As Way Opens
It seems over the past couple of days, I have been dealing with what some may label, The Unexpected. Here is a short rundown of mine since Friday…
Friday morning, our son, woke up sick – unexpected.
Friday afternoon, our bathroom shower decided to spring a huge leak and the water to our home was turned off – unexpected.
Friday evening, my wife, Sue was informed that one of her fellow teacher’s mother passed away – unexpected.
Saturday night, Beth Henricks called and informed me that her brother suffered a heart attack and was most likely going to die – unexpected.
Monday evening, just after our bathroom shower was fixed and water fully restored to our home, Hamilton County issued a “boil water” alert – unexpected.
Tuesday morning, as I drove into work a rock hit my windshield and put a big chip in it – unexpected.
I am sure there were more, but I think you get the gist. Life is full of The Unexpected. Some people even say that the best things in life are unexpected – not so much for me these past few days. But all this unexpected had me reflecting again on three words I learned from Val Wright in her blog post titled, The Best Way to Respond to Unexpected Changes.
FREEZE WALLOW MORPH
Somethings unexpected cause us to freeze in our tracks because of shock or surprise. The query we should be considering is What will it take to defrost (adapt or change) to this new reality?
Somethings unexpected focus on disappointment or unfairness, and we wallow in what could have been. The queries we should consider in these times are What can I control? How can I stay positive? And who do I need in my life during this time?
Somethings unexpected call for a quick metamorphosing to help adapt to a situation. The query we should consider in these times is, How might we need to modify our behaviors or actions when the unexpected comes?
I pray you will join me in becoming more aware of our responses and what queries we may need to process so that we may find success in moving forward when the unexpected arises.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
IFCL Plans in Redistricting Event at Statehouse
The 2020 General Assembly started last Monday, and it's a short session this year. Our legislators will be packing up and heading home by early March. That leaves us very little time to reform redistricting before new legislative maps are drawn in 2021.
We hit the ground running on the first day of session with a very successful Statehouse press conference to announce two redistricting reform bills being introduced by Sen. John Ruckelshaus-R, Dist.30. A bipartisan team of legislators who attended pledged their support for redistricting reform by publicly signing the End Gerrymandering Pledge, a national initiative championed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eric Holder.
It's extremely important we continue to make redistricting reform visible and keep it at the top of the legislative agenda. Citizens can help make a difference right now by joining the AllIN4Democracy Lobby Day on January 16.
WHAT: Redistricting Reform Lobby Day
WHEN: Thursday, January 16 at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Indiana State Library, 315 West Ohio Street, History Reference Room
After a briefing on the status of the bills and some talking points, you are encouraged to walk across the street to the Statehouse and talk to your legislators about reform. It's best to call their offices in advance and make an appointment. (One way to get their telephone numbers can be found on the Indiana General Assembly website under “Find Your Representative.”)
At least two more Republican legislators, Rep. Woody Burton-R, Dist. 58, and Sen. Greg Walker-D, Dist. 41, have publicly signed the End Gerrymandering Pledge just this week. After the struggle to find support among Republicans the last several years, this is great news!
Please join us on January 16 to learn how to talk with your representatives about supporting this vital reform, then meet with them. They need to hear from us!
If you can RSVP NOW >> , that will help planners know how many to expect. Thank you.
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! Join us for our next meeting tomorrow, Thursday, January 16 at 7:00pm. See Winter/Spring 2020 locations here: http://bit.ly/ThreshingSpr2020.
January Happy Singing Songs ~ Third Friday Sing Along is flying toward us: January 17th at 7:00pm in the Parlor. Jim K will be choosing the songs and projecting at least some of them onto screen, as he did at Christmas. I (Linda) will now be a helper for Jim along with Jesse and Luke, but step back as far as organizing music. Curious? Enjoy singing? Come Sing Along!
Western Yearly Meeting – New Vision! As part of WYM’s 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. This session is open for anyone to attend! Here’s what to expect:
• Listening Sessions are approximately one hour long.
• Gather in a circle.
• Margaret (our facilitator) asks five questions and sets the timer to ensure time for each.
• People are asked to speak just once until everyone has had an opportunity.
