It was such a joy to spend a couple hours two weeks ago with some of the women at First Friends sharing poetry and creating collages of pictures and words that represent things I can control and things I can’t control. Michelle T led us in this activity that is so relevant in our current situation as there is much that we cannot control. Yet I found that I had more pictures and words on the page of things I can control, and I’ve put both pieces in my office to remind me of this. My joy, my happiness, my need to release perfection, my words, my attitude, my kindness, my respect etc are all things that I can choose to do no matter what the circumstances.
Part of our time together was a sharing of poetry. There is so much talent within our women at First Friends. I want to share a couple of poems that touched my heart from our friends.
-Beth
Permission
by Becki Heusel
My friend gives me permission.
She helps me lift the sofa cushions of my mind,
where coins of ideas have fallen,
and gives me permission to scoop them up.
My friend gives me permission.
She listens to me stumbling through obstacles,
unsure of my footing,
and points a light to show that I am on the right path.
My friend gives me permission.
She gently guides my halting steps,
until, as I become used to the lay of the land,
I am able to give myself permission.
My friend gives me permission.
She nurtures with love and confidence.
I have enjoyed my life so far,
But how much richer it is, and will be, with permission.
Anima itinere (Soul’s Journey)
by Becki Heusel
My soul is a cushion upon which
I rest my mortal being.
Blue and gold brocaded –
it gathers the light from other souls
congregated in its presence.
Then, as phosphorescent flotsam and jetsam
Along the shore, it carries the glow with it
Through dark valleys –
Extending the beam ahead to where
The trail leads once again up to the mountaintop.
Greeting the light of God
As it is projected through the sun,
My soul absorbs light and warmth,
Hope and delight,
And moves me endlessly through
This mortal existence
And takes its rightful place at last
In Paradise.
I Think I Know You
by Leslie Kartholl
You are unknowable
Yet I think I know you –
Familiar
Yet frightening as a sudden storm,
You drench me in great mystery –
My hands are small and unsteady
Weak and scarred –
They tremble with fear
As you hold them in yours
While you juggle the universe.
I reach for you
Hesitant, unsure –
Persuaded by your passion
That burns like a million stars
And courses through me
Like a hot comet
You are unknowable
Yet I think I know you
As familiar to me
As the rhythm of my breath
I inhale your heady fragrance
And think of lilacs.
Grace
by Leslie Kartholl
I extend my hands freely
For you to rap my knuckles
To take the ruler of justice
To my weak flesh.
I try to buy with bruises
A measure of peace
And the feeling that I have suffered
And so you are pleased.
But you take my hands and turn them
Palm up
Forming them into cups
To receive light and grace –
An unexpected rainbow
And the smell of autumn leaves
I baptize your blessings with bitter tears –
Do not give me what I do not deserve
But you never stop.
You pile on the sound of a child
Laughing at nothing,
And eyes that gaze at me with love,
An early crocus and ladybugs
On the window
And the blessings spill out of my hands
And drown me
In unmerited favor.
Heat Wave 1951
by Linda Caldwell Lee
Somewhere on a curvy country road Mom snapped,
“Donald, pull over.” Dad skidded
into field grass. Mom dumped the baby
on the seat and bolted out of the car barefoot.
We three sisters roasted silently in the back seat gaping,
while Mom yanked her blouse over her head,
dropped her skirt, sprinted along a tractor rut,
waded through reeds to launch herself into a lake.
She swam arm over arm all the way to the center
where she floated on her back.
Dad was bellowing, “Come back,” Bertha Jane, damn it,
come back here now.
Mom vanished underwater, swam to the far shore
before turning towards us.
Dad clenched his fists at his sides, helpless
among the Queen Anne’s lace.
We stood in a row in the shade,
even baby brother watching.
Mom drifted back, stopping to tread water on the way.
She rose from the lake with waterweed in her hair,
cow lily caught in her bra trailed across her midriff.
When she flipped her head, water sparked around her shoulders.
Peeling off wet underwear, she raised her arms to the breeze,
turned to air-dry before putting on the blouse and skirt.
She opened the car door and got in.
We children all sat in back without fighting for windows.
Dad slammed into the driver’s seat, mashed the gas so hard
the wheels spun. Mom's arm flew out the window,
she turned her hand to feel it lifted like a wing.
She never did pull her arm all the way back
inside that black Chevy.
