As Way Opens
I feel an energy in the air as springtime is about to burst forth upon us. I came to the Meeting yesterday and this Star Magnolia tree takes my breath away every year. I took my lunch out to the meditational woods and listened to the gentle breeze, the running water and saw the promise of flowers and buds on trees. The trees were whispering to me almost but not yet. I know I feel this excitement every year for spring, but this year is special. The darkness of the winter, the barren land and the months of staying indoors, has made this spring and its promise sweeter than ever. It's the hope and promise of a resurrection and liberation for all of us. Creation beckons to us almost but not yet.
I was moved by this poem by Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier -
I read each misty mountain sign,
I know the voice of wave and pine,
And I am yours and ye are mine.
Life’s burdens fall, its discords cease, I lapse into the glad release Of Nature’s own exceeding peace
May we feel a sense of God’s peace as we rest in the bounty of Creation this week and celebrate resurrection today, tomorrow, Easter Sunday and every day.
Beth
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Zoom Updates ~ Please note there will be no Sunday School (for children or for adults) on Easter Sunday, April 4. Similarly, there will be no online Fellowship hour. We hope instead to see your smiling faces at our in-person Easter service that day!!
Easter Sunday In-Person Service! – We are excited to share that we will be holding an outdoor service at the Meetinghouse grounds on Easter Sunday, April 4th at 10:15! It will be held on the front lawn. We will have a canopy set up and plan to meet, rain or shine, unless terribly bad weather shows up (though please be sure to dress for the weather). Any relevant updates will be posted to our Facebook page or you can check your email (or contact the office to sign up for text alerts). Please bring a lawn chair for yourself to use if you are able (some chairs will also be provided). Shawn Porter will be playing the organ from inside the meetinghouse 15 minutes before the service, so come early if you’d like to hear him play! We will also hold our traditional Easter egg hunt for the children. We will have Easter flowers for decoration, which will be available for people to take home afterward (feel free to leave a donation of $8 per potted flower, if you feel so led).
Please note we will have the following safety precautions in place:
· Face masks must be worn by everyone including children ages 2 and up
· Social distancing
· No congregational singing (but there will be musical performances)
· No building access except for restrooms
· 1 person allowed in each restroom at a time
· There will be no Easter brunch or food service
· No formal Fellowship Hour
· No childcare provided
For those who would like to continue to join us virtually, we will also offer our usual online video premiere on our YouTube channel as we do every week at 10:15. However, there will be no virtual Sunday School in the morning nor Zoom Fellowship Hour following the service. We hope that these choices will allow you to join us for Easter Sunday in the way that is most comfortable to you and your family. Either way, we hope you will worship with us that day!
Friendly Reminder from Trustees and Maintenance Committees- Please refrain from planting trees, shrubs, flowers, etc., around the grounds unless approved in writing from Trustees and Maintenance Committees. We need to responsibly manage what is presently planted on the property. Please help us by working together to responsibly and safely maintain the grounds.
Meditational Woods manages the wooded property to the east of the Meetinghouse.
The Community Garden group (Samantha Ryan and Nancy Scott) oversees the small gardens in the north lot.
Thank you for helping us manage the property.
Youth Group Meetup ~ Youth Group will be meeting in person at the Meetinghouse grounds on Sunday, April 11th for an outdoor picnic and games. Please mark your calendars, and contact Beth if you’re interested in joining! office@indyfriends.org.
First Friends Bible Study ~ A new session of the First Friends Bible study will kick off on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 pm. We'll study the 13-lesson book Christ as Present Teacher: Learning to Love, in the Barclay Press Illuminate series. The class meets by Zoom. All are welcome to join or drop in to see what the class is like. If you have questions, or are interested, contact the First Friends office: office@indyfriends.org.
