As Way Opens
This year, my family and I were in Chicago over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. We were accompanying our son, Sam, on a special visit to take a class at the School of the Art Institute, where he will be attending in the fall. After arriving at SAIC and thawing out from our bitter cold walk, we attended a welcome gathering where we were introduced to the Provost, Martin Berger. Provost Berger was asked to engage us with a lecture about the importance of art in our world and society. In Steve Jobs fashion, with large screen behind him, Berger began to give one of the most important lectures I have ever heard about the power of art, surprisingly also an appropriate “sermon” for Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday. I found myself sensing the lecture transcending its original purpose. What I did not know was that Berger is a Yale scholar and historian whose expertise is in 19th and 20th century US Art History, with a particular focus on the construction of gender and race.
There were several points I took away from Berger’s lecture. Art has always had (and will continue to have) a role in helping us see with new eyes the world that we live in. Art often challenges how we think, brings to light those things kept in the dark, and presents an alternative way to wrestle with and encounter our world. In his talk, Berger gave several examples of artists who have changed or are changing our world. Two artists that Berger spoke of who captured my attention were African American artist, Fred Wilson, and Cuban-born American visual artist, Felix Gonzales-Torres. Wilson’s body of work challenges colonial assumptions of history, culture, and race, while Gonzales-Torres’s body of work is known for simple but evocative presentations dealing with sexual orientation, intimacy, loss, and mortality. (I recommend you check them out).
As Berger had me pondering the importance of art in our society and world, I couldn’t help but think of art’s complicated relationship with Quakers. In a Friends Journal article titled, Quakers’ and Everyones’ Need for the Arts this was emphasized.
“For too long Quakers viewed the arts as a frivolous pursuit, ignoring the need for artistic self-expression except in journals and “good works.” But the climate was different then. In the 18th and 19th centuries religion was in the very air one breathed, and spirituality was expressed in lengthy sermons and discourses. Today’s materialistic, rational, secular times offer a sparse diet of spirituality for the hungry. The hunger for religion and the spiritual life finds needed nourishment in the arts.”
I sense it’s time for a renaissance in Quakerdom! Won’t you join me in getting out our sketch pads, musical instruments, computers, sewing machines, crochet hooks, dancing shoes, etc. Let’s create art that challenges our perspectives (spiritual and secular), brings light to those things kept in the dark (injustices and inequalities), and presents new ways to encounter God, our neighbor, and the world around us! This week go and create!
Grace and peace,
Bob
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Notice: No Gentle Yoga ~ Please note there will be no Gentle Yoga on Fridays February 7th and February 14th.
Come and celebrate the coming of William Daniel M with Nichole and Josh Saturday, Feb 1 from 1-3PM at the Meetinghouse Parlor. 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.
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.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January
American Robin: The Truth about this “Harbinger of Spring”
Wait a minute! How can the robin be bird of the month for January? It is not even close to being spring! Friends, the truth is that robins have been hanging around our First Friends Meetinghouse all winter long. I have seen a few or even a flock on every one of my weekly walks here on the property. During this time they scratch on the woodland floor, turning over leaves to find grubs and other goodies which are wintering underneath. Robins also eat the berries of bushes.
When conditions get too difficult for robins to locate sufficient food, they will fly south just far enough to find some. In the rough winters of the late 1970s, we would visit the old part of Camp Atterbury, and see hundreds of robins which had gathered there to feast on the huge crop of berries of the ornamentals which had been planted. That is just 50 miles south of Indianapolis. As the conditions for food supply improve, the birds make their way back north. It may be that people aren’t really looking for them until early spring, and don’t realize they were here all along.
One question: Are the robins that are found here in the winter, the same individuals that nested here? In other words, could it be that the robins that nested here flew south for the winter to Kentucky or Tennessee, and were replaced by the robins that nested up in Michigan and Canada? One would have to find banded birds to get a possible answer. Hmmmm?
So what is the true sign of spring in the bird world? My vote goes to American Woodcock, a species that usually shows up in early March, or possibly a little earlier. ~Brad J
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.
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.
Queries for the Week
1. What do I need to change in my life to find peace?
2. Where am I creating “barriers” for others to find peace?
3. Who are the folks on the fringe I need to identify with so they can experience peace?
4. Where am I using my position to withhold peace?
5. Is my life green and blossoming with opportunities for peace?