As Way Opens
This week, I came across a prayer of thanks I shared on social media back on November 17, 2011. Thanks to social media platforms, we can now go back and see what all was going on that very day – almost like reading a personal diary.
In November of 2011, our family was fairly new to Silverton, Oregon. On the 17th, the Christian school that was connected to our Meeting had their annual Thanksgiving Celebration. This included a “some-what” historical dramatization by the students and a following feast put on by the room mothers and fathers. Even though the stereotypes were running rampant as the mostly white students dressed as pilgrims and Native Americans filed into our gymnasium, the proud dad in me saw both of my boys with their crafty pilgrim hats and big smiles.
That day, as the pastor, I was asked by the principal to pray a Prayer of Thanksgiving for the families who had joined with their children for the Thanksgiving Feast. I prayed the prayer and later that day posted it on social media for me to find in 2020. People have always said, most prayers are universal and continue to speak to our condition. I am so glad I found this prayer again this week, as it clearly speaks to our current condition. May it help you center your gratitude and thanks this week in preparation for your Thanksgiving Feast!
To us, your children,
Mother and Father God, you have opened your hands and have shared with us the wonders of your world: sun and sky, leaf and flower, surf and shore.
In your grace, Mother and Father, you have given us one another. Into our keeping you have placed ourselves that, united in your love, we may mold your earth into a home for each and every person: where we may live in peace and share in the love that alone warms life and gives its meaning.
For this, all of these things both small and great, and for the greatness caught within the smallest of your creatures we thank you.
Mother and Father God, despite our best, our world is still weighted with sorrow: your sons and daughters still go hungry; your children take up the weapons of Cain against their brothers and sisters; we gouge the face of your world with greed and leave a wasteland where nothing, not even your children, may grow.
Keep us thankful, Mother and Father God, so that we may touch all things, and all people only with the delicacy of reverence and love. Keep us aware of the work, your work, that you have given into our hands. For only in your Spirit will your kingdom come, and that day shine when all people will see clearly that there is indeed reason for thanksgiving.
This, all of this, we ask in your Spirit, Amen.
Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!
Bob
Joys & Concerns
First Friends is very grateful to receive a scholarship from Western Yearly Meeting for our women’s virtual gathering. These gatherings have been very enriching, and we are thankful to receive this aid in this worthy endeavor!
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Reopening Task Force Report
At this time, the Reopening Task Force does not yet feel comfortable recommending reopening the Meetinghouse for worship, due to current trends and upcoming holidays. The issue will be revisited in the new year. Detailed reports from the Reopening Task Force are to be emailed to full membership prior to each Monthly Meeting.
In the meantime, please be reminded that Meetinghouse is currently open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume personal responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. Several small groups offer Zoom options for those who prefer not to attend in person. To check on availability of small groups, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Why Religion?: A Personal Story by Elaine Pagels. Why is religion still around in the twenty-first century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions. These questions took on a new urgency for Pagels when dealing with unimaginable loss—the death of her young son, followed a year later by the shocking loss of her husband. Here she interweaves a personal story with the work that she loves, illuminating how, for better and worse, religious traditions have shaped how we understand ourselves; how we relate to one another; and, most importantly, how to get through the most difficult challenges we face. (goodreads) Rhonda C will be leading the discussion via Zoom starting at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.
Thanksgiving Fellowship hour with Friends ~ Friends, many of us are unable to gather with our families in the same way this year. Let's gather for an online fellowship hour and sharing of thanks for those that are interested and able. Please join us and bring your own pie and/or coffee. It will be Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26 at 10:30am.
RSWR Stamp Program Newsletter ~ The stamp group here at First Friends has just released a new issue of their newsletter! If you’d like to view the newsletter, click here: https://bit.ly/StampNewsNov2020 As you may know, a group here at First Friends has been running this fundraiser program for Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) for some time now. If you’re interested in the stamp program, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Order Poinsettias and Fair-Trade Goodies! ~ This year we are offering poinsettias and various fair-trade foods/gifts—virtually! You are still welcome to buy a poinsettia in honor or in memory of a loved one. We will deliver your orders to you personally before Christmas!