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
IFCL ~ A very concrete action we can take to address inequities in our laws and political representation is to stop voter suppression here in Indiana. Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation (IFCL) has been working with allies in the All IN for Democracy coalition to educate the public about the many forms of voter suppression, including the most insidious, gerrymandering. This Thursday, June 18th, at 7:00pm, the documentary film "Uncivil War" will premier in a virtual screening event. It examines the many methods--all perfectly legal--used to suppress voter turnout, the dangers they pose to our democracy, and efforts to end them. To sign up for the screening, go to www.allinfordemocracy.org. For more on voter suppression and this event, see the excellent commentary by Julia Vaughn of Common Cause Indiana in TheStatehouseFile.com here. And for a column by John Krull which illuminates just what's at stake for us all right here in Indiana, see here.
Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) is a fellowship opportunity for young adults excited by the intersection of justice and Quaker spiritual deepening. This year, 36 Fellows are participating in this experiment, working at nonprofits in one of our five program cities, living in community together, and considering how their spirituality is integrally connected with community and justice. Fellows work with those experiencing homelessness, engage with climate change issues, support individuals in navigating the immigration system, teach in classrooms, work at neighborhood health centers, and so much more. Meanwhile, Fellows meet monthly with a Spiritual Nurturer and worship with Quaker communities. The current focus on the racial justice movement, global health pandemic, and economic crisis brings into even sharper relief QVS’s call to provide Spirit-grounded service opportunities for young adults.
This summer, QVS will celebrate the end of the eighth program year and the nearly complete four-year fundraising campaign to raise an additional $2.2 million to deepen the program offerings and seed an endowment. We have just $80,000 left to raise!
We welcome contributions from you as you consider how you are led to steward your financial resources. There is so much need in our local communities, in this country, and in the world right now. QVS is an opportunity to make change in all of these levels. Young adult Fellows work at local nonprofits before continuing into whole lives dedicated to spiritually grounded social change. If you are able to make a financial offering, please visit the QVS website for ways to give. This is truly the best way you can help QVS Fellows and the vulnerable communities they serve right now.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Did you miss the premiere of our past Sunday Service? This week we had a special Prayer Service of Lament for Race & Injustice. Watch it ANYTIME at this link: https://youtu.be/4_Dz_ZOw9Ks. 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!
All are invited to Meeting for Business and Fellowship Hour ~ After virtual worship this Sunday, we hope you will join us at 11:00am on Zoom for Monthly Meeting for Business and Fellowship Hour! You can join through computer or phone! To join please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org. We will finish Meeting for Business first thing so that everyone may get to their Father’s Day activities. After the meeting, anyone is also welcomed to hang around and chat for coffee hour.
Men’s Threshing Together ~ Hey Men! Join us for a Zoom Happy Hour with Men's Threshing Together on Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00pm. (Note the date change from Thursday to Tuesday.) Bring your favorite beverage and connect with us on Zoom and let's check-in and see how everyone is doing during this pandemic! Pastor Bob will be hosting this event. See you at Happy Hour (our normal time - 7pm just on Zoom!) To join, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org for the meeting information.
Women’s Book Study ~ Deb S and Mary Ellen L are looking to start a women's book study group. The hope is to study a book that has meaning for the group members and at the same time deepen the bonds of friendship among them. We would like to take up Richard Rohr's Universal Christ . If you are interested or you have questions, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org. The first task will be to select the best day/time for all, frequency and location. During pleasant weather, the group might want meet outdoors, then maybe via Zoom. Details will be decided once the group has formed. Deb and Mary Ellen are looking forward to a lively discussion of this book and, hopefully, others.
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.
Nipping Current Garden Troubles in the Bud
This article is about solutions to our Community Garden’s current seasonal woes.
Flea Beetles
If there are pinhole-size holes in eggplants, turnips, radishes, mustard and Cole crops they are made by flea beetles. These beetles are small, black and can fly. Suggested cures include:
using organic insecticides now and through August. Examples include neem oil, rotenone, garlic-based sprays, pyrethrines (derived from chrysanthemums), and Pyola (a canola oil and pyrethrins combo from www.gardensalive.com). Sprays must be reapplied after it rains. Plants should be covered completely, even on undersides of leaves;
planting companion plants such as thyme, garlic, allium and nasturtiums;
putting red plastic mulch under eggplants to repel the beetles;
putting yellow or white sticky cards or plastic wrap covered with petroleum jelly on boards placed near targeted plants. The color mimics eggplant blossoms and when insects land on them the fleas get stuck;
commercial sticky traps such as Tangle Trap; and
placing floating row covers over the plants.
