As Way Opens
It was an interesting day to be working in the Meeting on Monday. In the early morning we had an individual arrive at the Meeting bundled up with 3 coats, two hats and a scarf and needed to call the apartment building where he lives (he doesn’t have a phone). There was a leak in the laundry room that had not been fixed in his building after they had attempted to fix it before. I heard the conversation and the building manager seemed attentive and conferenced his maintenance person that said he would be over there that day to look at it. The Friend in my office did not seem well and when I asked him if he was ok he said he was hyperventilating. He said he was very anxious and afraid that the leak would not be fixed, the health department would close the apartment and he would have no place to live. My heart was moved to his concern and I felt his anxiety.
Later in the morning I was showing the Meeting to my son Greg’s girlfriend and we went into fellowship hall. The preschool kiddos were there doing their physical activities and we met a boy that was sitting in a box looking at us as we walked in. He put the box on his head and we started to verbally engage. He told me his name was Leo and after some conversation he asked me if I would play with him. I told him I would love to do that but I had to work in our office. Then he looked at Greg and his girlfriend and said, “Anybody?”
I thought about the diversity of these two experiences and yet their connection. Christ connects with those at the margins who are frightened at losing their apartment as well as our youngest who just want someone to recognize them and play with them. Christ feels our anxiety and understands our need for connection. And everything in between.
I realized that I experience these moments everyday but don’t recognize them. One of my favorite shows in midlife was Joan of Arcadia. It was about a teenager and her life where God kept appearing to her in strangers. It was a great show about how we have traditionally viewed God and how that image isn’t anything about how God appears. God is in the most unlikely places and God appears in people that scare me, that make me uncomfortable and that are very different than I am.
Here are the Joan Osborne lyrics:
If God had a name, what would it be?
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with Him in all His glory?
What would you ask if you had just one question?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus, tryna make his way home?
If God had a face, what would it look like?
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints
And all the prophets?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
May we all see God’s face in the stranger today.
Beth
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Meeting for Worship ~ Welcome back! We are thrilled to announce that we will resume worship together at the Meeting House this Sunday, February 13. For the next two Sundays:
Fellowship Hall will be open after Worship, but food and drinks will not be served
There will be Children’s’ Message, but not Children’s Worship. After the Children’s’ Message, the children will be released to sit with their families
There will be a Children’s’ Sunday School by Zoom for those worshipping from home.
The windows will be open about 2 inches. It is expected to be comfortable, but cool. Please dress accordingly.
Masks must be worn in the building and KN95 or N95 masks are recommended.
At Monthly Meeting on February 20th, we will discuss whether to resume in-person Sunday School and the need for any other precautions.
Gnostic Gospel Group ~ Everyone is invited to join us on Thursday Feb 10th in Fellowship Hall from 6:30-8pm for a group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels. If you are interested, contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).
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.
Saving Us Book Club ~ The Evangelical Environmental Network invites you to their Beth Bond Memorial Book Club. Join virtually to read, contemplate, and discuss climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe's newest bestselling book, Saving Us. In this book, Hayhoe argues that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how. They will gather for 6 weeks on Thursdays at noon (EST) beginning February 10th and going until March 17th. The first meeting will kick off with the author Katharine herself! If you’re interested, please register here. (Please note - registration will close after the first meeting.)
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.
Success! Hooray! The stamp team has reached the goal announced at the "Mr. Stamp" presentation in October, of processing their backlog by Valentine’s Day! The team would like to thank everyone who has helped, especially the new trimmers. Now the team is valiantly trying to meet the challenge of keeping up with the incoming packages.
Request: Please watch for stamps from stamps.com, bring them in, and put them in the stamp box on the bench at the east door. The stamp team's most faithful customer, Bob Boehner of Nova Scotia, is creating an exhibit of these personalized stamps. An example is shown nearby. These stamps are marked "stamps.com." We're grateful for all stamps, of course, but these are especially desirable for the next six months or so. And thanks for your help.
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 Thursday, February 17 at 7:00pm. See locations for 2022 here.
New Sermon Series ~ Starting Sunday, February 20, we are excited to finally announce a new sermon series during our in-person Meeting for Worship and our virtual Light Reflections on YouTube. We will be exploring what it means “To Be Thriving and Progressive Quakers in 2022.” Pastor Bob has prepared a 7-week series to cover key issues of faith and action for Quakers in the present day. Her is a brief overview of what to expect:
1. February 20: Moving from Heaven to Earth Matthew 6:10
2. February 27: Allowing Ourselves to Question Proverbs 2:2-5
3. March 6: Understanding the Poor and Oppressed Luke 4:18
4. March 13: Caring about THIS World Numbers 35:33-34
5. March 20: Emphasizing Behavior over Belief Galatians 5:22-23
6. March 27: When Compassion is the Key 1 Peter 3:8
7. April 3: Finding the Unity in Community 1 Corinthians 12:25-27
Pastor Bob is also preparing a suggested reading list to accompany the series and allow you to further study on your own. We are hoping to end the series just before Easter with a special guest preacher, Phil Gulley, from Fairfield Friends Meeting. Please join us for this exciting new series.
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.
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.
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
You’re invited to MSPC’s Silent Auction! You’re invited to Maple Seeds Preschool Coop’s annual fundrasing event. The online-only auction begins Friday, March 4 at noon and ends Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10pm. The funds raised from the silent auction allow the school to offer scholarships to participants, as well as to purchase new equipment for their classrooms. Find the auction page at https://www.32auctions.com/mapleseedsauction2022. For more info, visit MSPC’s website at https://www.mapleseeds.org/.
Queries for the Week
· What am I looking for?
· Am I looking for the “magic mustard seeds,” so I don’t have to give up my illusions?
· Do I just want to escape this world, or learn to really live in it?