As Way Opens
Every January, I set aside time for some personal reflection. One of the things I often reflect upon is the condition of my soul as I start a New Year. With the ongoing pandemic, family challenges, and numerous other burdens weighing heavy on my heart, this is challenging exercise, but always worthwhile.
When I was in my doctoral program, we spent a lot of time talking about the need for becoming self-differentiated, which put simply means being able to possess and identify your own thoughts and feelings and distinguish them from others. This is so important for all of us in our American culture and the Church, today. To embrace self-differentiation means we must do some internal work and explore and acknowledge who we are at our core – honestly a scary prospect for many.
As part of my exploration over the last several weeks, each author I have read or speaker I have engaged has pointed me back to the timely words of Howard Thurman's 1980 Commencement Address at Spelman College. I believe being self-differentiated has a lot to do with what Thurman calls “the genuine” within us. Just listen to Thurman explain.
There is something in every one of you that waits, listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself and if you cannot hear it, you will never find whatever it is for which you are searching and if you hear it and then do not follow it, it was better that you had never been born…
You are the only you that has ever lived; your idiom is the only idiom of its kind in all of existence and if you cannot hear the sound of the genuine in you, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls…
There is in you something that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself and sometimes there is so much traffic going on in your minds, so many different kinds of signals, so many vast impulses floating through your organism that go back thousands of generations, long before you were even a thought in the mind of creation, and you are buffeted by these, and in the midst of all of this you have got to find out what your name is. Who are you? How does the sound of the genuine come through to you…
The sound of the genuine is flowing through you. Don’t be deceived and thrown off by all the noises that are a part even of your dreams, your ambitions, so that you don’t hear the sound of the genuine in you, because that is the only true guide that you will ever have, and if you don’t have that you don’t have a thing.
Thurman goes on, but I think you get his gist. Take some time this week, to ask yourself, “Who am I?” May we cultivate the discipline of listening to the sound of the genuine inside ourselves this week because it truly could make a difference in our world.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
MEETINGHOUSE CLOSED TONIGHT: Friends, please note that due to inclement weather we will be closing the Meetinghouse tonight. If you’d like to join us for Wednesday Unprogrammed Worship, please plan to join us virtually on Zoom.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Meeting for Worship ~ Clerk’s Council met January 26th and decided to continue with on-line worship through February 6th. Like most members and attenders, we hope to be back together in person on the following Sunday, February 13th, but it will depend upon how COVID continues to impact our community. The Clerks considered the degree of safety of our Meeting Room, which is high due to the diligent and excellent work of the Trustees. However, the entire state of Indiana remains in the red zone for COVID, hospital capacities remain stressed, and cold weather makes it less tolerable to be in the Meeting Room with the windows open. In addition, children are currently the greatest transmission risk and children under 5 years of age cannot be vaccinated. Clerks Council will meet again February 8th to consider resuming in-person worship.
It is a hardship on some of our members/attenders to not have face-to-face contact. If you are having difficulty with this temporary shut-down, please reach out to any of the Clerks or Pastors for support. We want to hear from you! On-line worship will continue every week and you are encouraged to join First Friends on-line worship and the Fellowship Hour by Zoom.
Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday Feb 10th in Fellowship Hall from 6-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. If you are interested contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).
Adult Quaker Affirmation – DATE CHANGE ~ Please note that our adult Quaker Affirmation class series start date has been postponed to begin on Sunday, February 13th, from 11:30-1:00. This is an 8-week study of what it means to be a Quaker. It will cover Quaker history, theology, and what Quakers are doing in the world today. Spots are still open! If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Restorative Yoga ~ Please join friend Kristyn Greenawald in a restorative yoga practice next Monday February 7th at 4:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. It will last for an hour. This gentle practice will stretch and restore you. $10 suggested donation. Hope to see you there!
You’re Invited to Alhuda Mosque Tour ~ Our trip to Alhuda Mosque in Fishers will be happening on Saturday, February 12th at 10:00am. We will have a tour and a time for questions and answers. Please let Beth know if you would like to join us—there is still time to sign up! beth.henricks@indyfriends.org.
Save the Date – Mark your calendar for Saturday May 7th for a day retreat called the Linda Lee spirituality gathering where we will examine and experience a mystical life in a practical way. The retreat will run from 10:00 – 4:00 at the Benedictine Center. Linda Lee’s books will be available. Retreat cost is $30. More information will follow.
Illuminate Bible Study - You are cordially invited to the First Friends Bible study beginning February 10 and running for 13 weeks, on the book “James, 1 and 2 Peter: Practical Christian Living.“ The book is available at http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/ILLUMINATE/Illuminate-James-1-2-Peter-2011.html.
There also is a leader’s guide. Be sure not to confuse it with the participant book. The group meets by Zoom every Thursday from 7:30 pm to about 8:40 pm. It uses the Illuminate series published by Barclay Press. All are welcome. Feel free to visit, drop in, and/or drop out as you are led. Contact the First Friends office for the Zoom link.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for February
Rock Pigeon: What’s in a Name?
We humans like to classify, categorize, and label. We sometimes do this to other humans, and even each other! Pity the poor pigeon. Once the majestic cliff dweller of Britain and Europe, the species became domesticated by pigeon fanciers, and then, when many escaped or were released here in North America, they became feral, substituting our city buildings for their ancestral cliffs. Forty years ago, when Indiana birders were doing surveys, they ignored “Rock Doves” as being exotic, like an escaped parakeet or pet mallard duck. Over the years avian scientists here changed their minds and decided to count them as an official Indiana bird. More recently the name was changed to “Rock Pigeon” as the species was biologically more of a pigeon than a dove. Even with these changes the rehabilitation of pigeons is has not been accepted as much by the public, and many consider them a filthy nuisance!!
Rock Pigeons are present all year, but are seen, especially in winter, in large groups huddled together along power lines and the towers holding the lines. The flocks have their favorite perches, and, fortunately for us and our automobiles, the power lines crossing the meetinghouse property above the woods’ entrance ARE NOT among those favorites. Rock Pigeons can be seen in small flocks, flying over the meeting house, and especially to the south beyond Kessler. Whatever they are: wild or tame, clean or dirty, doves or pigeons, they are here to stay!! ~Brad J
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro ~ From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.
In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?
We will gather via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, February 22nd led by Larry C.
Scholarship Opportunity – Noblesville Friends is offering six $500 scholarships in different areas of study for undergraduates and graduate studies. Applications should be submitted between January 15th and March 30th. Go to www.noblesvillefriends.org/scholarship.php for application and recommendation form.
Queries for the Week
· How can I follow my path to more wisdom?
· What wisdom can I receive from unlikely places?
· Where do I need to empty myself to allow more of the Divine wholeness inside of me?