As Way Opens
For several weeks now, Selah – a created pause for reflection, contemplation, rest, meditation and prayer – has been the focus of our Meetings for Worship. As Ed Morris said to our Ministry & Council this week in an email, “It seems like a good way to begin the Christmas season; to slow down, get centered, go inward and listen.” Each year, I try to do this during the weeks leading up to Christmas. While growing up in more liturgical churches, we had a name for this time of the year – Advent. It was a set-apart time for preparing for the birth of Jesus. Most of the time my family would participate in some type of Advent devotional which we would read together while lighting the candles of our Advent wreath. Today, I still keep up the practice of reading an Advent devotional. On Sunday morning, as I was preparing for worship, I read the first devotional by Elder Nancy G. Maxwell, titled, “Lighting the Way to . . . Unfamiliar Peace.” In the devotional Maxwell notes that “Jesus created space for himself to find a personal peace.” Even Jesus modeled the need for this time of Selah or what Maxwell calls an “unfamiliar peace.” Here is the full devotional to read and ponder as you prepare this holiday season.
Isaiah 2:3b-5a
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Holy One from Jerusalem. The Holy One shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Israel, come, let us walk in the light of the Holy One!
How we long, like Israel before us, for a great peacemaker. The prophet Isaiah gives us such a hopeful image – an arbitrator of the people – one who will have the ability to rule so that countries would no longer use weapons against one other, and nations “shall learn war no more.” Several verses later in Isaiah we read the words memorialized in Handel’s Messiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
The Jews in Jesus’ time needed that kind of liberator, one who would cast out the Roman tyranny. It was a time when a Roman soldier could randomly kill a Jew on the street without fearing any consequence. It is no wonder many Jews desperately hoped the Messiah would be a Warrior King, who could drive out the enemy and restore peace in Israel.
But the Prince of Peace was not the Warrior King the Jews deeply desired. He came out of the wildness, an unknown, an itinerant preacher, who had little to say about the Roman occupation. Instead he challenged the Jews who were in complicity with the oppressors – those who protected their high station in the midst of their people’s misery. He challenged the religious authorities who applied the Jewish law with rigidity and lacking compassion for their people living with the daily oppression of foreign rule.
Jesus, the transgressive teacher, went out to the margins of Jewish society – he even spoke to the people the Jews had reviled for centuries – the “half-breed” Samaritans and the Phoenicians. He spoke directly to women, a scandalous action for a Jewish man during Jesus’ day. There was nothing particularly peaceful about his lifestyle of deliberately and strategically disregarding Jewish religious law. His disruption of the status quo brought him to the attention of the religious authorities, whose response was to devise a way to eliminate this disruptive element in their midst. Even the Roman ruler in Jerusalem found Jesus innocent of any wrongdoing. It was Jesus’ own people who declared Jesus’ death sentence, shouting in the public square.
But he was, nonetheless, the Prince of Peace – an unfamiliar peace. It is that unfamiliar peace we are called to embrace this Advent season. Jesus created space for himself to find a personal peace. It was a peace found in being still to hear the whisperings of the Holy, of engaging in open-hearted contemplation before taking action, and in finding compassion and similarities in those most unlike himself.
May we travel this Advent season, modeling Jesus’ unfamiliar peace. May we create personal space, seeking shelter within ourselves. And in that embrace, we will come home to ourselves, steadying ourselves for taking on Jesus’ role of working in the margins of our world today.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Amen.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Joys & Concerns
Kian continues to be in rehab at Riley Children's Hospital. Most mornings he has a full schedule of therapies. His voice is still very quiet, but he is communicating through words. Some exciting news is that Kian will be going on a field trip with two other boys from rehab this Thursday. Naomi was able to make it to Meeting for Worship on Sunday and she enjoyed being with all of us. Many thanks to anyone who has contributed to help Naomi during this time. We continue our prayers for Kian and surround him and his family in love and Light.
We’d like to extend a big thank you to Leslie K for decorating the Meeting so beautifully for Christmas! She did a wonderful job.
On Tuesday, November 26 we hosted the Shalom Zone Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service. We had a wonderful time with our Shalom Zone friends and the combined choir had a great performance. Thank you to all who came!
Please pray for Larry S, who will be undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery tomorrow. Let us hold him and his family in the Light as we all pray for a successful surgery and a quick recovery for Larry.
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
Earlham School of Religion holiday gathering! You are invited to gather with ESR alumni and current students here at First Friends on Tuesday, December 10 from 6:30-8:30pm! The gathering will be led by Brent Walsh, Director of Student & Alumni Engagement at Earlham School of Religion, and hosted by Beth H, currently an ESR student. The time will include visiting and fellowship over dinner and dessert, as well as a time of music, stories and fun. There is no cost for this holiday gathering. You are invited to attend the whole time or come for what best fits your schedule. Please RSVP here: https://esr.earlham.edu/IndyHolidayGathering. For more information contact Brent Walsh at walshbr@earlham.edu.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Serenity Now December 5 Meeting Reminder ~ Serenity Now, the First Friends support group for those experiencing family and relationship challenges, will meet from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the parlor on the first Thursday of each month. We will discuss chapters 3 and 4 of The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz and share our personal experiences. If you would like to try out the group without buying the book, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org and Jan will arrange to get you a copy of the reading. Sharing is confidential and all are welcome.
Vespers Annual Concert~ This Sunday, December 8th at 5:30pm we invite you to attend our annual Vespers concert, this year themed, “Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, Light!” Our performers have been practicing hard for this concert, and it should be quite a delight. Following the concert there will be a complimentary light dinner, hosted by our Fellowship Committee. Please plan to join us for the evening!