• A designated note taker writes down responses, and Margaret makes notes, too.
• Everyone is asked to sign an attendance list to see which Meetings are represented.
• We are careful to make sure that answers are recorded, but not attributed to any specific person.
• The aim is to build up a picture of what’s on the hearts of people in WYM.
We hope everyone will attend and share to improve WYM. Please join us!
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!
Touring, Trekking, and Mounaineering in the Himalayas ~ Jeff Rasley will be giving a talk and slide show about touring, trekking, and climbing in the Himalayas at REI Castleton, Indianapolis on Tuesday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m. REI is located at 8520 Castleton Corner Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46250. It is free and open to the public, but REI requests you register at https://www.rei.com/events/94908/touring-trekking-and-mounaineering-in-the-himalayas/267185. There are limited spots remaining! We hope to see you there.
Experiment with Light ~ Friends, our monthly Experiment with the Light (EWL) is Tuesday, January 21, at 7 pm in the parlor. All are welcome, whether this is your first time or you’re a regular. 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.
Help Care for Our Organ! The organ needs to have its leathers worked on. When the organ work was done 15 years ago, we did not have this done. It is now time to have this work done. We need to have this done before we lose all or some of the organ. I (Mindy) think Jenny M (choir member) says it all:
Several years ago when I could stand to speak in silent worship I recited this:
Bach gave us God’s Word
Mozart gave us God’s Laughter
Beethoven gave us God’s Fire
God gave us Music that we might pray without words.
We are blessed to have an exceptional organist in Shawn who consecrates us weekly with prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers of meditation and prayers of thanksgiving through the organ. I need music, organ music, to paint the silence of my worship, to connect me to others and to God. I am thankful I can come to First Friends and no matter the problems of the week, be filled with God’s word, laughter and fire through beautiful organ music.
Donations to help complete this organ work can be dropped in the offering plate or sent to the First Friends office.
January Monthly Meeting Notice ~ Due to the WYM visioning meeting being held at First Friends on January 19th at 3:30pm, Meeting for Business will be held after worship on Sunday, January 26th in the parlor. Please mark your calendars accordingly!
Come and celebrate the coming of William Daniel with Nichole and Josh Saturday, Feb 1 from 1-3PM at Anna R’s house. We’ll have games, treats, and fun. We would love to have advice for our little guy and us (we may have a book to collect your advice/tips at the shower). If you would like to bring a gift, our biggest needs will be diapers, wipes, and gift cards to Kroger, Walmart, or Target. We are registered at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. We also would like to build him a good library of your favorite kids’ books new or used. To RSVP, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Family Bowling ~ Please join us for a bowling party hosted by the Christian Education Committee. It will be Sunday, February 2nd after worship at Woodland Bowl, 3421 E 96th St. First Friends will provide 2 games, shoe rental, pizza and drinks for everyone. Please RSVP with the office at office@indyfriends.org.
FWCC Sustainability: An Online Conference with Friends Worldwide ~ All are invited to join Quakers around the world to gather the Quaker voice on sustainability. It is being held online on Saturday, February 22, 2020; there will be an online conference spanning 11 hours. You will be able to join one of three start times, for a duration of 3 hours. These start times include 9:00am and 11:00am EST. Each start time will have 45 minutes of videos with 5 speakers. The speakers will come from each of the four FWCC sections and represent diversity of Quaker traditions, ages, and gender in order to represent the fullness of who we are across the world. After hearing from the speakers, there will be two hours for worship sharing. For more information and to register, please visit http://fwcc.world/sustainability/conference2020.
We now have a NEW Online Directory! We are thrilled to share our new mobile/online directory. This directory, provided by Lifetouch, includes photos from the recently released pictorial directory, and will always include the most up-to-date information the office has. All are welcome and encouraged to use it! You can find the directory here: https://mobiledirectory.lifetouch.com/318079/first-friends-church. Be sure to bookmark it! It is compatible on both computer and cell phone. For privacy reasons, it is password protected. Please phone the office at 317-255-2485 to get the password. This is a great option if you’re on-the-go, can’t find your directory, or if you need info when the office is closed. We hope you will enjoy this convenient directory option!