the upcoming weeks. Of course, at some point we all have to let go of our leaves and that has started to happen in my backyard. Here are some pictures this morning of my yard full of leaves everywhere. The work goes on!

Beth

Joys & Concerns

Thank you to our Mid-North Food Pantry volunteers last week: Virginia and Derek S, Bill and Kathy F, Linda and Rik L, Ruth K, Barbara O, David B, Penny P, Christie M, Phil G, and Carol and Jim D. In addition to the regular First Friends volunteer days on the first and third Weds. of each month, several of the First Friends volunteers are now volunteering on Monday mornings to assemble bags of food for distribution. Thanks to all the First Friends volunteers. 85 families were served on Weds. last week. A special thanks to Derek Snell for lending his mechanical skills to the assembly of an outdoor tower heater for the pantry in anticipation of the upcoming cold weather. If you are interested in helping at the pantry, contact Jim D.

Thanks to the Weed Wrangling team, we wrestled out huge honeysuckle shrubs that were woven together with grapevines, as well as several garbage bags of ivy that crowded out all of the native wildflowers. While we love native plants, we do discriminate against native poison ivy and greenbriar, so they also went into the trash heap.

Our next-door neighbor approved of the removal of the honeysuckle just over the property line and the addition of two blackhaw viburnums instead.

We received a nice thank you note from the executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. Our contribution came from the proceeds of the Howard Taylor fund and is supporting folks like Paula Brooks and others on tangible work for economic justice issues. Such as working to block a polluting factory from being sited in an African American neighborhood with a childcare center and a school blocks away. What a legacy to Howard that this fund supports worthy not-for-profits working for real change in our communities.

Tailgate Party Goes Into Overtime

Last Saturday’s Tailgate Party, planned by Connections, continued for an hour overtime. People were not ready to end the pleasant evening of clear skies and perfect temperatures. Friends played hoops, corn hole and a marshmallow toss game. Leeann and Jackie wowed everyone with their basketball prowess. Aaron put up a volleyball net and we had a badminton set. Frisbees and a dodge ball were available. Prizes were given for superior performance—well, that’s sort of the story.* The real story is we had a lot of fun while wearing masks and staying socially distanced.

In the beginning a sleeping baby arrived, a curious husky with ice blue eyes surveyed the scene and men roasted brats because a man’s meal means more that roasting hot dogs. OK, getting carried away but I was inspired by the attenders. People brought their own sack meals and Amy pitched in s’more kits which we were not expecting. There were snacks and bottles of water.

Jesse sang Dylan’s “Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” with his soft, smooth voice. He accompanied himself with Jim’s traveling guitar. (I had never heard of one either. It is small with a long neck.) A speaker system and playlist provided by Jim entertained the crowd. Jerry Henricks’ spirit was among us as we feasted our eyes on his photography and took home some original Jerry postcards.

The living and the remembered gathered together in spirit and in person to enjoy a rare, treasured November day—a respite from times of isolation in one tremendously baffling year. Thank you everyone who helped and all those who partook in the pleasures of the party.

*Prizes: Linda, first adventurer to roast wieners; Jackie, 3 hoops at basketball; Leeann, marshmallow and basketball baskets; Mike, marshmallow baskets; Robin, corn hole bags pocketed (he spreads out beans evenly for a better shot); Bob, name that tune; Amy, name that tune; Jan, best form of transportation to event (bike); Carrie, name that tune; Nancy, name that tune; Mindy and Paul, unsolicited volunteers for clean-up (or were they stealing benches ;)?) and Mary and David for last to arrive and a trivia question.

Prayer: God thank you for blessings of laughter and good times. Thank you for work, play and beautiful days. Thank you for the changing of the seasons and all of the transitions to which we adapt. Thank you for being with us and for us. Thank you that there is always more to learn and thank you for Your patience in teaching us through Your love. Amen. ~Nancy

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Small Groups and Building Use. As a reminder to the First Friends community, as of Oct. 1 the Meetinghouse has been open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.

Free Green Team Training ~ The singing frog was wrong - it IS easy being green! Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light invites you on November 11th at 6:00pm for a fun and informative workshop to find out how to create or expand a green team in your congregation. There will be much work to do in the next four years regardless of the outcome of the elections. All people of faith need to act together now with a sense of urgency. Learn about the faith bases of creation care and the supporting science and messaging. Discuss the typical challenges faced when starting or developing a green team, and ways to turn them into opportunities. It's free and easy to sign up, to find out more and register visit https://hoosieripl.salsalabs.org/greenteamtrainingnovember112020/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=33a22090-85ad-412d-8de1-3705e86998c4

Are these yours? Nancy had some hot dog skewers at the Tailgate Party that someone may have mistaken for theirs. The missing pair have rectangular block handles. Please contact Nancy to arrange an exchange.

