As Way Opens
I am just finishing the authorized biography of Eugene Peterson called “A Burning in my Bones”. Peterson was a pastor, theologian, scholar and translator of Greek and Hebrew Scriptures and while he wrote many books during his lifetime, his masterpiece was the translation of the Old and New Testament called The Message. The author, Winn Collier, had access to Peterson, his family, friends and all his papers and journals. This biography gave a candid and personal look into Peterson’s life and his journey to the place of tackling this huge project of translating the Scriptures from their original language. Peterson first translated the New Testament and a few years later translated the Old Testament. This translation was widely successful and it brought the Scriptures into common English language while attempting to share the energy, passion and life of the Scriptures.
There is a delightful story of how Bono, the lead singer from the rock group U2 loved The Message translation and incorporated readings of this translation into his concerts. He desperately wanted to meet Peterson and after a few attempts, Peterson’s agent finally set up this meeting. This began a lifelong friendship and Bono recognized that Peterson’s translation brought the Scriptures alive and they became more relevant to the common person and opened up the Bible to a whole new group.
Peterson also received a lot of criticism for this translation from some Christians that felt he was misinterpreting Scripture and strongly disagreed with much of what he wrote. They cited the King James version as the literal words of the Bible and Peterson always pointed out that every translation including KJV are an interpretation of the original writings. That is why we must read the Bible searching for Truth but holding the Scriptures lightly and with an understanding that all the words we read are an interpretation and open for discernment from the original language.
Peterson spent his entire life trying to follow God’s calling and it was inspiring to see how his path, his shortcomings and his wrestling with institutions like the Church and academia influenced his journey to a deeper relationship with God. He struggled with insecurities and ego and it once again reminded me that God uses us in all our glories and our shortcomings. May we all keep listening to our call from God.
Beth
Joys & Concerns
June Jubilee/Juneteenth: Hot and Humid but Fun and Educational
What a weekend! June Jubilee, a new federal holiday: Juneteenth, Father’s Day, graduation parties and the summer solstice! Neighbors walking in the First Friends lot dropped in and there was enough food to share, just like the Bible’s loaves and fishes story. Jim brought hot dogs and Craig set them up so they could roast on their own since it was too hot to sit by the fire. Amy T. had to attend a grad party but brough s’more kits daughter LeeAnn made for the event. Mary brought enough food to pass around, including melon. We weren’t sure until the last minute whether we would be inside or outside but the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was hot and humid but there were plenty of games: disc golf, corn hole, basketball, jump rope and fun quizzes about Juneteenth and Father’s Day. They were interactive and people won prizes.
Saturday the 19th in this year of 2021 was the first day Juneteenth was celebrated as a federal holiday. It commemorates the symbolic end of slavery in the United States. In 1863 during the American Civil War President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring the three million slaves living in Confederate States to be free. Two-and-a-half years passed before the news reached African-Americans living in Texas. In 1865 Major General Gordon Granger and 2000 Union troops arrived in Galveston to deliver the message and enforce the law. The freed slaves prayed, sang hymns and danced. Some called this the “break.” They were freed but had the means to support themselves when they had no land, property or jobs. In 1866 Freedmen in Texas organized Jubilee Day (Day of Jubilee). Sometimes “Day” was plural because news was sporadic in Texas. Confederates learned the war was over and finally surrendered by early summer. A few months later states that had rebelled had to adhere to the 13th Amendment of the Constitution in order to be reintegrated into the Union. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery everywhere in the U.S., not just in the states that seceded. In the 1890s Jubilee Day became known as Juneteenth. Until last Saturday only 47 states and D.C. officially celebrated Juneteenth. Early celebrations included political rallies to provide voting instruction. At the June Jubilee we discussed the Juneteenth flag, holiday colors and customary foods. We spoke of celebrating Juneteenth by supporting Black business and by educating ourselves and others about Juneteenth and race. We agreed that as humans we still have much to learn and much to do to improve human relations.
Holliday Park Songsters Entertain Birders ~ Enthusiastic is a descriptor for Brad Jackson. As leader of a birdwatching walk yesterday at Holliday Park, he gestured like a maestro as he encouraged birders to listen and really hear the multiple calls of the many species observed in the Park. Brad usually hears birds—even a tiny hummingbird—before he sees them. The group started the walk by watching a Cedar Waxwing “teeing up” (like a golf ball on a tee) atop a Hemlock tree. That is birdwatcher language for a bird perching at the very top of a tree for some time while it scans the view, possibly while singing. Lower down the tree sat a Northern Flicker. She was a female since she lacked the mustache marking of the male. Brad looks at subtle changes in flight patterns, color, types and lengths of tails and wings, bill shapes and bird size to I.D. the flyers. He also listens to their calls, songs and pecking noises. He engages walkers with his exotic interpretations of specific species’ calls and songs. Sometimes he mentions well-known humorous descriptions of auditory clues. For instance, Tanagers “sound like a hoarse robin—a robin with a sore throat.” It is lower-pitched with a thicker sound. The birders identified both male and female of this species.
Brad records birds’ locations and behaviors on apps that can be used by birders and scientists across the nation and the world. Through apps and observation he knows how common or unusual it is to find any given bird at a specific location. As a result he pronounced the Prothonotary Warbler the Bird of the Day. It is seldom seen in this area and is named for its yellow head that resembles the hood-like garment worn by judges in old England. This warbler nests in woodpecker holes that have caused tree limbs to weaken and lean over rivers, swamps and ponds in woodland settings.
