As Way Opens
I am still living in the glow of a beautiful Easter Sunday that we had this past week. The flowers, the children, the music, the sharing, the breaking of bread together, sunshine, being with families, the reflection of forgiveness and resurrection are all glorious and the day can bring joy and inspiration. We live for these mountaintop experiences and pray that we will feel God in the most profound way. And that can happen.
But I have found that it is often during my deepest struggles that I find God. Sometimes we pray that God will take our pain and struggles away and yet it is through our struggles that we find strength and receive wings to the Spirit even while experiencing our deepest trials. I was reminded of this as I observed my rhododendron bush trying to bloom this Spring. Here is a picture of the snowflakes on the leaves prior to the beautiful blossoms exploding. I was worried that the blossoms would be destroyed and I would miss out on the beauty of this bush that only lasts for a short time. But sure enough late last week, it prevailed through the struggle of cold and snow to bring forth its shining glory.
It’s the same experience when one can watch a bird pecking its way out of the eggshell. The pecking can go on for a long time and if one listens carefully one can hear a cry of distress and anguish. But the bird keeps pecking away and eventually emerges bedraggled and wet but triumphant and living into the fullness of their identity.
I’ll never forget the one Sunday when our longtime friend Duffy Fankboner (whom we lost a number of years ago) spoke out of the silence during unprogrammed worship. Duffy suffered a lot of physical pain brought on by being exposed to agent orange during the Vietnam war. He had a lot of trouble with his feet and sometimes the pain in his feet was so bad at night that he could not sleep. One particular night the pain was intense and he began praying to God to take this pain away. During his prayers something shifted and he began to feel God through the pain. With tears in his eyes, he shared that his pain had become a portal to the fullness of God’s presence in that moment. The experience changed the way he approached his pain and he spent less time praying for the pain to go away and more time experiencing God directly. And for those who remember Duffy he was one of the most positive, Spirit filled, and beloved members of our community.
My prayer for all of us is to understand that we all struggle throughout life and we will experience individual and corporate trials. May we begin to discern that our growth, acceptance and Spiritual transformation are all tied into our challenges.
Beth
Joys & Concerns
We had a wonderful time this past Sunday as we celebrated Easter! We were thrilled to be able to join together in person and resume our traditional Easter activities. We had our annual Easter egg hunt and our kids had a blast! We also were able to resume our usual Easter brunch. Thank you to everyone who purchased flowers to help beautify our Meetingroom for the service. We’d also like to thank Fellowship committee for arranging a lovely brunch. And finally thank you to everyone who came and joined our special Easter Celebration! (Thanks to Beth K & Kim H for the photos!)
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
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, April 21 at 7:00pm. See locations for 2022 here. (Please note the corrected dates!)
Honoring Our Graduates ~ If you or someone in your family are graduating this season, please let us know! We’d like to honor them in an upcoming service. If you have a high school, college, or advanced degree graduate, please contact us at office@indyfriends.org or 317-255-2485.
Flood the Phones, Not Our Homes ~ Together we can make this month a turning point in our fight for health, climate, and God’s creation. From now until Friday, April 22, the Evangelical Environmental Network is hosting “Flood the Phones, Not Our Homes,” an opportunity for you to contact your Senators and urge them to act now by investing in crucial climate action.
Participating is easy! Simply call 1-866-531-4003 and enter your ZIP code. Use this sample message or feel free to personalize as you see fit!
This is a critical decade for climate change, and we must continue to act boldly and swiftly to address this pressing crisis. This April, join us by calling your Senator and urging them to get bold climate investments across the finish line! Let’s flood the phones, not our homes.
Call Now: 1-866-531-4003 (To call both senators, simply redial the number, and you will be connected with your second state senator.)