All are invited to an upcoming Spirit & Place online event! The Spirit & Place Festival holds dozens of "never-seen-before" programs. Artists and authors, entrepreneurs and neighborhood organizers, storytellers and scholars come together with singles and couples, families and friends in a true community conversation. You’re invited to their online event, Living Stories: An Evening with Dr. Elaine Pagels on April 16 at 6:30pm. Dr. Pagels will be helping Spirit & Place bridge its past and current themes -- Origins & Change -- by joining Dr. Maria Hamilton Abegunde in conversation that explores how nothing about religion, its meaning, or purpose is static. With every generation, the stories, traditions, and practices held dear by many, change in some way. New discoveries, questions, and perspectives open a world of possibility on how we understand the nature of religion. Religious studies scholar and best-selling author Dr. Elaine Pagels has spent her career examining not only the origins of (Western) religious traditions and how they shape our understanding of ourselves, but also the necessity of re-interpreting these sacred stories so that they might continue to help us in challenging times. Find more information on Spirit and Place’s 2021 festival here: https://spiritandplace.org/Festival.aspx?access=Year. If you’re interested in this event, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-stories-an-evening-with-elaine-pagels-presented-by-spirit-place-tickets-136829886875.
Questions from a student ~ A Butler student is looking for a Quaker who can take just a few moments to answer a short 5-question interview about religious tolerance for a class. If you would like to take a few minutes to answer some questions through email, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Mid North Food Pantry ~ First Friends will kick off its annual Mid North Food Pantry fundraiser on Easter Sunday. If you plan to attend the Easter service in person, please bring a can or two of soup and/or vegetables to the service to demonstrate the support First Friends has for the pantry. Since Mid North is able to purchase food at a much lower cost than you can, you can show your real support for the pantry by making a financial contribution to the pantry. Checks should be made out to First Friends (with a note “food pantry” in the memo section) and sent to First Friends no later than April 18. Or, you can also donate online on our secure website at https://www.indyfriends.org/support and choose the “Mid-North Food Pantry” fund. Or you can donate via text by texting PANTRY to 317-768-0303. Thank you for your consideration.
Spring Greetings from the Woods ~ Plants are emerging from their winter sleep. We have a few wildflowers peeking up through the fallen leaves such as bloodroot and Dutchman’s breeches. Trillium and trout lilies may be next. Hopefully, we will be able to increase the number of spring wildflowers, or ephemerals, as we remove more and more invasive plants.
On Friday, we had a small Woods crew of Mindy Sommer, Brenda Rodeheffer, Nancy Scott, Mary Blackburn and Terry Trierweiler work on the courtyard to get it ready for our first in-person worship service on Easter Sunday. Terry has saved the seeds of coneflower and black-eyed Susans for the children. The Annabelle hydrangea, Little Henry sweetspire, dwarf oak leaf hydrangea and Tiny Wine ninebark shrubs are sending out new shoots. We have a cluster of Tiny Wine ninebark shrubs in the northeast corner of the courtyard that were donated by Helen Davenport’s family. The Davenport family has a tradition of planting a shrub in memory of a loved one. Look for the white blossoms appearing in April and May and think of our dear Helen.
We plan to work every Thursday morning from 10- 12 noon to remove invasives and perform other maintenance. Look for the new spicebushes that will be planted this week in the wet northeast corner.
Get Ready for the City Nature Challenge!
For the fifth year, Indiana Sciences and a coalition of partners are challenging Indianapolis residents and surrounding communities to stay connected with the urban wildlife around them by becoming citizen scientists. People of all ages are encouraged to participate in the “social distancing edition” of the 2021 global City Nature Challenge from April 30 – May 3, 2021.
If you’d like to create a First Friends Nature Team, please contact Mary Blackburn.
For more information about the program, click here.
Do you have extra Tee Shirts that you’ve worn out or outgrown? I’ve just learned about a company that recycles old Tee Shirts into new fibers to create new clothing. You can get $5 credit per T-shirt, up to $25 credit. If you’re interested, check out MarineLayer: Respun https://www.marinelayer.com/pages/respun-2020
Earth Day is coming April 22, 2021. Think about something that you can do to love God’s creation. Is it planting the right native tree in the right place in your yard? Is it cutting down on plastic use in your daily life? Is it turning off your lights when you leave the room?
