As Way Opens
At the start of each new year, I read Howard Thurman’s poem, Now the Work of Christmas Begins:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among all,
To make music in the heart.
If ever there was a year to embrace these words, it is 2021. We are called to live out Christmas in our daily lives and its work is in the everyday things we do and the people we encounter. May we all take these words seriously and turn outward to embody the inward message of Christmas.
Beth
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Adult Sunday School Notice: Friends, as a reminder, Seeking Friends Sunday School class is currently on hiatus and will return January 17th, 2021. We hope you stay happy and healthy this holiday season!
The First Friends Bible study will study the Psalms for 13 weeks starting Thursday, January 7. The current group chose the Psalms because they felt we all need something uplifting in these times. The study meets by Zoom at 7:30 pm every Thursday. It will use this Barclay Press booklet: http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/ILLUMINATE/illuminate-psalms-2011.html. If you'd like to participate in this study, let the office know at office@indyfriends.org. Visitors, drop-ins, observers, auditors welcome!
Jeff Rasley’s Book Hero’s Journey is now an audio book! The inspiring stories of two small-town sports heroes; one never failed, the other became a homeless alcoholic before completing his hero's journey.
It's a poignant story about John Ritter, the best basketball player from Goshen, Indiana, my hometown. He graduated from Goshen High School in 1969, but still holds all the scoring records in basketball and some in baseball. He was a star for the IU Hoosiers and captain of Bob Knight's first Final Four team in 1973. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and then coached at Ole Miss. He became an executive at Eli Lilly, and then John disappeared. I set out to discover what happened to John and why.
Check it out at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RDT383P/ref=tmm_aud_swatch or https://www.audible.com/pd/B08RDSRYX3.
First Friends Pledges: Happy New Year! If you’ve not yet had a chance to submit financial pledge information for 2021, please click here to submit your information. If you would to have a pledge card mailed to you, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.
Reopening Task Force Report ~ The Reopening Task Force will be reconvening shortly to review when and how to reopen Meeting for Worship. Detailed information is to be emailed to First Friends members and attendees prior to each Monthly Meeting.
Currently, the Meetinghouse is open to small groups, with requirements for face coverings and social distancing protocol. Participants assume responsibility for risk of COVID-19 exposure. To check on availability of small groups, including Zoom options, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for January:
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Named for a Least-Seen Characteristic
Birds are traditionally named for a prominent feature (Scissor-tailed Flycatcher), outstanding color (Painted Bunting), or location (Carolina Wren). In the latter family, the reason for the name is somewhat apparent: Winter Wren, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, and even House Wren. Wait a minute!! Does the House Wren name come from the fact that it nests in a bird house or that it lives around people’s houses? Both ideas are true, but I digress. This month’s bird, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, lives in or near our Meditational Woods year-round. It may be found on any trip through the woods, but is not guaranteed. I usually hear it before I see it: “Kwir-kwir-kwir” or “chug-chug”. The male has a short powerful drum in the spring.
Let’s talk about its plumage. The reddish-orange cap and zebra-striped back are very noticeable. Either might make a good name. However it is a red-BELLIED woodpecker. What? Where is the red belly? Some individuals of this species show a quarter-sized pale reddish patch on the belly. But if even the bird has it, the observer might not notice it. I have drawn the male, with its full reddish-orange cap. The female has the reddish-orange on the forehead and on the back of the head, but the center of the cap is gray. If you look on the internet for pictures of this bird, also check out Red-headed Woodpecker while you are there. It has a much different plumage, but people see that name and confuse the two species.
This brings to mind the name “Quaker”. Is it our “red-bellied” misnomer? Do we really quake? Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing Quaker this or that because of the history and distinctives behind the term. However, when I arrive at a gathering for silent meeting for worship, and someone greets me with, “Hello, Friend!” that is really special. Hopefully it refers to our best-seen characteristic. ~ Brad J
Retired Ministers Fund Update and Information ~ The WYM Retired Ministers Fund provides a modest retirement benefit to 23 retired ministers and their spouses. These Friends have served in pastoral ministry in WYM Meetings, on the WYM staff and with Friends United Meeting missions/ministries.
Meetings (and individual Friends) of Western Yearly Meeting are encouraged to make an end-of-year contribution to the WYM Retired Ministers Fund to continue to thank and support the Friends who have offered themselves in ministry over many decades.
Click here to read about Keith and Judy Kendall and how they continue to serve in ministry during their retirement. The list of all Friends receiving the retired ministers’ benefit is included.
Check contributions to the Retired Ministers Fund can be made out to WYM Retired Ministers Fund and sent to WYM, PO Box 70, Plainfield IN 46168. (Please be sure to send this as a separate check from Benevolence or Assessments, since these contributions need to be deposited to a separate checking account.
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead ~ Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction ~ In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.
We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.