As Way Opens
Since just after I arrived at First Friends, William Armitage has been attending our Meeting. Most people would recognize William, yet because of his appearance and often awkward approach many would avoid getting to know him. For the last several months, William has had some difficult health issues which put him in the hospital on numerous occasions for extended periods of time. Just before I went on vacation, William was released from the hospital after about a month and a half battling pneumonia and anxiety disorders. The week I returned I was planning to visit William at his apartment, but our call revealed that he was back in the hospital. The day before my visit, we received the shocking news that William had passed away.
The news of William’s passing has not only troubled me but has been heart breaking. For the last couple of years I have grown to know William, as much as he would allow. Most people know that William rode his bike everywhere. He told me on a trip to the doctor once, that he rides his bike 40 miles a day and has the roads in Indy memorized better than my GPS. It was true. Not bad for a man with serious health issues and in his upper 70s. As well, many thought William was homeless. That is not true. He lived in a modest apartment a few miles from the Meetinghouse with a nice landlord that looked out for him. I had the opportunity to visit his apartment to retrieve some items while he was in the hospital. Even though, William owned no furniture, not even a bed - he actually slept on the floor in a closet, he grew many plants, had bicycles he was rehabbing to give to other people, and he had a plethora of books and paintings. His apartment helped me understand some of the things he liked to do around the Meetinghouse.
On most Thursdays William would ride his bike to the Meetinghouse to make some phone calls, because of his condition he could not press the buttons on the phone and asked Rebecca or me to dial. William did not own a phone, computer, or car. While he was at the Meetinghouse, he always checked on the trees around the property, watered the flowers inside and outside the building, and always was sharing with us ways to save money or avoid future problems. On occasion William would stop in my office to bring me a long letter he wrote me about my sermon or the most recent business meeting. It always took a while to read them, because his hands would shake as he wrote. Most of the time, everything that he wrote checked out and was extremely wise. That may be because at one time William was a professor like his mother before him. Just recently, we learned that his family was from Muncie, Indiana, where he is to be buried next to his mother.
Once as I was transporting William to have some cancer removed from his eyelid, he shared with me how much First Friends meant to him. In his own way, William explained that he considered First Friends his only family. Almost every Sunday, William would sit in the balcony, sometimes fighting sleep, join us for fellowship hour, and on occasion would have some poignant questions during business meetings.
The last time I dropped William off at his apartment was after his eye-lid cancer removal. He asked that I not leave because he had something to give me. As he returned to my car, I snapped a photo (see attached). William brought down a couple bags of shoes he was giving to Changing Footprints, extra bags for the Food Pantry, and he even purchased a watering can for our Meeting because the one he always used disappeared.
I have told Beth Henricks on numerous occasions, that I believe William was Jesus in our midst. I saw that of God in William. I am grateful that he trusted and allowed me into some of the most intimate moments of the end of his life. I pray that William has finally found peace in his soul. I already miss William and his passing leaves an empty space in our community.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Guest Rania Maayeh Coming Soon! We hope you’ll join us on Sunday July 17th when Rania Maaveh, current head of the Ramallah Friends School, will be joining us! During Meeting for Worship. She will be giving a presentation, and then will meet in Fellowship Hall after the service to answer questions and chat.
In 2021, Rania Maayeh was appointed by Friends United Meeting to be the head of the Ramallah Friends School, a pre-K - 12th grade co-educational Quaker school in Ramallah, Palestine. Serving 1,500 students, the School was founded in 1869 as a training institute for girls during Ottoman Turkish rule when opportunities for girls' education was limited. A boys school was founded in 1901, and the two campuses now comprise the united Friends School, currently under Israeli military occupation. Rania is a graduate of the Friends Girls School and formerly taught at the FGS before a long career with World Vision.
Rania's and her husband Suheil's son Walid is a recent graduate of Guilford College and the Earlham School of Religion and presently is on staff at Guilford with the Every Campus a Refuge program. With her family, Rania attends the Ramallah Friends Meeting.
Lewis H and his parents would like to thank the people of First Friends who came to his Graduation Party on Saturday. It was a perfect day to celebrate and be together. Lewis greatly appreciates all the gifts, as they will be helpful in launching his academic career in the Nursing program at Indiana University. Thank you!
There will be no Threshing Together in July due to Western Yearly Meeting annual session.
Words from the Woods ~ The high temperatures with minimal rain continue. Give your plants and trees planted within the last 3 years a hearty soaking. If the leaves start to droop, give them some refreshing water. Keep your bird baths filled and clean. The birds and insects need some water in these dry times.
These hot temperatures are due to human caused climate change. Be sure and call your senators ask to support legislation that reduces our dependence on energy produced by fossil fuels. It’s good for God’s creation and good for national security.
