As Way Opens
Graduation Sunday is my favorite Sunday of each year. I believe this is my 8th year of participating in this special service honoring our high school and college graduates. I always feel such hope in our future when we hear from our graduates, their plans, their dreams and the impact that First Friends has had on their lives.
This year, my need for hope is even greater. We all know our situation too well and my heart is heavy for these graduates that they won’t get to experience the normal “pomp and circumstance” of May. They have had to adjust to circumstances that 6 months ago we could not have imagined. What I am in awe of in these young people is how they have adjusted and adapted. I went to visit each one of them at their homes yesterday to deliver a small First Friends gift and take their picture. Each one of them made me so proud and so hopeful for where we go from here. I believe these young people are going to be part of a generation that will decide that we can’t keep doing things the way we have been doing them. I have faith that this generation is going to say enough already. We can’t keep destroying our environment, we can’t keep killing each other and we can’t pit groups against one another or we won’t be able to survive. I believe this generation will help lead us into a place that the founders of our country envisioned. That is how much hope I feel with these young people.
Class of 2020 - live out the words of Mahatma Gandhi - be the change in the world that you want to see. Thank you for giving me hope. Best of luck and know that you all are close to our hearts.
Help us shower our graduates with love! This year, with the normal graduation season in turmoil, we’d like to shower our graduating seniors with cards and love from First Friends. If you’d like to join us, please consider sending cards to our seniors!
Beth
Joys & Concerns
Let’s give a HUGE thanks to our Mid-North Food pantry volunteers and financial donors! Volunteers: Kathy and Bill F; Linda and Rik L; David B; Phil G; Derek, Virginia and Melanie S; and Carol and Jim D. Also THANK YOU to all who donated to the pantry for our fundraiser. First Friends raised $4,050 for the pantry. Can you guess who the folks are in the picture? Thanks to these volunteers and to all who contributed their prayers and financial resources to the pantry.
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
Bread for the World ~ At our virtual Shalom Zone meeting earlier this week, we hosted a representative from Bread for the World. Bread is an organization that focuses on food insecurity and lobbies government representatives to fund food needs for both international and US folks in need. The main thing that Bread focuses on is having organizations and individuals write letters/emails which Bread aggregates and then delivers to the representatives in bulk in order to make a big impression. Several of First Friends members participated in a letter writing endeavor last year at one of the Shalom Zone events. Since an “in person” event can’t be held at this time, and since the occurrence of food insecurity seems greater than ever, Bread is asking the churches in the Shalom Zone to ask their members to write letters and send them directly to their Senators/Representatives. The Shalom Zone will then report back to Bread the number of letters sent so Bread can use this information when talking with the Senators/Representatives. The Shalom Zone has a minimum goal of 10 individuals per church but I think that First Friends can more than double that number.
Bread has made it easy to compose and send letters/emails in the attachment to this email. Both content and addresses for congressional representatives are contained in such email. Note that Bread recommends that you personalize the correspondence slightly to have a better impact. You may want to mention the increased need we see at the food pantry, a need that is likely to continue and that our Quaker faith compels us to help as we are able with this food insecurity issue. I’m sure you have other ways to personalize this message.
Bread would like these letters/emails to be sent by May-31. Thanks for your help.
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) Appeal for Food Relief -- Update and Thanks!
In April, the RSWR Board met to approve grant funding for twenty new projects in India, Kenya, and Sierra Leone this spring. These grants will resource women-led micro-enterprises with great promise for the future of the women, their families, and their communities, empowering them in a sustainable and self-determined way. But our hopeful planning for the future was tempered by the stark reality of the coronavirus pandemic, and the threat it poses to our women partners. Due to the spreading outbreak and government ordered sheltering-in-place in their countries, these women now cannot work. And without income, they cannot feed themselves or their families. RSWR's field representatives--some of whom worshiped with us here at First Friends last October--identified food relief as the most urgent need at this time. Until the public health crisis passes, food relief is how RSWR can best serve our women partners right now. (See a note of thanks from one of the women groups.)
To meet this crisis, RSWR decided to provide a total of $120,000 in food relief to the women who count on us. The Board approved an immediate disbursement of $50 in food relief to each of the RSWR grant recipients from the last two years--a modest amount for us in the U.S., but incredibly consequential for them. Since last week, an additional 250 women have been funded, bringing to 2,112 the number of women who have received food aid through your generosity. Our goal this final week of our appeal is to help the remaining 530 women and families we have targeted for aid. All these women were succeeding in their fledgling businesses until the coronavirus outbreak. Because of our relationship with these women, RSWR has been ideally situated to be the conduit for this assistance, with an efficient, reliable way to disburse funds using already established channels.
