As Way Opens
I’ve been sharing my excitement about the nest that a pair of cardinals built just outside my screened-in porch in a high bush. After the flurry of activity creating the nest, 3 eggs were laid and the mama cardinal faithfully sat on the eggs every day. Weeks went by and there were no baby cardinals, just eggs. The mother continued to cover the eggs with the warmth of her body and I kept hoping something good would come out of this. It’s now been 7 weeks and no babies. I did a little research and cardinals incubate from 12-20 days so it’s pretty clear there will be no babies. I felt kind of crushed. There was something so intimate and hopeful to observe the preparation and commitment from the cardinals to their future offspring.
I had to process my disappointment to accept these eggs were not going to hatch. Every morning I still go out on the porch and hope maybe a miracle has occurred. I wonder if the mama cardinal feels the same way as she still will come and sit on the eggs for short periods of time. But she is coming less frequently and we both realize that there are no baby birds that will emerge from the eggs.
This experience reminded me of the times our hopes are dashed from outcomes we pray for, claim, anticipate and cling to. Maybe it’s recovery from illness, a broken relationship healed, a new job etc. Sometimes our prayers are answered and sometimes they are not. As Victoria Loorz, writer of Church of the Wild says “wilderness is not all fuzzy fawns sleeping in your garden. Wilderness is also fierce and disinterested. The powerful elements of storm and fire and earthquake causes indiscriminate devastation to all beings in their paths.” When it feels like prayers are not answered we feel a sense of the indiscriminate devastation. But as the mama cardinal is showing me, we need to keep showing up, keep working, keep hoping, praying and loving and release our wanting to control our desired outcome. We should return to the nest and then keep flying and living.
Beth
Joys & Concerns
New Mid-North Food Pantry Program! Due to the recent generous support of First Friends, the Mid North Food Pantry has just started a partnership with Indy Hunger Network Cooking Matters program to share recipes and teach participants how to use specific foods. The participants watch the cooking demonstration, participate in chopping and preparation and then will receive all the food to make the recipe that day. Several of us participated in the inaugural gathering today and are excited about the potential of this program that will begin the first Wednesday of August and will be held weekly after that.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
There will be no Threshing Together in July due to Western Yearly Meeting annual session.
WYM Annual Sessions this Weekend! We hope you plan to join Western Yearly Meeting (WYM)’s annual sessions this year. They will be held both online and in person starting this 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). You can find details including the schedule on the Western Yearly Meeting website. You’re also invited to join us for worship on Sunday at 10:00am either in person at Western Yearly Meeting in Plainfield or online (be sure to click the video for Sunday at 10am). If you’d like links to any of the online sessions, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or 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 mentioned above. The WYM service will also be available by livestream on YouTube here (be sure to click the video for Sunday at 10am). For those who wish to worship at our Meetinghouse, there will be unprogrammed worship in the Meetingroom (note the location correction) at 10:15. Thank you to Mary Blackburn for leading us in worship that day!
Garden Giveaway ~ Last Sunday: happy plants, happy people! Homeless plants sat on the kitchen counter waiting for helping hands and comfortable beds where they could stretch out after being root-bound in tiny planter cups. They were leftovers from the Community Garden. Lucky gardeners-to-be or gardeners adding to their crops, took home the eggplants. Soon fingerling fruit will drip from the plants, ready to be picked and added to creative and scrumptious dishes. Mmmm! (Pictured left: Kian is excited about the newcomers firmly planted in his home garden. Eggplant, anyone?)
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.
Restorative Yoga: DATE CHANGE ~ Please join friend Kristyn G in a restorative yoga practice session. Please note, due to changes in her schedule, Kristyn will now offer yoga once a month. The next session will be Monday, August 8th at 4pm in Fellowship Hall (please note there will be no yoga on Monday July 25th). 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!
Indiana Peace & Justice Center Speaker Event ~ IPJC is delighted to invite you to our July 27th Speakers Event: “Four Friends Hit the Road! Report of a Week in DC including the Moral March on Washington, June 18, 2022.” Four friends from Indianapolis (Kay Tawney, Suzanne O’Shea, Mike Przybylski, and Steve Tilden) took a road trip to attend Reverend Barber’s Poor People’s Campaign Moral March on Washington, and have a little fun along the way. Join us for a few stories, a few pictures, and snacks. The event will take place July 27th, 2022 at 7:00 pm at North United Methodist Church, 3808 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46208. Refreshments will be provided.
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. Checks can be made out to First Friends with the notation “WYM Project” or “FUM Project” or you can donate securely on our website at https://www.indyfriends.org/support (choose “WYM Project” or “FUM Project” as the fund). Please note that the last day to give for these fundraisers is July 31!! Thank you for whatever support you are able to provide to these worthwhile projects.
2022 First Friends Women’s Retreat! ~ Ladies, save the date for the 2022 First Friends Women’s Retreat! It will be Friday September 23rd beginning at 5:00 p.m. through 11:00 on Sunday Sept 25th. We will share meals, have fellowship and food together, provide opportunities to reflect on the struggles/losses/opportunities/riches of the past 2.5 years as well as offering several workshops. Rachel Doll O’Mahoney, the new pastor at Valley Mill Friends will be our retreat leader. We will gather at the Benedictine Center in Beech Grove and the Center will provide rooms and meals. Our previous retreats have been a rich time of connection and community. This is a retreat that is trans inclusive/LGBTQ supportive.
Glass Recycling Explained! Many people have wondered, “Should I recycle glass or does it just go to the dump?” Glass jars make great storage containers and are healthier than plastics. But when it’s time for glass to move on, read about the importance of recycled glass in the Hoosier economy. At the end of the article, there is a link to how to properly recycle glass. https://www.circularindiana.org/post/glass-recycling-explained.
This Week’s Queries
· In what sort of situations do I find myself most impatient?
· Why am I impatient, and how do I deal with my impatience?
· What groups, people, organizations, etc. cause me to be impatient?