Send your suggestions for loving the Earth and we’ll post them here in the Woods section of F2F.
Coronavirus Vaccine Age Limit Now 16 and up! The Indiana State Department of Health has now lowered the age threshold for Covid vaccines to 45 and up. If you’d like to sign up, please visit https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/.
College Care packages - It is time to send care packages to our college students as they prepare for their exams at school. This time, rather than having you drop off your donations at the meetinghouse, we are asking for financial contributions. The First Friends office will use the funds to fill boxes for the students with goodies like candy, cookies, cards, and other treats. There are a number of ways to send your support—you can mail a donation to the office with the notation “college packages”; donate via our secure giving portal at https://www.indyfriends.org/support and choose the “college care packages” fund; or text COLLEGE to 317-768-0303. Please get donations in by Friday, April 16. Thank you for your support!
Reopening Task Force Report. The most recent Reopening Task Force March report is available here, with details about ventilation in Fellowship Hall. 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. Additionally, the Ministry and Counsel Committee is working on plans for outdoors Meeting for Worship to take place Easter Sunday, April 4.
Other updates:
· Groups of up to 30 people may now meet in Fellowship Hall, with the same safety criteria and assumption of responsibility as smaller groups. Groups using Fellowship Hall will need to be trained to operate fans and switches, as well as shown how to open and reclose/relock the windows, to maximize ventilation. Training sessions can be coordinated through the office.
· Three listening sessions for the full meeting to discuss issues related to reopening have taken place. Non-pastoral members of the Reopening Task Force were not in attendance, but will be receiving a follow-up report.
Woods Workday Notice ~ It seems that the weather has given us an “April Fool” – so we will meet in the woods on Friday morning as it should be a bit warmer. If you’d like to help take care of the Meditational Woods, please join us on Friday, or any other workday (Thursdays 10am-12pm)!
Bread for the World Zoom Event ~ On Tuesday, April 20, Bread for the World will host a Zoom event, Feeding Our Economy: Food Security. Good for Business. This zoom will feature four speakers: Dr. Heather Eicher-Miller from Purdue University Department of Nutrition Science, Eric Halvorson from Kroger Corporation, Michelle Hummel, Organizational Effectiveness Consultant and former WIC staff member, and Senator Mike Braun, to address food security/hunger issues.
Hunger affects us all, either directly or indirectly. Children who are hungry can’t focus or reach their potential. Workers are less productive. Combined, our overall economy is threatened. More importantly, there is enough food for everyone; we just need to get it to those who are hungry because this is what caring people do for each other.
Bread for the World (https://www.bread.org/) is “a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decisions makers to end hunger at home and abroad. Moved by God’s grace in Jesus Christ, we advocate for a world without hunger.” Keeping informed about national legislation that involves hunger-related issues, BFW members contact members of Congress to advocate for the hungry among us and worldwide. This Zoom event, with the goal of 350 people participating, will educate us about food issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and will demonstrate our commitment to finding solutions.
There is a strong contingent of workers from First Friends who volunteer weekly at the Mid-North food pantry. These people know the fine line that so many people tread to have food to sustain them. With hundreds of pantries like Mid-North in Indiana and nationwide along with the legislative work that BFW advocates, hunger can be eliminated.
Please consider attending this free Zoom event and register at this link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/feeding-our-economy-tickets-141487076655
If you have any questions regarding the event or about Bread for the World, you can contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Queries for the Week
(From virtual worship)
· What “crowd type” would I most identify with, currently? (Curious, Confused, Pretender, Opposer, or Committed)
· How will I commit
…to promote the engagement of the curious.
…to provide clarity and education to the confused.
…to expose the pretending and embrace authenticity.
…to transform the opposers and seek unity.
…and to commit to the work of Christ and to the integration of our lives for the benefit of one another?
(From self-led guide)
· Do I let Jesus accept me for who I am, “dirty feet” and all? Who are the people in my life whose “feet” need to be washed?
· Do I recognize the difference between Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God vs. the kingdom and powers of this world?