As Way Opens
Way has opened for Jon and me to live together again… all the time… after four years of commuting! We are grateful for the way God has allowed our relationship to grow, continuing to nurture one another, despite the distance between us and the craziness of travel. We’re also thankful for the direction God has given us in our work that has shaped our future. Isn’t God good? Jon has resigned and will leave the University of Iowa Neurology Department this coming June, and move to Indiana in July. He will begin working for an independent company doing much the same thing he’s done for the past three years while in Indianapolis – monitoring neurosurgeries via computer. This is a great blessing to both of us, allowing us the ability to be fully present to each other, and to the work we’re called to do. I’m so thankful for the way God has cared for us, for the care the Meeting has given us for what will have been four years of travel, and for the richness of relationships we all share. Isn’t God good?
Considering the Query: . Do you respect that of God in everyone though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or be difficult to discern? Each of us has a particular experience of God and each must find the way to be true to it. When words are strange or disturbing to you, try to sense where they come from and what has nourished the lives of others. Listen patiently and seek the truth which other people’s opinions may contain for you. Avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language. Do not allow the strength of your convictions to betray you into making statements or allegations that are unfair or untrue. Think it possible that you may be mistaken From: Advices and queries; Britain Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice, 5th edition, @ 1995-2015 Quaker Faith and Practice
Joys & Concerns
Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy, OH BOY! Logan Jacob Hostetler entered the world this past Sunday, January 24th at 4:00 pm. He was 8 lbs 7 ozs and 20 inches long. He joins his brothers, Landon, Cole, and Owen. Welcome to the world, Logan! His parents, Michael and Katie, are doing fine.
Beth Henricks’ cousin, Marabeth LaMacchio has recently had emergency surgery that led to the discovery of Stage 4 cancer. Marabeth had breast cancer 10 years ago and this reoccurrence is a great shock. Please hold her family in the Light. Thank you for your love and care.
Susan Jordan, Principal of Amy Beverland Elementary School, was killed in a bus accident yesterday as she protected a number of students when a bus jumped a curb at afternoon dismissal. Our own Lindsay Sherer Deeg teaches at the school. Please pray for the faculty, staff and students, the Jordan family, and the bus driver, as well. This is a very tragic time for all involved. May God’s love surround them, and God’s strength and peace touch their lives.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Old Year’s Resolution As we approached the end of 2015 I let our meeting know that we needed to close a large gap between our expenses and donations. Thanks to your incredible generosity our meeting nearly closed that gap before the year was out. At our January monthly meeting I reported a short fall for 2015 of about $3,600. Close to breaking even … but red ink is red ink. Since that monthly meeting, we have received another generous donation to cover that full amount, bringing us to a breakeven year … and clearing that last red ink from the page. Thank you all for helping our meeting start 2016 with a clean financial slate. Eric Tinsley Clerk of Finance Committee
Quaker Affirmation Class for Adults will be having its fourth meeting during Sunday School hour (9:00 a.m.) in the parlor. This Sunday, we will be discussing the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality. All are welcome to attend even if you missed any of the classes! The class will last through the next 3 months so feel free to come as you can.
This Sunday, January 31st, Beth Henricks will be selling chocolates, coffee, tea and cocoa for our Youth Group Activities. Regularly, Beth sells these fair trade products in Fellowship Hall after Meeting, and they are truly delicious. The proceeds help fund youth activities here at first friends and their service projects.
Grace Miller in Print! Friends Journal Article featuring someone from our First Friends Family! Harold and Ellen Miller’s daughter and Sam Miller’s sister, Grace is featured in the January issue of Friends Journal in their article, “A Quaker Voice in Indiana – Interview with Grace Miller of Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation”. It’s a wonderful article about the power of Quaker faith and action, and how each one of us can make a difference. IFCL is seeing a new burst of enthusiasm, and we are happy to see Grace Miller, Bill Chapman and others from First Friends becoming more active and interested in how Quakers can change the world! Grab the Journal, and check pps 17-19!
If anyone is interested in volunteering at Hoosier Environmental Council as an environmental advocate, please contact Sylvia Andrews or Amanda Shepherd at HEC. Some of their major concerns during this legislative session include the “Right to Harm Bill, SJR 12” and the Mounds Greenway. If you have ever felt the desire to do more for the environment in Indiana than just donate money this is your chance. Host a Greening Your Community party, call others about legislation, and attend legislative Third House meetings.
Brrr! It’s Cold Outside! Please continue to bring donations of winter clothing for the Boner Center. The box is in Fellowship Hall on the stage in front of the curtain. They appreciate what we are doing to help the homeless and others in need of clothing.
Calling all Singers! Dan Forrest’s ‘Requiem for the Living’: A beautiful new setting of the Requiem by Dan Forrest will be presented on Sunday, March 20th @ 3pm by singers from our Shalom Zone* churches, invited by Allisonville Chancel Choir & Orchestra. This powerful five-movement work projects a wide range of meaningful expression, from a biting essay on the vanity and pain of mankind to a plea for mercy, and finally a celebration of eternal light. ALL are welcome to join us as we prepare this choral masterpiece. Rehearsals will begin on this coming Monday, February 1 @ 7pm and will continue as follows: Monday's @ 7pm-9pm on February 1, 8, 15, 22 & March 7, 14 Thursday’s @ 7:30-8:15 on February 11, 18, 25; March 3, 10 Rehearsals with Orchestra on Thursday, March 17 - 7pm-9pm and Saturday, March 19 - 1pm-3pm *First Friends Meeting, Epworth UMC, Cross & Crown Lutheran, St Pius X, Allisonville Christian Contact Matthew Tippel, Director of Music, at 317-408-4904 or matthewk28@hotmail.com if you like to join or have any questions.
Sunday February 7th we will host “Souper Bowl Sunday” after Meeting for Worship in fellowship hall. Soup will be prepared for all to enjoy for a free will donation to Second Helpings. Both Statia Murphy and Vicki Wertz work at Second Helpings and we want to support this important organization for those less fortunate in our city. Start your Super Bowl Sunday by eating soup at the First Friends “Souper Bowl” party and learn more about Second Helpings.
Quaker Spirituality is presented by Steve Angell, Professor of Quaker Studies at Earlham School of Religion. Fairfield Friends Meeting will be hosting several Quaker Spirituality talks from the perspective of Margaret Fell, Isaac Pennington, Caroline Stephen, Thomas Kelly and Margery Abbott. Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM Fairfield Friends Meeting February 16, 2016—Margaret Fell February 23, 2016—Isaac Pennington March 1, 2016—Caroline Stephen March 8, 2016—Thomas Kelly March 15, 2016—Margery Abbott Free of charge but a one-time donation of $10.00 for ESR is suggested. For further information, contact Sarah Lookabill (slookabill@att.net).
The Children’s Museum is currently running an exhibit, Sacred Journeys, which is an immersive experience for those interested in traveling the world's most sacred sights through pictures and artifacts from all over the world. Families will be able to observe, discuss, and begin to understand some of the sacred journeys made by people around the world, from personal acts of faith to pilgrimages. Sacred journeys will include the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Great Mosque in Mecca, the Ganges River in India, Bodh Gaya in India where Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, and more. The exhibit will run through late February.
“Friends of Nature Kids” ~ Living Levels~ Think of what animal lives deepest underground and then take turns thinking of the animals that live on level above that, and then one level above that until you work all the way up to animals that live in trees, and finally, birds. What’s the highest flying bird you can think of? From 52 Nature Activities by Lynn Gordon, Chronicle Books, San Francisco.