As Way Open
As I was doing my morning meditation the other day, I came across this thought-provoking quote by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Edith Wharton. I think you will agree, it seems a very Quakerly quote.
“There are two ways of spreading light:
to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Basically, we have a choice each day, we can be the light or the darkness in other people’s lives. And as Wharton states, we can be the candle or the mirror that reflects that light.
As Quakers, we talk a great deal about the Light and believe it is something that both illuminates and reveals. Sometimes Light reveals our flaws, and casts shadows where it is obstructed. It can also be a beacon to those seeking guidance. For many, the Light changes us in significant ways.
Due to us all bearing this Light, the metaphor of being a candle or a mirror seems to fit us well. Since as Quakers each of us are ministers in the lives of our neighbors and among our Meeting, we might find ourselves at different times being called to be a candle or a mirror.
Often, we help our neighbors and fellow Friends discover, expand, and even give off our “light” in the form of providing a vision, values, gifts, and talents. It is in these moments we are acting as the candle.
At other times, we find ourselves being mirrors reflecting the light of our neighbors and fellow Friends around us. This reflected “light” supports and encourages those acting as the candle to enhance their influence, focus and effectiveness.
This week, let’s consider the Spirit’s nudging and seek where we can be a candle or a mirror in the lives of our neighbors and at First Friends?
Grace and peace,
Bob
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
Right Sharing of World Resources -- Something to Give Thanks For!
With Thanksgiving approaching, Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) offers a way for us to think about all we have that we so often take for granted. This "gratitude calendar," available in both adult and children's versions (see links below), lists one item a day for each day of November. For each item earning a "thank you," participants are invited to give a small donation to Right Sharing. A way of giving to Right Sharing while becoming more aware of the many things we have to be grateful for…
Give 1 cent for every electric outlet in your home
Give 1 cent for every bike, ball, skateboard, Frisbee
Give 1 cent for every faucet in your home
Give 25 cents for the right to vote...
In gratitude for the support of First Friends of RSWR over the past year. -- Phil Goodchild
https://rswr.org/gratitude-calendar
https://rswr.org/sites/default/files/2018-06/Adult-Gratitude-Calendar.pdf
https://rswr.org/sites/default/files/2018-06/Childrens-Gratitude-Calendar.pdf
Joys & Concerns
We had a wonderful celebration for Shawn Porter’s 25 years of music ministry with First Friends. As he retires and moves on at the end of the year, we wish him the best and send him Light and Love.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Office Hours & Friend to Friend Next Week ~ Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the office will be closed on Wednesday, November 24 and Thursday November 25. Additionally, next week’s edition of Friend to Friend will be slightly abbreviated. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us tomorrow, November 18 from 6-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. This time we will study the Book of Thomas. A light supper will also be served. The group will also be meeting on Thursday, December 16 to continue studies on the Gnostic Gospels. If you are interested, email, call/text Ed Morris (emorri@earthlink.net, 317-691-5542) or contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).
Men’s Threshing Together ~ If you are interested in gathering with other men who mull over current issues or topics, where all points of view are heard, no decisions are made, and all in a non-threatening atmosphere over a meal, then Threshing Together is for you! Join us for our next in-person meeting Thursday, November 18 at 7:00pm. See locations for 2021 here.
College Care packages - It is time to send care packages to our college students as they prepare for their exams at school. We are asking that everyone help fill the boxes with goodies like candy, cookies, cards, and other treats. Please bring enough for all 12 of our college students. Don’t have time to shop? We will gladly accept monetary donations! Just leave your check in the offering plate on Sunday with the notation “college packages” or donate online at www.indyfriends.org/support and choose “College care packages”. Please make sure all donations are in by Monday, November 29. Thank you for your support!
Music for this Sunday ~ Preludes: I Need Thee Every Hour & March of Triumph
The reason the organ is called the “King of Instruments” is because it can simulate so many different sounds, including the voice, whose organ stop would be called Vox Humana. While our Casavant organ does not have this particular stop, we do have three stops that we are featuring this week:
• Strings – string instruments – these tend to be softer
• Principals – the basic organ sound: no particular instrument is trying to be imitated and is the most characteristic sound on the pipe organ.
