Friend to Friend March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021

As Way Opens

I feel an energy in the air as springtime is about to burst forth upon us. I came to the Meeting yesterday and this Star Magnolia tree takes my breath away every year. I took my lunch out to the meditational woods and listened to the gentle breeze, the running water and saw the promise of flowers and buds on trees. The trees were whispering to me almost but not yet. I know I feel this excitement every year for spring, but this year is special. The darkness of the winter, the barren land and the months of staying indoors, has made this spring and its promise sweeter than ever. It's the hope and promise of a resurrection and liberation for all of us. Creation beckons to us almost but not yet.

I was moved by this poem by Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier -

I read each misty mountain sign,

I know the voice of wave and pine,

And I am yours and ye are mine.

Life’s burdens fall, its discords cease, I lapse into the glad release Of Nature’s own exceeding peace

May we feel a sense of God’s peace as we rest in the bounty of Creation this week and celebrate resurrection today, tomorrow, Easter Sunday and every day.

Beth

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Zoom Updates ~ Please note there will be no Sunday School (for children or for adults) on Easter Sunday, April 4. Similarly, there will be no online Fellowship hour. We hope instead to see your smiling faces at our in-person Easter service that day!!

Easter Sunday In-Person Service! – We are excited to share that we will be holding an outdoor service at the Meetinghouse grounds on Easter Sunday, April 4th at 10:15! It will be held on the front lawn. We will have a canopy set up and plan to meet, rain or shine, unless terribly bad weather shows up (though please be sure to dress for the weather). Any relevant updates will be posted to our Facebook page or you can check your email (or contact the office to sign up for text alerts). Please bring a lawn chair for yourself to use if you are able (some chairs will also be provided). Shawn Porter will be playing the organ from inside the meetinghouse 15 minutes before the service, so come early if you’d like to hear him play! We will also hold our traditional Easter egg hunt for the children. We will have Easter flowers for decoration, which will be available for people to take home afterward (feel free to leave a donation of $8 per potted flower, if you feel so led).

Please note we will have the following safety precautions in place:

· Face masks must be worn by everyone including children ages 2 and up

· Social distancing

· No congregational singing (but there will be musical performances)

· No building access except for restrooms

· 1 person allowed in each restroom at a time

· There will be no Easter brunch or food service

· No formal Fellowship Hour

· No childcare provided

For those who would like to continue to join us virtually, we will also offer our usual online video premiere on our YouTube channel as we do every week at 10:15. However, there will be no virtual Sunday School in the morning nor Zoom Fellowship Hour following the service. We hope that these choices will allow you to join us for Easter Sunday in the way that is most comfortable to you and your family. Either way, we hope you will worship with us that day!

Friendly Reminder from Trustees and Maintenance Committees- Please refrain from planting trees, shrubs, flowers, etc., around the grounds unless approved in writing from Trustees and Maintenance Committees. We need to responsibly manage what is presently planted on the property. Please help us by working together to responsibly and safely maintain the grounds.

Meditational Woods manages the wooded property to the east of the Meetinghouse.

The Community Garden group (Samantha Ryan and Nancy Scott) oversees the small gardens in the north lot.

Thank you for helping us manage the property.

Youth Group Meetup ~ Youth Group will be meeting in person at the Meetinghouse grounds on Sunday, April 11th for an outdoor picnic and games. Please mark your calendars, and contact Beth if you’re interested in joining! office@indyfriends.org.

First Friends Bible Study ~ A new session of the First Friends Bible study will kick off on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 pm. We'll study the 13-lesson book Christ as Present Teacher: Learning to Love, in the Barclay Press Illuminate series. The class meets by Zoom. All are welcome to join or drop in to see what the class is like. If you have questions, or are interested, contact the First Friends office: office@indyfriends.org.

All are invited to an upcoming Spirit & Place online event! The Spirit & Place Festival holds dozens of "never-seen-before" programs. Artists and authors, entrepreneurs and neighborhood organizers, storytellers and scholars come together with singles and couples, families and friends in a true community conversation. You’re invited to their online event, Living Stories: An Evening with Dr. Elaine Pagels on April 16 at 6:30pm. Dr. Pagels will be helping Spirit & Place bridge its past and current themes -- Origins & Change -- by joining Dr. Maria Hamilton Abegunde in conversation that explores how nothing about religion, its meaning, or purpose is static. With every generation, the stories, traditions, and practices held dear by many, change in some way. New discoveries, questions, and perspectives open a world of possibility on how we understand the nature of religion. Religious studies scholar and best-selling author Dr. Elaine Pagels has spent her career examining not only the origins of (Western) religious traditions and how they shape our understanding of ourselves, but also the necessity of re-interpreting these sacred stories so that they might continue to help us in challenging times. Find more information on Spirit and Place’s 2021 festival here: https://spiritandplace.org/Festival.aspx?access=Year. If you’re interested in this event, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-stories-an-evening-with-elaine-pagels-presented-by-spirit-place-tickets-136829886875.

Questions from a student ~ A Butler student is looking for a Quaker who can take just a few moments to answer a short 5-question interview about religious tolerance for a class. If you would like to take a few minutes to answer some questions through email, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Mid North Food Pantry ~ First Friends will kick off its annual Mid North Food Pantry fundraiser on Easter Sunday. If you plan to attend the Easter service in person, please bring a can or two of soup and/or vegetables to the service to demonstrate the support First Friends has for the pantry. Since Mid North is able to purchase food at a much lower cost than you can, you can show your real support for the pantry by making a financial contribution to the pantry. Checks should be made out to First Friends (with a note “food pantry” in the memo section) and sent to First Friends no later than April 18. Or, you can also donate online on our secure website at https://www.indyfriends.org/support and choose the “Mid-North Food Pantry” fund. Or you can donate via text by texting PANTRY to 317-768-0303. Thank you for your consideration.

Spring Greetings from the Woods ~ Plants are emerging from their winter sleep. We have a few wildflowers peeking up through the fallen leaves such as bloodroot and Dutchman’s breeches. Trillium and trout lilies may be next. Hopefully, we will be able to increase the number of spring wildflowers, or ephemerals, as we remove more and more invasive plants.

On Friday, we had a small Woods crew of Mindy Sommer, Brenda Rodeheffer, Nancy Scott, Mary Blackburn and Terry Trierweiler work on the courtyard to get it ready for our first in-person worship service on Easter Sunday. Terry has saved the seeds of coneflower and black-eyed Susans for the children. The Annabelle hydrangea, Little Henry sweetspire, dwarf oak leaf hydrangea and Tiny Wine ninebark shrubs are sending out new shoots. We have a cluster of Tiny Wine ninebark shrubs in the northeast corner of the courtyard that were donated by Helen Davenport’s family. The Davenport family has a tradition of planting a shrub in memory of a loved one. Look for the white blossoms appearing in April and May and think of our dear Helen.

We plan to work every Thursday morning from 10- 12 noon to remove invasives and perform other maintenance. Look for the new spicebushes that will be planted this week in the wet northeast corner.

Get Ready for the City Nature Challenge!

For the fifth year, Indiana Sciences and a coalition of partners are challenging Indianapolis residents and surrounding communities to stay connected with the urban wildlife around them by becoming citizen scientists. People of all ages are encouraged to participate in the “social distancing edition” of the 2021 global City Nature Challenge from April 30 – May 3, 2021.

If you’d like to create a First Friends Nature Team, please contact Mary Blackburn.

For more information about the program, click here.

Do you have extra Tee Shirts that you’ve worn out or outgrown? I’ve just learned about a company that recycles old Tee Shirts into new fibers to create new clothing. You can get $5 credit per T-shirt, up to $25 credit. If you’re interested, check out MarineLayer: Respun https://www.marinelayer.com/pages/respun-2020

Earth Day is coming April 22, 2021. Think about something that you can do to love God’s creation. Is it planting the right native tree in the right place in your yard? Is it cutting down on plastic use in your daily life? Is it turning off your lights when you leave the room?

Send your suggestions for loving the Earth and we’ll post them here in the Woods section of F2F.

Coronavirus Vaccine Age Limit Now 16 and up! The Indiana State Department of Health has now lowered the age threshold for Covid vaccines to 45 and up. If you’d like to sign up, please visit https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/.

College Care packages - It is time to send care packages to our college students as they prepare for their exams at school. This time, rather than having you drop off your donations at the meetinghouse, we are asking for financial contributions. The First Friends office will use the funds to fill boxes for the students with goodies like candy, cookies, cards, and other treats. There are a number of ways to send your support—you can mail a donation to the office with the notation “college packages”; donate via our secure giving portal at https://www.indyfriends.org/support and choose the “college care packages” fund; or text COLLEGE to 317-768-0303. Please get donations in by Friday, April 16. Thank you for your support!

Reopening Task Force Report. The most recent Reopening Task Force March report is available here, with details about ventilation in Fellowship Hall. 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. Additionally, the Ministry and Counsel Committee is working on plans for outdoors Meeting for Worship to take place Easter Sunday, April 4.

Other updates:

· Groups of up to 30 people may now meet in Fellowship Hall, with the same safety criteria and assumption of responsibility as smaller groups. Groups using Fellowship Hall will need to be trained to operate fans and switches, as well as shown how to open and reclose/relock the windows, to maximize ventilation. Training sessions can be coordinated through the office.

· Three listening sessions for the full meeting to discuss issues related to reopening have taken place. Non-pastoral members of the Reopening Task Force were not in attendance, but will be receiving a follow-up report.

Woods Workday Notice ~ It seems that the weather has given us an “April Fool” – so we will meet in the woods on Friday morning as it should be a bit warmer. If you’d like to help take care of the Meditational Woods, please join us on Friday, or any other workday (Thursdays 10am-12pm)!

Bread for the World Zoom Event ~ On Tuesday, April 20, Bread for the World will host a Zoom event, Feeding Our Economy: Food Security. Good for Business. This zoom will feature four speakers: Dr. Heather Eicher-Miller from Purdue University Department of Nutrition Science, Eric Halvorson from Kroger Corporation, Michelle Hummel, Organizational Effectiveness Consultant and former WIC staff member, and Senator Mike Braun, to address food security/hunger issues.

Hunger affects us all, either directly or indirectly. Children who are hungry can’t focus or reach their potential. Workers are less productive. Combined, our overall economy is threatened. More importantly, there is enough food for everyone; we just need to get it to those who are hungry because this is what caring people do for each other.

Bread for the World (https://www.bread.org/) is “a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decisions makers to end hunger at home and abroad. Moved by God’s grace in Jesus Christ, we advocate for a world without hunger.” Keeping informed about national legislation that involves hunger-related issues, BFW members contact members of Congress to advocate for the hungry among us and worldwide. This Zoom event, with the goal of 350 people participating, will educate us about food issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and will demonstrate our commitment to finding solutions.

There is a strong contingent of workers from First Friends who volunteer weekly at the Mid-North food pantry. These people know the fine line that so many people tread to have food to sustain them. With hundreds of pantries like Mid-North in Indiana and nationwide along with the legislative work that BFW advocates, hunger can be eliminated.

Please consider attending this free Zoom event and register at this link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/feeding-our-economy-tickets-141487076655

If you have any questions regarding the event or about Bread for the World, you can contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

· What “crowd type” would I most identify with, currently? (Curious, Confused, Pretender, Opposer, or Committed)

· How will I commit

…to promote the engagement of the curious.

