Friend to Friend March 2, 2022

March 3, 2022

As Way Opens

This past Sunday morning I found myself heading to the emergency room. A place for the past two years I have tried to avoid…”like the plague” (literally). Unlike most pastoral visits I make to packed emergency rooms or hospitals, this morning I was the only patient in the entire waiting area. It seemed very calm and peaceful even though I personally didn’t feel so. Since everything is digital these days due to Covid, I signed in on my phone and before I even finished the process, I was taken back to my room and hooked up to monitors.

Sundays are usually busy days for me. Starting with rising early for some meditation time, running through my sermon, and making sure that I am in a centered place to facilitate study and worship. At the time I was being run through all the tests, I would normally be heading out to the facing bench for Meeting for Worship.

Sunday morning also happened to be my 49th birthday. This is the third time I have been at the hospital on my birthday. The first was the day I was born. The second was in high school when I turned 18 and had a bad case of Mono. And the third was my 49th birthday where I had an unusual spike in my blood pressure causing sinus tachycardia.

Well, after all the tests were done, I was cleared and sent home to rest. I slept most of Sunday and all through the night. On Monday morning, it was wonderful going through all the birthday and well wishes that I received from many of you. THANK YOU!

When I turned to my morning mediation that I should have read on Sunday morning, I was a bit surprised. I have been reading “Peace is Every Step” by the late Thich Nhat Hanh. That day’s reflection had a clear lesson for me. Hanh said,

“I must take care of my body, treat it with respect as a musician does his instrument.

I apply nonviolence to my body, for it is not merely a tool to accomplish something.”

I am sure we can all glean some wisdom from Hanh’s words. May we strive to treat our bodies or as the scriptures say, “the temples of the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 6:19) with respect, nonviolence, and not just as tools. Again, thank you for holding me in the light and sending love as I recover.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

FCNL Legislative Priorities ~ Friends Committee on National Legislation (“FCNL”) is, again this year, requesting that Friends’ Meetings submit national legislative priorities to FCNL for the coming two years. Your input and wisdom are needed to determine the legislative priorities that are important to First Friends Indianapolis. Please visit our survey at https://forms.gle/Za3t1r3yZpVkAT4c9 and list the 5 most important issues that you would like FCNL to address as it determines its priorities for the next two years. If you’d prefer to turn in a paper copy, they will be available during Meeting for Worship this upcoming Sunday. The 7 most popular issues will be brought to Monthly Meeting in March for consideration to be submitted to FCNL. Thank you for your thoughtful responses.

IPJC Virtual Speakers Event~ The Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center is delighted to invite you to their March 15th Virtual Speakers Event. Jane Henegar will present “How do we get to a More Perfect Union?” The ACLU of Indiana and all people of goodwill are looking for a path that will lead our country toward better fulfilling its promises of freedom, fairness, and equality for all. There are clearly obstacles ahead. What are the issues affecting civil liberties and our democratic values that the ACLU of Indiana anticipates in the 2022 Indiana General Assembly? More broadly, what is the state of our democracy? And how are the ACLU of Indiana, the national ACLU, and our partners working – in the courts, in legislatures, and in the streets – on behalf of everyone, especially those whose rights are most vulnerable? Jane Henegar has served as the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana since 2012. Join us March 15th, 2022 at 7:00 pm on Zoom. Please RSVP to indypeaceandjusticectr@gmail.com. A zoom link will be sent to all who RSVP prior to the event.

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

New Sermon Series Update ~ Due to Pastor Bob’s unplanned absence this past Sunday, the schedule for our new sermon series "To Be Thriving & Progressive Quakers in 2022" has been updated. Please see the new schedule below. We hope you will join us on Sundays at 10:15am in-person or virtually on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/firstfriends

You’re invited to MSPC’s Silent Auction! You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Coop’s annual fundrasing event. The online-only auction begins Friday, March 4 at noon and ends Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10pm. The funds raised from the silent auction allow the school to offer scholarships to participants, as well as to purchase new equipment for their classrooms. This year they have over 100 auction items to bid on! Find the auction page at https://www.32auctions.com/mapleseedsauction2022. For more info, visit MSPC’s website at https://www.mapleseeds.org/.

Restorative Yoga ~ Please join friend Kristyn G in a restorative yoga practice next Monday March 7th at 4:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. It will last for an hour. This gentle practice will stretch and restore you. $10 suggested donation. Hope to see you there!

Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday March 10th in the Parlor at 6:30pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. If you are interested, contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).

You’re Invited to First Friends Kokomo’s Community Series ~ All are invited to attend any or all of the sessions being offered during the “Six Mondays During Lent 2022” Faith and Our Community Series. The series of talks is sponsored by First Friends Meeting of Kokomo in conjunction with the Carver Community Center and The Howard County Supervision Program. All sessions are free and will be offered each Monday from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Carver Community Center located at 1030 North Purdum St. in Kokomo, IN. The first session will begin on Monday, March 7th. For more details, view their flyer here.

Quaker Haven Camp ~ It’s time to think about your kids attending Quaker Haven Camp in Syracuse, IN. If you are not familiar with Quaker Haven, check out their website (www.quakerhaven.com). Our kids have been going there for many years and have enjoyed it. First Friends will pay for half of the cost of camp – ask the meeting office for a code you can use at checkout for 50% off. If you need additional assistance, please contact the office. Here are the dates:

· June 5th - 10th Senior high camp (9th - 12)

· June 12th - 17th Junior high camp (7th - 8th grade)

· June 17th - 19th Beginner’s camp (kindergarten - 2nd grade with an adult)

· June 19th - 24th Adventure camp (5th - 6th grade)

· June 26th - July 1st Senior high camp (9th - 12th grade)

· July 10th - 13th Little Friends camp (2nd - 4th grade)

· July 17th - 21st Pioneer camp (3rd - 5th grade)

Comment

Friend to Friend February 23, 2022

February 24, 2022

As Way Opens

I know as Quakers, we don’t emphasize rituals that many other denominations honor and hold sacred. In principle, I can embrace the idea that often rituals of creeds, processes and actions hold too much power and can become empty vessels without life and Spirit.

But there are many rituals in our life that are needed for our journey of healing and wholeness. I participated in such a ritual yesterday as several of us gathered at Ed Morris’s home to break bread and share stories about his beloved Linda Lee whom we lost last summer. I think we were all remembering the impact that Linda had on us and how she had this ultra-sensitivity to many things including where each of us was in our journey. and where was Spirit in our lives. These stories led into deep sharing of things happening in our own journeys that brought us together in mutual love and support. Ed had lovingly and carefully laid out Linda’s clothes throughout his home and offered us to take things that we loved and would fit. What was left was bagged and we all took several bags to deliver to Thrifty Threads, Dress for Success and several other places so that the gift of Linda will live on in others that we don’t know.

I felt like this was a gathering similar to many that occurred in the very early church. Gathering in a home, breaking bread, sharing stories, becoming vulnerable to each other in our sharing and supporting one of the members of the group to help with his grieving process. It was a visceral experience to touch the clothes that Linda wore and honor the beauty of things she picked out and liked.

There are many rituals that we need to ground us and bring us into the presence of God. I embrace the idea of rituals that bring joy and fullness of being. Let us not be afraid of embracing some rituals as Quakers.

Beth

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Meeting for Worship Update ~ Welcome back! We have resumed worship together at the Meeting House. Beginning this Sunday refreshments will be served at Fellowship Hour. Also, Children’s Worship is resuming, so children will go up for the Children’s Message and then leave for Children’s Worship after. Thank you for helping us keep everyone in the Meeting safe and healthy!

New Sermon Series ~ This Sunday (02/27/22) we continue our new sermon series "To Be Thriving & Progressive Quakers in 2022". This Sunday Pastor Bob will share part 2 titled, "Allowing Ourselves to Question.” Join us at 10:15am in-person or virtually on YouTube.