If you have already donated in response to this appeal, we--RSWR staff, Board, and our women partners--thank you for your help enabling women to feed their families until they are able to reopen their businesses. See the note of thanks from a spokesperson for one of the women's groups, addressed to the RSWR program director but meant for all who have helped. Also, a photo of a women's group receiving aid. If you haven't, please prayerfully consider a donation to RSWR in support of this food relief effort. You can donate by check mailed to RSWR at 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374, or for more information on how to donate go online to www.rswr.org. All donations labelled "food relief " will go directly to our women partners (please identify your donation in this way). By donating today, you make a better tomorrow possible for them. Thank you!
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Friendly Reminder from the Trustees - Please remember to contact the trustees for approval before adding any landscaping/trees to the property/grounds at First Friends. After opinions from two different arborists last fall, the trustees met and determined that we needed to be more active in responsibly managing landscaping on the grounds. In addition, any new landscaping additions to the Meditational Woods also requires approval by The Meditational Woods Committee (a subcommittee of Ministry and Counsel). The Trustee decision was announced at monthly meeting in November. The Spring season is a good time to remind everyone of the decision. Thank you for assisting us as we work together to maintain the grounds.
Did you miss the premiere of our past Sunday Meeting for Worship? Watch it ANYTIME at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V5S_Vg6phY. We hope you had a wonderful and safe Sunday! Keep an eye out in your email for details soon on the coming Sunday’s virtual service!
The Overman Family Scholarship, in memory of Jess and Mark Overman, is available again this year. High school seniors through graduate students are welcome to apply. Undergraduate students will be given first consideration. The scholarship fund is designated to support the members and attenders of Indianapolis First Friends Meeting. Scholarship funds may be applied to any school related expense, i.e. books, supplies, tuition, housing, computer, etc. The deadline for application will be June 30, 2020. For an application please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Can You Gather with God Over Zoom? Many thanks to Steve Sweitzer for sharing the following article, which explores Quakers from all over the nation and how they’ve been experiencing worship over Zoom. This is an article that we can all relate to! If you’re interested in reading more, see the NY times article at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/arts/quaker-meeting- zoom.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200526&instance_id=18775&nl=the-morning®i_id=63439768&segment_id=29152&te=1&user_id=6bddf9b485e421a6b600bf387e342228
The Meditational Woods has an abundance of saplings available for transplanting. If you are interested in Tulip Poplar (state tree, grows straight and tall, likes sun) Redbud (beautiful spring buds, interesting shapes) Paw-Paw trees (understory tree, yield fruit in 10 years) Persimmon (can’t tell if male or female) Perhaps some oaks and maples. Let Mary B or Mindy S know. We’ll show you where and you get to dig ;)
Companion Planting and Inter-planting:
Garden Flowers as Pest Control, Decoration and Edible Delights
Marigolds
Organic gardens benefit from the beauty and natural pest control of flowers. Using flowers to attract beneficial insects that pollinate plants or prey upon harmful insects is a garden management technique called companion planting. Flowers can provide beautiful bouquets and emit pleasant scents. Some annual and perennial flowers also provide places for hibernation. Here are some of my favorite vegetable garden standards.
Marigolds
Surrounding your plot with marigolds helps to draw aphids away from crops. Marigolds repel squash bugs, thrips (minute insects with fringed wings), tomato hornworms and whiteflies. They also attract beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, hoverflies and parasitic mini-wasps that prey on garden pests. Rabbits may go elsewhere if your plot has marigolds. These flowers can be used as a cover crop and then plowed under to repel harmful nematodes.* If nematodes are a problem, leave marigold roots in the soil at season’s end. Marigolds come in red, orange, yellow and gold.
Zinnias
Zinnias
Zinnias, such as the Come and Cut Again variety, attract beneficial bees and butterflies to pollinate your plants. Zinnias attract hummingbirds which love to eat whiteflies. The flowers need the full sun our garden space supplies. When organically grown they are edible; they provide color in salads and summer dishes. The flowers come in a variety of bright colors including red, yellow, white, cream, burgundy, orange, pink, rose, purple and lilac.
