Concerns, Announcements and Devotional Thought
A Weekly Ministry of Indianapolis First Friends Meeting
As Way Opens by Ruthie Tippin
“We have gathered today to honor one of the great men of the twentieth century. His is the story of what is best in the American heritage. He bears witness to a way of life which we seldom demonstrate, but which is infinitely precious in that it provides a standard by which we may judge our relative failures, as well as our relative successes.” These are the opening sentences from the Eulogy for Herbert Hoover, written by D. Elton Trueblood that I was honored to share this past weekend, in remembrance of President Hoover’s death fifty years ago. Representatives from Belgium, the United States, and the Society of Friends had been asked to come to honor his death, and the meaning of his life. The winner of the World Food Prize spoke. As in all our lives, we sometimes fail and sometimes succeed. Hoover was able to outlive the ‘worldwide economic storm’ that plagued his Presidency, the criticism he received, and move into a future that held much more work and success. Do we trade in failure? Do we hold each other, or even ourselves, in the failures we endure? Or do we choose freedom? Freedom to admit imperfection, to accept grace, to be thankful for what we can and do achieve, and to move forward, empowered by a new understanding of ourselves? President Hoover could have left his presidency and fulfilled the expectations of all those who derided him. Instead, he went on to a life filled with public service… a life of integrity, challenging us all to ‘accept responsibility for some unique contribution to the total community.’ What will be our choice? To bind ourselves and others to past failures, or to free one another and ourselves to future success? God give us grace.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Daylight Savings Time Ends at 2am this Sunday, so don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed, or you may show up to church an hour early on Sunday!
New 2015 Pocket Directories are now available. Indianapolis First Friends meeting has just received a new shipment of updated pocket directories. These directories have current contact information for our members and attenders alike. We encourage you to pick up a new directory in the main hallway (one per family please). An electronic version (PDF) and a larger print paper list (not a booklet) are also available by contacting Amanda Bow at 255-2485 or email office@indyfriends.org.
Gathering Group is Tuesday, November 4th at 7:00 pm. Friends gather to do all kinds of handwork: crochet, knitting, rug working, whatever you want to do. All are welcome to join in and create.
Wednesday, November 5th: All interested Friends are invited to come to West Newton Friends Church to hear David Zarembka share information about the peace work in Kenya (and surrounding countries) being done by Friends there. David, a member of Baltimore YM, started the Africa Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI) several years ago and the organization continues to do pro-active work to teach peace-making skills and promote reconciliation in areas of conflict. AGLI continues to be an important collaborative element in the Friends Church Peace Teams formed after the post-election violence in 2008. You'll be amazed at David's personal accounts of the impact Friends are having and may learn a few peace building ideas that we can use, too. A light supper will be served at 6:00 and David's interactive presentation will begin at 6:30.
Quaker Earthcare Witness has released the newest ‘Befriending Creation,’ their bi-monthly newsletter. This issue has eyewitness accounts from several Friends who participated in the People’s Climate March in New York City on September 21, 2014, and also had an article regarding UNFCCC negotiations. To download the newsletter free of charge, please visit http://www.quakerearthcare.org/bfc/volume-27-number-5.
Please join us for Community Soup on Friday, November 7th, anytime between 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Enjoy soups, bread, and dessert in a relaxed atmosphere. No cooking, no dishwashing, and no charge. Stay after dinner for a movie, “The Loving Story”. Mildred and Richard Loving were told they were criminals. Their crime was that while being of different races, they chose to spend their lives together. In 1958 Mildred and Richard left their home state of Virginia to marry in Washington D.C. When they returned to Virginia they were arrested for the crime of “co-habitating as a man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Virginia”. Little did the state of Virginia know when they convicted the Loving’s that the power of love between two people can bring down a mountain of intolerance. As we see dramatic changes in equality happening in our state and nation the “Loving Story” offers valuable lessons for us to think about today. The power of love, the humanity of an activist U.S. Attorney General and the power of a U.S. Supreme Court willing to come together across ideological lines to tackle the issue of whether the state can control who one chooses to love.
Indy First Friends Young Adult Fellowship. Hungry? It’s soup season; something warm and comforting is good for the body and the soul. Join us at 7pm on Wednesday, November 12th from 7-9pm for a casual dinner and the first of several discussions covering various Christian mystics; what did they have to say? Are they relevant to living a spiritual life in the 21st century? How are they similar and how do they differ from traditional Quaker thought? All 20-30 somethings are welcome!
Are you tired of all the violence and looking for a way to help make Indianapolis a more peaceful city? You can help by becoming a peace ambassador. Peace ambassadors are tutors or coaches who go into schools, camps, or other community centers and equip people with nonviolent tools and techniques to resolve conflict. To become a peace ambassador, volunteers from our churches must participate in three 6-7 hour training sessions from Peace Learning Center. The first session is being held at First Mennonite Church at 4601 Knollton Rd on Saturday, November 15th from 9am-4pm, or if you can’t make that, at Shalom Mennonite Church at 6100 32nd St. on Saturday, November 21st from 9am-4pm. Are you willing? This is a hands on way for you to help make Indianapolis a more peaceful city. Please contact Deb Hejl if interested at deb@hejlmail.com.
Nov. 13 "Books and Basics" Party Will Welcome Baby Comacho. Introducing...Valerie Elizabeth Flores, born to Rocio and Jose on Thurs., Oct. 9th. Rocio is our cherished custodian and friend, and we invite you to celebrate Valerie's birth at a party on Thursday, Nov. 13, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, in the parlor. Refreshments will be hearty snacks, and, in keeping with the Quaker commitment to equality, this celebration is not gender-limited. All are welcome! If you would like to welcome Valerie with a gift, here are three ways to do that:
- An assortment of excellent children's books will be on display at the party. You may purchase one or more as your gift. That's the "books" part of the party.
- As for the "basics," you could bring a package of disposable diapers, in a size that is likely to fit Valerie sometime between now and her first birthday.
- As our community gift, we are going to purchase a high chair. If you would like to participate in this purchase, you may give your contribution to Amanda, in the office.
Please RSVP to Amanda Bow at office@indyfriends.org or by calling 255-2485, to help those who are preparing refreshments.
Join us for an Eco-Film Series at Epworth United Methodist Church, 6450 Allisonville Road, at 7:30 p.m. on the second Friday of each month. The next one is Friday, November 14th at 7:30 p.m. called “Plastic Paradise”. Thousands of miles away from civilization, Midway Atoll is in one of the most remote places on earth. And yet it’s become ground zero for The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, syphoning plastics from three distant continents. In this independent documentary film, journalist/filmmaker Angela Sun travels on a personal journey of discovery to uncover this mysterious phenomenon. Along the way she meets scientists, researchers, influencers, and volunteers who shed light on the effects of our rabid plastic consumption and learns the problem is more insidious than we could have ever imagined. http://plasticparadisemovie.com.
Mid-North Food Pantry Wins $4500 Grant! In September, the Mid-North Food Pantry got some good news: it was awarded a $4500 matching grant by the outreach committee of Trinity Episcopal Church. These outreach grants are awarded once a year at the committee’s discretion.They plan to plow that grant money directly into our general operating expenses. Food and staff salaries are both their biggest expenses and greatest needs. They’re a no-frills operation, and use every penny to fulfill their mission of feeding the hungry. Trinity’s grant will help to keep their doors open and the shelves stocked. What wonderful news!
Would you like to receive a copy of each First Day’s sermon? Simply sign-up for Wednesday Word by sending an email request to office@indyfriends.org or call the Meeting Office at 317-255-2485. The sermons are also available both in text and audio on www.indyfriends.org.