As Way Opens
What a spectacular fall this year! Sometimes we have years where the leaves show us their orange, red and yellow brilliance and heavy rains come or we have significant wind and they are mostly gone in a few days. Not this year. We have had several weeks of sunny days and we are watching the slow turn of our trees. Every year I am taken aback by the beauty of the trees and it brings me immediately into the presence of God. I was out driving around the city making some deliveries on Monday and I turned down many side roads and saw beauty upon beauty and am amazed at the different hues of red, yellow and orange. Yesterday morning I walked along the Monon Trail into Broad Ripple for coffee and experienced a gentle shower of leaves for part of the trail. I felt like these yellow leaves were talking to me saying pay attention and don’t be afraid to let go and change.
My next door neighbor has a magnificent maple tree and every year the dimension of color is astounding (picture attached). This tree is like my old friend and I can count on it each year to take my breath away. My home was built in 1947 and I know this tree has been “wowing" the 4 families that lived in this home during the last 75 years. God is manifested to all of us through these trees, through all creation and is our alpha and omega. I turned to Psalm 90 this week in trying to express how much I experience God in all the seasons but especially fall -
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place, in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn us back to dust and say, Turn back, you mortals.
For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers"
Take time to experience God during the next few weeks.
Beth
Joys & Concerns
Nancy P’s heart surgery was successful and she is recovering at home. Thank you to everyone for sending their prayers.
Quaker Affiliated Organizations
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) -- Now Hiring!
RWSR is seeking candidates for three senior leadership positions. All positions are fully remote. An eligible candidate must have legal authorization to work in the U.S. The full job descriptions (with salary information) are hyperlinked below.
The Associate Secretary of Operations is a senior leadership position responsible for organizational operations including accounting, bookkeeping, budgeting, and financial and legal transactions that promote the mission of RSWR.
The Associate Secretary for Advancement is a senior leadership position responsible for promoting the mission of RSWR, including all development, communications, and public relations.
The Associate Secretary of Programs is a senior leadership position responsible for implementation of international programs, and educational outreach and programming.
Note that the list of qualifications in each description are desired qualifications--no one has all of them, and successful candidates will bring a variety of life experience to their work.
Please share this with anyone you think would be a good fit. This is an exciting time in the life of RSWR, with expanding programs abroad and at home. Maybe one of these positions is a good match for you?
Feel free to contact the office with any questions. Thank you.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Rise Up Singing: In Concert! All are invited to a concert by Annie Patterson on Wednesday, October 19 at 7:00 PM in person at the Bloomington Friends Meetinghouse, 3820 E. Moores Pike, Bloomington, IN and also online. The concert will focus particularly on songs of peace, justice, earthcare, and healing, with an aim to build community and resilience.
This is a “pay as you are led” concert: no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Since seating at the Meetinghouse is limited, we recommend that you obtain tickets in advance, and tickets are required if attending online so that you can receive the Zoom link. For those attending in person, masking is required. For general information and in-person tickets, go to https://www.riseupandsing.org/events/annie-patterson-concert-bloomington-2022
Annie is a singer, songwriter, and banjo and guitar player in the socially concerned tradition of Pete Seeger. With her husband Peter Blood, she coedited Rise Up Singing: The Group-Singing Songbook and Rise Again: A Group Singing Songbook, which together contain lyrics, chords, and sources for over 2400 songs. Annie and Peter are Quakers who have been singing and leading singalongs for decades and often lead singing at Friends General Conference Gatherings.
Election Day is approaching, and we need your vote to help secure a healthy planet for all! Can’t make it out to the polls this year? Eligible Indiana voters can still apply for Absentee Ballots through October 27! The deadline to return Absentee Ballots is November 8 by 6:00 pm. Visit this site for information on how to hand-deliver an Absentee Ballot. For more resources and information on how to vote, click here.
From the Woods: Find a spot on your property to rake and store your leaves. Our bird and pollinator friends will thank you! https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/leave-leaves?fbclid=IwAR2EVglA3BdCLqI-rQAQzo0U30ykqaO16rpiZI1AzO4f0sTgGcmVpxflA2c
Protect migrating birds this fall. Turn off your house lights at night, put decals on the windows to make your windows obvious and speak up for birds and become an advocate. https://www.audubon.org/news/what-does-bird-safe-glass-even-mean
October 22, 2022: Want to learn more about native plants and why we humans need to live in harmony with them? Come either virtually or in-person to the Indiana Native Plant Society annual conference. Learn more here: https://indiananativeplants.org/inps-sponsored-events/annual-conference/
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 on Thursday, October 20 at 7:00pm. See locations for 2022 here.
You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Coop’s annual Fall Festival! It will be held outdoors (weather permitting) in the First Friends courtyard. It will be Saturday, October 22 from 12pm-3:30pm. There will be food, make and take art, a costume dance party, pumpkin sensory play, a photo booth, face painting, reading circle, goodie bags, and a raffle. All families are welcome to join! Masks are not required.
The Earlham College Choir will be performing at First Friends on Saturday November 5th at 2:00 p.m. If you have attended one of their choir performances in the past, you know we are all in for a delightful time of music and song. Please mark your calendars and invite family and friends to this free concert.
Bread for the World Offering of Letters October 30, 2022
Food insecurity is where a person literally doesn’t know when their next meal, or two, or three meals are coming from. This can happen because of lack of money, transportation, and housing. It can also happen because of drought, floods, wildfires, pandemics, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts.
An upcoming bill in Congress is the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act, originally passed in 2016 and reauthorized in 2018. The objectives of the bill are 1) inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth; 2) strengthened resilience among people and systems; and 3) a well-nourished population, especially women and children. Passing this bill will help people all over the world deal with food insecurity and daily hunger.
Please join us on October 30 in Fellowship Hall right after the worship service to write letters to Senator Braun urging him to sign this bill.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for October
Bay-breasted Warbler: Fashion Rules
According to custom, clothing of certain colors is not to be worn after Labor Day, or so I hear. It is true that I see a general change, especially in the color of pants worn by men.
Many male birds go through a similar change around Labor Day. In fact, there are pages in field guides entitled, “Confusing Fall Warblers.” Without such a guide or knowledge, recognizing the drab bird seen in September and October as the same species that had glorious, dazzling plumage last spring would be impossible. I would like for you to google Bay-breasted Warbler (right now!), and you will see the beautiful bay color on the cap, throat, and sides of the male. This reddish-brown contrasts with the black color on the face. In September a Bay-breasted Warbler, on its way southward, showed up in the Meditational Woods, and I managed to take photographs. In the photos, one can see that the bay colored area has been reduced to a narrow stripe along the wing. Some color change happens when the colorful ends of the feathers wear down due to activity. More importantly, most birds go through a molt at the end of the season, replacing their worn spring feathers with new ones.
Thusly, birding during fall migration can be very challenging. These small birds, in alternate plumage, moving from branch to branch in the canopies of trees still bearing leaves gives the birder only brief glimpses. In addition, the leaves themselves may be blowing in the wind, or falling, which look like birds moving down to a lower branch.
The human “plumage” rule is rather simple for me; I ignore it. I wear what is comfortable and appropriate for my activities. I am not the slave to seasonal fashion as are my avian friends.
Story and photo by Brad J
This Week’s Queries
· How do I let humor disarm me?
· Who in my life brings needed humor and allows me the freedom to be my authentic self?
· How might I utilize humor with others to build empathy in my world?