Nasturtiums
Gorgeous nasturtiums provide climbing cover to shade sun-sensitive plants such as lettuce and greens. The flowers will last into the fall. They ward off squash bugs and beetles but aphids like them. Their foliage and colorful blossoms and buds are edible and sport a spicy, peppery flavor. Use them raw in salads or as decoration on desserts. They may be lightly cooked to serve in other dishes. When chopped they can be added to vinaigrettes, sauces and dips. Larger leaves can be used as wraps in much the same way as one would stuff grape leaves. Pick these plants early in the day for a milder flavor. They become spicier as the day wears on. They do wilt fast so use them when they are fresh and refrigerate them in water overnight if they are intended for next-day use. Red, orange, cream and yellow shades are available.
Cosmos
Cosmos flowers grow easily and attract helpful insects like green lacewings. Lacewings eat many soft-bodied insects including aphids, scale and thrips. White and orange cosmos varieties attract lacewings but cosmos comes in many other colors as well: pink, purple, red, yellow and white.
Sunflower
Sunflowers
These tall flowers with their strong, thick stems can serve as trellises for climbing plants. If a coarse-leaved vegetable like squash is planted beneath it, some animals may avoid your garden plot since they do not like to tread over rough surfaces. The sunflower’s nectar-laden blossoms attract pollinators. A potential pest, the squirrel, may be lured into your garden because of the same delicious sunflower seeds that the gardener craves. So might the birds! Sunflower colors include chocolate, red, yellow and burgundy.
Sweet Peas
These flowers can be inter-planted among pole beans and edible peas to attract more pollinators. Inter-planting saves space and time. You may cut flowers for a bouquet at the same time you are harvesting peas and beans for dinner. Sweet peas have colorful, sweet-scented blooms—fragile-looking but quite hardy. They will not cross-pollinate with edible peas. They come in red, pink, blue, purple and white. Generally, sweet peas are inedible unless specifically labeled as edible.
Borage
Borage is a wide, spread-out plant and an herb. Bees love it. Borage is a fast grower. Both its leaves and flowers are edible and taste slightly of cucumber. Some flowers are pink and others are blue-- sometimes on the same plant, perhaps blue representing the older blooms.
[Most flower information from thespruce.com]
*Nematodes are translucent multicellular insects with smooth, unsegmented bodies. There are thousands of nematode species on Earth and most are not harmful. You need a microscope to see some types of the long, slender or pear-shaped plant parasites that measure about 1/50 of an inch long. The harmful ones (some are beneficial) can cause root knots or galls, injured root tips, excessive root branching, leaf galls, lesions or dying tissue, and twisted, distorted leaves. Nematodes are of the large phylum Nematoda and are often referred to as roundworms even though the ones we are focusing on are plant parasites and not related to the roundworms that invade the human body. They are not closely related to true worms. Some plants they attack include cherry tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, lettuce, corn and carrots. Nematodes can injure the leaves and stems of chrysanthemums, onions, rye and alfalfa. Plant punctures they can cause may serve as entrance points for fungi and bacteria. They can inject viruses and bacterial diseases into plants. Plants may appear yellowed, wilted or stunted. Nematodes may live above the ground or in the soil. They cannot move fast unless they are in water or damp soil or spread through particles of infested soil on tools, boots, animals and infected plants. (Yes, I have never been real sure about nematodes either which is why I have diverged here for your benefit and mine. These are fascinating creatures and there is much more to learn about them!) Nematode information from Goodhousekeeping.com
--Nancy
Join us for Unprogrammed Worship by Zoom! We are now gathering for unprogrammed worship on Mondays and Wednesdays by Zoom. On Mondays, you can join us at 12:15, and on Wednesdays, log on with us at 6:45pm. We’ll spend 15 minutes to share joys and concerns and then have our hour-long worship. Many thanks to Kathy R, who is hosting this worship. To join the Zoom worship please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org for the Zoom meeting info.
Calling all First Friends Women ~ we will have a women’s gathering on zoom on Sunday, June 7th at 12:00 noon. We will hear poetry from some of our women and welcome other poets (please let our office know that you would like to share a poem).
We will create a picture collage. You will need a large blank paper, glue and magazines. Michelle T has magazines and will deliver some to your doorstep - please let the office know if you would like a delivery of magazines.
Queries for the Week
(From self-led worship)
What dominant feelings am I experiencing today that I need to continue to take inventory of?
How might I engage deep listening to become more in touch with the sounds of my soul?
During this pandemic, what “dark cellars and light rooms” should I explore to penetrate my own interiority?
(From virtual service)
Where have I been tempted to stretch the truth, take advantage of a privilege, break a commitment or gossip? What do I see about myself?
Where is it hardest for you to tell the truth?
Then this week, I challenge you to practice one of these habits: 1) not exaggerating, 2) not gossiping, or 3) not rationalizing. Then ask yourself, What is it like for me to do this?