As Way Opens
For the past week, I have been on a spiritual retreat at the Fall Creek Abbey, an urban retreat center here in Indianapolis. Upon arrival, it was clear how overdue I was for a retreat and for some needed rest. So much so, that I found myself taking an unexpected nap before dinner on my very first day.
I believe spiritual retreats are important to give one’s mind, body, and soul a break from everyday life and its related stresses. Sadly, I began this retreat much like the SpaceX capsule reentering the Earth’s atmosphere early this week. I came in hot and turbulent from the previous year of pandemic, political, and social/racial craziness and literally splashed down into this welcoming and sacred space. To have a place to escape, be introspective and find healing and renewal is essential to our mental health, awareness, and spiritual journey.
Throughout the retreat, I found my own personal sacred space on the large front porch of the Abbey. It was here each morning I would enjoy a cup of coffee while reading through a book I had chosen specifically for this time. In the first chapter, author Brian McLaren explained exactly why my contemplative side was crying out for this retreat.
Why did I need distance between me and other human beings? Because thinking, it turns out, is a social act, and to think freely, to think differently, to think independently, you sometimes need to escape from the herd. If you can’t get physical distance from your clan, tribe, herd, or hive, you’ll at least need to create some emotional distance, perhaps by retreating into a book (as you’re now doing). This need for withdrawal helps explain at least in part why contemplatives and other mystics have always upheld the value – no, the necessity – of solitude as a spiritual practice. (from Faith After Doubt)
It was clear that “escaping the herd,” was a necessity for me and helped get me back in touch with my own voice and thinking, as well as with the voice and thinking of the Divine. I look forward in the coming weeks and months to share more of what I learned at my retreat. How might you find time to “escape your clan, tribe, herd, or hive” this week to reconnect?
Grace and peace,
Bob
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Mother’s Day In-Person Service - First Friends is happy to share that we will be holding an outdoor worship service in Meditational Woods on Mother’s Day, May 9, weather permitting. In the event of rain, the outdoor event will be canceled. Updates will be posted to our Facebook page, or contact the office by Thursday to sign up for text alerts. If you are able to, please bring a chair.
The following safety precautions will be in place:
· Face masks must be worn by everyone age 2 and older.
· Social distancing will be in effect.
· No congregational singing, but there will be musical performances.
· Building access for restrooms only, with use limited to one person at a time.
· There will be no food service or formal Fellowship Hour.
· Kids will leave the service after the children’s message and have children’s worship out back with Tiffany.
Rain or shine, we will offer our usual online worship through the First Friends YouTube channel at 10:15. Please note there will be no virtual Sunday School in the morning nor Zoom Fellowship Hour following the service.
The Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center will feature Vop Osili, President of the Indianapolis City-County Council, at its virtual annual meeting on Wednesday, May 12, at 7 pm. Working with his fellow public servants on both sides of the aisle, President Osili is committed to addressing the important issues of the day: equity, fair and affordable housing, homelessness, reentry, police/community engagement, inclusive urban development; the issues that impact daily lives of all Indianapolis citizens. A short business meeting will follow conversation with Vop Osili. If you wish to join, please rsvp to indypeaceandjusticectr@gmail.com. A Zoom link will be sent to all who RSVP.
Help Us Honor Our Graduates! We are happy to soon be honoring our 2021 graduates! We plan on honoring high school graduates: Krishan C, Sam A, Lena B, Isaiah S; College graduates: Eli S, Elle A; Advanced degrees: Shawn H, Beth H. If you or anyone in your family is graduating this Spring, please let the office know at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485!
Help Memorialize Our Departed Friends! As some of you know there was a period of time when our practice of writing memorials for deceased members fell by the wayside and many didn't get written. You may remember that for our purposes a memorial is much like an obituary but with a more personal touch and may give information about the person's connection and/or work at First Friends or in the larger Quaker world. If the writer knew the person pretty well there might be a little story or stories that illustrate something about that person.
Here is a list of memorials that are being written and need to be written. Take a who look at the list and see of there is a person that is not yet assigned a writer that you might like to write about. We might be able to help you collect information about the person if you like. If you are interested contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Write with Friends: New Activity ~ Friends are invited to a small writing group where participants may write whatever they want to write—stories, memoirs, journaling, poems, etc. 10:00 AM immediately before Monday Meditation. Two prompts to get you started will be offered, but what is offered need not be accepted.
This will be a live activity in the parlor, socially distanced and masked. Please bring writing materials and a clipboard or notebook. Open to anyone around age 12 and over.
It’s not necessary to stay for the Meditation that begins at 11:15 and finishes at noon. Although we have a practice of sharing our meditational experiences afterwards. Meditation participants do not require that you stop writing. Join us 10-11 AM on May 10, 17, June 7, 21, 23.