…to provide clarity and education to the confused.

…to expose the pretending and embrace authenticity.

…to transform the opposers and seek unity.

…and to commit to the work of Christ and to the integration of our lives for the benefit of one another?

(From self-led guide)

· Do I let Jesus accept me for who I am, “dirty feet” and all? Who are the people in my life whose “feet” need to be washed?

· Do I recognize the difference between Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God vs. the kingdom and powers of this world?

Comment

Friend to Friend March 24, 2021

March 24, 2021

As Way Opens

A few years ago, I heard George Takei (a.k.a. Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise on the original television series, Star Trek) speak about his family’s imprisonment in US camps during World War II. He was taken prisoner at the age of five with his baby brother, sister and their parents in California. They were not charged with espionage or any other crime, instead, his family, along with approximately 120,000 other Japanese Americans, were placed in camps solely because of their Japanese ethnicity.

Takei’s story highlighted another aspect of our country’s deep systemic racism. This legacy of racism and anti-Asian xenophobia reared its “ugly head” again this week in Atlanta with the targeting and killing of six Asian women. Sadly, we have been seeing an increase in the number of Asian hate crimes around allegations that Asians are at fault for the Coronavirus. This is reminiscent of the widespread targeting of the Muslim community after 9/11.

As Quakers who will be discussing our distinctives of Community and Equality in the coming weeks, and who are called to Speak Truth to Power and speak up against racism where it is found, I would like to offer us these helpful suggestions from American Friends Service Committee (https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/how-to-respond-to-coronavirus-racism) on how to respond to Coronavirus Racism, specifically. They have narrowed it down to a four-step process – Interrupt, Question, Educate, and Echo.

Interrupt

Interrupting means taking a time out. It shows the person you’re talking, texting or chatting with that what they’ve said is important enough to pause your conversation to address—that you need to talk about the racism before you talk about anything else. Here are a few phrases to try: “Hang on. I want to go back to what you called the virus.”
“Just a second—let’s get into your point that the virus is somebody’s fault.” “Before we talk about that, I want to talk about the language you just used.”

Question

We’re all familiar with “questions” that are really warnings: What did you just say to me? or Are you really going to do that? But in this context, the goal of questioning really is to better understand why the person said what they did. You might ask: “Why did you call it the ‘Chinese Coronavirus’?” “Why do you think that?” “Where did you get that information?”

One note: Asking someone to explain why a racist joke is funny is a great way to stop them from making racist jokes to you again. But if you want to have a real discussion about what they’ve said, it might work better to ask something like, “What made you say that?”

Educate

The key to educating is to continue the conversation. The goal here isn’t to just provide facts about the topic generally to the person you’re talking to with, but to explain why what they’ve said needs rethinking. That means that, to educate folks around racism associated with the coronavirus, we need to understand not only the virus but also the racism. For example, you might explain that it’s actually not common anymore to name a disease after its place of origin, that there’s a long, bad history of associating diseases with specific groups of people and that the name COVID-19 was chosen very carefully to avoid repeating those mistakes.

If someone doesn’t understand why a comment they made was racist, you can educate them about the long history of stereotyping immigrants—and Asian people, specifically —as people who bring disease. You can explain how this stereotype is both wrong and harmful. And if someone tries to play down racist phrases as “just a joke,” you can educate them about the discrimination and racism many Asian-American/Pacific Island folks are facing right now, so they better understand the impact of their words.

Echo

It takes an effort to speak up against racist ideas and language. This is particularly true of people who are targeted by that language. That’s why we need to have each other’s backs. When someone else speaks up, echo them. Thank them and emphasize or amplify their message any way you can. This not only encourages more speaking up—it also ensures that no one thinks your silence in response to biased ideas or language means you’re OK with it. Of course, echoing is harder while we’re social distancing, but there are many ways to do it. Online, we can re-share antiracist messages. And in chats or conversations, we can respond to offer support and agreement.

If we all commit to interrupting, questioning, educating and echoing to fight racist rhetoric, we can start making our communities safer and healthier today.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Update on Redistricting Meetings

Virtual public meetings by the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Committee continue this week and through the end of March. The ICRC is a model redistricting body established by the All IN for Democracy coalition, of which the Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation is a member. At public hearings around the state, it is listening to what citizens have to say about how to make redistricting by the Indiana legislature fairer and more reflective of our state’s electorate. The public input will be the basis of a report the ICRC will present to the legislature, advocating for a more open and transparent map-drawing process.

Want your vote to count for the next decade? Register for at least one of the remaining meetings. If you can’t attend the meeting scheduled for your congressional district, feel free to register for another. Upcoming meetings are:

March 30, 7-9 p.m. – Congressional District 2

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Hundreds of Hoosiers have already spoken up by attending the first three ICRC meetings earlier this month. Join them in letting your legislators know you expect a fairer process and better maps this year. Contact Phil Goodchild (goodch713@aol.com; 317-790-9054) with any questions. Thank you.

Joys & Concerns

Many thanks to our Mid-North Food Pantry Volunteers! Virginia and Derek S; Linda and Rik L; Kathy and Bill F; Phil G; Penny P; Christie M; Barbara O; Ruth K; Corrine I; Mara S; and Jim D. Thanks to our First Friends volunteers and all who monetarily contribute to the pantry to enable the pantry to serve those in need.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Woods Workday CANCELLED ~ Friends, due to the weather forecast, the Woods Workday scheduled for tomorrow, March 25th has been cancelled. We hope you will consider joining us for another workday, held every Thursday in April.

Reopening Listening Sessions

Friends, as you may know, we have a Reopening Task Force that has been working diligently and considering many factors, including the recommendations of the CDC and infectious disease experts, to make an informed recommendation to Monthly Meeting for Business about when and how to reopen First Friends for in-person worship and activities. Before the Task Force makes its recommendation on this important decision, it wants to hear from, and take into account, the thoughts of our Friends.

To that end, various members of the Reopening Task Force, Connections Committee, and Ministry and Counsel met and decided to host three Listening Sessions, open to any interested Friends, during which we will ask for your thoughts on four queries. The Listening Sessions will be facilitated by Carl Butler and recorded by Beth Henricks. Carl and Beth will listen, consolidate your feedback, and provide it to the Reopening Task Force.

The four queries will be:

1. What would make you feel safe in order to return to the Meetinghouse for worship and activities?

2. We see from the listening demographics of our streaming worship services that there is interest in First Friends beyond the Indianapolis area. After the pandemic, should we consider ways to continue providing our worship services virtually, in addition to in person?

3. After the pandemic, to what extent, if any, should we invest in technology that would make it convenient for Friends to attend virtual meetings and activities that take place at the Meetinghouse?

4. What have we learned during this pandemic that might help First Friends be better prepared for any future situation where we are unable to, for an extended period of time, meet in person?

These sessions are not designed to debate these queries or make decisions; rather, they will provide opportunities for you to be heard and to listen to your fellow Friends in an open and safe forum. We have scheduled the following dates and times:

Thursday March 25, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Sunday March 28, from 11:00 am-Noon (replacing normal fellowship hour)
Sunday March 28, from 5:00-6:00 pm

To make sure everyone has an opportunity to be heard, we are limiting these Listening Sessions to these particular queries, but, if you have other thoughts, please do not hesitate to communicate them to the office. We will make sure they are brought to the Reopening Task Force as well.

If you would like to participate in one of these Listening Sessions, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485 with your name, email address, and preferred time. Before your chosen session, the office will send you a link to the Zoom conference. We encourage you all to participate in one of these sessions and look forward to seeing you there!

Sunday School Updates ~ Please note there will be no Seeking Friends Sunday School class this coming Palm Sunday (March 28). Also, there will be no Sunday School at all (for children and adults) on Easter Sunday, April 4. We hope instead to see your smiling faces at our in-person Easter service that day!!

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss My Family and Other Animals (The Corfu Trilogy Book One) by Gerald Durrell ~ When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell’s family’s experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 led by Nancy S. Contact the office at office@indyfriends.org for the Zoom info.

From the Library ~

Reminiscences of Levi Coffin - Abridged and Edited by Ben Richmond

Fascinating stories of escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad. The well edited stories are taken from the journals of Levi Coffin. They read like a good novel, displaying great cleverness in diverting and tricking the slave hunters, narrow escapes, dramatic rescues, physical hardship and immense courage. For those of us who have visited the Levi Coffin home the book will be especially interesting.

Pendle Hill Pamphlets

Beneath the shelf where the newer books stand is a collection of these pamphlets. Since 1934 Pendle Hill has expanded understanding of Quaker life and witness through these pamphlets. Each publication arises from the writer’s spiritual experience, religious concern, or special knowledge of an important contemporary theme. You will find brief, substantial writings by authors including Parker Palmer, Howard Thurman, Simone Weil, John Yungblut, Sandra Cronk, Fritz Eichenberg, Thomas Kelly, Paul Lacey, and Martin Buber. For more information see the Pendle Hill website from whence this information has been copied.

Silent Meeting for Worship Now Also in the Parlor~ Starting Monday, March 22nd, Friends will return to meeting in the parlor for Silent Worship, Meditation and Un-Programmed Worship. Appropriate social distancing and face covering is required. A laptop with the zoom will be available simultaneously to interact with Friends from home. The option to worship via Zoom is still available; those on Zoom will join those in the Parlor virtually. If you’d like the Zoom links, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Coronavirus Vaccine Age Limit Now 40! The Indiana State Department of Health has now lowered the age threshold for Covid vaccines to 45 and up. If you’d like to sign up, please visit https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/.

Please consider attending this free Zoom event and register at this link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/feeding-our-economy-tickets-141487076655

If you have any questions regarding the event or about Bread for the World, you can contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Reopening Task Force Report. The Reopening Task Force March report as of March 16 is available here, to be presented at Monthly Meeting on Sunday. 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. Additionally, the Ministry and Counsel Committee is working on plans for outdoors Meeting for Worship to take place Easter Sunday, April 4.

New developments:

· Groups of up to 30 people may now meet in Fellowship Hall, with the same safety criteria and assumption of responsibility as smaller groups. For ventilation purposes, groups will need to be trained to operate fans and switches, as well as shown how to open and close/relock the windows. Training sessions can be coordinated through the office.

· Listening sessions for the full meeting to discuss issues related to reopening are being planned, as detailed below. So that participants will feel comfortable speaking their views, non-pastoral members of the Reopening Task Force will not be in attendance, but are to receive a follow-up report.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for March

Brown Creeper – Quiet and Dependable

Every Saturday morning my wife and I go grocery shopping. We arrive at the same hour each visit, and, half-way through, notice the same woman filling the spice rack. We always say, “Good morning,” to her, and she always returns the greeting in her quiet way. We may or may not buy cinnamon or Old Bay, but it will be there, if needed, because she does her job. You may know someone at First Friends like that…quiet and dependable.

This month’s selection, the Brown Creeper, is so inconspicuous that most folks would walk right past it. You might see one in our woods anytime from October through April, but March is especially good. It is known for its whisper-like “see-it” call, and its song, “see-did-uh see-you” is infrequently heard during migration. Dependable? Yes! This month go into a woods with mature trees, and watch for a chickadee-sized bird creeping up the side of a tree. It may go straight up, or spiral up. When it gets to the crown, it will likely fly down to the bottom of a nearby tree and begin creeping up that one. On its vertical trip, it is looking in the grooves of the bark for insect eggs and spider eggs or perhaps small caterpillars hidden for the winter. Our cottonwood, hackberry, and black cherry trees are favorite food sources for the creeper.

