As Way Opens
These past couple weeks have really changed our lives. Obviously, there is a great deal of fear, anxiety, and confusion, but I have also been aware of something else taking place. This time has a sacredness to it, in the true sense of the word: dedicated or set apart for the service or worship.
For several months I have pondered what it would be like if the world had a reset button. With one push, we would return to default mode and be forced to learn again the importance of life, family, friendships, and even our faith. The Coronavirus seems to have been that “reset button” I was seeking.
With this new reality, the staff and I had to consider how our Meeting would move into the new normal of quarantine. I quickly found myself falling back on our Quaker heritage. It was the early Quakers who taught that the “church” is not a building as much as it is the people or the body of Christ. Again; I pondered, “Might the Church Universal have become too comfortable in its buildings and forgotten what God was doing in his ‘holy temple’ – that holy temple being our own bodies and lives?” I love the description in our Faith and Practice under Meeting for Worship where it states,
“Quaker Worship should be like a garden out of which the beauty of inward peace and spiritual satisfactions grow, flowering in such vocal expression as the Spirit may inspire, resulting in the qualities of the Christ-life way of living.”
Even though we will miss our face-to-face gatherings for worship, business, fellowship, and learning, this is an important time for us to tend our gardens and rediscover the qualities of the Christ-life way of living. As I was considering all of this, a friend of mine sent me a Facebook post from a group called Becoming Unbusy, whose tagline was Making Time for Life. The post included the following quote form Kitty O’Meara…
And the people stayed home.
And read books, and listened, and rested,
and exercised, and made art,
and played games, and learned
new ways of being, and were still,
and listened more deeply.
Some meditated, some prayed,
Some danced. Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently.
I would say that is a pretty good description of tending your garden and learning to reset.
Now, we know many places of worship, including other Quaker Meetings, quickly configured their worship spaces into video studios for going on-line – as if this was the only way to proceed and meet the needs of the people. Yet, we at First Friends found ourselves seeing this as a “teachable moment” and a way to embrace the Quaker Way and acknowledge the sacredness of this time. Instead of going all techno, we offered a Self-led Worship Guide that had a variety of possibilities. That simple guide has found its way into Meetings and homes across the country. So much so, that we were encouraged by many people to continue offering these guides the next several Sundays as a way to reset our lives.
Also please note: Since Easter is just around the corner, and it looks like we are not going to be worshipping together in person, we are looking into other ways for us to join together through a video format both Palm Sunday (April 5) and Easter Sunday (April 12).
In closing, I encourage you to join with me in tending our gardens, hitting the reset buttons, and just maybe we will see resurrection in real-time this Easter happening in our own lives and in the lives of people everywhere. Stay home and wash those hands!
Grace and peace,
Bob
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
ALL WORSHIP AND EVENTS CANCELLED
Coronavirus Update from First Friends
Cancellations: With things rapidly changing, new CDC regulations coming each day, and schools, public facilities, and even restaurants closing, we have decided to CLOSE the Meetinghouse through the end of March - that includes all Meetings for Worship, Unprogrammed and Meditational Worship, all groups, committees, and activities that would normally take place in our facility. If you are in charge of any of these activities, we ask that you contact those needing to know of the cancellations. Closer to the end of March we will reevaluate our situation and give another update.
For the time being, each Sunday we will provide you with a self-led worship resource to help guide you and your family in worship that we hope you will experience at home each Sunday, so we may worship together in Spirit.
Meeting Office: Beginning the week of 3/23/20, First Friends staff will begin working from home Mondays through Thursdays. The office administrator will be available by email during normal business hours, 8am-3pm. The church phone may not be answered but voicemail may be left, and church staff will return your call from their cell phone at their earliest convenience. Staff will be present at the physical Meetinghouse office on Wednesdays 8am-3pm and by appointment. This will help us keep the business of the church functioning, but we ask that the physical office be used for only official business at this time. Our priority is to use the office as an information hub to help keep everyone safe and following the regulations to the best of their ability.
Visitations: With new regulations for hospitals, nursing and health facility visitors, pastors/Friends are not allowed to make visitations. If you have an emergency or are in the hospital, we ask that you let the office know and we will respond accordingly.