Plastics: Impacts and Action ~ We are becoming more aware of the convenience of plastics in our lives, and also becoming aware of the problems of overuse. Cornell University has an online learning opportunity about plastics and how to design an action to reduce plastics pollution. The course, Plastics: Impacts and Action, is a 5-week online course open to anyone! This new course explores the multiple ways we interact with plastics, and uses plastics to investigate the complex dynamic systems shaping our planet and our lives. The course is largely asynchronous--meaning you can access the short lectures, readings, and other materials when it’s convenient for you. We also hold weekly webinars (recorded for those who can’t make it) as well as optional weekly office hours. The course will go from May 17 through June 20, 2021. If you’re interested, you can learn more and register here. Cost is $60 (strongly encouraged), though they also accept participants who are only able to pay less or who are not able to pay. Participants who complete the course are awarded a Cornell University certificate (PDF). Questions? Email CivicEcology@cornell.edu, Use “Plastics” in the subject line.
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss A Promised Land by Barack Obama.
A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy.
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.
Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.
We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 led by Larry C.
Get a Meal, Support MSPC! Mark your calendars! On Friday, May 28th from 11am-2pm, the Maple Seeds Preschool Co-op (MSPC) will host the Black Leaf Vegan Food Truck in the First Friends parking lot. A portion of the proceeds will support the Co-op, so please consider coming that day! You can place a to-go order, or feel free to stay and make a picnic out of it! If you have any questions, contact MSPC at 317-767-3003.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for May
American Redstart – The Crying Voice
May is the month for warblers, both residents and migrants. Most male warblers are colorful, and this characteristic, along with a diagnostic song, is supposed get the attention of a female. Woe is the male that must attract a female from the depths of a thick, brushy river bottom. But wait! God has provided for this by endowing many deep forest birds with an extra-loud song. This month’s selection, the American Redstart, is a tiny jewel, dressed in reddish-orange on black (yellow on gray in the female). His song is a rapid, explosive, “Hurry up and quit!” Although the species migrates through our woods in May and September, and can nest in many different types of woodlands, it prefers the wet mosquito-filled backwaters of Geist Reservoir, and the Kankakee Swamp, and similar places farther north. I have depicted him with his tailed fanned, which is a habit. When I hear this tiny bird singing from afar in the deep swamp, I think, with apologies to Isaiah and John the Baptist, of “a voice crying in the wilderness.” I hope he is successful! -Brad J
Reopening Task Force Report. 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, larger groups of up to 30 people may meet in Fellowship Hall, with the same safety criteria and assumption of responsibility as smaller groups, including mask-wearing. 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. Training sessions can be coordinated through the office.
The Reopening Task Force presented a report to Monthly Meeting on April 18, available by clicking here. The report included recommendations that the meeting consider plans for outdoors worship on Mothers’ Day, May 9, in Meditational Woods, and for indoors worship the following Sunday, May 16, to continue indefinitely as circumstances allow. A called Clerk’s Council meeting took place April 22 to discuss these recommendations, but consensus was not yet reached. It was agreed that the Reopening Task Force will gather additional input from the Christian Education Committee about how best to serve our children and young families, which will be used to inform an updated recommendation to Clerk’s Council later in May. The Reopening Task Force is scheduled to meet on May 6.
In the meantime, outdoors Meeting for Worship is scheduled to take place this Sunday, May 9, for Mother’s Day, weather permitting. Details appear elsewhere in this edition of Friend to Friend.
Note: For all in-person gatherings, indoors and out, members and guests will be required to maintain social distancing, wear masks and following additional CDC guidelines. Extra face masks will be provided for those who need them.
Ventilation:
· As reported in March 2021, the Trustees have shared the following messaging with the Reopening Task Force: “Trustees established fresh air ventilation is abundant in Fellowship Hall and the Meeting Room. First Friends was built without central air conditioning. Ventilation was an important consideration during construction planning. We are blessed with an excellent ventilation system in Fellowship Hall and the Meeting Room. There are fans and switches in both locations. When fans are running and windows and doors are opened, there is an abundance of fresh air available in each of those rooms. Any group requesting use of Fellowship Hall is required to use the ventilation system in place while meeting.”
· As a review, the Trustees presented a report in November 2020 on the ventilation at the First Friends building, based on assessment including: the HVAC system and filters, attic and exhaust; a 1950s report created by the First Friends Construction Committee; and measurements taken using a CO2 detector. Among the findings:
- In the Meeting Room, there are four windows that open, plus four ventilation fans in the ceiling. With windows opened, the fans can draw air through the Meeting Room to meet the CDC guidelines of six fresh air exchanges per hour.
- In Fellowship Hall, a fan on the west wall and an exhaust fan in the kitchen draw air outside. A fan near the entrance brings fresh air inside, heats and circulates it. There are 11 windows that open and two new air conditioning fans.
Queries for the Week
(From virtual worship)
· How am I the embodiment of the Church?
· How do I need to grow in maturity of Christ?
· How do I need to practice resurrection in my life?