As well, he has put together the following supplemental reading list for those who are interested in reading more on the subjects and ideas covered:

Supplemental Reading List for “To Be Thriving & Progressive Quakers in 2022” Sermon Series (throughout the series additional books may be added):

· Living the Quaker Way – Phil Gulley

· Face to Face: Early Quaker Encounters with the Bible – T. Vail Palmer Jr.

· A Long Road: How Quakers Made Sense of the God and the Bible – T. Vail Palmer Jr.

· Grounded: Finding God in the World – Diana Butler Bass

· Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power and How They Can Be Restored – Marcus Borg

· Faith Unraveled (formerly Evolving in Monkey Town) – Rachel Held Evans

· Jesus and the Disinherited – Howard Thurman

· The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Guide – Brian McLaren

· Church of the Wild – Victoria Loorz

· Our Only World: Ten Essays – Wendell Berry

· Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to

· Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts – Kristen Powers

· The Rebirthing of God – John Philip Newell

· Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life – Karen Armstrong

· A Bigger Table, Expanded Edition with Study Guide: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community – John Pavlovitz

· A Testament of Devotion - Thomas R. Kelly

· June 5th - 10th Senior high camp (9th - 12)

· June 12th - 17th Junior high camp (7th - 8th grade)

· June 17th - 19th Beginner’s camp (kindergarten - 2nd grade with an adult)

· June 19th - 24th Adventure camp (5th - 6th grade)

· June 26th - July 1st Senior high camp (9th - 12th grade)

· July 10th - 13th Little Friends camp (2nd - 4th grade)

· July 17th - 21st Pioneer camp (3rd - 5th grade)

You’re invited to MSPC’s Silent Auction! You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Coop’s annual fundraising event. The online-only auction begins Friday, March 4 at noon and ends Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10pm. The funds raised from the silent auction allow the school to offer scholarships to participants, as well as to purchase new equipment for their classrooms. This year they have over 100 auction items to bid on! Find the auction page at https://www.32auctions.com/mapleseedsauction2022. For more info, visit MSPC’s website at https://www.mapleseeds.org/.

We’re Famous! Out of tiny acorns, giant oaks grow. Amy Perry answered the call to help revive the Right Sharing of World Resources stamp program. Little by little, people have helped grow the program. The RSWR Board members realized that the stamp program is much like the micro-lending program, growing organically. The Stamping for Dollars program was the highlight of the most recent newsletter of RSWR. Read more here: 2022-Q1-Newsletter.pdf (rswr.org)

Free Couples Counseling ~ The Christian Theological Seminary Counseling Center is offering free online Couples Checkups in the month of February with interns trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy. One of the interns is our own Jill F! If you’d like to make an appointment, please call (317) 924-5205. For more information, click here.

Plastics: Impact & Action ~ You’re invited to a 4-week online course by Cornell University, from March 14-April 10. This course explores the multiple ways we interact with plastics, and uses plastics to investigate the complex dynamic systems shaping our planet and our lives. The course will apply critical thinking and systems thinking to learn about everything from the plastic lifecycle, to plastic's social and environmental impacts, to NGO efforts and government plastic policies. You will apply your knowledge by designing and implementing a locally-relevant action targeting plastic pollution. Course materials will be recorded so attenders may work the course at their own convenience. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.civicecology.org/plastics1. For questions. email CivicEcology@cornell.edu, use “Plastics” in the subject line.

Afghan Project Continues with a Second Family;

Listing of Items Needed

First Friends is partnering with Exodus Refugee to assist a second Afghan evacuee family. Friends assisted a family of five children and parents who moved to California to be with relatives. They are resettling there, creating a new life for themselves. A second family of two parents and three sons, ages 11, 17 and 19, are moving into the vacated Indianapolis home of the previous family.

First Friends Monthly Meeting for Worship and Business approved the continuation of the First Friends Afghan Project last Sunday, February 20. Seventeen vetted volunteers indicated an interest in continuing the Project. Five cleaned the apartment the day before the new family moved in. They left a scented candle on the coffee table for a homey touch. The next-door neighbor’s children helped prepare the home and their mother invited Friends over for tea. The gracious offer was declined since work was incomplete. Quakers tried to unstop the only bathroom sink with a plunger, chemical aid and snake. Later their Exodus partners came and finished that job by disassembling and then reassembling the pipes. Teamwork made the home move-in ready. The helpful neighbors are related to the new Afghan arrivals who had been living in a motel while awaiting housing. There is a shortage of affordable housing throughout the country and Indiana.

The FF Afghan Project Team collected and moved furniture into this apartment for the previous family. The first family left the furniture behind except for a few items they gave away. The Team will not need to refurnish the home although some tweaks are necessary. The Team is also providing food and rent for the family. The Project collected food staples previously and some remain. Enough monies were raised to cover some expenses such as rent, utilities, food and other necessities. Donations will also cover interpreter fees. First Friends, other churches and individuals have contributed to the Project.

Items needed: two floor lamps, a TV and an antenna (no cable available); end tables; table lamps and curtains

Thank you for supporting continuation of this Project and supporting Afghan evacuees.

Queries for the Week

• Where am I discovering “something worth seeing” in my neighbors?

• To whom do I need to have more compassion – a willingness to suffer with?

• How might I truly find joy in sharing my humanity with those around me?

Comment

Friend to Friend February 16, 2022

February 17, 2022

As Way Opens

Last Saturday, Sue and I joined about 25 people from First Friends at the new masjid (the Arabic word which means “place of prostration” to God, also known to many as a mosque) in Fishers, Indiana. We were greeted by our host, Salah, with the common Muslim greeting, "As-Salam-u-Alaikum" ("Peace be unto you").

To begin our friends invited us to sit around tables and interact with their young people most of whom were born in America but whose families were from other countries. The youth were between the ages of 11-15. Salah had graciously prepared a wonderful and informative 45-minute program which was presented by these young people.

We learned about Islam, its history, and even the similarities to our own Quaker/Christian faith. The youth taught us about how Muslims view Jesus, their dedication to peace and justice, the misconceptions that many have about Islam and terrorism, and how they viewed us as brothers and sisters. We were all incredibly impressed at how articulate and knowledgeable the youth were about the faith they were so dedicated to follow.

After having an opportunity to have some time for questions and answers accompanied by pastries and coffee, we were given a guided tour of their new facility. It is both a beautiful worship space and community center for the growing population of Muslims in Hamilton and the surrounding counties.

The intricately painted domes, the large chandeliers imported from Egypt, and the tight knit pile of the carpets on the floor were enough to bring one to reverence and awe. Also, while we were on the tour, we had the opportunity to see their food pantry in action serving those in need in their community.

Overall, I found this to be a beautiful opportunity to learn, support, and engage our Muslim sisters and brothers. We were blessed by their hospitality and along with our Jewish neighbors, are honored to be considered “People of the Book” together. I pray we will remember this as we work for peace and mutual understanding in our world.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Quaker-Affiliated Organizations

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Meeting for Worship ~ Welcome back! We have resumed worship together at the Meeting House. Currently:

· Fellowship Hall will be open after Worship, but food and drinks will not be served

· There will be Children’s’ Message, but not Children’s Worship. After the Children’s’ Message, the children will be released to sit with their families

· There will be a Children’s’ Sunday School by Zoom for those worshipping from home.

· The windows will be open about 2 inches. It is expected to be comfortable, but cool. Please dress accordingly.

· Masks must be worn in the building and KN95 or N95 masks are recommended.

At Monthly Meeting on February 20th, we will discuss whether to resume in-person Sunday School and the need for any other precautions.

New Sermon Series ~ This Sunday (02/20/22) begins our new sermon series "To Be Thriving & Progressive Quakers in 2022". Pastor Bob will be kicking off the series with a sermon titled, "Moving from Heaven to Earth.” Join us at 10:15am in-person or virtually on YouTube.