• Mixtures – contain multiple ranks of pipes and at least one mutation stop. It is designed to be used with a combination of stops that forms a complete chorus (for example, principals of 8’ 4’ and 2’ pitches, for those of you who enjoy physics/musical acoustics). Mutation stops are pipes sounding higher (e.g., by five notes) rather than in unison with them. Mutation stops add an incisive quality to the sound.
The “March of Triumph” includes a well-known Thanksgiving hymn in the middle of the piece.
Annual Christmas Tea ~ Please join us on December 12th immediately after worship for the annual Christmas Tea. There will be lots of cookies and punch and fellowship. (For health and safety, cookies will be served rather than grab-your-own.) If you can donate cookies, they can be dropped off on December 11th from 10am-12pm, or on the morning of Sunday, December 12th. For more information, contact Jody Long at jody.long@sbcglobal.net. Happy holidays!
First Friends Group Seeks Monthly Meeting Backing to Co-Sponsor Afghan Family
This Sunday Monthly Meeting for Business will discuss a request by a group of Friends to co-sponsor a family of Afghan evacuees resettling in Indianapolis. The group has been working with Exodus Refugee, exodusrefugee.org.
Co-sponsorship is a minimum commitment of three months and the F.F Co-Sponsor team plans to work on 10 specific activities that may be tweaked following a recent survey:
English tutoring
Airport pickup
School enrollment
Enrollment in ESL
Create a budget
Participate in a second home visit
Help set up furnishings
Prepare a culturally appropriate meal
Supply sufficient clothing for each family member
Provide ongoing financial support (Goal of $5,000 including in-kind donations).
Survey Distributed to Active Parties to Determine Group Activity Commitment and to Create Task Groups
Group activity commitments are currently being finalized as task groups are formed according to individual interests collected from a recent survey. Jim Donahue has agreed to coordinate fundraising. David Beatty is Witness and Service Liaison. W&S will support and assist in the co-sponsorship, but will not take a leadership role.
Ways to Help an Afghan Family
• Volunteer to assist the vetted team. It is helpful to watch the training video on the Exodus website, exodusrefugee.org.
• Help haul, move and set up household.
Donations
Clothing is NOT needed since Exodus will provide culturally appropriate clothing.
Furnishings and household supplies can be saved and given directly to our assigned family as in-kind donations that will count towards our fundraising goal of $5,000. Save receipts for any new items purchased!!
Housing
Please share housing connections directly with Exodus Volunteer Coordinator Jericho Jones at jjones@exodusrefugee.org.
Monthly Meeting for Business has not yet met and approved a co-sponsorship of an Afghan family with Exodus. If approved we expect a rapid match and we want to be prepared.
Let’s Play “What has Tom Made, Now?” – Answer!
Last week we asked everyone what they think Tom P had constructed in this picture. We had a number of people guess it was an antenna—which is close, but not quite. It is actually a modified potato gun. Tom constructed this “gun” to shoot ham radio antennas high into the trees, to get a better signal. He attached an antenna to a potato and shot it up—reaching around 250ft high! He had to use an electric pump to put enough air pressure into it to reach high enough—but he succeeded! What ingenuity!
Thanks Tom for always making us wonder and for sharing your creative ventures!
First Friends Financial Update: The Meeting seeks financial support. We are experiencing a significant deficit, and your help is needed to close the gap. To donate online, go to: indyfriends.org/support/#givenow, or text to give at 317-768-0303.
Other means of helping are available through automatic giving, stock gifts, estate planning, and donation of IRA Required Minimum Distributions. For more information, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.
Additionally, members and attenders are encouraged to visit the 2022 pledge webform to plan ahead for next year.
Blue Christmas Service & Luncheon ~ All are invited to our special Blue Christmas service which will be held during Meeting for Worship on Sunday, November 28. We will honor loved ones who have passed. This service recognizes the struggles that many people face during this season. After meeting for worship, we’ll meet in the parlor to share a light lunch and fellowship and have a facilitated discussion about our losses and grief. If you’d like to join us for this gathering, please RSVP to the office (office@indyfriends.org) and let us know how many people you plan to bring.
