As Way Opens
These are difficult and dark times that we are living in. It seems like we keep having a new story come up each day. Sometimes it is hard to have hope. But hope is exactly what we need right now. And each of us needs to practice hope and see hope in our experiences.
I saw hope this past week in our Vacation Bible School gathering each evening. We talked about the greatness of God who is with us always and will never abandon us. We studied the story of Joseph and the darkness he experienced being sold into slavery and spending years in prison. Joseph did not give up hope and his story is an inspiring one where he utilized his gift of interpreting dreams to become a trusted leader to the Emperor and was wise to store up excess food to be ready for famine. He is reconciled with his family at the end of the story.
It was inspiring for me to see our children engaged, learning, thoughtful and full of hope. I needed to be with our kids this past week to catch a glimpse of our future and our potential through these young lives. They talked about how they experience God and the enthusiasm and love they shared lifted my spirits.
My other example of hope is the nest of a cardinal right outside my screened in porch. The mama cardinal sits on the nest each day and I anxiously go on the porch each morning waiting for the birth of 3 young birds. The mama cardinal is so devoted to incubating these eggs and we seem to have an agreement that she no longer flies away when I come out to the porch. The cycle of life continues and my hope is revived as I watch nature in loving action.
Psalm 71:5-6, 14
5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. 14 As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
Beth
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation -- Meeting Saturday, July 9, 2022 at First Friends
After its customary meeting hiatus during the legislative session, IFCL will meet again in Fellowship Hall on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. Our special guest will be Indiana State Senator J.D. Ford (District 29). He will receive IFCL's annual Legislator of the Year award, and spend some time with us answering questions and discussing priorities. (We've invited our other awardee, Senator Ron Alting (District 22) to be a guest at our fall meeting.) A Zoom option will be available, but we hope you to see you in person. Refreshments will be served, so please RSVP to Diana H to avoid food waste. All are welcome! Members and attenders, Friends, friends and guests--anyone interested in talking about issues that affect Hoosiers. Any questions, ask Phil G. Thank you.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Watch Wolff’s Organ Recital this Sunday! This Sunday Wolff will be playing an organ concert in San Francisco, and you can tune in live! It will take place this Sunday, July 10 at 7pm EST (4pm Pacific time) on YouTube at https://youtu.be/c6TsxqEJUzk. We hope you will join us!
You’re Invited to Lewis’ Graduation Celebration! Pastor Bob and Sue are excited to celebrate Lewis’ high school graduation. We would like to extend an open invitation to the people of First Friends and hope you will join in helping us celebrate Lewis. It will be held on Saturday, July 9 from 12-4pm at the Henry’s home. Please see the invitation for more details!
VBS Sunday! ~ We hope you will join us for VBS Sunday, where we hear about what our kids learned during Vacation Bible School and watch a special slide show presentation. It will be held this Sunday, July 10 at 10:15am both virtually on our YouTube channel and in-person. We hope you will join us!
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.
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.
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 its 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.
Restorative Yoga ~ Please join friend Kristyn G in a restorative yoga practice session on Mondays July 11 & 25 at 4:00 pm 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!
Help Washington Township Students~ Teachers and school social workers in Washington Township are sponsoring “block parties” for students at several apartment complexes in Washington Township this summer. Needed items to be handed out at these block parties are as follows: 1) Sunscreen, 2) Insect repellant, 3) Reusable water bottles, and 4) Hygiene/personal care items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine products. First Friends (and the other Shalom Zone churches) will be collecting such items through July 3. Please place items in the box in the foyer of the meetinghouse. This coming Sunday, July 10 is your last chance to donate!! Thanks for your support.
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 evening shift 3:30-10pm. 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.