Nonviolence Training – We believe that Dr. King's vision for a Beloved Community is possible. We will achieve this by growing and living a culture of Nonviolence. You’re invited to a twelve-hour personal and professional development opportunity that will increase your knowledge, expand your perspective, and help you take action to build the Beloved Community with us. This is how we ensure our society and economy benefit everyone. This event is sponsored by the Indianapolis Martin Luther King Center. It will be held Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, 10am-4pm at Common Ground Church at 46th & Illinois. For more information, please visit https://mlkcenterindy.org/nonviolence/
Indy Creation Fest ~ You’re invited to Indy Creation Fest, Saturday, April 23, 2022, 11am-3pm at Christ’s Community Church, 13097 Allisonville Road, Fishers, Indiana. Come join the Evangelical Environmental Network at the first annual Indy Creation Fest! Indy Creation Fest is an open-house-style celebration of our role as stewards of God’s earth. Learn about beekeeping and composting, sample vegan cooking and ethical chocolate and meet some adorable animals from local rescues. Discover what the Bible says about conservation and sustainability and find out how others in your community are caring for Creation as an expression of their faith. The festival includes activities for all ages, so bring the whole family for an unforgettable afternoon of fun and learning! For more information visit https://drivecleanindiana.org/event/april-23-2022-indy-creation-fest/
Restorative Yoga ~ Please join friend Kristyn G in a restorative yoga practice on Monday April 25th at 4:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. It will last for an hour. This gentle practice will stretch and restore you. $10 suggested donation. If you have any questions, reach out to Kristyn at her cellular number 317-409-2116 by text or call. Hope to see you there!
Earth Sunday, Meditational Woods Anniversary, Selling Chocolates, & a Visit from Ruthie & Jon T This Sunday!! ~ We invite you to join us this Sunday, April 24 for a special Earth Day service! We are glad to welcome our own Mary B as our special guest speaker. Also, we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our Meditational Woods! At the end of the service, we will move out into the woods to gather for a special time of waiting worship surrounded by nature. Also, Ruthie and Jon T will be in town (for the RSWR board meeting) and will be joining us that day. We invite anyone that would like to see Ruthie (our former pastor before Bob) & Jon to join us in fellowship hour that day for a light soup and salad lunch (food will be provided). Also, be sure to bring your checkbooks! We will be selling chocolates and coffee during Fellowship Hour. All proceeds will go to the Linda Lee Spirituality Retreat Fund. We hope you will join us for this packed day!
College Care packages - It is time to send care packages to our college students as they prepare for their exams at school. We are asking that everyone help fill the boxes with goodies like candy, cookies, cards, and other treats. Please bring enough for all 12 of our college students. Don’t have time to shop? We will gladly accept monetary donations! Just leave your check in the offering plate on Sunday with the notation “college packages” or donate online at www.indyfriends.org/support and choose “College care packages”. If you’d like to donate items for the boxes, please bring them in on Sunday, April 24 (this will be the only Sunday the boxes are out!) We will continue to collect monetary donations through Sunday, May 1st. Thank you for your support!
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would love for you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty by Maurice Chammah. A deeply reported, searingly honest portrait of the death penalty in Texas—and what it tells us about crime and punishment in America
WINNER OF THE J. ANTHONY LUKAS AWARD
In 1972, the United States Supreme Court made a surprising ruling: the country's death penalty system violated the Constitution. The backlash was swift, especially in Texas, where executions were considered part of the cultural fabric, and a dark history of lynching was masked by gauzy visions of a tough-on-crime frontier.
When executions resumed, Texas quickly became the nationwide leader in carrying out the punishment. Then, amid a larger wave of criminal justice reform, came the death penalty's decline, a trend so durable that even in Texas the punishment appears again close to extinction. We meet Elsa Alcala, the orphaned daughter of a Mexican American family who found her calling as a prosecutor in the nation's death penalty capital, before becoming a judge on the state's highest court. We meet Danalynn Recer, a lawyer who became obsessively devoted to unearthing the life stories of men who committed terrible crimes, and fought for mercy in courtrooms across the state. We meet death row prisoners--many of them once-famous figures like Henry Lee Lucas, Gary Graham, and Karla Faye Tucker--along with their families and the families of their victims. And we meet the executioners, who struggle openly with what society has asked them to do.
We will gather in the parlor and simultaneously via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 led by Brenda R.