When the birding group reached the river they looked up and saw 47 mud nests stuck to the side of the bridge. Cliff Swallows had fashioned them. The graceful swallows dived and swooped toward the round openings in their nests, delivering food to their hungry young. Brad informed the group about several types of nesting behaviors. Being able to detect them helps to locate mates, identify species and predict populations.
Both inexperienced and knowledgeable birders can benefit from birdwatching with Brad. Connections Program Meeting arranged for this second birdwatching session. Since nesting and fledging seasons are ending, birds will no longer need to stake out their territory and populations will quiet down. When birds sing less they are more difficult to locate and identify so birders will need to put serious birdwatching on hold. No doubt there will be future birdwatching sessions with Brad—eventually. After all, the walks are relaxing and fun jaunts for everyone involved. Read through the list of birds encountered at the Park yesterday:
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
No Friend to Friend or Office Hours week of July 4 ~ Please note there will be no Friend to Friend on July 7 due to several staff holiday absences. So be sure to get your notices in early! Also, for the same reason, there will be no regular office hours that week (July 5-8). If you need to be let in the building, please contact Beth at beth.henricks@indyfriends.org.
Also please note that there will be no Meeting for Worship on Sunday, July 4. We will instead hold unprogrammed worship that day at 10:15. Also, an online video (Light Reflections from First Friends) will premiere that day on our YouTube channel as usual. Feel free to join us either way.
We welcome Brown Mujete to Meeting for Worship this Sunday! Brown will be giving the morning message at both in-person and online worship. Brown, together with his spouse, Petra, and their children Alexis, Drake, and Alyssa, comes to us from Kenya in East Africa. Brown went to Friends Theological College (FTC) in Kaimosi – Kenya, then to St. Paul's University for his undergraduate studies, before joining Earlham school of religion in Richmond, IN, where he recently graduated with an MDiv. Brown has served as a pastor in several monthly meetings and a chaplain to quaker sponsored schools in Kenya. He is also an ordained minister with the Anglican Church of Kenya and has been serving as a supply priest for St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond. He is extending his studies at ESR for one more year to pursue a master's of peace and social justice while preparing for doctoral studies.
Calling all ice cream lovers! First Friends will be working at the Dairy Bar at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, August 7th all day. This is a major yearly fundraiser for our youth program! We plan to have two shifts, 9:30am-3:30pm, and 3:30-10:00pm. Volunteers will receive a free ticket to the State Fair for that day, as well as unlimited ice cream, shakes and cheese sandwiches. Please let the office know if you’re interested!
Your Talent is Needed! ~ As we reopen our Sunday Meeting for Worship, we are looking for vocalists or instrumentalists who would like to perform during Meeting for Worship over the summer. Simply pick a Sunday in June-August and let the office know which day you would like to perform. Eric is available for accompaniment and to help you with whatever your performance needs are. If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485 with the date you had in mind. Or, use the sign-up sheet in the office hallway. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sign up NOW for VBS! Registration is now open for Vacation Bible School this summer! This year’s theme is “Treasured: Discovering You’re Priceless to God.” We will kick off on Sunday, July 18 from 12-2pm after worship and then have daily sessions the following Monday through Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30. Preschoolers through 5th graders are welcome. Neighbors, friends, and grandkids are also invited! We also still need volunteers for group leaders, station leaders and folks to prepare a snack for a night. For more information, here is the link for the intro for the VBS program: https://www.group.com/category/ministry-resources/childrens-ministry/vbs/treasured.do. If you’d like to sign your kids up or help with VBS, please contact the office.
Western Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions ~ All are invited to Western Yearly Meeting’s (WYM’s) annual sessions which will be July 23-25, 2021. This year’s theme is “See I am Doing a New Thing” (Isaiah 43:19). Most events will be held online, with 3 in-person events at the WYM Meetinghouse with online streaming so friends can view remotely:
Friday 7/23 evening - Quaker lecture by Colin Saxton
Saturday 7/24 evening -Missions gathering
Sunday 7/25 morning - WYM meeting for worship
Other events held online will be held online in an interactive format (zoom) with the opportunity for friends to gather and participate virtually. There is no fee to participate, though donations are welcome. Please register by 12 Noon on Monday, July 19. To register and for more information, please visit https://www.westernyearlymeeting.org/2021newthing.
Two Poems read at Meeting on Father’s Day: Climbing by Linda Lee in her book Before the Final Fire and Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden which may be read at poetryfoundation.org.
Climbing
Higher than the house, higher
than the metal roof of the barn,
beyond the pointed top of the poplar,
up the old silo he climbed.
The ladder rattled, the rungs felt cool,
rough with rust.
Higher than the church steeple,
not higher than his wife’s voice.
“Donald it’s dangerous. Donald,
I’m afraid. You’ll fall. Don’t
fall, Donald, you’ll be a father soon.
His pleasure in the muscles of his arms,
the strength of his legs, in his fingers the grasp, pull, push,
in the motion of his body trusting.
His joy in the long view
across the valley toward his family’s farm,
the school where he’d met my mother
in second grade. His climbing because he wanted to.
His escape from her fear. The courage he claimed.
From within her womb I heard him say,
“Have confidence in my strength, my competence.
I will take care of you and this child,
of three more children and a dog.
Trust me and the child, this football-shaped moon, yourself and the love we share.”
When he stood safe, they squeezed me between them
with their hugging.
Queries for the Week
How has patriarchal and toxic masculinity effected my life?
Whether a father or not, what can I do to promote and model a better way of being human?
What father in my life might I need to speak life, beauty and hope to, today?