The fair-trade co-op relies on a lot of churches and service organizations, so their business has declined, and this is a great opportunity to purchase treats and gifts for the holiday. Some of the funds for the purchase will go towards our youth group activities. You can browse https://shop.equalexchange.coop if you would like to order different items beyond what we normally offer.
6" Poinsettia pot - $8 (Red or White)
Coffee - $10 (Love Buzz, Hazelnut Creme, Breakfast Blend, Decaf)
Tea - $ 3.50
Chocolate $3.50 (lots of types)
Olive Oil - $12
Hot Cocoa - $5
If you’re interested, you can place an order at https://forms.gle/EtGaScUVKUCgt1du8. Payment can be made by sending a check to the office at 3030 Kessler Blvd E Dr, Indianapolis IN 46220, with the notation of "poinsettias" or "fair trade purchase"; or visit https://www.indyfriends.org/support to pay electronically. Under funds choose either "Flower Order" or "Fair trade food/gift order." Please place your order by December 9th. Happy Holidays!
Help Support First Friends This Holiday Season! ~ Every holiday season, First Friends Meeting conducts a pledge drive asking for financial support, and this year is no different. Even though the Meetinghouse is mostly closed at present, our major fixed expenses – staff/administration, building and grounds maintenance, and Christian education – are still in place. To help us plan for the new year, as you are able, please prayerfully consider how you can support the Meeting by filling out a 2021 pledge form. Click here to access a form online, or contact the office, 317-255-2485, for a pledge card to be mailed to you. We ask that you kindly return your pledge by Sunday, December 13. Additionally, if you have been a financial supporter of the Meeting this year, thank you!
First Friends Meeting has been a haven of peace, hope and love for more than 150 years. With your help, we look forward to beginning a bright new year together. To borrow from Dr. Seuss’s Christmas classic, let us move forward, “heart to heart and hand in hand.”
Free Books to a Good Home ~ A Friend would like to donate a free book(s) to anyone who might be interested. They are three D. Elton Trueblood books: “Alternative to Futility “(1948), “The Recovery of Family Life” (1953) and “The Common Ventures of Life” (1949). If you are interested in any of these books for your collection, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
The Holiday Season is almost here! Even during these trying times, we still look forward to having a Christmas with you full of joy, laughter, and peace. Look forward to these special virtual Christmas services coming very soon! We hope you will join us.
Show Your First Friends Christmas Spirit ~ First Friends has “adopted” a family to help this Christmas. While the family would like to remain anonymous, we do have a little info to share about the family. There are 5 children and a mom. The kids are ages 14 (girl), 13 (girl), 12 (boy), 9 (girl), and 9 (boy). Rather than ask folks at First Friends to purchase gifts as we have done in the past, at this time we intend to provide gift cards for the kids and mom and possibly a few smaller gifts. Please contribute as you are led to help provide a very Merry Christmas for this family. Checks can be sent to the First Friends office with a notation of “Christmas Family” in the memo section. We may seek out a second family if enough monies are collected. We hope to finalize this fundraiser by the end of November so please consider making your donation at your earliest convenience. Thanks for your consideration.
Use our online directory for the holidays! This holiday season, we encourage you to use our online directory to get the most up-to-date addresses when you send out holiday cards. You can find the directory at https://mobiledirectory.lifetouch.com/318079/first-friends-church. This is the most current directory available, as addresses are kept updated according to the office’s most recent knowledge. Due to the pandemic, we will not be handing out physical copies of the directory this year, but we hope this online resource will serve you well!
Apartment available ~ North Meadow Circle of Friends presently has a one-bedroom apartment available on the second story of the Meeting House in downtown Indianapolis. They maintain an affordable housing intention. Monthly rent is $650 including heat/cool, water, electricity and WIFI access. parking may be designated. Since the apartment is accessed through public Meeting House space that often may have programmed activities, including live singing, etc., tenants must be socially prepared to co-inhabit such an environment. Alternatively, all the facilities of the Meeting House (Library, Kitchen, front and rear sitting porches, garden plot, compost toilet, etc.) are available to the tenant. Interested parties should contact David Duvall 317-260-0601 or by e-mail, dblantonduvall7811@gmail.com.