If you are lucky enough to find a nest (perhaps at Ft. Harrison State Park or further north), it will be inside a curl of bark that has come loose from the tree, but is still attached.

So take a silent, long look for a Brown Creeper this month. One will be there, you can depend on it! ~Brad J

Comment

Friend to Friend March 17, 2021

March 17, 2021

As Way Opens

As we continue to honor important women in our history during Women’s History Month, I want to highlight another spiritual hero of mine, Saint Teresa of Avila. I had heard her name before seminary but spent some time studying her life and reading her classic book, The Interior Castle. She was part of an important movement throughout the Universal or Catholic Church’s history, the voice of reform from monastic groups. Throughout the Church history, there has been a tension with tradition and an established organization versus a voice of reform and reimagining. Usually, the voice for reform comes from within the Church as individuals and groups become disillusioned with the deadness of the life of the Church and its leaning to those in power to determine its direction and mission. The monastic groups are one group that removed themselves from the established Church and gathered in monasteries, convents and small groups to pray, live a devoted life of simplicity and community and seek the direct experience of Christ.

Saint Teresa of Avila is an example of one such voice. She was a mystic, reformer and became a religious leader all while working within the patriarchal system of the time as well as the shadow of the violence of the Inquisition. She and John of the Cross (Dark Night of the Soul) founded convents and monasteries throughout Spain, dedicated to the uncompromising spiritual principles of their reform. Just before her death her order the Discalced Carmelites were finally sanctioned as an official Order of the Catholic Church. She made contributions to the Church through her writings. She was a great example of how to live a life of devotion to God. She experienced the embodiment and incarnation of Christ and wrote about the experience in The Interior Castle. The book outlines the seven mansions that she moved through introducing us to a prayer practice to bring us into the intimacy of God. Her writings challenged the lack of passion and the stale nature of Catholic worship as well as a lack of devotion in the life of the Church and its impact on society during the 1500’s during which she lived (1515 to 1582). In the introduction of the translation of this book by Mirabai Starr, she describes this process of prayer and intimacy as a process to “Put away the incense and forget the incantations they taught you. Ask no permission from the authorities. Slip away. Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home. Listen. Softly, softly, the One you love is calling.”

This sounds pretty Quakerly to me. I encourage you to check out this book and learn about Saint Teresa of Avila. And that we take time this week to follow our breath to the still place that brings us into communion with Christ.

Beth

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Update on Redistricting Meetings

March 18, 6-8 p.m. (Central Time) -- Congressional District 8

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_euCRCwNkR8Kb2V_vmXxkEQ

March 23, 7-9 p.m. -- Congressional District 4

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1_Tn9F59Rj2zT5TBPXEu0Q

March 30, 7-9 p.m. – Congressional District 2

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Ministry & Counsel Minute of Love and Appreciation ~ Friends, please click here to read a recent minute from Ministry & Counsel, rejoicing in the presence of all within our Meeting community!

New developments:

· Groups of up to 30 people may now meet in Fellowship Hall, with the same safety criteria and assumption of responsibility as smaller groups. For ventilation purposes, groups using Fellowship Hall will need to be trained to operate fans and switches, as well as shown how to open and close/relock the windows. Training sessions can be coordinated through the office.

Reopening Listening Sessions

The four queries will be:

1. What would make you feel safe in order to return to the Meetinghouse for worship and activities?

3. After the pandemic, to what extent, if any, should we invest in technology that would make it convenient for Friends to attend virtual meetings and activities that take place at the Meetinghouse?

4. What have we learned during this pandemic that might help First Friends be better prepared for any future situation where we are unable to, for an extended period of time, meet in person?

Thursday March 25, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Sunday March 28, from 11:00 am-Noon (replacing normal fellowship hour)
Sunday March 28, from 5:00-6:00 pm

If you would like to participate in one of these Listening Sessions, please contact the office with your name, email address, and preferred time. Before your chosen session, the office will send you a link to the Zoom conference. We encourage you all to participate in one of these sessions and look forward to seeing you there!

First Friends Friday Singalong!! Warm up your voices and break out your tambourines because it's time for another virtual singalong with your hosts Jim, Jesse, and Matthew. Watch the premiere on Friday, March 19, 7:00-7:30pm. Of course, if you miss us at 7, you can watch the video at any time immediately afterward. We hope you will join us on Youtube! https://youtu.be/AzjNHIYHMf0

Silent Meeting for Worship Now Also in the Parlor ~ Starting Monday, March 22nd, Friends will return to meeting in the parlor for Silent Worship, Meditation and Un-Programmed Worship. Appropriate social distancing and face covering is required. A laptop with the zoom will be available simultaneously to interact with Friends from home. The option to worship via Zoom is still available; those on Zoom will join those in the Parlor virtually. Please contact the office if you would like to join on Zoom, or feel free to stop by the building at the start time if you want to join us in person!

FWCC, Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas (from Canada to South America) will hold a Section Meeting virtually from March 12th through March 21st. FWCC’s purpose is to bring Friends together from all styles of worship and diverse theological perspectives. Two session will be open to all, not just yearly meeting representatives. Saturday, March 13 starting at 6pm there is an open program led by the FWCC Traveling Ministry Corps and on Sunday, March 21 at noon there will be a worship service. The links are not yet available but you can go to FWCCamericas.org to find out more about FWCC and the 2021 Section Meeting.

Creation Care Update ~ Spring is getting ready to spring forth! The more birds are singing in the early morning hours and a lot of activity is taking in the treetops and below ground.

We are blessed to have several beautiful specimens of our state tree, the Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera. The tulip tree is fast growing and has been called a pioneer tree, as it grows rapidly in open areas and is intolerant of shade. A new factoid I learned is that the woodland indigenous people used the tulip tree for dugout canoes.

While the tree generally blooms in May, sometimes it is hard to see their beautiful flowers way up in the canopy, so keep your eyes open for them on the ground after a gusty day.

Volunteers for Woods maintenance are invited to join our merry crew on Thursday mornings from 10am-12 noon starting March 25th.

Interested in Native Plants? Check out the Indiana Native Plant Society webpage (https://indiananativeplants.org and look for GrowNatives!

IFCL Environmental Care legislation relies on expert opinion from the Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Conservation Alliance, White River Alliance and others. For updates on legislation being followed by the Hoosier Environmental Council, please click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M4YW4kyOzcOgiizils8o_vObR0s_m1zd/view?usp=sharing

Mark Your Calendars – We are excited to share that we will be holding an outdoor service at the Meetinghouse grounds on Easter Sunday, April 4th at 10:15! Keep an eye out for more information, coming soon!

Youth Group Meetup ~ Youth Group will be meeting in person at the Meetinghouse grounds on Sunday, April 11th for an outdoor picnic and games. Please mark your calendars, and contact the office if you’re interested in joining! office@indyfriends.org

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for March

Brown Creeper – Quiet and Dependable

If you are lucky enough to find a nest (perhaps at Ft. Harrison State Park or further north), it will be inside a curl of bark that has come loose from the tree, but is still attached.

So take a silent, long look for a Brown Creeper this month. One will be there, you can depend on it! ~Brad J

Adult Quaker Affirmation Coming Soon ~ We are glad to offer an adult Quaker Affirmation class series which will begin on Sunday, April 18, tentatively to be held on Sundays from noon-1:30 (times may be adjusted in accordance with participants’ availability). This is a 9-week study of what it means to be a Quaker. It will cover Quaker history, theology, and what Quakers are doing in the world today. There are only a few spots left, so if you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Coronavirus Vaccine Age Limit Now 45! The Indiana State Department of Health has now lowered the age threshold for Covid vaccines to 45 and up. If you’d like to sign up, please visit https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/.

Queries for the Week

(These queries are in response to Parker Palmer’s writings as discussed in last Sunday’s sermon. To find the context for the queries, watch the sermon on YouTube or find the text version on our website.)

• What words or phrases grab my attention or speak to my condition?

• What surprises me?

• What causes me to have an emotional response?

• Do these words cause me to want to make any changes, reconcile, or make amends?

• What is God teaching me about the need for peace and bearing one another’s burdens in this text?

(From self-led guide)

Where do I recognize and experience violence (lack of peace) in my life?
How have I been desensitized to the violence around me?
In what areas do I have influence and the ability to help bring true peace?

Comment

Friend to Friend March 10, 2021

March 12, 2021

As Way Opens

The month of March is Women’s History Month and I would like to highlight one of our great Quaker leaders and a personal hero for me, Lucretia Mott. Lucretia was born in 1793 in Nantucket Massachusetts. Nantucket was a whaling town so the men of the town would be out at sea for months at a time. This meant that the women basically ran the town. They were the shopkeepers, political and religious leaders and provided all of the services the town needed on a day by day basis. Lucretia grew up in an environment, where women were leaders out of necessity and they did an amazing job in these roles that, in other communities, women were never given a chance.

Lucretia went to a Quaker school and became a teacher. She found out that she was making substantially less than the male teachers and she knew that was wrong. Her future husband James was one of those teachers and he probably was the one to share his salary versus hers. This sent Lucretia on a lifetime journey of seeking equality for women in all parts of society as well their right to vote and was a significant participant at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. She was also an abolitionist and a reformer and tirelessly worked against slavery. She was a great writer and an even greater speaker.

What I appreciate about Lucretia is that she was not just a reformer, abolitionist and feminist, but she was a wife, a mother, a hostess that welcomed so many people into her home, a great cook and a woman that did this through the transformational power of Christ. She was moved to her work through the Spirit and her power came from God. She gave a message about the Likeness to Christ to Cherry Street Meeting in Philadelphia in 1849. Here are some excerpts:

“It is time that Christians were judged more by their likeness to Christ than their notions of Christ. Were this sentiment generally admitted we should not see such tenacious adherence to what men deem the opinions and doctrines of Christ while at the same time in every day practice is exhibited anything but a likeness to Christ… they are adhering to old church usages, and worn out forms and exhibiting little of a Christ-like disposition and character….Jesus bore his testimony - doing always the things which pleased his Father. He lived his meek, his humble and useful life - drawing his disciples around him, and declaring great truths to the people who gathered to hear him. His apostles and their successors were faithful in their day - going out into the world, and shaking the nations around them. Reformers since their time have done their work in exposing error and wrong, and calling for priests of righteousness in place of vain forms.”

Lucretia challenged the power structures of the day. I’m sure she heard the words that you are going too quickly, we are not anti-women and appreciate our wives but they are not ready to vote or be in position of power, slaves are not ready to be citizens or take care of themselves or their families etc… These words today sound shocking but this is our history. Change and reform always bump up against tradition and the way things are. We continue to wrestle with the issues the Church faces today. May we turn to our inward Christ that speaks to us and leads us into action.

I was thrilled to sit in Lucretia’s bench at Arch Street Meeting in Philadelphia during our Affirmation trip with Lucy Kay, Kwali Thornburg and Sue Henry. May we all embrace the courage, vision and hospitality of Lucretia Mott.