Material Aid: One of our greatest collective assets as Friends is our kindness and concern for the well-being of those inside and outside our Meetings. It is therefore unsurprising and encouraging to see a number of inquiries about how we can help others in this time of need. Please be aware that our Meeting has set aside resources—interpersonal and financial—to provide assistance in times of duress; however, they may be tested as this situation continues to unfold. If you would like to make a contribution to these special efforts, please denote “Material Aid” on the memo line or enclosed note so that we can earmark your additional gift for this purpose. It will be held in the Material Aid Fund (managed by Witness & Service), which in turn will allocate it in appropriate amounts and formats to individuals experiencing hardship. The majority of these funds will be managed by Witness & Service to help address member and attender needs—and the remainder will be managed by our Pastors to help tend to those outside the Meeting experiencing urgent difficulties. The allocations will be reported at future Monthly Meetings for Business. Thank you again for your prayers and support at this sensitive time.
We know this is a difficult and confusing time for everyone, but we are dedicated to keeping everyone safe and needs met during this pandemic. We encourage you to stay home if possible, practice social distancing, wash your hands often, and continue to hold all those in the Light that are working on the front lines, who have been diagnosed, and those that are still in danger.
In the Spirit,
~ The Leadership of First Friends
Need Assistance During this Time? If you or a loved one needs assistance while at home, we have several volunteers who are willing to run errands, make shopping trips, and do drop-offs. If you are in need of this assistance, please contact the Meeting Office by phone (317) 255-2485 or email office@indyfriends.org - We will coordinate the help as best as we are able.
Monthly Meeting for Business ~ Mark your calendars! We will hold Monthly Meeting for business virtually through “Zoom” on Sunday, March 29 (time TBD). Be on the lookout in next week’s Friend to Friend for details on how to join us.
Latest Coronavirus news for Indiana ~ If you’d like to keep track of the latest news regarding COVID-19 specific to Indiana, please visit the State of Indiana’s official Coronavirus homepage at https://www.in.gov/coronavirus/. This page contains the latest news and responses from the Governor, as well as current totals of infected and tested individuals in our state.
From our Finance Committee Clerk: As I look out on this cloudy day, my thoughts are on our church service in the Meditational Woods. Although it’s been a difficult time for everyone, I am hopeful we will be able to gather together this June in the Meditational Woods.
First Friends is continuing to operate on a limited basis. We know we will need to expand our efforts to assist members and others in need at this unprecedented time in history. We are asking everyone to faithfully consider how they can financially support First Friends to insure we can continue our positive impact. This is a good time to set up your bank account to make direct payments to First Friends if this is something you have been considering (it is free for both you and for our Meeting!). You can find instructions on how to do this, or you can give through PayPal—find information on how at https://www.indyfriends.org/support. You are always welcome to mail a check to First Friends at 3030 Kessler Boulevard, East Drive, Indianapolis 46220, as mail is still being checked weekly.
When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. -PSALM 104:28
On behalf of the Finance Committee, we are grateful for each of you and the many ways you support First Friends Meeting.
In friendship, ~Rick S, Clerk of Finance
Mid-North Food Pantry: Still Open! It goes without saying that all Witness & Service events at the First Friends meetinghouse are cancelled through the end of the month. But First Friends folks, as of now, are still assisting at the Mid North Food Pantry on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. Just as most people need grocery stores to remain open, so too does a segment of our community need food pantries to remain open. And volunteers are needed to run the pantries. The Mid North Food Pantry has made a number of changes in its operations to protect its volunteers. For instance, as of now, the pantry has volunteers fill bags of food inside the pantry building and they are then taken outside and provided to those who come to the pantry for food. No pantry customers are currently allowed inside the pantry. There is a conscious effort to keep customers at an acceptable distance from volunteers and from touching items that the volunteers may touch. We will keep the First Friends pantry volunteers up to speed on any future changes to the pantry routine. Thanks to our dedicated group of pantry volunteers.
Free Lenten VOCE Concert: POSTPONED ~ The VOCE vocal concert scheduled for Sunday, March 22nd at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, has been POSTPONED. For future updates, please visit VOCE’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/voceindy/.
Weekly Lenten Reflections- Week 4: Water
One of my favorites folk songs is an old tune attributed to the Shaker hymnbook called, “Here flow the Living Waters”. It’s a simple song.
Here flow the living waters, here flow the living waters,
here flow the living waters for every son and daughter.
Come all who will, come drink your fill, come every son and daughter.
This verse is reminiscent of the Gospel of John. “but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14). Singing it over and over becomes a singing meditation on nourishing ourselves in the Divine Spirit.
The imagery of water is so important in the Bible that it is found throughout scripture. Another excellent example is from Psalm 104 which speaks of water nourishing all non human creation
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work…
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.Psalm 104:10-13, 16
In Psalm 107, the psalmist writes praises of God’s deliverance of the Israeli people from many challenges as well as the consequences of not caring for all of God’s creatures.
