As Way Opens
Early Monday morning after hearing that my wife and boys were having a 2-hour school delay, I found myself out in our driveway shoveling snow. Actually, on our street I was the only person outside in the dark at 6:30am. As I began shoveling, I became keenly aware that I was making way too much noise. I was almost annoyed at how the scraping of the shovel seemed louder than usual. So, I stopped. I leaned the shovel up against my house and simply paused a moment to take in the silence. If any of my neighbors were watching out their windows, they may have wondered a bit.
I am sure at some point you have experienced how the silence after a snowfall is like no other silence. There are no voices, cars, or cell phones ringing, just a peaceful serene blanketing silence expectant of what the day will bring. It reminded me of the following poem.
How Is It That the Snow
By Robert Haight
How is it that the snow
amplifies the silence,
slathers the black bark on limbs,
heaps along the brush rows?
Some deer have stood on their hind legs
to pull the berries down.
Now they are ghosts along the path,
snow flecked with red wine stains.
This silence in the timbers.
A woodpecker on one of the trees
taps out its story,
stopping now and then in the lapse
of one white moment into another.
As you celebrate the holidays and close another year, take a moment to allow the silence in your life to be amplified. Find a quiet place to center down and allow the God of the Universe to blanket you in expectation of what the New Year will bring.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Bob
Joys & Concerns
First Friends was pleased to host the Earlham School of Religion Alumni Event on Tuesday, Dec. 10. You may see some familiar faces including former First Friends' pastor, Stan Banker on the guitar. The guest speaker for the event was ESR Alumni, Brent Bill. (Photo Credit: Brent Walsh)
What a great day filled with Christmas cheer this past Sunday - from the annual Christmas Tea to Caroling around town! Thank you to everyone who contributed cookies and who shared joy with our Friends through caroling. A great time was had by all!
What a great time we had at our Babysitting Coop this past Saturday! We were so glad to have a great group of kids participate. Thank you to Beth Henricks and Tiffany Beaver for hosting. It was a fun night!
Thank you to everyone who bought soup-in-a-jar, cookies-in-a-jar, coffee, oil or chocolate this past Sunday to support Quaker Voluntary Service. Thanks to you, we raised $394 for QVS. Thank you!
Many lovely toys were delivered to Linwood Church Saturday to replenish their meager supply of toys in time for Christmas. Thank you to all who generously donated. The delivery was very much appreciated!
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Youth Christmas Party! ~ All our youth (6th - 12th grade) are invited to our annual Youth Christmas Party this Friday, December 20th at 6:15 pm (please note the date has been CHANGED). We will have a gift exchange, great Mexican food, and games. If you are interested in signing up your youth, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Christmas Sing Along with Jim, Jesse and Luke! We will be singing familiar Christmas Carols on December 20th, third Friday in the Parlor. Jim and the band will lead us in a selection of traditional carols, plus other songs Jim has chosen, as well as opportunity for requests. We will be using the burgundy hymnals, since that one has the most familiar words. Please join us from 7:00 to 8:30 PM!
As a Reminder, there is no Sunday school this Sunday, December 22nd, or the following Sunday the 29th. We will see you back in Sunday School in January. Happy holidays!
Children’s Pageant ~ Join us during our Meeting for Worship on Sunday, December 22 as our children depict and read the story of Jesus' birth. As well, the congregation will join in with singing hymns together. This is an annual tradition that you do not want to miss! If your kids will be participating, please be here by 9am that day!
Christmas Eve Service ~ You won't want to miss this year's very special Christmas Eve service. It will be a worship experience featuring a Jazz band, worshipful art, and a selection of thoughtful reflections to help the worshipers find their place in the Christmas story! Bring your family and join us on December 24th at 5:30pm for this special service.
Please note, due to the holidays the office will be closed next Wednesday, December 25 and Wednesday, January 1st. On these days there will also be no Friend to Friend. Also, there will be no Wednesday Unprogrammed Worship on December 25th. We hope you have a wonderful time with your family and loved ones during these weeks. Happy holidays!!
Unprogrammed worship on Sunday, December 29 – Please note that due to the holidays we will be holding unprogrammed worship in the parlor on Sunday, December 29th at our usual time of 10:15. This is a nice quiet time for us to worship in the traditional Quaker manner. There will be no unprogrammed 9am worship that day. Thank you to Mary B, who will be leading us in worship that day. We hope you will join us if you can. Happy holidays!