If you would like to learn more about Lucretia Mott, we have 2 great books in our library that you could borrow - Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott by Margaret Hope Bacon and Lucretia Mott’s Heresy: Abolition and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century America by Carol Faulkner. You can request these two books or any others in our library and we will mail them to you. Just contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Beth

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Update on Redistricting Meetings

March 10, 7-9 p.m. -- Congressional District 9

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wnyJd97cRUuZuF_DQkzUxA

March 13, 3-5 p.m. -- Congressional District 3

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ujw84BSPStaPvW19xJc7hg

March 16, 7-9 p.m. -- Congressional District 6

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sz1D_NtNRleutD2o-ieeqQ

March 18, 6-8 p.m. (Central Time) -- Congressional District 8

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_euCRCwNkR8Kb2V_vmXxkEQ

March 23, 7-9 p.m. -- Congressional District 4

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1_Tn9F59Rj2zT5TBPXEu0Q

March 30, 7-9 p.m. – Congressional District 2

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Joys & Concerns

Thank you to our Mid-North Food Pantry Volunteers! Phil G, Linda and Rik L, Mara S, Christie M, Bill F, David B, Virginia and Derek S, Jim D. We welcomed back Mara S who brought with her beautiful weather (for a change!). Thanks to all.

Congratulations to Shawn P as he has decided to retire from teaching at the end of this school year after 33 years. Shawn has been a great teacher and mentor to so many students at Hamilton Southeastern High School as well as Pike High School. One of our most treasured Sundays during advent would be the Sunday that Shawn would bring his show choir to Meeting and we would listen to their glorious voices and Christmas music. Shawn and Brett have also sold their home in Indianapolis and have bought a home on Lake Lemon. Shawn will continue to come to First Friends and play the organ once we are back to our Sunday service in the building. Many exciting changes for Shawn and we wish him the best.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

China Relations at the Periphery: Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan ~ As the Biden administration moves to re-set U.S. policy toward China, join us for a probing discussion of three recent hot spots in China with three China experts from local universities. All are invited to this Zoom virtual presentation, sponsored by the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center. You need to sign up to be included for this discussion which happens TONIGHT, Wednesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. Hope you can make it for what will be an interesting discussion of important happenings in China. If you wish to join, please rsvp to indypeaceandjusticectr@gmail.com. A Zoom link will be sent to all who RSVP.

First Friends Friday Singalong!! Warm up your voices and break out your tambourines because it's time for another virtual singalong with your hosts Jim, Jesse, and Matthew. Watch the premiere on Friday, March 19, 7:00-7:30pm. Keep an eye out for Friend to Friend next week for the link, or check our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZfU5zoW_wKzWzMWhXAZvQ.

Coronavirus Vaccine Age Limit Now 50! The Indiana State Department of Health has now lowered the age threshold for Covid vaccines to 50 and up. If you’d like to sign up, please visit https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/.

Why I Do $tamping for Dollar$ for RSWR ~ A long, long time ago, when I lived overseas as a boy and letters were basically the only way our family had to communicate with friends and relatives back in the States, I collected postage stamps. I was fascinated by the reflections of history, culture and national pride in each country’s stamps, advertisements by governments to their people and to the world of what matters to them. And stamps were beautiful works of art in miniature.

Fast forward to the 21st century, stamps and snail mail are practically anachronisms. As a board member of Right Sharing of World Resources, I was vaguely aware of the tiny-but-mighty efforts of a few to raise money for RSWR by soliciting stamp donations, then selling them to collectors. The devotion of the “Stampers” didn’t really register with me until First Friends became the hub of these efforts. I began hearing more about the camaraderie of Amy Perry’s merry band of Stampers, the sheer volume of stamp donations they methodically transform into funds for RSWR, and the fun they have doing it.

But it took the pandemic to really draw me in to this caring circle. Undaunted by disease, they figured out safe and responsible ways to carry on their mission, and volunteering with them, especially this past winter, has been a life-affirming gift of fellowship and service for me in a dispiriting time. I’m admittedly the least efficient, most occasional member of the Stampers crew. But I know that RSWR is grateful for the Stampers’ constancy and support of RSWR and its women partners in India, Kenya and Sierra Leone. And I’m still captivated by the power of tiny bits of multi-colored paper, vestiges of innumerable individual human intentions, to help someone else’s tomorrow. ~Phil G

Reopening Task Force Report ~ The Reopening Task Force’s most recent statement as of February 18, is available here. 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. Additionally, the Ministry and Counsel Committee is working on plans for outdoors Meeting for Worship to take place Easter Sunday, April 4.

Notes from the Woods: Look up and you will see the maple trees budding and swelling, so blooms will be happening soon! From WildAdirondacks.org: “The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is a large, slow-growing, deciduous tree which flourishes in well-drained soil in the Adirondack Mountains. It is a member of the Soapberry Family. The Sugar Maple is one of about twenty species in the genius Acer which occur in North America. This species has a life span of 200-300 years, with some specimens in old-growth stands persisting to nearly 400 years ”

The sugar maple hosts the Cecropia Silkmoth and Rosy Maple Moth. The Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Evening Grosbeak feast upon the seeds, buds and flowers. The sap is a food source for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

Do you enjoy weeding and planting?
Here is our work plan for March and April:

All times are 10 AM-12 noon, reschedule if weather conditions aren’t good. As soon as everyone is immunized, we could go out to lunch afterwards :)

March 12: reseed areas in the understory in the Woods, remove invasive grass from the butterfly garden, apply Hollytone to acid loving plants, like azaleas and dogwoods. We are watching the weather. If its raining, feel free to stay home and join us on March 25.

March 25: It’s time to cut back the perennials after allowing native insects to overwinter in the dead stalks. Consider rearranging some of the plants in the butterfly garden.

April 1 & 8th: Its English ivy pulling time in the northeast section of the woods. Wear long sleeves and pants and have work gloves with no holes in them! There could be some poison ivy hidden in the area, so keep yourself safe. I’ll bring some Fels-Naptha soap, so everyone can wash their hands well when we’re done. We’ll be planting some native flag iris to join the the river of blue that Terry has been creating at the bridge. The iris will be in dedication to Marjorie Wright’s gift to the ongoing support of the Woods and are due to arrive at the end of April.

April 15 & 22 & 29: To be determined

IFCL Creation Care updates:

We are halfway through the 2021 Indiana General Assembly session, which was supposed to focus primarily on the budget and COVID-19 relief. If you would like to be on the IFCL mailing list, let me know. Mary.blackburn4@gmail.com

Here is a bill (HB 1283) to support urban agriculture that has crossed over to the Senate. It’s great to have a bill that focuses on helping people grow their own food in the city by having urban agricultural zones. Here’s a digest of the bill.

http://184.175.130.101/legislative/2021/bills/house/1283#digest-heading

HB 1191 would deprive local governments and universities control over utilities deemed harmful to the community. You can read more about it in the HEC newsletter below. At the end of the email, I’ve been put in the spotlight as a regular volunteer. ~Mary B.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M4YW4kyOzcOgiizils8o_vObR0s_m1zd/view?usp=sharing

The Covid19 virus and updated facts

Written by Erin T, a member of First Friends Youth Group

What should you do about the virus?

Covid19 has been happening. You are probably asking yourself, “How do you handle this shocking time?”Most of us know that you should always wash your hands for 20 seconds. You probably already know this one from kindergarten. You can think about what other things you can do to defeat the virus such as avoiding being in crowds, wearing a mask whenever you’re out somewhere.You can make an effort to try to make yourself healthy. You have to watch your social distancing and stay 6 feet apart from people that you don’t live with. However, I thought that it was a useless rule to do that. I started gathering information and research about Covid, I found out that Doctor Fauci knows his stuff about Vaccines, you can research him when you have your own free time. There are vaccines for adults, so you should schedule your vaccine at the Indiana state website.

How to stay positive during this time

You can try to think about the positive things that make you happy. For example, if you like to draw, you can doodle on your sketch pad. You can also go on a bike ride with friends or your siblings. One thing that I learned is that I can spend more time with family and my cousins. You have more time to go rollerblading with each other and/or take the dog on a walk. You can also exercise your amazing body that God made.

Personal Experience

My personal experience is that I have had some good days and some bad times. Life is a highway because life can go up and down. Wherever you go there will always be someone who looks out for you, and helps you get back up on track. You can be that person. You can do this. You can unite with one another to help each other when you fall. You will always fall, but you will get up more times.

You can be the change, it starts with us. If you want to change the world, start by changing it with yourself. God will always be the light at the end of the tunnel. You will always see the light.

If you want to learn more about Covid or the vaccines

• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

• IU Health North Hospital - Carmel | IU Health

• Meijer | Vaccine

• https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/08/world/covid-19-coronavirus

• https://www.cdc.gov/

Adult Quaker Affirmation Coming Soon ~ We are glad to offer an adult Quaker Affirmation class series which will begin on Sunday, April 18, tentatively to be held on Sundays from noon-1:30 (times may be adjusted in accordance with participants’ availability). This is a 9-week study of what it means to be a Quaker. It will cover Quaker history, theology, and what Quakers are doing in the world today. Spots are limited, so if you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

· How can I apply the Testimony of Simplicity to my own life?

· Are there ways I can simplify my dress, speech/behavior, or overall quantity (and relationship with) my material possessions for the benefit of my neighbors and world?

(From self-led guide)

· As I enter this season of hope and new beginnings, what spiritual “spring cleaning” should I be addressing? Where am I struggling to see the hope and new life springing forth in my life? What changes do I want to make? What new challenges do I want to take on?

Comment

Friend to Friend March 3, 2021

March 4, 2021

As Way Opens

For the last several days, I have taken walks outside again. I have loved to breathe in the fresh air, see the daffodils and tulips popping up through the soggy ground, and enjoy the beauty of the Creator. It is also good to hear the chatter of the children in our neighborhood out on their bicycles and playing at the park. After the long winter and a full year in a pandemic, we are finally coming out of our “hibernation” in multiple ways.

We have just been through what most of the world is hoping to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The pandemic has taken its toll on each of us in different ways. Some have lost loved ones, others have lost jobs, but everyone has been impacted in some way.

Even though we are seeing some improvement with lower daily numbers of new cases and deaths here in Indiana, and many are receiving their vaccines, the reality is that the crisis is still far from over. Don’t get me wrong, I think we are starting to get a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.

As children we heard stories of bears coming out of hibernation after the long winter, but most people don’t know that for bears, coming out of hibernation is not as simple as flipping a switch. Scientists describe the stage the bear enters after emerging from their den as a “walking hibernation.” A bear is lethargic for weeks, and wanders around trying to relate again to its surroundings and slowly over time they return to their former activity levels. In this time, they seek stable environments where they are able to develop their children and grow as a family, again.

As we enter our own “walking hibernation,” remember that we may be a bit lethargic on our re-entry. We may be finding new ways to relate and reorient to our surroundings. It may not be that easy and at times we may feel a bit discouraged or uncomfortable. Take your time, and only re-engage when you are ready – when your environment feels stable and safe. Just as when we entered this pandemic, we are going to need to slowly allow ourselves to adjust back to our new “normal.” And remember, we ALL are going through this “walking hibernation” time, so be kind to one another and walk with a sensitivity for your neighbor.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Coming Soon to Your Couch: Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Meetings

We hear people say all the time, “I’m not interested in politics.” To which it can be replied, “Well, that’s really too bad, because politics are interested in you!”