He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
Clearly, water is a gift from God and one that we need to respect and treasure. It is easy for us to turn on the tap and expect clean, drinkable water to always be there for us. However, fresh water is a limited resource. Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water is accessible and 70% is locked in the ice caps (https://www.livescience.com/29673-how-much-water-on-earth.html).
We have the same amount of water that has been on earth for millennia, however, our lack of protection of this essential resource is endangering life as we know it. Our remaining wetlands clean the water and provide valuable habitat. Mangrove swamps protect coastal areas from degradation. Here in metro Indianapolis, there are several resources to help provide guidance on local water conservation practices: https://marionswcd.org/water-quality/
Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District has some wonderful programs for backyard conservation. Consider devoting more of your yard to native plants that have deep roots and filter water helps protect our local watersheds.
See other suggestions here: https://www.hamiltonswcd.org/backyard-conservation.html
Our fresh water is irreplaceable. Do what you can to keep our waters clean. Not only is it the right thing, it’s consistent with our religious traditions.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for March
Eastern Bluebird
Bluebird of Happiness
Bluebird of Happiness? Really? Where did that nickname come from? It sounds like a very old name, maybe Shakespearean, but no. The name actually comes from the title of a song from the early 1900s. For me, it is absolutely true. The sight of this beautiful bird always brings a smile to my face. The blue on the head and back of the male almost defies description. The blue on the female is muted with gray. Note the red-orange breast.
I often hear the male before I see it, and bird guides describe the song as, “Cheer cheerful charmer”. This month I heard it sing only the “Cheerful” syllables.
This is not a bird one finds in the Meditational Woods itself. During the summer it frequents the lower powerline above the grassy yard north of the garage. From there it can quickly drop to the ground to catch an insect. This month I heard it over by the Parker Street entrance to the north parking lot. While stamping for dollars last week, Ed Morris suddenly remarked, “I believe that’s a bluebird out there!” Sure enough it was, sitting on a guy wire just outside the window of the stamp room (the old choir room). Because the blue is iridescent, it shows best in full sunlight, as it did that day. We all got great looks, and we were happy!! ~Brad J
Shalom Zone 5th Tuesday - CANCELLED ~ Shalom Zone’s next 5th Tuesday event which was to be held at First Friends on Tuesday, March 31st has been cancelled. Shalom Zone hopes to reschedule the event for a future date, if possible. Be on the lookout for updates later this year.
Serenity Now Support Group ~ The next series of book-based support group meetings, Serenity Now, will meet in the parlor the third Thursday of every month from 1:30-3:30 p.m. This small group is for those experiencing family and relationship challenges and will focus its discussion for the next four to six months on Harriet Lerner's Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You're Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted, Betrayed, or Desperate. We are a very small group and new members are welcome, BYOB(ook). The first meeting of this session will be Thursday, April 16, at 1:30 p.m (pending the Meetinghouse being open and everyone being able to safely travel and gather). We will discuss chapters 1-4, pp. 1-50:
1. "Finding Our Voice"
2. Voice Lessons from My Father
3. Our First Family: Where We Learned (Not) to Speak
4. Should You Share Your Vulnerability?
For questions, help getting a book or more information, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Need Ink? The office is in possession of 6 ink cartridges (a mix of black and color) for a printer that takes HP 61XL cartridges. If your printer takes this kind of ink, and you are in need of more, the office is giving these away (thanks to Joyce B). If you are interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Youth Group Skyzone Night: Rescheduled ~ Please note that the Youth Group activity scheduled for Friday, April 17 at Sky Zone has been moved to Friday, April 24. This is of course, pending the Meeting has resumed normal activities and everyone is able to safely travel and gather. If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org. Of course, stay tuned in the future for the status of events going forward.
IN NEED OF A VEHICLE: Bob and Sue H are looking for a reliable car for their teenage sons. They have a limited budget but would like to explore any options. If you know of a vehicle or you have one you want to sell, please contact Bob at the Meeting Office or by email bobhenry@indyfriends.org.
Plugged in devices notice ~ Friends, please refrain from unplugging devices from outlets around the building. Many of these devices are essential to the operation of the Meeting, such as Wi-Fi routers and security system peripherals. These should never be unplugged under any circumstance. If you see a device plugged in that you are concerned about, please bring it to the attention of church staff or a member of the maintenance committee. Thank you.
Queries for the Week
Fear of the Coronavirus has “cut me off” in many ways, how do I hear “be not afraid” in this difficult time?
How am I learning that it is alright to have fear, but not be fear in my world?