Can You Help out a Friend? Our Friend Tony M (he recently celebrated his 50th with a big birthday bash!) is moving into a new apartment. He is in need of help moving—the moving day is TBD but will likely be sometime the weekend of April 29. If you own a truck, and/or would otherwise like to help with the move, please consider lending a hand. Also, Tony unfortunately has to give up his pets—a well-trained, 8-year-old cat and a bird—if you or anyone you know is interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Claim Your Vegetable Plot in the FF Community Garden ~ The daffodils are leading the way into springtime activity. Adorned in their showy frills they sway dance-like in the breeze, beckoning people to the First Friends Community Garden. If you would like to plant vegetables in a raised bed on the north side of the Meetinghouse, you can request a plot. You do not need to be experienced. It is an organic garden. Free seeds are available at local libraries. To keep your plots from last year, or to join the gardening community, contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Ending Hunger: What’s God Got to Do with It? You’re invited to a workshop on the theological underpinnings of advocacy to change public policy, led by Rev. Dr. Richard L. Hamm and sponsored by Bread for the World. The workshop is designed to help clergy and lay leaders alike consider the call on faithful Christians to speak up for those who face food insecurity. As you know, churches often address hunger through food pantries and the like. But research shows only 15% of the need around us is met by all the charitable sources combined. Most folks don’t want to be 15% Christians. So, we are working to understand the root causes of hunger, and how to change the systems that allow hunger to flourish in the first place. This workshop begins to name what our faith has to do with advocacy. It’s a great way to introduce your congregation to this kind of public witness. The workshop will be held Tues., April 26, 7 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. It will be at Second Presbyterian Church’s Common Room (2nd floor) at 7700 N. Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN. Registration is free, but required. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ending-hunger-whats-god-got-to-do-with-it-tickets-315575694397. The presentation will be available both in person and via Zoom.
Vote for a Green Indiana ~ If climate change and sustainability are important policies when you vote, we encourage you to check out Voters for a Green Indiana who have prepared a digest of the environmental views of candidates for office in Central and NW Indiana. Voters for a Green Indiana is a non-partisan, independent advocacy group of volunteer citizens for urgent action on climate mitigation.
Afghan Family Update ~ The Afghan committee has been active helping the family get settled into their home and community. Barb D has been working hard to get the boys involved in the sport of their choice. She found a soccer league for the younger son and he has begun playing with his new team. She is working on finding an appropriate volleyball team for the older son.
Several volunteers are working with family members on English conversation skills. The adults’ English is very minimal, so we are helping them with writing their names, recognizing letters, counting to 10, greetings, and simple sentences such as “This is a spoon.”
Some team members are exploring IndyGo with the intention of teaching the family members how to get places they frequent often, such as the pharmacy and grocery store. We are also exploring safe bicycle routes to frequently visited places since we have supplied the father and boys with bikes.
The family is looking forward to the Eid feast at the end of Ramadan. The team has purchased a new outfit for the men/boys. The mother chose to sew her own clothes, so we took her to Jo Ann fabric to select fabric and trim. The team will take the family grocery shopping and purchase the food for the feast.
Our team is very thankful for your continuing support of this refugee family.
Cindy C, Co-Clerk
First Friends Afghan Project
Babysitting Co-Op ~ Our babysitting co-op is happening Saturday April 30, 5:30 - 9:30, hosted by Tiffany B and Beth H. Dinner will be provided for the kids. Please contact the office (office@indyfriends.org) if you would like to have your kids join in the fun that evening!
A Small Ceremony in Memory of Linda Lee ~ After Meeting for Worship on Sunday, May 1, we welcome you to a brief ceremony in the Meditational Woods as we join Ed M in spreading the ashes of our beloved Linda Lee. Afterward we will join in a time of fellowship. If you’d like to volunteer to bring some cookies to share, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Mysticism in Our Ordinary Life – Registration Open! ~ Mark your calendar for Saturday May 7th for the Linda Lee Spirituality Retreat where we will examine and experience a mystical life in a practical way. The retreat will be a time of gathering together for teaching and small groups, as well as choices of individual experiences inside and outside the retreat center for reflection and contemplation. The retreat will be led by Carole Spencer, former Professor at Earlham School of Religion; Kathi Gatlin, Adjunct Professor of Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary; and Lynn Clouser Holt, Adjunct Professor of Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary. The retreat will run from 10:00 – 4:00 at the Benedictine Center. Linda Lee’s books will be available. Retreat cost is $30. If you’d like to register, please visit https://forms.gle/S2iBVunJVq3bpTHw6. Feel free to share our flyer for the event for anyone who may be interested.
Gnostic Gospel Group ~ A couple of weeks ago we dug into the ever controversial topic of resurrection and had a very lively conversation! Before taking a summer break, we will meet one more time on Thursday, May 26 at 6:30pm in the Parlor for our usual light meal before discussion. We will be discussing The Prayer of the Apostle Paul and The Second Book of the Odes to Solomon. We will also talk about possible plans for the fall. If you are interested in joining this group study on the non-canonical/Gnostic Gospels, contact the meeting office (office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485).
Queries for the Week
After all that I have been through these past couple of years, how might I dust myself off, gather again together, forgive without forgetting, remembering the divine Love that flowed from Jesus, and redouble my commitment to living out the resurrection life of Jesus in my community?