In Indiana, we have a system in which elected politicians draw the legislative district maps used for state and congressional elections. Every ten years, they get together and literally place you into the groupings--districts--where they figure they are most likely to win based on voters’ Census data and voting records. By drawing made-to-order maps, your representatives are choosing you long before election day, when you are supposed to be choosing them. In this way the process called redistricting is the ultimate conflict of interest. If you sometimes doubt that your vote makes any difference, or wonder why in some elections you don’t even have a choice of candidates to vote for, our redistricting system is a big reason why.

This year is a redistricting year. It happens only once a decade. Would you like a voice in the process this time? The Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) has been formed to demonstrate that redistricting done in a transparent way that encourages public participation will result in congressional and state legislative districts that are better for voters than districts drawn by incumbent representatives behind closed doors.

The ICRC is holding virtual public meetings to hear from Hoosier voters what they want in their new districts. Should districts emphasize compactness? What about competition--should maps be drawn to maximize competitive elections? Should current politicians have districts drawn around their residences, or should they be drawn “incumbent blind”? Also, what are the important communities of interest in Indiana, and should they be kept intact, or divided, in the new districts?

You are invited to this conversation. What do you think should drive redistricting where you live? There will be an ICRC public meeting for each congressional district. It is important that the ICRC hear from a broad range of Hoosiers, because the testimony from these meetings will be consolidated into a report the ICRC will give to state legislators before they begin redistricting this spring, so they will know what voters say they want their maps to look like.

Redistricting will impact federal and state elections for the next decade. It really matters that Hoosiers from all over the state are a part of this conversation. Including you.

Here is the schedule for the public meetings. Again, all virtual—you can participate from your own couch! Register in advance, either at www.allinfordemocracy.org, or by using the link following the meeting for your congressional district listed below. And feel free to share this; the invitation is open to all. Note that the meeting for the district including Indianapolis (district 7) is first, and the meeting for many Indy suburbs (district 5) is second.

Now is the time to make your voice heard! Please contact Phil Goodchild with any questions (goodch713@aol.com). Thank you.

February 24 – Congressional District 7, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jOCUnFlrSqqrITaeeTAKlg

March 3 – Congressional District 5, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bN5cRbOjRqmjk64-LT4_Qg

March 6 – Congressional District 1, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tfTusC9tQCe72z1DDzuCxQ

March 10 – Congressional District 9, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wnyJd97cRUuZuF_DQkzUxA

March 13 – Congressional District 3, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ujw84BSPStaPvW19xJc7hg

March 16 – Congressional District 6, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sz1D_NtNRleutD2o-ieeqQ

March 18 – Congressional District 8, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_euCRCwNkR8Kb2V_vmXxkEQ

March 23 – Congressional District 4, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1_Tn9F59Rj2zT5TBPXEu0Q

March 30 – Congressional District 2, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Coronavirus Vaccine Age Limit Now 50! The Indiana State Department of Health has now lowered the age threshold for Covid vaccines to 55 and up. If you’d like to sign up, please visit https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/.

Jaimie Mudd’s Sermon is Online Now! Friends, the sermon that Jaimie Mudd recently gave in our online Meeting for Worship is now available in printed form online at Friends Journal. Find the piece here: https://www.friendsjournal.org/knowing-that-we-belong/. Thanks again to Jaimie Mudd for being our guest pastor that day!

MSPC Silent Auction ~ You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Co-op’s annual Silent Auction. This auction is the school's largest fundraising event of the year. Money raised goes towards updating classrooms and playground and providing scholarships for families. Please consider helping MSPC reach their $5,000 goal! There are over 80 amazing prize packages to bid on, including local and national restaurants and shops, tickets to various museums and amusement parks, family fun activities, golf, wine tastings, autographed sports memorabilia, original art, and of course play dates with our wonderful teachers. This year's auction will be held virtually, beginning at noon on Friday, March 5th and ending at 10:00pm Saturday the 6th. You can view the auction here: https://www.32auctions.com/MSPC21Auction. Feel free to pass the auction link to other friends and family members who may be interested in bidding. We are also accepting donations via Venmo (@Sarah-MSPC) or PayPal (money@mapleseeds.org). As always, thank you for supporting our school!

Three notable books in our library are: The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, White Fragility by Robyn DiAngelo, and How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi.

Alexander writes in The New Jim Crow: We have not ended racial caste in America, we have merely redesigned it.” She goes on write of mass incarceration as social control, policing, denial of voting right, redlining and other systemic lack of equality.

White Fragility is about understanding white people’s role in racism, how race shapes the lives of white people, and its impact on education.

In How to Be an Antiracist Kendi takes the reader through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism, understand their consequences and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. ~ Linda L

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 led by Nancy S. Contact the office for the Zoom link.

~Phil G

Notes from the Woods ~ One of our senior trees in the Woods is the Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) that typically grows 50-80' (less frequently to 120') tall with a broad, open-rounded shaped habit. Nuthatches, brown creepers and kinglets are known to find tasty morsels on cottonwoods!

You can view this large tree just east and south of the meditational circle. This tree is important for our bird and insect population by hosting 368 caterpillar species. Watch her to bloom in March and April. Later in the summer, look for Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple, Viceroy and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies whose larvae have been hidden there.

Do you enjoy weeding and planting? Let Mary and Mindy know a day of the week that works for you to help make our Woods even more beautiful and inviting. Office@indyfriends.org

We also encourage you to join us for any of these woods workdays! (When it’s not raining!)

March 12: 10am- Planting seeds for understory

12pm- Applying holly tone to azaleas, weeding butterfly garden

March 25: 10am- Cutting back perennials

Also every Thursday in April, 10am-12pm. We hope you’ll join us!

Highlighting a local environmental non-profit:

Reconnecting our Waterways or ROW

ROW convenes community partners to enhance the quality of life through innovation, analysis, cultural advancement and investment along Indy waterways and in neighborhoods.

See their February newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/e884ac9be74d/current-news-from-row-nov-8105370

IFCL Creation Care updates:

We are halfway through the 2021 Indiana General Assembly session, which was supposed to focus primarily on the budget and COVID-19 relief. There are some interesting bills to consider. If you would like to be on the IFCL mailing list, let me know. Mary.blackburn4@gmail.com

http://184.175.130.101/legislative/2021/bills/house/1283#digest-heading

For an update from the Hoosier Environmental Council, please click here to see which bills they believe are important for Indiana.

For all you Purdue Fans, here’s a link to the latest report from the Purdue Climate Change Research Center. Among the report's key findings:

* Predicted changes in climate – warmer, wetter springs followed by hotter, drier summers – may increase habitat suitability for a growing assortment of tree species in Indiana.

* Warmer temperatures may increase the number of new invasive species, as plants such as kudzu and Chinese privet expand their ranges northward in response to an altered climate.

* The number of days with frozen soil is projected to drop by one-half to two-thirds by late century, dramatically shrinking the time window for harvesting trees without environmental disturbance and damage.

Here’s the link: https://mailchi.mp/0f8e01ad8a65/in-ccia-newsletter-may-2457745?_ga=2.120209032.1679945187.1614610276-225662745.1614610276

For a Friendly view of Creation Care, check out Quaker Earthcare Witness: https://www.quakerearthcare.org

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for February

Blue Jay: Beacon or Bully?

It seems to be a human trait to categorize and label. In volunteer work at two charities, I am tasked with sorting. In one, different types of shoes, and in the other, various stamps; and in both after sorting I must label each pile for future reference. In nature, mankind wants to put a label on animals as well, calling some good and others bad, some cute and others ugly. In which of these would the reader put snakes, spiders, chipmunks, baby skunks, and turkey vultures? In truth, I find each of these interesting.

Blue Jays are noisy neighborhood dwellers who visit our woods year-round on a daily basis. They often travel in groups. Males and females are identical. The issue here is our perception of jay behavior. On one hand two or three blue jays can dominate a bird feeder, threatening all smaller birds, and therefore getting a “bully” reputation. On the other hand, they serve as a sentinel to warn all others (including those same smaller birds) of an enemy’s approach, whether that present danger be an owl, a hawk, or, as we saw on our recent bird walk, us! When our group was walking along Parker Street, two jays raised the alarm. Other birds, such as Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, and three species of woodpeckers all showed up to see what the trouble was. The relationship between Blue Jays and American Crows is also a mixed bag. If a hawk or owl is present, crows and jays are allies in driving the predator away. But if a crow comes near the nest of a blue jay, look out for the blue-feathered fury! I suggest not being quick to use the good/bad labels with birds; perhaps some careful study will reveal one of God’s nature secrets! ~Brad J

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

• Who are the people in my life that help carry my burdens, how have I connected with and thanked them lately?

• How well am I living out my call as a “burden bearer”? Is there someone in my life currently that I am neglecting being the incarnate Christ to in their daily struggle?

• Which of the S.P.I.C.E.S. challenge me the most and draw me to further exploration this week?

(From self-led guide)

• If casting my cares upon the Lord means casting and leaving them there. Why is it so common practice for me to pick them up again after my prayer's "amen"?

Comment

Friend to Friend February 24, 2021

February 25, 2021

As Way Opens

I received a devotional book of Mary Oliver poems from a friend for my birthday this year. What a delight to wake up each morning with a Mary Oliver poem.

This one spoke to my heart as I think about prayer and how I pray and its importance in my life and in others.

Whistling Swans

Do you bow your head when you pray or do you look up into that blue sky?

Take your choice, prayers fly from all directions.

And don’t worry about what language you use, God no doubt understands them all.

Even when the swans are flying north and making such a ruckus of noise, God is surely listening and understanding.

Rumi said, there is no proof of the soul but isn’t the return of spring and how it springs up in our hearts a pretty good hint?

Yes, I know, God’s silence never breaks, but is that really a problem?

There are thousands of voices, after all.

And furthermore, don’t you imagine (I just suggest it) that the swans know about as much as we do about the whole business?

So listen to them and watch them, singing as they fly.

Take from it what you can.

May we this day and this week see and hear the voice of God through creation. And may we pray to God in the tongue that is unique to each of us as God hears what is in our hearts.

Beth

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Coming Soon to Your Couch: Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Meetings

We hear people say all the time, “I’m not interested in politics.” To which it can be replied, “Well, that’s really too bad, because politics are interested in you!”

Redistricting will impact federal and state elections for the next decade. It really matters that Hoosiers from all over the state are a part of this conversation. Including you.

Now is the time to make your voice heard! Please contact Phil Goodchild with any questions (goodch713@aol.com). Thank you.

February 24 – Congressional District 7, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jOCUnFlrSqqrITaeeTAKlg

March 3 – Congressional District 5, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bN5cRbOjRqmjk64-LT4_Qg

March 6 – Congressional District 1, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tfTusC9tQCe72z1DDzuCxQ

March 10 – Congressional District 9, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wnyJd97cRUuZuF_DQkzUxA

March 13 – Congressional District 3, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ujw84BSPStaPvW19xJc7hg

March 16 – Congressional District 6, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sz1D_NtNRleutD2o-ieeqQ

March 18 – Congressional District 8, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_euCRCwNkR8Kb2V_vmXxkEQ

March 23 – Congressional District 4, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1_Tn9F59Rj2zT5TBPXEu0Q

March 30 – Congressional District 2, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Joys & Concerns

Mid North Food Pantry News – Thanks to all the volunteers from First Friends for helping at the food pantry for the past several weeks. Many have braved the cold weather to help serve those who themselves endured the cold to come to the pantry for food. Susan and Matt at the pantry have mentioned how thankful the pantry is for the time and effort of all those from First Friends who help out at the pantry.