The Holiday Season is almost here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.

Show Your First Friends Christmas Spirit ~ First Friends has “adopted” a family to help this Christmas. While the family would like to remain anonymous, we do have a little info to share about the family. There are 5 children and a mom. The kids are ages 14 (girl), 13 (girl), 12 (boy), 9 (girl), and 9 (boy). Rather than ask folks at First Friends to purchase gifts as we have done in the past, at this time we intend to provide gift cards for the kids and mom and possibly a few smaller gifts. Please contribute as you are led to help provide a very Merry Christmas for this family. Checks can be sent to the First Friends office with a notation of “Christmas Family” in the memo section. We may seek out a second family if enough monies are collected. We hope to finalize this fundraiser by the end of November so please consider making your donation at your earliest convenience. Thanks for your consideration.

To Zoom or Not to Zoom or The Zooming Experience ~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org. Thank you!

Apartment available ~ North Meadow Circle of Friends presently has a one-bedroom apartment available on the second story of the Meeting House in downtown Indianapolis. They maintain an affordable housing intention. Monthly rent is $650 including heat/cool, water, electricity and WIFI access. parking may be designated. Since the apartment is accessed through public Meeting House space that often may have programmed activities, including live singing, etc., tenants must be socially prepared to co-inhabit such an environment. Alternatively, all the facilities of the Meeting House (Library, Kitchen, front and rear sitting porches, garden plot, compost toilet, etc.) are available to the tenant. Interested parties should contact David Duvall 317-260-0601 or by e-mail, dblantonduvall7811@gmail.com.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for November

Sandhill Crane – The Wise Traveler

Today would have been a perfect day to listen and look up! An absolutely clear blue sky was overhead, with a cool breeze from the north. What you are listening for is a call, variously described as “ga-roo” or “hah-akkkk” or a bugle trill or a far-off soft bark of a dog. If you hear something, glance up, and what you are looking for is a flock of Sandhill Cranes, with as many as 150 or more individuals flying in and behind a loosely organized V-pattern. They will not be in a tight V like geese, or as fast, but will usually be much higher, almost out-of-sight. You may see one flock directly overhead, and at the same time have more flocks behind and off to one side. In the fall they gather by the tens of thousands at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in NW Indiana, and then, from late October to early December, they leave in large groups heading toward the Texas coast. In groups this large, these huge birds seem to find safety in numbers.

Sandhill Cranes stand three and one-half feet tall, and are mostly gray with red on the crown. Immatures are brown. In flight one can see their outstretched necks, and feet trailing behind their tails. They should not be confused with Great Blue Herons, which nest nearby us, although some call those birds “cranes”.

Several weeks ago as I walked in our woods, I found two Swainson’s Thrushes in the bushes above the waterfall. They were sitting silently, side-by-side, watching my movement. I wondered if these two had come together, all the way from Canada. Perhaps, instead, they met here, in the woods, and recognized each other, like two Ball State grads who just happen to pull in beside each other at a rest area in Arkansas. Either way, their migration is less conspicuous than that of the cranes.

This time of year some of us start preparing our Christmas cards. I like the ones depicting the journey of the Wise Men to visit the Christ Child. Usually in fabulous colors, those cards show three men on three camels traveling alone through the desert. But can that be? Instead of being like the two thrushes, wouldn’t it have been more like the hundreds of sandhill cranes? I believe there were three huge entourages of wise men, their servants, and hirelings, with skills in cooking, defensive safety, and animal herding: travelers all moving through possibly-foreseen dangers, together, trying to reach their destination.                       ~Brad Jackson

Advent Waiting: Clearing Space for New Life and Light ~ All are invited to “Advent Waiting,” a 3-session virtual gathering led by Sara Beth Terrell (leader of our current women’s gathering). This experience invites reflection on Advent themes in a year of waiting and uncertainty. Using contemplative prayer exercises, we will ask what we might learn from the dark places we’ve been as we anticipate the Light coming into our lives in new ways. The sessions will take place on December 1, 8 and 15 from 4-5:30 PM EST. The cost is $63, but scholarships are available upon request. For more information and to register, visit https://www.imaginingtheword.com/upcomingevents/advent-waiting. The Zoom link will be sent before the first session.

Queries for the Week

(From online service)

·       How might I see the struggles and sufferings in my life as a vehicle for bringing resurrection (new life)?

·       What relationships do I need to nurture so that I can experience the Divine more fully in my life?

·       What concerns, convicts, and is calling me to love wastefully in the present moment?

(From self-led guide)

·           Do you automatically rush to sort things out and fix them?

·           Are you learning instead to listen and wait?

·           Are you desirous of “good powerlessness?”