(Information from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and pennlive.com.)
Fungi and Splashback
Lower leaves on tomato plants may have a holey or mottled look. This is often the effect of splashback from watering and soil spatters. Fungi develop on the plants. If the leaves turn yellow, cleanly snip and discard them. Some wilt disease can progress and continue yellowing and wilting leaves higher on the vine. Use an organic fungicide to help prevent and control these diseases. Specific tomato diseases can be difficult to identify since a multitude of tomato diseases exhibit similar symptoms.
Chipmunks, Squirrels and Rabbits
These critters seem to be especially hungry nuisances this year. Some solutions include:
scattering garlic, cayenne pepper, hair, fur, blood meal and bone meal around as deterrents;
using fencing around plants and atop soil to make it uncomfortable underfoot. Holly leaves, eggshells and sweet gum balls are also irritants on little paws;
planting a little extra and expecting some crops to be eaten; and
letting nature take its course through actions of hawks and birds of prey inhabiting the skies over our Community Garden.
Hope these ideas are helpful! Let me know if they make a difference and if I can help with other problems you are noticing in your raised beds. Many of our gardeners are knowledgeable in many areas of gardening. --Nancy
Join the Peace Church Conversation ~ After a deep discussion with other area Peace Churches this month, we have decided to grow the conversation online as we work together for "Positive Peace.” Please join our First Friends group today—within the larger Peace Church Alliance network—by clicking here: https://www.peacechurches.org/share/3LbkpLtX76sA4iPe?utm_source=manual The introductory page is available at www.peacechurches.org but please use the longer link above to sign up because it will connect you directly to our First Friends group. Thanks again for your support, participation, and action at this critical and sensitive time!
Cat Needs New Home! Ursula Roberts is looking for a new home for her cat, Jake. He is six years old, charismatic, very loving and cuddly. Sometimes bites. Likes to go outside. If you or someone you know is interested in adopting this cat, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.
Meditational Woods Bird-of the-Month for June
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Sweeter Than a Robin, but Icky
What could be sweeter than a robin? I’m talking bird songs here. Take the song of an American Robin, “Cheerio-cheerilee”, sweeten it up, enrich it, and extend it. You will have the song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak! I suggest you listen to both on “All About Birds” or some other website. The icky part is the grosbeak’s call of “ICK.” It is diagnostic, meaning no other bird does it, and it is the way I find them if they are not singing. It’s like hearing someone say a single word down the hall in the meetinghouse, and recognizing the person by voice immediately, even though it may have been quite a while since your last encounter.
I have drawn a rose-breasted male, and one can see how the species gets its name. The female is brownish with a brown-on-white striped breast. Notice the huge bill (GROS-beak).
This species came through in May, in fairly large numbers, and yes, each year at least one stops by the Meditational Woods anytime during that month. By the time you read this, most rose-breasted grosbeaks have migrated farther north, however, some stick around for the summer in larger woods around here. Probably not ours, but one never knows, especially with the wooded neighborhoods nearby. Hence it is the bird for June, just in case. Listen for that sweet warble or the special “ICK”.
One final note: As of this writing 90 species have been documented in the Meditational Woods or seen on or from the First Friends property. That is significant because just a few years ago, the woods was simply a lawn with some large trees. More about that later!! ~Brad J
Queries for the Week
(From online service)
What historic roots (whether in my country, my church, my family, my community) are important to re-examine, be educated on, and teach to help benefit the development of the Beloved Community?
What journey do I need to take (and who must I ask along on the journey) to form a better expression of the Beloved Community? In moving forward what might I have to leave behind or what might I have to take along? Where might I need to get out of my box?
When looking inward, where am I not whole? What or who am I missing? What would make me a more healthy and vibrant expression of the Beloved Community?
Is community being developed in my life and ministry and am I becoming a faithful presence to the communities in which I participate, currently?
Who am I really serving? How much of my serving is self-serving? In looking outside myself and our meeting, who truly needs to be served?
How am I celebrating and finding joy with others? Am I able to see the reasons for giving thanks, remembering, and appreciating all people and their stories?