An Account: Birding With Brad in Saturday’s Successful Snow Stomp ~ Sixteen degree weather forecasts and a foot of snow on the ground could not stop the 13 snow stompers who showed up for Brad’s birdwatching tour of the Meditational Woods and Meetinghouse grounds last Saturday. Some of the walking was single-file since a path made it a little easier. It was an invigorating morning and many found it increased their energy, allowing them to explore other pursuits after the walk, resulting in a productive afternoon.

Brad has studied the birds on First Friends property for three years. He showed us the best spot to see and hear them. He noted the best direction to face a bench in order to birdwatch. He knows where the bluebirds hang out. He pointed out flight patterns of various species—how some undulate, some drop down into dives and more secrets known to true birdwatchers. People attended this walk for in-person companionship, sunshine, exercise and fresh air. Some are birders while others have a casual interest. Brad spent much time pointing and listening. He taught us how to distinguish among the different tappings to identify specific species of woodpeckers. He informed us about the colored markings and differences among birds. I learned that what I thought was a squirrel nest was actually a Cooper’s hawk nest. It was made from sticks rather than leaves.

Going birding in the winter is an excellent way to see birds since there is little foliage to hide behind. Brad pointed out that the winter singers are male. They are claiming territory and getting an early start enticing females. He said the robins are not harbingers of spring since they have been in Indianapolis all winter. He did know where many went in Indiana to stock up on berries. Brad can say exactly when various species will return to First Friends. He can debunk myths. He has many stories about the birds and an eagle eye to spot them. He is willing to do more birdwatching walks on our property and in nearby places. Saturday we learned there is a definite interest among Friends. Here is a list of birds we encountered:

· Mourning Dove

· Cooper’s Hawk

· Red-Bellied Woodpecker

· Downy Woodpecker

· Norther Flicker

· Blue Jay

· Carolina Chickadee

· Tufted Titmouse

· White-Breasted Nuthatch

· Carolina Wren

· European Starling

· American Robin

· House Sparrow

· House Finch

· Dark-Eyed Junco

· Song Sparrow

· Norther Cardinal

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

News from the Woods ~ Spring is just around the corner and nature is getting ready to spring forth! One of our early blooming trees is the Eastern Redbud. The eastern redbud typically grows to 20–30 ft. tall with a 26–33 ft. spread. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches. A 10-year-old tree will generally be around 16 ft. tall. The bark is dark in color, smooth, later scaly with ridges somewhat apparent, sometimes with maroon patches. The twigs are slender and zigzag, nearly black in color, spotted with lighter lenticels. The winter buds are tiny, rounded and dark red to chestnut in color. The leaves are alternate, simple, and heart shaped with a smooth edge 3–4.5 in. long and wide, thin and papery, and may be slightly hairy below. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

Here are two species that are dependent on our redbud trees:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callophrys_henrici

This spring we will be removing invasive English ivy and plant a grouping of native iris in its stead to celebrate the generosity of Martha E. Wright for her endowment of the ongoing maintenance of the Woods.

Be sure and think about your home landscape this spring. Please consider adding more native species to your home landscape, so you can help sustain our native birds, butterflies and other creatures. Our beautiful Earth requires your help! Genesis 1:29, ESV: "And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." And our fellow creatures, as well!

Our Woods is now on the Map of the Homegrown National Park. Listen to Dr. Tallamy explain why using your yard is essential. https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1

Updates from IFCL Creation Care:

Call your State Senators about: SB 373 (to support a carbon credit bill), HB 1381 (to support pollinator friendly solar farms), SB 249 (to extend net metering), and oppose HB 1191 (removes local control over public health concerns.

Call your State Representative about: HB 1337 ( to oppose another bill removing local control of logging and factory farm siting near municipal boundaries), HB 1469 (to support a bil that protect our rivers and groundwater from coal ash contamination), and SB 389 ( oppose a bill that removes protection of isolated wetlands.

Read more in the Hoosier Environmental Council’s newsletter: http://bit.ly/HECnews02-21

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for February

Blue Jay: Beacon or Bully?

Changing Footprints Is Still Active! We are still collecting all types of gently used footwear for Changing Footprints. If you are not able to drop off shoes at First Friends on a Wednesday, you can go to changingfootprints.org, where there is a listing of our many community collection sites (Shoe Drops). Thanks for helping us to provide footwear to those who need it!

From the Friendly Library ~ During Black History Month you may want to read Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X Kendi, a National Book Award winner.

“My definition of a racist idea is a simple one: it is any concept that regards one racial group as inferior or superior to another racial group in any way.” He realized he himself also harbored racist ideas along with W E B Dubois, Booker T Washington, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many more famous people both black and white.

Racism doesn’t always occur purposely. It is often subtle and unintentionally treating African-Americans (American-Africans) as superior in sport and music, inferior in intellect, for example. Kendi writes that slavery began in ancient times in many countries. He gives multitudinous examples from early US history to present time.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is another National Book Award winner.

Writing a letter to his adolescent son, Coates weaves together personal history with national history from the earliest settlers up to our current crisis. “What is it like to live in a black body?” Coates tells us with passion, insight and skill. He writes his struggle not to introduce his own fears to his son, not wanting to rein him in even while fearing for that son’s safety.

Both of these books contain sorrow, pain, and hope. Both are likely to evoke compassion, regret, and desire for a truly equal society where people are viewed as an individual.

Contact the office if you would like to borrow one of these or any other book from our collection. Books can be mailed, picked up on a Wednesday or delivered by a volunteer.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

The next time you enter worship, either alone or in community, consider this query:

When thinking about our post-COVID-19 life, what will we—each of us—do to belong to one another, to be the change we wish to see?

(From self-led guide)

How am I experiencing the ongoing or continual revelation of God during this pandemic? In what ways?
What new revelations of the Divine am I struggling to embrace or consider?
Where might I need to lean on discernment and become more aware of my life situation, currently?

Comment

Friend to Friend February 17, 2021

February 18, 2021

As Way Opens

In my class for seminary this semester we read a fascinating book called Nobody Cries When We Die - God, Community and Surviving Adulthood by Patrick Reyes, a Latinx theologian, educator and activist. He grew up in Salinas CA , part of the central valley where his community picks the crops that provides fruits and vegetables for our tables. Salinas is a violent town, a town where the railroad tracks divide the wealthy and the poor, a town where there are few opportunities to break this cycle of backbreaking labor.

The book is part memoir, part theology, and part cultural experience of his marginalized community. When he was young, he was physically abused. He watched a 12 year old girl die next to him in a drive by shooting. Many friends were killed. His family had little money so he worked various labor jobs to support his schooling. He sought God’s call for his life and determined that the call was less about vocation and more about choosing life and surviving. Certain individuals were instrumental in his journey to college, a master’s program and a PhD. He questioned many things along his path including his place- was it among his people in the fields or was it in academia a place where he did not always fit in and his Latinx voice was not honored? He continued his education and survived and made sure his voice was among other theologians to bring a different perspective to the voice of God.

He gave a beautiful analogy of the support he needed to live into his call. He shared Howard Thurman’s description of a tree in the desert that has such a deep root structure that it can journey through the barren soil to reach water and nutrients. This has been an impactful metaphor for me of our spiritual life and the importance of our inner work to sustain us against the storms and Reyes embraced it for a time. But when he went into higher education he found that other trees were taking all of the nutrients and water in their roots and there was none for him. Instead he shared the metaphor of the redwood trees in California. One would think these massive trees would have a significant root system to support the tree against the storms. However, the roots of the redwoods are pretty shallow. The way they sustain themselves is that each root of each tree is entangled with all of the other roots of the other redwoods. The community of redwoods supports all of the trees and that is how these majestic trees survive.

The community of root support is so important in our marginalized communities. But this is so important in all of our communities. How are we intertwining all of our root structures to support one another? If ever there was a time that we need this kind of support for each other it is now.

Beth

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Coming Soon to Your Couch: Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Meetings

We hear people say all the time, “I’m not interested in politics.” To which it can be replied, “Well, that’s really too bad, because politics are interested in you!”

Redistricting will impact federal and state elections for the next decade. It really matters that Hoosiers from all over the state are a part of this conversation. Including you.

Now is the time to make your voice heard! Please contact Phil Goodchild with any questions (goodch713@aol.com). Thank you.

February 24 – Congressional District 7, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jOCUnFlrSqqrITaeeTAKlg

March 3 – Congressional District 5, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bN5cRbOjRqmjk64-LT4_Qg

March 6 – Congressional District 1, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tfTusC9tQCe72z1DDzuCxQ

March 10 – Congressional District 9, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wnyJd97cRUuZuF_DQkzUxA

March 13 – Congressional District 3, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ujw84BSPStaPvW19xJc7hg

March 16 – Congressional District 6, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sz1D_NtNRleutD2o-ieeqQ

March 18 – Congressional District 8, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_euCRCwNkR8Kb2V_vmXxkEQ

March 23 – Congressional District 4, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1_Tn9F59Rj2zT5TBPXEu0Q

March 30 – Congressional District 2, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Joys & Concerns

MANY thanks to our food pantry volunteers from First Friends recently: Linda and Rik L; David B; Barbara O; Ruth K; Kathy and Bill F; Virginia and Derek S; Christie M; Corinne I; Jim D; AND Penny P (our apologies she was not listed last week). Our faithful volunteers braved the cold weather to serve about 60 families. Thanks to all!

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

New Information for Birdwatch with Brad on February 20 ~ Brad Jackson is going to lead us on a birdwatching tour of our Meditational Woods and Meetinghouse grounds on Saturday, February 20 at 9 a.m.* We will meet in the courtyard. Dress for the weather and bring binoculars if possible. We will socially distance and wear masks. Be prepared to walk on fallen leaves, dirt and grass. Birdwatchers will be out for about an hour. Connections Programmed Meeting arranged this activity.

Many of you may follow Brad’s bird column in Friend to Friend. He creates the pictures of each bird and has learned much about our feathered friends during his many years of following them as a hobby. He will answer questions and help us explore the fascinating and sometimes hidden world beyond our building. He can identify birds as well as their calls and songs. Come join the fun and be a birdwatcher with Brad!

*Watch Facebook for any changes in schedule due to weather. We will meet in snow and low temperatures though if it is stinging, biting cold we may shorten the walk. A firepit may be available. If it is sprinkling we can meet, but if rain is harder birds will hunker down and we cannot hear their calls so we will postpone the walk. If wind is 20 -25 mph or more we will not meet because birds will be hidden away. If you cannot tell, according to these guidelines, if we are meeting, look at Facebook.

Guest Speaker February 21! Tune into First Friends’ Meeting for Worship on Sunday, February 21 to hear guest speaker Jaimie Mudd! Jaimie and Bob are switching pulpits that day—Bob will be preaching for Greensboro First Friends in North Carolina. We hope you will join us in welcoming Jaimie that day. Jaimie has been serving Friends Meetings and churches since 1996. Currently serving Greensboro First Friends as Pastor for Congregational Ministries Jaimie has calling for fostering healthy communities. She leads retreats, workshops on discernment, and Friends Meeting/Church Revitalization. She has led workshops with Friends Meetings in Arizona, Inter Mountain Yearly Meeting, and Western Yearly Meeting. Over the past eight years Jaimie and her husband Dan have led Experiment with Light, and, Friends Couple Enrichment retreats. She provides coaching for pastors and retreats for faith communities that want to deepen their spiritual connections and community vitality.