Vespers Annual Concert~ On Sunday, December 5th at 5:30pm we invite you to attend our annual Vespers concert, this year themed, “A Season to Celebrate!” The choir and a variety of our performers will be performing and it should be quite a delight. Following the concert there will be a complimentary catered dinner of Olive Garden, hosted by our Fellowship Committee. To help with planning, please RSVP here! We hope you plan to join us for the evening!
From the Woods ~
On Saturday November 13, the Indiana Plant Society held its annual meeting by Zoom.
We learned about Charlie Deam, the Hoosier druggist who became a skilled botanist and forester while cataloguing the native flora of our state. Following Dr. Rothrock’s presentation were two talks about many Indiana nature preserves in the northern and southern parts of the states. I’m inspired to get out and visit some of these precious protected areas. Here’s a link to a list in Indiana to explore: https://www.in.gov/dnr/nature-preserves/nature-preserve/
The final speaker was Jim McCormac . “I am a lifelong Ohioan who has made a study of natural history since the age of eight or so - longer than I can remember! A fascination with birds has grown into an amazement with all of nature, and an insatiable curiosity to learn more. One of my major ambitions is to get more people interested in nature. The more of us who care, the more likely that our natural world will survive.”
Jim gave a fascinating talk about the importance of moths in our landscape and encouraged us to plant for the critters, not just for ourselves. We can have a balance of beauty and native plants. There is a greater diversity of moths than butterflies and they are essential to nourish our bird population when birds are feeding their young. Some moths are entirely dependent on one source of native plant. In addition to this stress on their population, caterpillars suffer a 99% mortality before reaching adulthood and reproduction. He encouraged the audience to leave your leaves on the ground to protect moths and butterfly habitat. In July 2022, Jim is anticipating the release from Ohio State University Press of a new book called, Gardening for Moths in the Midwest. https://jimmccormac.blogspot.com
There are two big ways to ensure that we have enough moths to support birds and other creatures: plant native species AND leave your leaf litter on your garden beds and under your trees. Insects burrow and hide in the leaf litter and it also keeps the ground soft so that larvae can get into the earth to mature until spring (or in 17 years, if you’re Brood X cicadas).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/05/raking-leaves-fall-stop-now-keep-leaves-lawn-mulch-them/3853468002/
~Mary B, woods co-clerk
Poinsettias are available for order! You can order red or white Poinsettias in 6-inch pots for $8.00 each. All orders must be submitted to the office by Sunday, November 28th. Order forms are available each Sunday, or you can place an order at https://forms.gle/fEm2tdEMhKUYg1jr6. You can pay by sending a check to the office with the notation of "poinsettias"; or visit https://www.indyfriends.org/support to pay electronically. Under funds choose "Flower Order.” Happy Holidays!
WYM Looking for Associate Superintendent ~ Western Yearly Meeting of Friends Church (WYM) has an executive-level position open for Associate Superintendent. This newly-created position assists in providing support and leadership to WYM and reports directly to the General Superintendent. WYM consists of 33 meetings in Western and Southern Indiana and the Chicago area. Click here to view the position description. Applications, including a resume and three references, are due to scottmwym@att.net by December 10, 2021. Beginning date for successful applicant will be March 2022.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for November
Mourning Dove: Not So Sad After All
It isn’t really sad, in spite of its name. We humans tend to view animals and their behaviors through the lens of our own experiences. In this case it is more “hearing” than “viewing.” The mourning dove song is a plaintive, yes…sad-like, “Who – you, hoo, hoo, hoo.” The you is at a higher pitch than the who, and the three final hoos are all on the same lower pitch.
Back to the sadness: As in other bird species, it is the male that is singing this song, with the expectation of attracting and securing a mate. A male is very persistent in the chasing of a chosen female, who may show no interest at all in the flirtations of courtship by the male. If his courting behavior IS successful, he certainly will not be sad. He will be glad!! Perhaps their behavior is not so far from humans after all!
Mourning doves are year-round residents of our meetinghouse grounds. They are most easily seen on one of the overhead powerline wires, often in pairs or groups. Watch for the small head on a robin-sized body, but with a long pointed tail. It is often, however, that when walking in our woods, I have scared up a group of doves in the pines behind the waterfall feature. Their explosive take-off and whistling wings can be quite startling.
Be happy! ~Brad J
Queries for the Week
· How does music move you?
· What memories come up for you as you listen to various music?
· In what ways do you experience God through music?