Let AESIndiana know that as customers, AES needs to change its plan to shut down one of the superpolluter power plants at Petersburg by 2030, not 2042. They are already planning to close it at the end of its lifespan, but scientists tell us that strong action needs to occur in this decade to avoid the worst outcomes from a hot planet.
Here is this month’s HortusScope: a Central Indiana monthly newsletter put out by Wendy Ford. July HortusScope.
Also, tell congress- we need climate action now!
WYM Annual Session Registration Is Open! Everyone is invited to join Western Yearly Meeting (WYM)’s annual sessions. They will be held both online and in person starting Friday, July 22. As usual, the sessions will conclude on Sunday July 24 with worship from 10am-12pm featuring speaker Paul Anderson. This year’s theme is “Better Together in Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13). More information will be coming, but for now you can find details on the Western Yearly Meeting website. If you have questions, please reach out to the WYM office at office@westernyearlymeeting.org or 317-839-2789.
PLEASE NOTE: First Friends will only have Unprogrammed Worship at the Meetinghouse on July 24th to encourage everyone to participate in the WYM service in Plainfield. The service will be available by zoom also and we will send a link out to everyone next week.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for July
Baltimore Oriole: Lord Baltimore’s Bird
The species was there to greet the early settlers arriving in the colonies. In Maryland, the colony set aside for those adhering to the Roman Catholic faith, folks identified the black and yellow-orange plumage of this bird with the colors in the Calvert family crest (shield). This family bore the title, “Lord Baltimore,” and was the founding family of the colony. The bird was known as “Lord Baltimore’s Bird”. The colors also reminded them of a bird back in Southern England and Europe known as the Golden Oriole. So there you have it. Lord Baltimore’s Bird became Lord Baltimore’s Oriole, and then simply the Baltimore Oriole. One can see the Calvert family black-and-orange pattern in both the flag and license plate of Maryland.
This species summers in our Meditational Woods, possibly nesting there or nearby. It is known for its wonderfully clear whistled song, its preference for sycamore trees (which are in our woods), and it’s strange but marvelously woven bag-like nest, suspended from the twigs of a tree.
It does seem rather un-Quakerly though. Not the habits, but the naming business. Early Friends refrained from recognizing the reigning nobility, and the titles and authority associated with it. Quaker men often got in trouble for not doffing their hats in the presence of “his Lordship.” Here we have a bird named for a lord. Perhaps Friends encouraged the name change which dropped the title. As a Quaker, I can get past the name, and appreciate the color, song, and nest of this fabulous creature.
First Friends Financial Update: Members and attenders are reminded that the Meeting seeks and welcomes financial support, as we currently are experiencing a dip in donations. To donate online, visit indyfriends.org/support/#givenow, or text to give at 317-768-0303. Other means of support include automatic giving, stock gifts, estate planning, and donation of IRA Required Minimum Distributions. For assistance in donating, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org, 317-255-2485.
Restorative Yoga ~ Please join friend Kristyn G in a restorative yoga practice session on Monday July 25th in Fellowship Hall. Each session 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!
Sign Up for the Dairy Bar Now! First Friends will be working at the Dairy Bar again at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, July 30th all day. We still need a few volunteers for the morning shift 9:00 – 3:30. Volunteers will get free ice cream and sandwiches! If you’d like to volunteer, please contact Beth H. This is a major fundraiser for our youth programming, so please consider volunteering!
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (304 pages)
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?
A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?
In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.
We will gather in the Parlor via Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 led by Cindy K.
FUM and WYM Projects for 2022
The Quaker umbrella organizations, Friends United Meeting (“FUM”) and Western Yearly Meeting (“WYM”) each promote a fundraiser each year to assist in their mission work around the world. Here are the projects for 2022.
WYM: The WYM project is to raise $15,000 to help purchase a good used 4x4 vehicle for Friends Theological College, located in Kenya. The vehicle will be used to 1) transport students who go out to preach and work in the villages, and 2) to haul food, supplies, and other resources as needed. The total vehicle cost is estimated to be $45,000 – $49,000.
FUM: The FUM project is to “cultivate seeds of new life” for its various missions. Such missions include 1) the work of Getry Agizah who serves as Programme Coordinator in the Africa Ministry Office, 2) the work of Nicholas and Dorcas Otieno, FUM Living Letter missionaries serving in Tanzania, and 3) the pastoral ministry of Oscar Mmbali who has initiated outreach programs in Belize in connection with the Belize Friends School.
This is the one time during the year that First Friends promotes a fundraiser for Quaker missions outside the United States. Thank you for whatever support you are able to provide to these worthwhile projects.