Youth Group RESCHEDULED ~ Due to technical issues, Youth Group has been rescheduled to this Sunday, February 21st from 1:00 - 2:30pm with Aaron and Michelle via Zoom. Any youth (6th - 12th grade) that want to join us, please contact Beth at beth.henricks@indyfriends.org for the Zoom link.

Reopening Task Force Report ~ The Reopening Task Force’s most recent statement is available here, with a new statement to be shared at the next 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. Additionally, the Ministry and Counsel Committee is working on plans for outdoors Meeting for Worship to take place Easter Sunday, April 4.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson ~ The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions. “As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.” In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 led by Cindy Kitchel.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/381157585?pwd=Zkg5eDFQeVk0a2ZlbS9OZ1E2Z25CUT09
Meeting ID: 381 157 585
Password: 3030

What’s in the Woods? ~ Native woodland sedges offer food for ground feeding birds and insects. For years, I used to weed them out of the garden, not knowing that they are part of the native ecosystem. You can tell the difference between grasses and sedges, because “sedges have edges!” The caterpillars of the butterflies Satyrodes Appalachia (Appalachian Brown) and Satyrodes eurydice (Eyed Brown) feed on their foliage. It’s amazing what small changes in ground plants can have on our environment. Have you started thinking about how you can contribute to the backyard national park? https://homegrownnationalpark.org

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/cm_wdsedge.htm

Join Brad J on Saturday February 20 at 9 AM for an hour of bird watching in the Woods.

From our friends at Carmel Green

Catch Up on Climate Related Bills at the Statehouse

Even though it’s a little dated already, this IndyStar article provides a great summary of environmental bills introduced this session. To get the latest updates, check out these upcoming opportunities:

Sustainable Energy Forum Join the Hoosier Environmental Council for an online panel discussion on leading sustainable energy issues, including rooftop solar, utility-scale renewable energy, coal plant retirement planning, and electric vehicles! Thurs. Feb.18, 5:30 p.m.

Mid-Session Legislative Update Join us for a webinar on key environmental, energy and climate bills as they crossover between House and Senate and learn what you can do to make a positive difference in the second half of the session. Thurs. Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m.

IU Environmental Resilience Institute

Agriculture & Climate Change Learn about agriculture practices that may mitigate the climate change impacts on crops and reduce its footprint.

Fri. Feb. 19, Noon

Is Carbon Pricing Enough? Hear Severin Borenstein discuss whether a suite of policies can efficiently address climate change while also improving equity.

Fri. Feb. 19, 3:30 p.m.

Science, Economics & Politics at the EPA Hear authors discuss the book “Fifty Years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Progress, Retrenchment, and Opportunities. Wed. Feb. 24, Noon

From our friends at Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light: Upcoming Events

Environmental Peacebuilding Webinar Series

February 18th and 25th

Care for Creation as a Common Denominator: Interfaith Approaches to Environmental Peacebuilding (A Road to Geneva Event)

An interfaith dialogue around the environment will kick-off a three-part series exploring the role of faith communities in environmental peacebuilding. Information about the sessions is available at the links below.

Presented by Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion at the University of Notre Dame, and Environmental Peacebuilding Association

o Webinar 1 - Panel on faith-based approaches to environmental peacebuilding! https://www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org/.../EventItem...

o Webinar 2 - February 18th at 11 am EST: Decolonizing the Land: Christian Grassroots Approaches to Environmental Peacebuilding

o Webinar 3 - February 25th at 11 am EST: Practicing what we Preach: Dialogue and Futurism in Environmental Peacebuilding

Statewide Call - February 17, 2021

5:00 - 6:00 pm EST

Join our next Statewide Call to engage with others about creation care, energy efficiency, advocacy, and other news!

Advocacy Call - February 24, 2021

5:00 - 6:00 pm EST

We will be connecting to discuss our experiences at the Renewable Energy Lobby Day, and upcoming advocacy initiatives. Join us to learn how you can get involved!

Virtual Tour - The 'Greenest Building on Earth'

February 25, 2021

7:30 - 9:00 pm

Our Evansville affiliate Tri-State Creation Care will be hosting a virtual Zoom tour of the Phipps Conservatory's Center for Sustainable Landscapes, the first building to meet five of the highest green certifications. It is free and open to all!

Find out More!

Congregation Energy Conservation Webinar

Join us on March 24th from 5 - 7:30 pm for an informative webinar by our panel of energy experts! Learn all about reducing energy consumption in your buildings, including how to take advantage of an energy audit, find and work with a great HVAC contractor, and more!

Find out MORE!

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is another National Book Award winner.

Both of these books contain sorrow, pain, and hope. Both are likely to evoke compassion, regret, and desire for a truly equal society where people are viewed as an individual.

Contact the office if you would like to borrow one of these or any other book from our collection. Books can be mailed, picked up on a Wednesday or delivered by a volunteer.

Benediction ~ Friends, here is the Benediction from last Sunday’s Meeting for Worship.

Your Love - Author Unknown

Bless us with Love, O Merciful God;

That we may Love as you Love!

That we may show patience, tolerance,

Kindness, caring and love to all!

Give me knowledge; O giver of Knowledge,

That I may be one with my Universe and Mother Earth!

O Compassionate One, grant compassion unto us;

That we may help all fellow souls in need!

Bless us with your Love O God.

Bless us with your Love. Amen.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

· How has love impacted my spiritual awakening?

· Who do I struggle to love and share the love of God with? How might I show love to them, today?

· Would others say my essential identity is love? If not, what could I do about that?

(From self-led guide)

· How am I awakening to the oneness of love?

· What do I need to do to “clean the lens” or “wipe the mirror” to observe my own patterns to my ego out of the way of love?

· Do I believe I have a “vocation” of love?

Comment

Friend to Friend February 10, 2021

February 11, 2021

As Way Opens

Have you ever heard of William Edouard Scott?

Neither had I, until last week when my son, Sam, asked if we could go to the Indianapolis Art Museum to check out an artist he was discussing in his First Year Scholars Class, Paris Noir. I have been fascinated by talking to Sam about this class which focuses on African American visual, literary, and performing artists who journeyed to Paris to find what they could not in the United States due to America’s systemic racism. In sharing with his professor that we lived in Indianapolis, she recommended that Sam look into Indianapolis native, William Edouard Scott.

Scott was born in Indianapolis in 1884. He attended Elementary School #23 and graduated from Emmerich Manual Training High School (Shortridge High School, today) in 1903, and studied under Indianapolis impressionist artist Otto Stark, who is known as one of the five Hoosier Group Artists along with T.C. Steele, Richard Gruelle, William Foresyth, and J. Ottis Adams. Under Otto Stark, Scott was invited to assist him in teaching freshmen drawing instruction making Scott the first Black person to teach in a public school in Indianapolis. He went on to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he became a well-known muralist. Scott painted many murals in schools both in Chicago and in Indianapolis.

Last Friday, Sam and I went in search of the one painting, Rainy Night, Estaples (1912) by Wm. Edouard Scott on display at the IMA. In the back of the American Art section flanked by a T.C. Steele painting on the left and a John Singer Sargent on the right, we found Scott’s painting. Almost hidden in plain sight, this black Hoosier still seemed struggling to be seen among the many white artists of his day.

As an artist of the Negro Renaissance, Scott was aptly characterized in a 1970 exhibition catalogue as:

“A painter who came out of the American tradition of Eakins and Homer, Scott nevertheless often devoted his skills to express his pride and dignity as a Negro. His pride and self-identification were as great as that of any contemporary Black absorbed into the mainstream and might have built a personal reputation; he chose however, to commit himself to the establishment of pride, dignity and self-realization for all Negroes. He strove to stir the Black community from resignation to awareness.”

My hope is that we at First Friends will continue William Edouard Scott’s legacy and commitment to creating awareness of the accomplishments of the Black community - not just during Black History Month, but throughout the year. We must remember that the impact African Americans have made on our city and country is part of our collective consciousness, and contemplating Black history draws us, from all of our diverse backgrounds, into the greater story that God is writing with our lives. And as we learn this truth, we will begin to see racial and ethnic diversity as a true expression of God’s manifold beauty.

Grace and Peace,

Bob

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Coming Soon to Your Couch: Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Meetings

We hear people say all the time, “I’m not interested in politics.” To which it can be replied, “Well, that’s really too bad, because politics are interested in you!”

Redistricting will impact federal and state elections for the next decade. It really matters that Hoosiers from all over the state are a part of this conversation. Including you.

Now is the time to make your voice heard! Please contact Phil Goodchild with any questions (goodch713@aol.com). Thank you.

February 24 – Congressional District 7, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jOCUnFlrSqqrITaeeTAKlg

March 3 – Congressional District 5, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bN5cRbOjRqmjk64-LT4_Qg

March 6 – Congressional District 1, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tfTusC9tQCe72z1DDzuCxQ

March 10 – Congressional District 9, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wnyJd97cRUuZuF_DQkzUxA

March 13 – Congressional District 3, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ujw84BSPStaPvW19xJc7hg

March 16 – Congressional District 6, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sz1D_NtNRleutD2o-ieeqQ

March 18 – Congressional District 8, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. CST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_euCRCwNkR8Kb2V_vmXxkEQ

March 23 – Congressional District 4, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1_Tn9F59Rj2zT5TBPXEu0Q

March 30 – Congressional District 2, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg

Joys & Concerns

MANY thanks to our food pantry volunteers from First Friends during the week: Linda and Rik L; David B; Barbara O; Ruth K; Kathy and Bill F; Virginia and Derek S; Christie M; Corinne I; Jim D. Our faithful volunteers braved the cold weather to serve about 60 families. Thanks to all!

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

What is Love to you? Friends, we’re asking you to send in photos that we can use in our upcoming Valentine’s Day service. Please take a picture of yourself and/or your family holding up a paper with your answer to “Love is…” Then send the photo into the office at office@indyfriends.org. Or, if you’re on an Apple product, you can send an iMessage text to office@indyfriends.org. Please get these in by TODAY, Wednesday, February 10. We can’t wait to see you and your answers!

Youth Group this Sunday ~ Youth Group will be meeting this Sunday, February 14 from 1:00 - 2:30pm with Aaron and Michelle via Zoom. Any youth (6th - 12th grade) that want to join us, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org for the Zoom link.

Creation Care ~ Our Woods provides habitat not only for birds and small mammals, our trees and shrubs provide homes for important pollinators. Each week, I will highlight a native plant and some of the wildlife it supports.

This week, let’s look at our humble and happy Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia sororia). Violet leaves which have a bland taste can be used as cooked greens or in salads, containing large amounts of vitamins A& C. Its bright blue flowers attract bees, skippers, and other insects. Caterpillars of Fritillary butterflies feed on foliage Speyeria diane (Diana), Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary), Speyeria aphrodite (Aphrodite Fritillary), Boloria bellona (Meadow Fritillary), and Boloria selene myrina (Silver-Border Fritillary)

For more information, consult Illinois wildflowers and the butterfly identification website and see pictures of the caterpillars, pupae and adult butterflies.

https://www.butterflyidentification.com/meadow-fritillary.htm

Start thinking about ways to join creating national parks in your own yard.

The Homegrown National Park™ Map Goes Live!