As well, he has put together the following supplemental reading list for those who are interested in reading more on the subjects and ideas covered:

________________

Supplemental Reading List for “To Be Thriving & Progressive Quakers in 2022” Sermon Series (throughout the series additional books may be added):

· Living the Quaker Way – Phil Gulley

· Face to Face: Early Quaker Encounters with the Bible – T. Vail Palmer Jr.

· A Long Road: How Quakers Made Sense of the God and the Bible – T. Vail Palmer Jr.

· Grounded: Finding God in the World – Diana Butler Bass

· Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power and How They Can Be Restored – Marcus Borg

· Faith Unraveled (formerly Evolving in Monkey Town) – Rachel Held Evans

· Jesus and the Disinherited – Howard Thurman

· The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Guide – Brian McLaren

· Church of the Wild – Victoria Loorz

· Our Only World: Ten Essays – Wendell Berry

· Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to

· Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts – Kristen Powers

· The Rebirthing of God – John Philip Newell

· Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life – Karen Armstrong

· A Bigger Table, Expanded Edition with Study Guide: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community – John Pavlovitz

· A Testament of Devotion - Thomas R. Kelly

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro ~ From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, February 22nd led by Larry C.

Woods’ Words ~ I’ve joined a book club for the next few weeks that is reading Dr. Katherine Hayhoe’s book, Saving Us, a book that explains how to talk to people about caring for creation to meet people where they are. Her work is thoroughly grounded in her beliefs as a Christian and a PhD educated climate scientist. I encourage everyone who is concerned about the changes that we are experiencing in weather, agriculture, flooding and impacts on the poor to get a copy of her book and learn to speak truth with love. http://katharinehayhoe.com

Spring is around the corner! One of the important things we can do on a small scale is plant more native plants in our yards. Native insects need native plants which in turn, nourish the birds and other wildlife. Our birds need to eat the protein in insects when they are feeding their hatchlings. By planting various native plants, you will help our chickadees and Carolina wrens and others survive. Here’s a list of places to buy native plants and some cultivars from local native plant landscape designer, Laura Essex.

https://www.favornative.com/news-notes/2019/2/18/not-so-secret-sources-for-native-plants?mc_cid=043fb5ea81&mc_eid=b280684120

Celebrate the Woods’ 20th birthday on Earth Day. Our Woods has become a haven for wildlife and for the community.

~Mary B

You’re invited to MSPC’s Silent Auction! You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Coop’s annual fundrasing event. The online-only auction begins Friday, March 4 at noon and ends Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10pm. The funds raised from the silent auction allow the school to offer scholarships to participants, as well as to purchase new equipment for their classrooms. Find the auction page at https://www.32auctions.com/mapleseedsauction2022. For more info, visit MSPC’s website at https://www.mapleseeds.org/.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for February
Rock Pigeon: What’s in a Name?

We humans like to classify, categorize, and label. We sometimes do this to other humans, and even each other! Pity the poor pigeon. Once the majestic cliff dweller of Britain and Europe, the species became domesticated by pigeon fanciers, and then, when many escaped or were released here in North America, they became feral, substituting our city buildings for their ancestral cliffs. Forty years ago, when Indiana birders were doing surveys, they ignored “Rock Doves” as being exotic, like an escaped parakeet or pet mallard duck. Over the years avian scientists here changed their minds and decided to count them as an official Indiana bird. More recently the name was changed to “Rock Pigeon” as the species was biologically more of a pigeon than a dove. Even with these changes the rehabilitation of pigeons is has not been accepted as much by the public, and many consider them a filthy nuisance!!

Rock Pigeons are present all year, but are seen, especially in winter, in large groups huddled together along power lines and the towers holding the lines. The flocks have their favorite perches, and, fortunately for us and our automobiles, the power lines crossing the meetinghouse property above the woods’ entrance ARE NOT among those favorites. Rock Pigeons can be seen in small flocks, flying over the meeting house, and especially to the south beyond Kessler. Whatever they are: wild or tame, clean or dirty, doves or pigeons, they are here to stay!! ~Brad J

Jeff Rasley’s Newest Book Now on Audio ~ Jeff Rasley’s latest (13th published) book, Love, Murder, and Pickleball is now available as an audio book as well as a paperback and ebook at https://www.amazon.com/Pickleball-Soap-Opera-Love-Murder/dp/B09S1DJND2. The book is a romping good story about a romance that develops within a pickleball group, a mysterious murderer stalking the group, and an ageing athlete learning how to play the game. Mixed into the story are the serious issues of coping with the loss of a loved one, finding meaning after retirement, domestic abuse, and how soldiers suffering from PTSD are treated.

Queries for the Week

• Where am I discovering “something worth seeing” in my neighbors?

• To whom do I need to have more compassion – a willingness to suffer with?

• How might I truly find joy in sharing my humanity with those around me?

Comment

Friend to Friend February 9, 2022

February 14, 2022

As Way Opens

It was an interesting day to be working in the Meeting on Monday. In the early morning we had an individual arrive at the Meeting bundled up with 3 coats, two hats and a scarf and needed to call the apartment building where he lives (he doesn’t have a phone). There was a leak in the laundry room that had not been fixed in his building after they had attempted to fix it before. I heard the conversation and the building manager seemed attentive and conferenced his maintenance person that said he would be over there that day to look at it. The Friend in my office did not seem well and when I asked him if he was ok he said he was hyperventilating. He said he was very anxious and afraid that the leak would not be fixed, the health department would close the apartment and he would have no place to live. My heart was moved to his concern and I felt his anxiety.

Later in the morning I was showing the Meeting to my son Greg’s girlfriend and we went into fellowship hall. The preschool kiddos were there doing their physical activities and we met a boy that was sitting in a box looking at us as we walked in. He put the box on his head and we started to verbally engage. He told me his name was Leo and after some conversation he asked me if I would play with him. I told him I would love to do that but I had to work in our office. Then he looked at Greg and his girlfriend and said, “Anybody?”

I thought about the diversity of these two experiences and yet their connection. Christ connects with those at the margins who are frightened at losing their apartment as well as our youngest who just want someone to recognize them and play with them. Christ feels our anxiety and understands our need for connection. And everything in between.

I realized that I experience these moments everyday but don’t recognize them. One of my favorite shows in midlife was Joan of Arcadia. It was about a teenager and her life where God kept appearing to her in strangers. It was a great show about how we have traditionally viewed God and how that image isn’t anything about how God appears. God is in the most unlikely places and God appears in people that scare me, that make me uncomfortable and that are very different than I am.

Here are the Joan Osborne lyrics:

If God had a name, what would it be?

And would you call it to his face

If you were faced with Him in all His glory?

What would you ask if you had just one question?

And yeah, yeah, God is great

Yeah, yeah, God is good

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus, tryna make his way home?

If God had a face, what would it look like?

And would you want to see

If seeing meant that you would have to believe

In things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints

And all the prophets?

And yeah, yeah, God is great

Yeah, yeah, God is good

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

May we all see God’s face in the stranger today.

Beth

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Meeting for Worship ~ Welcome back! We are thrilled to announce that we will resume worship together at the Meeting House this Sunday, February 13. For the next two Sundays:

Fellowship Hall will be open after Worship, but food and drinks will not be served
There will be Children’s’ Message, but not Children’s Worship. After the Children’s’ Message, the children will be released to sit with their families
There will be a Children’s’ Sunday School by Zoom for those worshipping from home.
The windows will be open about 2 inches. It is expected to be comfortable, but cool. Please dress accordingly.
Masks must be worn in the building and KN95 or N95 masks are recommended.

At Monthly Meeting on February 20th, we will discuss whether to resume in-person Sunday School and the need for any other precautions.

Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday Feb 10th in Fellowship Hall from 6:30-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. If you are interested, contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).

Illuminate Bible Study - You are cordially invited to the First Friends Bible study beginning February 10 and running for 13 weeks, on the book “James, 1 and 2 Peter: Practical Christian Living.“ The book is available at http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/ILLUMINATE/Illuminate-James-1-2-Peter-2011.html.