Advent Waiting: Clearing Space for New Life and Light ~ All are invited to “Advent Waiting,” a 3-session virtual gathering led by Sara Beth Terrell (leader of our current women’s gathering). This experience invites reflection on Advent themes in a year of waiting and uncertainty. Using contemplative prayer exercises, we will ask what we might learn from the dark places we’ve been as we anticipate the Light coming into our lives in new ways. The sessions will take place on December 1, 8 and 15 from 4-5:30 PM EST. The cost is $63, but scholarships are available upon request. For more information and to register, visit https://www.imaginingtheword.com/upcomingevents/advent-waiting. The Zoom link will be sent before the first session.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for November
Sandhill Crane – The Wise Traveler
Today would have been a perfect day to listen and look up! An absolutely clear blue sky was overhead, with a cool breeze from the north. What you are listening for is a call, variously described as “ga-roo” or “hah-akkkk” or a bugle trill or a far-off soft bark of a dog. If you hear something, glance up, and what you are looking for is a flock of Sandhill Cranes, with as many as 150 or more individuals flying in and behind a loosely organized V-pattern. They will not be in a tight V like geese, or as fast, but will usually be much higher, almost out-of-sight. You may see one flock directly overhead, and at the same time have more flocks behind and off to one side. In the fall they gather by the tens of thousands at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in NW Indiana, and then, from late October to early December, they leave in large groups heading toward the Texas coast. In groups this large, these huge birds seem to find safety in numbers.
Sandhill Cranes stand three and one-half feet tall and are mostly gray with red on the crown. Immatures are brown. In flight one can see their outstretched necks, and feet trailing behind their tails. They should not be confused with Great Blue Herons, which nest nearby us, although some call those birds “cranes”.
Several weeks ago, as I walked in our woods, I found two Swainson’s Thrushes in the bushes above the waterfall. They were sitting silently, side-by-side, watching my movement. I wondered if these two had come together, all the way from Canada. Perhaps, instead, they met here, in the woods, and recognized each other, like two Ball State grads who just happen to pull in beside each other at a rest area in Arkansas. Either way, their migration is less conspicuous than that of the cranes.
This time of year some of us start preparing our Christmas cards. I like the ones depicting the journey of the Wise Men to visit the Christ Child. Usually in fabulous colors, those cards show three men on three camels traveling alone through the desert. But can that be? Instead of being like the two thrushes, wouldn’t it have been more like the hundreds of sandhill cranes? I believe there were three huge entourages of wise men, their servants, and hirelings, with skills in cooking, defensive safety, and animal herding: travelers all moving through possibly-foreseen dangers, together, trying to reach their destination.
~Brad J
SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We are looking for photos of you and your family. Let us see how you are doing, and what you’ve been up to during these times! Let us see your smiling faces. We will put these photos into future slideshows during virtual meeting for worship on Sundays. Just email your pictures to office@indyfriends.org or post them here. Thank you in advance!
The Joy of Zoom ~ How do you feel about zoom? What are your positive experiences? What are your complaints? Are you kept away by a lack of technology? Do you loathe zoom? Perhaps by examining the nature of your discontent, improvements could be discovered. We invite you to share your thoughts and preferences about meeting via Zoom to office@indyfriends.org. Thank you!
Queries for the Week
(From online service)
Where might I need to remove myself from the conversations, the news and social media, and even my own family members to become silent and center down?
To whom in my life do I need to be more fully present?
Who are the people in my life that make me laugh? How might I bring a little joy into someone’s life who needs the healing of humor?
In what areas of my life, might I need to take a humbler position, allowing other perspectives to be heard?
(From self-led guide)
How am I seeing the Image of God in my life and the lives of those around me?
How in this polarized world am I finding ways to bring unity and peace?
In what ways am I overwhelmed and feeling beyond my natural capacities? How might prayer and quiet meditation help me find strength and guidance?