As Way Opens
I participated in a MLK Jr celebration on Monday at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church. It was a wonderful service to honor Dr. King and challenge us to live into his legacy. We heard a rousing message from the minister from Allen Chapel AME church and he quoted extensively from Dr. King’s sermon titled Our God is enough.
The message spoke to my heart as we are living in such divided and troubled times in our country as we watch our government face the issue of impeachment. I just heard this morning that Boko Harem, the Islamic terrorist group in Nigeria, executed a leader in the Church of the Brethen this week. I am also personally grieving the loss of my dear brother last week. So much pain and loss. But I do believe that our God is enough for all that we face. Here is an excerpt from Dr King’s message.
"This is the beginning of a new year. It is a time when the startling facts of yesterday and the heightening expectations of tomorrow join hands in the pressing urgency of today. There is no better way to begin this year than with the conviction that there is a God of power who is able to do exceedingly abundant things in our lives and in the life of the universe. To believe in and to live by the fact that ‘God is able’ transforms life’s impending sunsets into glittering sunrises. The conviction that ‘our God is able’ is a conviction stressed and exulted in, over and over again in the New and Old Testaments. This conviction stands at the center of our Christian faith. The God that we worship is not a weak God. He is not an incompetent God and consequently he is able to beat back gigantic mountains of opposition and to bring low prodigious hilltops of evil. The ringing cry of the Christian faith is that our God is able.”
I pray that we live into this belief as we face our troubles and trials. Our God is able to walk beside us, behind us, in front of us and sometimes carries us. When things seem their darkest that is often when God is most at work.
Beth
Joys & Concerns
Thanks to the outpouring of help from First Friends! 105 families were provided food at Mid-North Food Pantry on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Participants included John and Ileen M, Rik and Linda L, Dan M, Stacia B, Tom F, Christy M, Phil G, Becki and Kim H, Kathy, Bill and Beth F. Thank you, volunteers!
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
IFCL -- Statehouse Action on Predatory Lending
Friends:
The General Assembly is moving full steam ahead on the topic of predatory lending -- but in the wrong direction. Please see below an update regarding predatory lending legislation as it is being proposed for this session. This information comes from the Indiana Institute for Working Families, a broad coalition with whom IFCL has worked in the past to help protect consumers from predatory lending practices.
Please contact your legislators to express concerns about the bills referred to in this update. They can't listen if we don't speak out. Thanks for helping our most financially vulnerable Hoosiers.
36% in All the Wrong Places:
Senate committee will hear bill to hike interest rates & fees
In Indiana, a coalition of veterans groups, faith leaders, civil rights and community organizations, and social service providers has united to advance the call to rein in predatory lending. This year, legislators have introduced SB 26 and SB 415 to put a 36% cap on payday loans, and SB 407 and HB 1239, which aim to provide more tools to go after unlicensed lenders.
But instead of advancing these bills, on Wednesday the Senate Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee will hear SB 395. It puts 36% in all the wrong places.
With the exception of the carve out for payday lenders, which allows them to charge up to 391% APR on short-term loans of up to $605, Indiana law currently allows other lenders to choose from a blended rate of 36% on the first $2000, 21% on $2000-4000, and 15% on $4000+ OR a flat rate of 25%.
SB 395 would allow a rate of 36% on ANY SIZE LOAN. Take a moment to digest the thought of a car loan at 36%. THAT'S. NOT. GOOD.
It also allows a fee of $150 to be layered on top.
Meanwhile, SB 395 does not put 36% in the one place consumer advocates want to see it: in the payday loan chapter. So if this bill passed, payday lenders could continue to drain millions per year in finance charges from vulnerable borrowers - a reality SB 395 would make even more likely, as the majority of payday loan borrowers turn to payday lending because they are struggling to pay other bills.
Read more on our blog, then commit to taking action.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
MSPC Early Enrollment ~ Maple Seeds Preschool Coop is accepting new students for 2020-2021! First Friends Families are invited to apply before enrollment opens to the public this Friday, January 24th. If you are interested in signing up your child(ren), please use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1n2pjy-mMjrXna83F9dJWCGBCG-qaHwVOKSsKSswIusE. Questions? Contact info@mapleseeds.org.
Free tickets! Barbara O has three tickets to Second Helpings' fundraiser, “Souper Bowl” that she would like to offer anyone who could use them. The event is this Saturday, January 25, from 11:30 to 1:30, at Second Helpings, 1121 Southeastern Avenue. It's a chance to sample soups from some of the city's well-known chefs. Friends Stacia Murphy and Vicki Wertz both work at Second Helpings and would no doubt be glad to see any of us there. If you are interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
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!
Join us at the Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading book club as we discuss The Overstory, by Richard Powers on Tuesday, January 28, 2020. The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of―and paean to―the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours―vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe (from Goodreads). Linda Lee will be leading the discussion in the Parlor starting at 7 pm. If you’d like to receive the Oak Leaf email, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
The Green Team would like to highlight the following website: https://indiana.clearchoicescleanwater.org. The program has easy steps we can commit to that will improve water quality in Indiana. There are activities for kids and steps we can all take that range from water conservation ideas to curtailing lawn fertilizers. Check it out!
Come and celebrate the coming of William Daniel M with Nichole and Josh M 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. Please contact the office if you’re interested.
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 Morgan (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.
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.
Do you enjoy the Singalongs with Jim K? Then you’re going to love this! Jim and Luke are in a band called The Rodney Boys, and they will be playing live on Saturday, February 8 at the Books and Brews in Noblesville, 13230 Harrel Parkway #100, from 8:00-10:00pm. Come one, come all, if you’re interested in hearing them play!
Scout Sunday February 9th ~ Current and former Scouts, please let us know if there are any changes or updates for you and your family. This includes scouts, former scouts, and scout leaders. Please submit any updates to the office so we can recognize you that day. Please send your name, Scouting Organization, Troop number and Scout rank. Email office@indyfriends.org or call 317-255-2485.
Seasoned Friends invites you! All Friends of retirement age are invited to our next Seasoned Friends luncheon which will be Wednesday, February 12 at 11:30am in the First Friends Parlor. There will be Moroccan stew, rice and fruit. After our luncheon we will watch the classic film Casablanca. If you would like to come and celebrate this day of love with us, please RSVP with the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.
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!
Queries for the Week
What do I know about other faith traditions?
Do I listen to and honor other faith traditions different than my own?
How do I build bridges with those that practice faith differently than I do?