There also is a leader’s guide. Be sure not to confuse it with the participant book. The group meets by Zoom every Thursday from 7:30 pm to about 8:40 pm. It uses the Illuminate series published by Barclay Press. All are welcome. Feel free to visit, drop in, and/or drop out as you are led. Contact the First Friends office for the Zoom link.

Saving Us Book Club ~ The Evangelical Environmental Network invites you to their Beth Bond Memorial Book Club. Join virtually to read, contemplate, and discuss climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe's newest bestselling book, Saving Us. In this book, Hayhoe argues that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how. They will gather for 6 weeks on Thursdays at noon (EST) beginning February 10th and going until March 17th. The first meeting will kick off with the author Katharine herself! If you’re interested, please register here. (Please note - registration will close after the first meeting.)

You’re Invited to Alhuda Mosque Tour ~ Our trip to Alhuda Mosque in Fishers will be happening on Saturday, February 12th at 10:00am. We will have a tour and a time for questions and answers. Please let Beth know if you would like to join us—there is still time to sign up! beth.henricks@indyfriends.org.

Success! Hooray! The stamp team has reached the goal announced at the "Mr. Stamp" presentation in October, of processing their backlog by Valentine’s Day! The team would like to thank everyone who has helped, especially the new trimmers. Now the team is valiantly trying to meet the challenge of keeping up with the incoming packages.

Request: Please watch for stamps from stamps.com, bring them in, and put them in the stamp box on the bench at the east door. The stamp team's most faithful customer, Bob Boehner of Nova Scotia, is creating an exhibit of these personalized stamps. An example is shown nearby. These stamps are marked "stamps.com." We're grateful for all stamps, of course, but these are especially desirable for the next six months or so. And thanks for your help.

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Join us for our next in-person meeting Thursday, February 17 at 7:00pm. See locations for 2022 here.

New Sermon Series ~ Starting Sunday, February 20, we are excited to finally announce a new sermon series during our in-person Meeting for Worship and our virtual Light Reflections on YouTube. We will be exploring what it means “To Be Thriving and Progressive Quakers in 2022.” Pastor Bob has prepared a 7-week series to cover key issues of faith and action for Quakers in the present day. Her is a brief overview of what to expect:

1. February 20: Moving from Heaven to Earth Matthew 6:10

2. February 27: Allowing Ourselves to Question Proverbs 2:2-5

3. March 6: Understanding the Poor and Oppressed Luke 4:18

4. March 13: Caring about THIS World Numbers 35:33-34

5. March 20: Emphasizing Behavior over Belief Galatians 5:22-23

6. March 27: When Compassion is the Key 1 Peter 3:8

7. April 3: Finding the Unity in Community 1 Corinthians 12:25-27

Pastor Bob is also preparing a suggested reading list to accompany the series and allow you to further study on your own. We are hoping to end the series just before Easter with a special guest preacher, Phil Gulley, from Fairfield Friends Meeting. Please join us for this exciting new series.

Save the Date – Mark your calendar for Saturday May 7th for a day retreat called the Linda Lee spirituality gathering where we will examine and experience a mystical life in a practical way. The retreat will run from 10:00 – 4:00 at the Benedictine Center. Linda Lee’s books will be available. Retreat cost is $30. More information will follow.

Scholarship Opportunity – Noblesville Friends is offering six $500 scholarships in different areas of study for undergraduates and graduate studies. Applications should be submitted between January 15th and March 30th. Go to www.noblesvillefriends.org/scholarship.php for application and recommendation form.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for February
Rock Pigeon: What’s in a Name?

You’re invited to MSPC’s Silent Auction! You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Coop’s annual fundrasing event. The online-only auction begins Friday, March 4 at noon and ends Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10pm. The funds raised from the silent auction allow the school to offer scholarships to participants, as well as to purchase new equipment for their classrooms. Find the auction page at https://www.32auctions.com/mapleseedsauction2022. For more info, visit MSPC’s website at https://www.mapleseeds.org/.

Queries for the Week

· What am I looking for?

· Am I looking for the “magic mustard seeds,” so I don’t have to give up my illusions?

· Do I just want to escape this world, or learn to really live in it?

Comment

Friend to Friend February 2, 2022

February 14, 2022

As Way Opens

Every January, I set aside time for some personal reflection. One of the things I often reflect upon is the condition of my soul as I start a New Year. With the ongoing pandemic, family challenges, and numerous other burdens weighing heavy on my heart, this is challenging exercise, but always worthwhile.

When I was in my doctoral program, we spent a lot of time talking about the need for becoming self-differentiated, which put simply means being able to possess and identify your own thoughts and feelings and distinguish them from others. This is so important for all of us in our American culture and the Church, today. To embrace self-differentiation means we must do some internal work and explore and acknowledge who we are at our core – honestly a scary prospect for many.

As part of my exploration over the last several weeks, each author I have read or speaker I have engaged has pointed me back to the timely words of Howard Thurman's 1980 Commencement Address at Spelman College. I believe being self-differentiated has a lot to do with what Thurman calls “the genuine” within us. Just listen to Thurman explain.

There is something in every one of you that waits, listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself and if you cannot hear it, you will never find whatever it is for which you are searching and if you hear it and then do not follow it, it was better that you had never been born…

You are the only you that has ever lived; your idiom is the only idiom of its kind in all of existence and if you cannot hear the sound of the genuine in you, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls…

There is in you something that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself and sometimes there is so much traffic going on in your minds, so many different kinds of signals, so many vast impulses floating through your organism that go back thousands of generations, long before you were even a thought in the mind of creation, and you are buffeted by these, and in the midst of all of this you have got to find out what your name is. Who are you? How does the sound of the genuine come through to you…

The sound of the genuine is flowing through you. Don’t be deceived and thrown off by all the noises that are a part even of your dreams, your ambitions, so that you don’t hear the sound of the genuine in you, because that is the only true guide that you will ever have, and if you don’t have that you don’t have a thing.

Thurman goes on, but I think you get his gist. Take some time this week, to ask yourself, “Who am I?” May we cultivate the discipline of listening to the sound of the genuine inside ourselves this week because it truly could make a difference in our world.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

MEETINGHOUSE CLOSED TONIGHT: Friends, please note that due to inclement weather we will be closing the Meetinghouse tonight. If you’d like to join us for Wednesday Unprogrammed Worship, please plan to join us virtually on Zoom.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Meeting for Worship ~ Clerk’s Council met January 26th and decided to continue with on-line worship through February 6th. Like most members and attenders, we hope to be back together in person on the following Sunday, February 13th, but it will depend upon how COVID continues to impact our community. The Clerks considered the degree of safety of our Meeting Room, which is high due to the diligent and excellent work of the Trustees. However, the entire state of Indiana remains in the red zone for COVID, hospital capacities remain stressed, and cold weather makes it less tolerable to be in the Meeting Room with the windows open. In addition, children are currently the greatest transmission risk and children under 5 years of age cannot be vaccinated. Clerks Council will meet again February 8th to consider resuming in-person worship.

It is a hardship on some of our members/attenders to not have face-to-face contact. If you are having difficulty with this temporary shut-down, please reach out to any of the Clerks or Pastors for support. We want to hear from you! On-line worship will continue every week and you are encouraged to join First Friends on-line worship and the Fellowship Hour by Zoom.

Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday Feb 10th in Fellowship Hall from 6-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. If you are interested contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).

Adult Quaker Affirmation – DATE CHANGE ~ Please note that our adult Quaker Affirmation class series start date has been postponed to begin on Sunday, February 13th, from 11:30-1:00. This is an 8-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 still open! If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Restorative Yoga ~ Please join friend Kristyn Greenawald in a restorative yoga practice next Monday February 7th at 4:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. It will last for an hour. This gentle practice will stretch and restore you. $10 suggested donation. Hope to see you there!