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading is the last Monday of this year! The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone on the 30th of December at 7 pm at Kathy R’s home. Contact office@indyfriends.org for directions. Click link for the NY times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/books/tell-us-5-things-woman-who-smashed-codes-jason-fagone.html NPR: https://www.npr.org/2017/09/30/548666129/from-dinner-parties-to-spy-rings-the-woman-who-smashed-codes-bursts-with-detail All are welcome!
Food Pantry Notice ~ Please note that our normal Mid-North Food Pantry volunteer day lands on January 1st. Due to the holiday, we will not be volunteering that day. Please enjoy the holiday with your loved ones, and we will see you at the next volunteer day, Wednesday, January 15! Thank you!
Thank you for your pledges! First Friends would like to sincerely thank all Friends in support of our ministries. We are grateful to everyone who’s turned in a pledge for 2020 and/or have turned on automatic donations through their bank. This helps us plan a budget for the new year and plan wonderful Ministry & Fellowship activities such as Vespers. If you’d like to make a pledge for 2020, you can fill out a card at the Meetinghouse, fill out our online form at https://forms.gle/Nb1r1ctRrfgAPigY8 or simply contact the office. As we close out 2019, we hope you will consider including First Friends in your year-end giving.
Help for Right Sharing! Stamping for dollars can earn 10¢ for each cancelled stamp on the Christmas cards you receive. Place in the box at the donation station in Fellowship Hall. Recent/new stamps are wanted by a Canadian dealer. Please remember to bring in your stamps!
Western Yearly Meeting – New Vision! At the November 16, 2019 meeting of WYM Administrative Council a two-year visioning process was approved which will result in a new Strategic Plan for Western Yearly Meeting. It is hoped to have this plan developed and approved by meetings/churches within WYM by September 2020 and by the WYM Administrative Council by December 2020. One result of this visioning process will be the selection of new leadership for WYM at the 2021 WYM Yearly Meeting. A more detailed time frame for this process will be announced shortly.
As a part of the visioning process a listening meeting will be held at Indianapolis First Friends on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. in the Parlor. The meeting will be conducted by Margaret Fraser the consultant hired by WYM. More information about this important meeting will be forthcoming.
Save the Date: Martin Luther King Jr Service! All are invited to this Shalom Zone celebration service and community luncheon honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It will be held on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Monday, January 20, 2020 at 11:00am at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, 5233 East 79th St, 46250. Our guest preacher will be Rev. Dr. Charlestonfontaine Macon, Sr Pastor of Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Everyone is welcome to this free event. For more information, find the flyer at http://bit.ly/2rlcBFU. We hope you will join us!
January Monthly Meeting Notice ~ Due to the WYM meeting being held at First Friends on January 19th at 3pm, Meeting for Business will be held after worship on Sunday, January 26th in the parlor. Please mark your calendars accordingly!
Mark your calendars for Oak Leaf book club titles for 2020! If you’d like to be on the email list for the group, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
January 28 ~ The Overstory by Richard Powers
February 25 ~ Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
March 31 ~ Beartown by Fredrik Backman
April 28 ~ Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
May 26 ~ A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
June 30 ~ Doing Justice by Preet Bharara
July 28 ~ Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
August 25 ~ Becoming by Michelle Obama
September 29 ~ Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn
October 27 ~ The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
November 24 ~ Why Religion? by Elaine Pagels
December 29 ~ The House of Broken Angels by Luis Urrea
The group meets at 7pm in the Parlor. All are invited!
Please Help Us with Memorials! We are still in need of volunteers to write memorials for some of our dearly departed Friends. Like an obituary, but more personal, we keep record of our Friends lives and their role in the Meeting in a memorial book in our library so that they may always be remembered. If you are willing to help, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485. Thank you for helping to honor our departed Friends!
People still needing memorials: Alice T, Janet S, Bonnie H, Mark K, Bob D, Duffy F, Ed T, Hugh G, Bob C. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.
This Week’s Queries
Where have you seen “love shining out like gold stiches in a piece of embroidery” in your life, lately?
Where has God been carrying you through the darkness of life?
What in your life has caused you to be “speechless”?
How is God giving you a new voice?