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 due to the holidays it will be held on Thursday, December 12 at 7:00pm. See locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingFall2019.
Babysitting Co-Op ~ Our babysitting co-op is happening on Saturday December 14, 5:30 - 9:30. Dinner will be provided for the kids. Please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org if you would like to have your kids join in the fun that evening!
Annual Christmas Tea ~ Please join us on December 15th immediately after worship in the Parlor for the annual Christmas Tea. There will be lots of cookies and punch and fellowship. If you can donate two dozen cookies, they can be dropped off the morning of Sunday, December 16th in the parlor. Due to allergies, please DO NOT bring any cookies containing peanuts, peanut butter or any peanut product. For more information or if you need to schedule a different dropoff time, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.. Happy holidays!
The Green Team wants to let the Meeting know about two opportunities to support conservation legislation. Find out who your representative is at www.house.gov. Call him/her and ask them to cosponsor HR3742. This is the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA). Indiana would receive $18 million a year from this Act. Call your representative AND your senator (www.senate.gov) about the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Ask them to support HR3195 and S1081. These bills would provide millions for LWCF which will affect funding for national parks, wildlife refuges, and state and local parks.
Used Toys Needed ~ Linwood Christian Church, a lower income church on the eastside of Indianapolis, is in need of used toys/books for their Christmas sale for their families. Any used toys/books that you have would be appreciated. Please put them in the box at the meetinghouse.
More info about Linwood Christian Church: Linwood Christian on East Michigan has a small, older congregation. Their food pantry is open to individuals living in the area from Washington St to 21st and Emerson to Rural and once a week serves about 120 people. They also have a Rummage Room open 4 mornings a week. Proceeds go to a Benevolence Fund for special needs. At Christmas time they focus on getting age-appropriate gifts for the children of the Food Pantry clients, gently used toys, books, games, etc.
Indy Winds Flute Choir will have their winter concert on Sunday, December 15th at 3:00 at Roberts Park United Methodist Church and we encourage folks to attend. Carl B and Lynda S are both members of the flute choir.
Join First Friends for Caroling! ~ If you’d like to join us for caroling to some of our dear Friends and neighbors, meet us on Sunday, December 15 at 3:30 at The Stratford (visiting Tom and Pat P). We will also travel to Ursula R’s house (91st and Meridian area), then to Kathy F’s father’s house (Solana near Keystone and 77th) and end at American Village. We should be done by 6:00 p.m. and then will gather for dinner at Some Guys Pizza on Allisonvile and 62nd. If you’d like to carpool, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org and meet us at the Meetinghouse at 2:50 that day. We hope you will join us!
Youth Christmas Party! ~ All our youth (6th - 12th grade) are invited to our annual Youth Christmas Party on 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
Experiment with Light! ~ Friends, our monthly Experiment with the Light (EWL) is Tuesday, December 17, at 7 pm in the parlor. You may hear some call it, Mind the Light (MTL). The names are interchangeable.
All are welcome, whether this is your first time or you’re a regular. For those who are new or need a refresher, let me explain what happens:
We begin with a 45-minute guided meditation. This is the time to let anything on your heart come forward and call on the Spirit to help us, with Her comfort or insight
In the next 15 minutes, we capture our experience through art or writing. Like a dream, it may flit away if we don’t record it.
Then we share for 15 minutes in small groups of 4 or 5. In a safe, sacred space, we share our experience. Of course, anything shared is strictly confidential.
We end back in the large group for 15 minutes of more sharing and to wrap up.
Attenders find it a remarkable experience. Please join us. We begin promptly at 7 pm and end at 8:30. ~Peace and love, Mary Ellen L
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!
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!
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading’s pick for the month of December is The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone! The discussion will be on MONDAY December 30th at 7 pm at Kathy R’s home. 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 Contact the office at office@indyfriends.org if you’d like to receive email updates and/or for directions for this month’s discussion.
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 Thatcher, Janet Stimson, Bonnie Hollingsworth, Mark Kishego, Bob Davis, Duffy Fankboner, Ed Thomas, Hugh Grimes, Bob Coffin. Example: http://bit.ly/34RqLg4.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for December: Cedar Waxwing
Party Time in the Woods
There was a party going on in our Meditational Woods, and I had to crash it. I had heard the racket the moment I got out of my car. I assumed it was the robins eating berries in the nearby bushes, and thought I had disturbed them. But no, the sound was coming from deeper in the woods, and it was not the robins’ “tewk-tewk” sound of alarm; it was the sound of…pleasure. Yes, the same sound as when birds find a feeder full of food. As I walked down the paved path toward the fountain waterfall, I saw more birds there than ever before: ten American Robins, eight Cedar Waxwings, and four Carolina Chickadees. The robins were bathing in the top and middle pools, while several waxwings at a time were drinking at the bottom. Communal bathing and public drinking within sight of the meetinghouse?? It was most unQuakerly to my way of thinking. There were a few squabbles between the one robin at the top that did not want to share the bath space, and others that wanted a turn. The chickadees seemed to just be hanging out, watching the action. Shortly thereafter, I left the party to do my normal walking route around the property. A flock of House Finches were having their own gathering, getting something from the sweet gum balls (not gumballs) in the tree in the patio courtyard. The already cool temperature seemed to drop ten degrees in the next half hour, and the mist turned into a rain. The weather did not break up the party, as I could hear it still going on as I came inside the meetinghouse.
I have pictured a Cedar Waxwing in one of the conifers overlooking the waterfall, waiting for a turn to drink. The genders are identical, with overall colors of tan and gray, and noticeable head crest, black mask, yellow tail tip, and the small red projections from the back of the inner wing, that together look like a drip of sealing wax. From that apparent wax drip, the bird gets its name. ~Brad J