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for February
Rock Pigeon: What’s in a Name?

In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, February 22nd led by Larry C.

Queries for the Week

· How can I follow my path to more wisdom?

· What wisdom can I receive from unlikely places?

· Where do I need to empty myself to allow more of the Divine wholeness inside of me?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 26, 2022

January 26, 2022

As Way Opens

I am reading the book After Jesus Before Christianity, a historical exploration of the first two centuries of Jesus Movements by Erin Vearncombe, Brandon Scott and Hal Taussig. It’s really interesting to take a closer examination and deeper study of this period of time that has been foundational to our current beliefs as Christians. For many years I thought the gospels and all of the New Testament told the story of Jesus and early Christianity and that the words we read in the Bible describe Jesus ministry and the church. The discovery of a number of early Jesus movement writings at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945 shook the world of theologians and religious educators. These writings showed a diverse community with lots of tensions, challenges and no unified understanding of beliefs in this movement.

One of the big tensions of this era was around gender. Jesus challenged gender culture in his time. According to these authors, gender is very much of a social concept with how we identify, how we structure, how we define roles and responsibilities and how we position gender in our societies. Jesus confronted the accepted position of women in his culture and welcomed women into his ministry, His relationship with Mary was one of a disciple (without explicitly being named a disciple) and from the writings in our gospels, I believe she understands Jesus teachings in a deeper way then any of the male disciples.

Based on the discovery of these documents in Egypt, it is clear that this Jesus community saw new spaces for women to imagine visibility, agency and leadership. They were testing gender boundaries. It is interesting to compare The Gospel of Mary (found at Nag Hammandi) and I Timothy to illustrate the tensions of the early movement and also the possibilities. In the Gospel of Mary there is an interesting confrontation with Peter, Mary and other disciples. Mary shares a vision she had of the Savior and his teaching. Peter thinks the teachings strange and says “Did the Savior really speak with a woman without our knowing about it? Are we turn around and all listen to her? Did he choose her over us? Mary weeps over these comments and the disciple Levi stands up for her. He says Peter, you have always been an angry person. Now I see you contending against the woman like adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you, then to reject her? Surely the Savior’s knowledge of her is trustworthy. That is why he loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed. We should clothe ourselves with the perfect Human, acquire it for ourselves as he commanded us, and proclaim the good news, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said (10:7-13).

Compare this to I Timothy that has been attributed to Paul but probably written by a later writer. This writing tells women how to dress, learn in silence with full submission, not teach and to keep silent. Paul had a complicated relationship with women based on some of his writing (not sure he wrote all of this according to scholars) but it is clear that women were a part of his leadership team.

So how do we reconcile these different teachings. It would not be possible to answer this question in terms of yes or no. Obviously the early “Church” was not unified in their positions and there were different views among all. “Women of the early communities of the Anointed test the social fabric, probe its weak spots, and thereby imagine alternative warps and wefts.” How exhilarating to think of the possibilities. I think it's similar to some of the tension among beliefs and understandings today. We need to embrace the idea of discovery, reflection, new insights and reject the idea that all belief is settled for Christians. I am thankful that Quakers rejected that idea from the very beginning and embrace women as prophets, leaders and teachers as inspired by the Spirit.

Beth

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

IMPORTANT NOTICE: January Meeting for Worship ~ Clerks council has decided to suspend in-person programmed Sunday worship services. Unprogrammed services will still happen via Zoom, except for Sunday Unprogrammed which will also happen in-person at 9am Sundays January 23 & 30. For the official statement, click here.

Office Notice ~ Please note that our Office Administrator Rebecca will be gone until January 31. During this time Bob and Beth will answer calls and emails and cover office duties. If you are in need of something, please bear with the office during that time!

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Please note that there will be no Men’s Threshing Together meeting for January. We plan to pick it back up in February. Please see the schedule here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11F_3lXxX3ZNRAW1yoowKrA2H2iDDLqvP/view

You’re Invited to Alhuda Mosque Tour- POSTPONED ~ Our trip to Alhuda Mosque in Fishers has been postponed to Saturday, February 12th at 10:00am. We will have a tour and a time for questions and answers. Please let Beth know if you would like to join us—there is still time to sign up!

Adult Quaker Affirmation POSTPONED ~ Please note that our adult Quaker Affirmation class series start date has been postponed to begin on Sunday, February 6th, from 11:30-1:00. This is an 8-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 still open! If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org

Save the Date – Mark your calendar for Saturday May 7th for a day retreat called the Linda Lee spirituality gathering where we will examine and experience a mystical life in a practical way. The retreat will run from 10:00 – 4:00 at the Benedictine Center. Linda Lee’s books will be available. Retreat cost is $30. More information will follow.

Illuminate Bible Study - You are cordially invited to the First Friends Bible study beginning February 10 and running for 13 weeks, on the book “James, 1 and 2 Peter: Practical Christian Living.“ The book is available at http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/ILLUMINATE/Illuminate-James-1-2-Peter-2011.html.

Afghan Family Resettling into Their New Home

First Friends is wasting no time in turning a house into a home for our co-sponsored family from Afghanistan. In the last week, project teams delivered a welcoming meal, installed a washer and dryer, and provided household needs from warm bedding and rugs to kitchen appliances, and sewing machine, and cleaning supplies. This week, furniture, including dressers and desks, was delivered. The children are enrolled in school. Kathy R and Paula K. are the newest Coordinating Committee members guiding the collaboration. Please continue to pray for and bless this strong, determined family that has survived so much and is determined to keep going forward.

FCNL: Setting Quaker Lobbying Priorities for the 118th Congress ~ Every two years, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) asks Friends around the country for help in setting the focus of our advocacy work. Starting now until mid-April, you and your community of Friends can participate in this discernment process to influence the priorities that we at FCNL will advocate for during the next Congress starting in 2023. Join us for our January Quaker Changemaker event to get inspiration from Friends’ experiences bringing Friends together through this process and get ready to engage your community to do the same.

Current Field Committee clerk Deb Hejl and former Policy Committee clerk Alex Stark will discuss the FCNL priorities process with moderator Bobby Trice. Learn what engaging in this process can look like, and then bring this knowledge to your Quaker communities to inform FCNL’s legislative agenda.

To register and for more information, visit https://www.fcnl.org/events/setting-quaker-lobbying-priorities-118th-congress.

Now is the time to begin planning for spring events. What to plant or nurture in your yard or property this year. Here are a few events that you may wish to check out.

February 15, 2022. 4:00-5:30 PM The Marion County SWCD is having is annual meeting and featuring a panel of local urban farmers who will share their perspectives on soil health principles in their food growing operations. The urban agriculture panel and interactive Q&A will be preceded by the annual business meeting with staff updates and highlights from 2021. Register today here! https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvd-2prDkuGdAn0_ru1lqMFW5OpwFpVNdk

January 27 from 6-7 PM on Zoom for an online, interactive In the Know with ROW: Planning the Future of Indy's Waterways. Members of our Strategic Planning Subcommittee will lead attendees in an interactive planning session to understand YOUR waterway priorities. What opportunities exist to improve and enhance the waterway nearest you? Learn more and RSVP today on Eventbrite

Want to become a Marion County master gardener? Contact Carey Grable: 317-275-9305 https://extension.purdue.edu/marion/pages/l.aspx?intLabelID=12 Marion County will be a host site for the Spring 2022 Purdue EMG Statewide Virtual Basic Training, Tuesdays, February 1 through May 3, 2022, from 6:30-8:30 PM ET / 5:30-7:30 PM CT via live webinars.
For more information contact Carey Grable: cagrable@purdue.edu
Surrounding counties have master gardener programs as well.