Based on the work of Dr Doug Tallamy and developed with Michelle Alfandari, the Homegrown National Park™ is a grassroots call-to-action to restore biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants, removing most invasive plants, and creating new ecological networks. The goal is 20 million acres of native plantings in the U.S. – an area that represents approximately ½ of the green lawns of privately-owned properties.

A key feature of the Homegrown National Park™ is an interactive map, a community-based visual that shows each native planting site by State, County and Zip Code. It enables individuals to see their part in the whole – creating new ecological networks, connecting habitat and restoring biodiversity. As of 20th January, 2021, the map has over 2000 individuals registered and over 13,000 acres of native plantings mapped across the US; in Indiana, there are currently 71 individuals registering just over 180 acres of native plantings. The Landscaping with Natives Team would love to encourage anyone who might be keen to register their native plantings on the map – it is free and very easy to do. We would love to see Indiana well-represented – it can help us all to see that our individual plantings really can be part of the change!

For other links to local organizations:
https://indiananativeplants.org/
https://thewhiteriveralliance.org/
https://marionswcd.org
https://www.kibi.org/

· Your Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation (IFCL) is actively tracking environmental bills during the long budget session this year. This week, we’d love to have the General Assembly start a conversation about safely moving and capping coal ash ponds that are contaminating our ground water and potential to contaminate our rivers when flooding occurs. Final day for hearings on any bills is tomorrow, February 11. If a bill doesn’t receive a hearing, it will die in committee. Call today and

· Contact Senator Mark Messmer, Chairman of the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee to urge him to “schedule a hearing on Senate Bill 367”

o Phone: 317-232-9840

o Email: s48@iga.in.gov

· Contact Representative Doug Gutwein, Chairman of the House Environmental Affairs Committee to urge him to “schedule a hearing on House Bill 1469”

o Phone: 317-234-9139

o Email: h16@iga.in.gov

Better-Than-Good Reads from Quaker Library

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
By Robert K. Greenleaf

Quaker Robert Greenleaf developed his theory of Servant Leadership while an executive at AT&T. He lectured at MIT, Harvard, Dartmouth, and University of Virginia. A collection of lectures and essays, chapter headings focus on Servant Leadership for Institutions, Trustees, in Business, Education, Foundations, Churches. He writes about Servant-Leaders, Servant Responsibility in a Bureaucratic Society, America and World Leadership and An Inward Journey.

Greenleaf was born in 1904, died in 1990. He read widely and deeply the literature of his time: Robert Frost, Hermann Hesse, Herman Melville for example. He was familiar with the Bible and with George Fox’s writings. The ideas he espouses are in no way dated. I am so tempted to include many quotes here, or to make pencil marks in the book, but no! You must discover for yourself what wisdom he shares.

You can call or email the office (317-255-2485, office@indyfriends.org) John Moorman (757-561-1024) or me, Linda Lee (317-253-0053) to request delivery or to arrange to pick up a book from our library. Pick up on Wednesday when the office is staffed or most Thursdays between 3 and 5 when Linda is in the RSWR Stamping for Dollars room.

Birdwatch with Brad on February 20 ~ Brad J is going to lead us on a birdwatching tour of our Meditational Woods and Meetinghouse grounds on Saturday, February 20 at 9 a.m.* We will meet in the courtyard. Dress for the weather and bring binoculars if possible. Be prepared to walk on fallen leaves, dirt and grass. Birdwatchers will be out for about an hour. Connections Programmed Meeting arranged this activity.

*Watch Facebook for any changes in schedule due to weather.

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.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

What is my current perception of the word “radical”? Do I consider myself a radical?
Am I preoccupied and taken up with the relatively shallow things of life, encouraged by the media and contemporary culture generally and hardly feeling the depth of it all?
How might I embrace “radical metanoia” this week?

(From self-led guide)

We need to nurture the Inner Light—the source of the phenomenal power of the eighteenth-century Quakers. “Quaker Power” can be as effective as “Black Power” in speeding up revolutionary changes.
We need to listen in love to the black people of America and to submit ourselves to the violence of their words and actions if we are to identify truly with their anguish and despair.
We need to understand, to encourage, and to support the thrust of black people to achieve self-identity and power by sharing in the control of institutions in the community that affect their welfare and destiny.
We must invest our resources—money and skill—to provide incentives for black people to develop and control economic, political, and social structures in the community.
We must support the passage of antipoverty legislation leading to programs that will remedy the deplorable economic and social conditions existing in urban ghettos.
We must oppose racial injustice wherever it is practiced: in the neighborhood where we live, in our places of business, and in our contacts with the wider community.

Comment

Friend to Friend February 3, 2021

February 4, 2021

As Way Opens

What is the Church and what is its mission in our time?

I am taking a final class at Earlham School of Religion for my master’s in divinity that is a comprehensive summary of our experience and study of God, church, theology and other spiritual considerations that we explored in seminary. We are looking at this question from a personal, biblical, historical, denominational, theological and ethical perspective. This is such a significant question and one that requires we examine our beliefs, our history and our future.

We have been reading Diana Butler Bass's book, A People's History of Christianity, The Other Side of the Story where she examines Christianity from Jesus and the early community, through medieval, reformation, modern and postmodern Christianity. It is fascinating to see how the Church has adapted, adjusted, challenged, re-envisioned and sought a new vision for a more inclusive community over its history. Often, we long for the passion and energy of the early Christians that were preaching and teaching about the way of Jesus, the basis for our Christian life. These early Christians were all about community as they met in homes, shared meals and took care of each other. The church was not a building or a committee structure or a program. The church was living in community, studying, sharing, praying and living into the teachings of Jesus. Sometimes the church has strayed from this path but there were always voices calling the Church back to its core.

In her book, Butler quotes psychiatrist Dr Gordon Livingston who says, "nostalgia is the enemy of hope. It tricks people into believing their best days are gone. A more realistic view of history envisions the past as a theater of experience, some good and some bad, and opens up the possibility of growth and change. Our best days are ahead, not behind. Hope for the future." In looking at our church history there is not a period that was superior to another. Each period built on the prior period and I am hopeful for how the Church will impact our future.

What is your answer to this question? How do you live into your answer?

Beth

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

With Joy, The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative welcomes you to their new website: quakerrecollaborative.org. They are a grassroots, cross-branch, international community of practice, collaborating to serve the needs of Quaker religious educators, parents and caregivers, Friends school teachers, and youth workers everywhere. Come into their new online house and tour their new Faith at Home page, the revised Resource Library, Quaker RE events page, and more. The entire website is accessible in English, Spanish and Kiswahili.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

SUPER BOWL TAILGATE: CANCELLED ~ Friends, please note the Super Bowl tailgate that was planned for Sunday, February 7 is being cancelled due to a forecast of frigidly cold weather that day. We look forward to scheduling another event once the weather warms up a bit. Keep an eye out until then!

Better-Than-Good Reads from Quaker Library

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness

By Robert K. Greenleaf

You can call or email the office (317-255-2485, office@indyfriends.org) to request delivery or to arrange to pick up a book from our library. Pick up on Wednesday when the office is staffed or most Thursdays between 3 and 5 when Linda is in the RSWR Stamping for Dollars room. ~Linda L

*Watch Facebook for any changes in schedule due to weather.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 led by Cindy K.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

· How has the darkness of this time affected me and my relationships?

· Where am I struggling to allow the darkness to teach me?

· This week, how might I begin to turn my darkness into opportunities?

(From self-led guide)

· What area(s) of my life need refreshed?

· Do I believe and trust that God is helping me get through this time?

· What am I learning about endurance and my spiritual and physical condition?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 27, 2021

January 27, 2021

As Way Opens

I was reminded this week how grateful I am for humor. Who would have ever thought that a photo of a bundled, mitten-clad, mask-wearing Senator Bernie Sanders sitting on a folding chair would captivate the world and have us all laughing? The following photo may have even ended up on our Facebook page this week to bring some Quaker laughs.

What it did do was make evident our dire need for humor during this ongoing pandemic and the continued unrest in our nation. Illustrating, once again, the words of Mark Twain,

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place."

Too often, we, Friends default too easily to a serious and pious tone and have a hard time emerging from the “weight of the world” surrounding us. It was our own, Elton Trueblood, the Quaker philosopher who over 40 years ago presented the idea of humor back into the religious world by writing the book, The Humor of Christ. In the book, he reminded his readers,

“Once we realize that Christ was not always engaged in pious talk, we have made an enormous step on the road to understanding.”

As a child, one of my favorite depictions of Jesus was “The Laughing Christ” by Ellen Wallace Douglas. For some reason, those bloodied, seriously pious, or judgmental looking versions of Jesus simply turned me off. Looking again at the “The Laughing Christ” you can almost imagine a computer screen in front of him with a Bernie Sanders meme on it.

Join me this week in finding some humor and let’s allow our hardnesses, irritations, and resentments to be replaced by a sunny spirit!

LOL!

Bob

Joys & Concerns

Many thanks to our MNFP volunteers from First Friends last week: Linda and Rik L; David B; Barbara O; Ruth K; Kathy and Bill F; Virginia and Derek S; Christie M; Corinne I; Carol and Jim D. Our faithful volunteers braved the cold weather to serve about 60 families. Thanks to all.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

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)

What is Love to you? Friends, we’re asking you to send in photos of yourself to us so we can use them in our upcoming Valentine’s Day service. We want you to fill in the blank: “Love is...” Write your answer and take a photo of yourself and your answer on a piece of paper. Then send it into the office at office@indyfriends.org. We can’t wait to see you and your answers!

Message from Creation Care:

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1

Now is the time to start thinking about your spring landscaping. Before you know it, spring will be here. Be sure and register for the 51st Annual Meeting of the Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District where Dr. Doug Tallamy will give a presentation on how we can create places for wildlife in our yards. He is a polished and inspiring speaker. Its free, so sign up today!

https://marionswcd.org/51st-annual-meeting-of-the-marion-county-soil-and-water-conservation-district-and-presentation-by-doug-tallamy/

Did you know that our Indiana wetlands

provide valuable service to us and our fellow creatures? This infographic from Indy Land

Stewardship helps illustrate how important wetlands are to our health and well-being. Please click here on the HEC environmental alert to understand about a bill moving through the state legislature (SB389) that would remove all protections from our remaining Hoosier wetlands.

Benediction ~ Friends, here is the Benediction from last Sunday’s Meeting for Worship.

Bennaucht (Blessing) by John O’Donohue

On the day when

the weight deadens

on your shoulders

and you stumble,

may the clay dance

to balance you.

And when your eyes

freeze behind

the grey window

and the ghost of loss

gets into you,

may a flock of colours,

indigo, red, green

and azure blue,

come to awaken in you

a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays

in the currach of thought

and a stain of ocean

blackens beneath you,

may there come across the waters

a path of yellow moonlight

to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,

may the clarity of light be yours,

may the fluency of the ocean be yours,

may the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow

wind work these words

of love around you,

an invisible cloak

to mind your life.

The Stamp Project Needs Your Help! 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. This is a great way to keep busy over winter. Easily done while watching TV! Plus, you’re making 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.

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.

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.

Queries for the Week

(From virtual worship)

· Are we contradicting ourselves? Do we act contrary to that in which we are called by God?

· Are we truly being ourselves?

· Are we trying to do good?

· Are we being rich in helping others?

· Are we extravagantly generous?

(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?

Comment