Free Lead Screening Kits Now Available! IUPUI's Center for Urban Health is teaming up with community organizations to distribute free, anonymous lead screening kits for Indianapolis residents living in homes built prior to 1974. These are available at Indianapolis Public Libraries. The goal of this project is to provide residents with the tools they need to understand the risks of household lead contamination. Each screening kit comes with materials to test the air, water, and soil quality for lead contamination. The kits can be identified by a sticker on the box, keeping the samples anonymous. The kits data will also contribute to anonymous public health data on Map My Environment

Queries for the Week

Queries from Victoria Loorz’s book “Church of the Wild” (Chapter 6):

· What would a Wild Christ – a Conversation who is the intermediary of love between all things…evoke in our world?

· Is it possible to imagine the worldview of kingdoms and empires transforming into a wordview of kin-dom and compassion?

· How might Christianity be different if it could become a place for sacred conversation: a place to explore possibilities and express doubts and disagree, and encourage voices on the edges?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 19, 2022

January 19, 2022

As Way Opens

This past Monday, I had the honor of participating in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration presented by the Shalom Zone Communities of Faith and hosted by Cross and Crown Lutheran Church. It was a beautiful celebration, but one thing that has continued to speak to me was the presentation of The Drum Major for Justice Award.

This year’s recipient was RecycleForce of Indianapolis. For those who are not familiar with Recycle Force, they are a non-profit organization that is committed to reducing crime through employment and job training, while improving the environment through electronics recycling.

After the drums sounded, Andrew King, Director of Inventory and Product Control at RecycleForce came forward to receive the award and share some words. Andrew was there for more than just accepting the award. He also came to give testimony to RecylceForce’s work and the change that was made possible in his life. Andrew told us of being incarcerated and afterwards being released to live under an overpass. Because of the “Good Samaritans” at RecycleForce, Andrew’s life was changed forever, and he was given a second chance. It was a moving testimony.

Dr. King spoke just before his death that after he was dead and gone, he hoped that people say he was drum major - a drum major for justice, a drum major for peace, a drum major for righteousness. Each of us are being called to be “drum majors” in our communities - to lead in the cause of justice, peace, and righteousness and help set the pace for others to follow.

I am deeply blessed that our Shalom Zone Communities of Faith work with RecycleForce. And I am thankful they are seen as a drum major for change in people’s lives and making this world a healthier and safer place to live.

For more information about RecycleForce, go to RecyceForce.org.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Please note that there will be no Men’s Threshing Together meeting for January. We plan to pick it back up in February. Please see the schedule here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11F_3lXxX3ZNRAW1yoowKrA2H2iDDLqvP/view

To register and for more information, visit https://www.fcnl.org/events/setting-quaker-lobbying-priorities-118th-congress.

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich ~ Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction ~ Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C., this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.

Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant, the first factory located near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Chippewa Council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new “emancipation” bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. It is 1953 and he and the other council members know the bill isn’t about freedom; Congress is fed up with Indians. The bill is a “termination” that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity. How can the government abandon treaties made in good faith with Native Americans “for as long as the grasses shall grow, and the rivers run”? Since graduating high school, Pixie Paranteau has insisted that everyone call her Patrice. Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Patrice, the class valedictorian, has no desire to wear herself down with a husband and kids. She makes jewel bearings at the plant, a job that barely pays her enough to support her mother and brother. Patrice’s shameful alcoholic father returns home sporadically to terrorize his wife and children and bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to follow her beloved older sister, Vera, who moved to the big city of Minneapolis. Vera may have disappeared; she hasn’t been in touch in months, and is rumored to have had a baby. Determined to find Vera and her child, Patrice makes a fateful trip to Minnesota that introduces her to unexpected forms of exploitation and violence, and endangers her life.

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, January 25th led by Rhonda C.

Here is the NYTimes review:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/books/review/night-watchman-louise-erdrich.html

First Friends Financial Update: The Finance and Development Committee expresses gratitude to the First Friends family for financial support of the Meeting throughout 2021. As reported at the January Monthly Meeting, First Friends closed the year with a financial surplus, reversing the losses of 2020. Thank you to all who have donated, and your continued support in 2022 is much appreciated.

Queries for the Week

· How have you allowed the myth of time- the “strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills” to impede you from action?

· Have we spent much time contemplating something “radical,” i.e., a solution that goes to the root of the problem, that questions the most fundamental of our assumptions?

· How are you personally inspired by Dr. King’s dogged commitment to the writing of this letter in the direst of circumstances? How can you take action?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 12, 2022

January 13, 2022

As Way Opens

A friend sent me this writing from St John of the Cross from The Ascent of Mount Carmel. I usually think of this mystic monk and writer from the 16th century as the author of the Dark Night of the Soul. That was the classic writing on facing our disbelief, feeling alone and abandoned. It was in this place of darkness, that the Light of God surrounded him and overwhelmed him.

This particular writing really moved me and seems like the follow up to the Dark Night of the Soul. I am embracing this as I set my intentions for the new year. We are peering into uncertainty and darkness in these turbulent times. Yet the light of faith allows me to see a brilliance that is as if I was blind before. We can see into the darkness.

"The overwhelming light of faith eclipses our intellect and what we can see.

The light of faith is like the light of the sun,

So bright that when it is shining all other lights seem not to be lights at all,

All other ways of seeing seem not to be seeing.

The light of faith does not improve our human sight, it overwhelms it.

Discovering the light of faith is like being born blind,

And then being introduced to colors we have never seen.

It is seeing with a wholly new kind of sight.

When we see with the eyes of faith,

We are seeing in the dark."

May we all set our intentions each day to live into this vibrant light and allow this light of faith to guide our daily paths.

Beth

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

IMPORTANT NOTICE: January Meeting for Worship ~ Please stay tuned to your emails for clerk’s council’s decision on whether or not to continue meeting in person for the rest of January. Please note if we do hold worship, we will not serve any snacks or drinks for Fellowship Hour after Meeting for Worship. We will still gather with masks on for this time of fellowship. Thank you for your cooperation!

Office Notice ~ Please note that our Office Administrator Rebecca will be gone for two weeks and will return January 31. During this time Bob and Beth will answer calls and emails and cover office duties. If you are in need of something, please bear with the office during that time!

Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday January 13 from 6-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. This time we will study the Book of Thomas. We will be meeting by Zoom only. If you are interested, email, call the office at 317-255-2485

Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration Service ~ Shalom Zone invites you to an annual service in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. It will be held Monday, January 17 at 11:00 at Cross & Crown Lutheran Church, 5233 E. 79th St, Indianapolis, 46250. The keynote speaker will be Rev. Kenneth Wheeler, nationally recognized preacher and author. It will also feature guest musicians, The Lewis Trio. Our own Pastor Bob will also be participating in the service. A catered community luncheon will be served immediately following the service (vegetarian and take home options available). Face masks are optional. If you’d like to join virtually, the livestream will be at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1f79BoM9fw. Questions? Contact info@ccllutheran.com.

Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Please note that there will be no Men’s Threshing Together meeting for January. We plan to pick it back up in February. Please see the schedule here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11F_3lXxX3ZNRAW1yoowKrA2H2iDDLqvP/view

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month

For January: Song Sparrow

Anticipation

In the Christian calendar we will in a couple of months begin Lent, a period of anticipation leading up to Easter. Recently we celebrated Advent, looking forward to Christmas. The anticipation for Christmas seems to stretch the “secular advent” until it begins, in stores at least, around Halloween.

In the bird world the anticipation is celebrated by the males of many species, as they sing and perhaps begin to display courtship rituals far earlier than the actual time for nesting. In the Meditational Woods the champions of this early stretching behavior are, among others, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, and this month’s selection, Song Sparrow. All it takes is a bright sunny day in January, cold temperatures or not, and snow covered or not, and the hormones in some of these males seem to wake up and cause the males to break out in full song. Perhaps they are practicing for later. I can just imagine the females responding with a loud groan and, “Hey, hold your horses!! It’s not time yet!!”

For me, it brings a smile to my face. I share the anticipation of the boys. The bright sun and resulting singing remind me that, although much of winter is still ahead, part of God’s creation is anticipating springtime. ~Brad J

To register and for more information, visit https://www.fcnl.org/events/setting-quaker-lobbying-priorities-118th-congress.

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club titles for 2022!

January 25 ~ The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

February 22 ~ Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

March 29 ~ The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

April 26 ~ Let the Lord Sort Them by Maurice Chammah

May 31 ~ Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

June 28 ~ The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

July 26 ~ The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

August 30 ~ Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks

September 27 ~ The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

October 25 ~ Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

November 29 ~ The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

December 27 ~ The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

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

Queries for the Week

· How aware am I of the need for others in my life?

· Who may I need to “turn to” this week and listen to more intently?

· As a faith community, how might we at First Friends embrace a spirit of ubuntu in the coming year?

Comment

Friend to Friend January 5, 2022

January 10, 2022

As Way Opens

I started 2022 by reading devotionally Victoria Loorz’s book, Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred. In the fourth chapter, Loorz writes of how we are to enter sacred places.

Reading her words, I could not help but think about how we often enter the New Year. Some of us almost crash into the New Year hoping that a handful of resolutions or a new exercise plan will make the change we have needed in our lives. Others reluctantly enter the New Year with trepidatious and anxious tiptoeing hoping not to disturb anything. Loorz suggests another approach which I have adapted for entering the New Year – sauntering.

Loorz points out that the ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, John Muir loved to utilize the word, saunter, to emphasize our need to enter slowly and intentionally into life. Muir used to explain it this way.

“Away back in the Middle Ages, people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they are going, they would replay, ‘A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they become known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers.”

To say we are sauntering into 2022, means that we are invited and allured by a desire to wander, deeply listen, pay attention, and step off the “hamster wheel” of life. Loorz says, “This is an invitation to depart from what is familiar and easy in order to step into what is wild and unknown.”

We do not know what 2022 will bring, yet how we approach it will be vitally important. May we saunter into 2022 and allow ourselves to be allured and surprised by all that the Divine is presenting to us in the present moment.

Grace and peace (and Happy New Year),

Bob

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

You’re Invited to Alhuda Mosque Tour ~ We will be taking a trip to Alhuda Mosque in Fishers on Saturday, January 15th at 10:00am. We will have a tour and a time for questions and answers. Please let Beth know if you would like to join us—there is still time to sign up! beth.henricks@indyfriends.org.

Adult Quaker Affirmation Coming Soon ~ We are glad to offer an adult Quaker Affirmation class series which will begin on Sunday, January 16, from 11:30-1:00. This is an 8-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 still open! If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or Beth at Beth.henricks@indyfriends.org.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that in an abundance of caution, for the month of January, we will not serve any snacks or drinks for Fellowship Hour after Meeting for Worship. We will still gather with masks on for this time of fellowship. Thank you for your cooperation!

Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday January 13 from 6-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. This time we will study the Book of Thomas. A light supper will also be served. If you are interested, email the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).

A Girl from Galilee - Beth Farris has published a book titled A Girl from Galilee. The book is targeted for high school aged readers, but can be enjoyed by anyone interested in the Jewish roots of Christianity. Anna is a shepherdess in first-century Galilee, passionate about God and driven to learn more. But Anna's faith is suddenly challenged when an altercation forces her to defend her life.

Encompassing an exploration and celebration of the roots of Christianity, this is the story of a girl who can do nothing else but seek the path forward, a girl learning to trust God not only with her marriage but with her life. It is for sale on the Barnes and Noble website, or through Amazon.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month

For January: Song Sparrow

Anticipation

Brad J

First Friends to Meet Afghan Evacuee Family Virtually Because of COVID!

Exodus Refugee Asks Us to Interact Virtually as Much as Possible.

First Friends welcomes our co-sponsored family to Indianapolis and our First Friends community! Our co-sponsor, Exodus Refugee, matched us with an Afghan evacuee family of seven— a mother, father and five children. Their native language is Dari and they don’t speak English.

The family settled into their new home with help from Exodus’ housing team and their home was stocked with food and furniture from Exodus. Later the family will select items from First Friends’ donations. Steve S., Point Person for the Setting Up Activity Group, may need volunteers to help move items later.

Soon the Afghan Team and helpers will meet the family virtually because of COVID. Once we meet them we will be better able to assist them.

Thank you everyone for your gifts of prayer, time, talent,

household goods, knowledge, and dollars to support the First Friends Afghan Project, Exodus and ultimately the family with whom we have been matched.

Re: Furnishings and household goods

From: Barbara O., Afghan Project Coordinating Committee,

Set Up Activity Group

Many thanks to everyone who has offered furniture and other household goods to our family! They have seen our list and have chosen a few pieces that they need. We are not actively asking for more, nor will we schedule any pick-ups until we receive word from them. We’ll let you know as soon as we have their complete list of needs.

Re: Monetary Donations

From: Jim D.,

Afghan Project Fundraiser

If you would like to assist the Afghan Project, send a check to First Friends with “Afghan Family” noted in the memo section. Or you can donate on our website at indyfriends.org/support by choosing “Afghan Evacuee Assistance” as the fund or text 317-768-0303 with keyword “Afghan.” Thank you for supporting this cause.

For your convenience we are including the two links to articles about Afghan culture and customs that we have featured previously. Here is a guide from Riley, and here is another guide from Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center.

—Nancy S, Clerk, First Friends Afghan Project

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club titles for 2022!

January 25 ~ The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

February 22 ~ Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

March 29 ~ The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

April 26 ~ Let the Lord Sort Them by Maurice Chammah

May 31 ~ Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

June 28 ~ The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

July 26 ~ The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

August 30 ~ Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks

September 27 ~ The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

October 25 ~ Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

November 29 ~ The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

December 27 ~ The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

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

We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, January 25th led by Rhonda C.

Here is the NYTimes review:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/books/review/night-watchman-louise-erdrich.html

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Friend to Friend December 22, 2021

December 30, 2021

As Way Opens

Reading Richard Rohr’s writings this week about Christmas reminded me again of how God comes into our world.

"There’s really nothing necessarily pretty about the first Christmas. We have Joseph breaking the law, knowing what he should do with a seemingly “adulterous woman,” but he doesn’t divorce Mary as the Law clearly tells him to do, even though he has no direct way of knowing that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit [Matthew 1:18–24]. It can certainly lead us to wonder why so much of Christianity became so legalistic when we have at its very beginning a man who breaks the law to protect the dignity of the woman he loves. Then we clearly have a couple that is homeless and soon to be refugees or immigrants in their flight to Egypt shortly after Jesus’ birth [Matthew 2:13–15].

So where is this God revealing God’s self? Certainly not in the “safe” world, but at the edge, at the bottom, among those people and places where we don’t want to find God, where we don’t look for God, where we don’t expect God. The way we’ve shaped Christianity, one would think it was all about being nice and middle class and “normal” and under the law. In the Gospels, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are none of those things, so they might just be telling us we should be looking elsewhere for our status and dignity. Maybe the reason that our knowledge of God is so limited is because we’ve been looking for God in places we consider nice and pretty. Instead, God chooses the ordinary and messy.

What is our story as Christians? God being totally vulnerable, totally poor, a little child. If we’re honest, this is not a fitting image for God. It’s telling us right away that God is not who we think God is! Sadly, most people’s image of God is jolly Santa, making a list and checking it twice, finding out who’s naughty or nice. It’s certainly not this humble, helpless baby who has come to love us in ways that we’re not ready to be loved.

What this feast tells us is that reality, at its deepest foundation, is good, even “very good.” The divine is hidden quietly inside the human. The holy is hidden in the physical and the material. Therefore, we have every reason to live in hope and trust and confidence."

May we this holiday season find God in unexpected places, within the ordinary and within our own messiness. And may we seek God’s face in the stranger among us.

Merry Christmas.

Beth

Joys & Concerns

A note from Shawn P:

To my First Friends family: Thank you so much for your many letters, cards, words of appreciation and the wonderful celebration you had for me in November: it was so much fun!

I am truly humbled and honored to have been part of the music ministry here at FF for 25 years and that FF has been a place where I could grow in many ways. I am most grateful for the lifelong friendships I have from here and First Friends will always be a part of me.

Much love,

Shawn

A note from Billie M:

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to one and all! Big hugs ALL AROUND! -Billie

Christmas Singalong ~ Hark! What was the joyful noise emanating from the halls of First Friends last Friday night? No, not necessarily angels but three Santas! Jim and the Band (Jim K, Jesse S and Luke, Jim’s nephew) appeared for a Christmas Singalong.

It was a dreary, rainy night outdoors; indoors there were refreshments and jingle bells. Words of Christmas carols were shown on a screen in case singers only remembered the choruses. The performance also featured moving original music and lyrics by band members, especially when Luke sang solo.

As participants were leaving a call came in from Billie Main who is in hospice care at her son’s home. The crowd sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to her and she responded in typical Billie fashion. She sang her rendition of “Be Kind to Your Web-Footed Friends” (not real name, but you know the song) back to the gathering. All present laughed at Unforgettable Billie’s special gift to us. Everyone dispersed with a smile and disappeared into the December night.

-Nancy (Thanks to Nancy S for the photos).

This past Sunday was our annual Children’s Pageant in Meeting for Worship. The kids had a great time, and so did we! Thank you to Sam Ryan for bringing baby Lana to be our Baby Jesus. All of our children did a wonderful job telling the Christmas story!

Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities

Christmas Eve Service ~ We invite you to join us for our annual Christmas Eve Service, which will be held in-person on Friday, December 24 at 5:30pm. This family Christmas Eve service, “Let There Be Light!” is a simple, Quakerly take on Christmas. We will have Christmas music, a song for the kids, and lighting of individual candles. We hope you will join us for this special service. If you’d like to join us online, we’ll have a separate video premiering at 5:30 on our YouTube channel that can also be watched at any time. Tune in at https://youtu.be/yl5o03g0uu4.

Please note: Office Closed ~ Please note that the Meeting office will be closed Monday and Tuesday, December 27 and 28 as well as Monday, January 3rd due to the holidays. There will also be no Friend to Friend next week, December 29. We hope you have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!

Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

During Sarah Smarsh’s turbulent childhood in Kansas in the 1980s and 1990s, the forces of cyclical poverty and the country’s changing economic policies solidified her family’s place among the working poor. By telling the story of her life and the lives of the people she loves, Smarsh challenges us to look more closely at the class divide in our country and examine the myths about people thought to be less because they earn less. Her personal history affirms the corrosive impact intergenerational poverty can have on individuals, families, and communities, and she explores this idea as lived experience, metaphor, and level of consciousness.

Smarsh was born a fifth generation Kansas wheat farmer on her paternal side and the product of generations of teen mothers on her maternal side. Through her experiences growing up as the daughter of a dissatisfied young mother and raised predominantly by her grandmother on a farm thirty miles west of Wichita, we are given a unique and essential look into the lives of poor and working class Americans living in the heartland. Combining memoir with powerful analysis and cultural commentary, Heartland is an uncompromising look at class, identity, and the particular perils of having less in a country known for its excess.

We will gather at the Kathy Rhyne’s home and via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 led by Kathy R.

Welcome to our Afghan Family!

First Friends Co-Sponsors Afghan Evacuees

First Friends welcomes our sponsored Afghan family to Indianapolis and our First Friends community! We have been expecting them and preparing for their arrival.

Our co-sponsor, Exodus Refugee, told us Thursday that we are matched with an Afghan evacuee family of six— a mother, father and four children, one young enough to need a highchair. Their native language is Dari and they speak no English.

The family settled into their new home with help from Exodus’ housing team since it was a very fast turnaround time when the family decided to remain in Indianapolis rather than continue on to Bloomington. The Exodus team stocked the home with food and furniture and is allowing the Sultanis to select items from First Friends’ donations. Steve S, Point Person for the Set Up Activity Group, may need volunteers to help move items at a later date.

The Afghan Team and helpers will NOT meet the family until after January 3rd because of low staffing at Exodus and a lack of interpreters. Then we will learn more about them.

Thank you everyone for your gifts of prayer, time, talent, household goods, knowledge, and dollars to support the First Friends Afghan Project, Exodus and ultimately the Sultanis.

Re: Furnishings and household goods
From: Barbara O, Afghan Project Coordinating Committee, Set Up Activity Group

Many thanks to everyone who has offered furniture and other household goods to our family! They have seen our list and have chosen a few pieces that they need. We are not actively asking for more, nor will we schedule any pick-ups until we receive word from them. We are told that it will likely be after January 3. We’ll let you know as soon as we have their complete list of needs.

Re: Monetary Donations
From: Jim D,
Afghan Project Fundraiser

Exodus Refugee, sub-contracted by the U. S. Government, requires that First Friends raise $5,000 to assist the resettlement of Afghan evacuees. We hope to achieve most of this goal yet this year but will also accept donations in January 2022. Checks should be written and sent to First Friends with “Afghan Family” noted in the memo section. Or you can donate on our website at indyfriends.org/support by choosing “Afghan Evacuee Assistance” as the fund or text 317-768-0303 with keyword “Afghan.” If you plan to make a contribution in 2022, we would appreciate that you send a note to First Friends with the amount that you intend to contribute in 2022.

—Nancy S, Clerk, First Friends Afghan Project

‘Tis the season to receive mail with postage stamps on it! This is an ideal time to begin trimming stamps off packages and cards that you receive. Trim them with 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch around them and drop them in the box on the bench by the east door of First Friends. They will be sold and the proceeds given to Right Sharing of World Resources. This will benefit communities in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and India.

Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December

Canada Goose: A Reputation Altered

The Canada Goose is a species that can be seen flying over the meeting house property in any month of the year, as it moves from on body of water to another, usually in pairs or small flocks. This species only occasionally stops here, not in the woods, but in the front yard of the church building, or, more likely, in the grassy yard north of the parking lot, garage, and garden.

When I was young, adults told me that the sight of flocks of Canada Geese flying southward in the fall was a sure sign that fall was nearly over, and winter was approaching. Likewise in the spring, the northbound Vs of geese assured us that spring was here, and summer on its way. Folks looked forward to this twice-annual viewing of the cycle of nature, and appreciated its regularity.

Geese nesting in Central Indiana was pretty much unknown. Then, over the years something changed: Canada Geese appeared to be hanging around, year ‘round. Yes, it is true!! The reported cause was the invention, proliferation, and prominence of apartments and office parks with their ponds. Geese apparently said to each other, “Why fly all the way north to Michigan and beyond, when we can stop right here where all our needs are easily met?” There you have it, but that is not the end of the story. Many of you readers have witnessed the negatives. Besides the droppings cluttering sidewalks, the stubborn, slow-moving geese and automobiles are a poor match. In addition, the birds often choose to nest in unfortunate places. In Fishers a pair nested near the entrance of a large box store, and, nearby, another pair hatched chicks in one of the drive-up lanes of a drug store. In both cases, the male of the pair defended the nest area, chasing away customers, managers, and pets on leashes!!

I am not here to be a negative blame assigner. I appreciate geese, and sympathize with their plight. I believe there is a lesson here somewhere. ~ Brad J

Adult Quaker Affirmation Coming Soon ~ We are glad to offer an adult Quaker Affirmation class series which will begin on Sunday, January 16, from 11:30-1:00. This is a 8-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. If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.

Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club titles for 2022!

January 25 ~ The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

February 22 ~ Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

March 29 ~ The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

April 26 ~ Let the Lord Sort Them by Maurice Chammah

May 31 ~ Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

June 28 ~ The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

July 26 ~ The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

August 30 ~ Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks

September 27 ~ The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

October 25 ~ Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

November 29 ~ The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

December 27 ~ The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

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

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