As Way Opens
This past Sunday, Bob gave a message that was inspired by an episode of some of the best Super Soul Sundays, Oprah Winfrey’s show discussing faith and the meaning of life with theologians, pastors, writers and others. Bob shared a question that the movie critic Gene Siskel once asked Oprah that greatly impacted her life and her journey. The question was “What do you know for certain”?
I’ve been thinking about this question ever since Sunday. We hear so many viewpoints today that come across with great certainty. In an age dominated by social media, information and disinformation is available with the click of a button and it seems that viewpoints and opinions can often masquerade as facts.
Many churches declare truth and tell parishioners what the right things are to believe. There is no room for doubt or for our Quaker tradition of queries. Church doctrine can seem like settled law and one must believe a certain way to be a part of the group. This is what I love about the Quakers. They are not afraid of questions, queries, doubts and in fact welcome them as part of the spiritual journey.
I shared out of the silence on Sunday that my son Greg has two tattoos. He got them in a very dark period in his life. The first one was a saying and belief of his dad Jerry. The phrase is “God is Love”. The second one was a mantra from his best friend Marshall who was killed on a trip to Vietnam. His phrase is "Be Here Now”. These two phrases are from two of the most important men in Greg’s life. I think he had the right idea to have them permanently etched on his arm to remind him everyday what he knows for certain. There is so much I don’t know in this world but I know with everything in me that God is Love and that I need to embrace each moment and live and love in the fullest way that I can today.
Beth
Joys & Concerns
Our VBS was featured in the Center for Congregations Newsletter! The most recent Center for Congregations Newsletter highlighted our own VBS program! You can check it out here!
Terry T had successful hip replacement last week. She is doing well resting at home and would appreciate cards of support.
Fire Destroys the Lindi School in Kibera Slum ~ Friends throughout our beloved community are grieving with Friends in Nairobi, Kenya, following a traumatic fire on the evening of Sunday, 24 July, that destroyed the Lindi School building. While the school building is a complete loss, we are grateful that there was no loss of life and the fire did not spread beyond the school compound. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Given that the fire destroyed all books, school supplies, kitchen equipment, and furnishings, FUM has released $9000 from the Solidarity Fund to provide an immediate response. Friends who want to support this emergency response are invited to contribute online or by check to Friends United Meeting, Solidarity Fund. Friends can contribute online at https://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org/global-ministries/solidarity-fund or mail a check to 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY FUNDAY! Friends, please mark your calendar for our annual Sunday Funday, which will take place on Sunday, August 14 after a special outdoor Meeting for Worship. We are also excited to welcome our guest speaker for the day, Bridget Moix, General Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation! Afterward we will share in our annual picnic and Sunday Funday with a bounce house, slip-n-slide, and games! Please bring a lawn chair for yourself if able. We’re also asking people to bring dishes to share! For last names A-J, please bring salad or side; and for last names K – Z, please bring dessert. We hope you will join us for this fun time of fellowship!
Online Fellowship Hour ~ Friends, please note that as of this Sunday, there will be no more online Fellowship Hour. We will still, as always, continue to meet in person in Fellowship Hall after Meeting for Worship. Also, the online version of the service on our YouTube Channel will still continue to be available weekly.
The Stamp team invites you to help assemble a jigsaw puzzle with a Love stamp theme. It is set up in Fellowship Hall. Come by and fit a piece in, or stay and work for a while. Or just admire the bright colors. It will be fun to watch it take shape. You might enjoy seeing your favorite past Love stamps in the puzzle. If you’d like to join the fun $tamping for Dollar$ team (which benefits Right Sharing of World Resources), contact the office.
Help Washington Township Students ~ Teachers and school social workers in Washington Township are collecting “back to school” items for some of their kids. Needed items are as follows: 1) Pencils, 2) Zip pencil bags for 3 ring notebooks, 3) Folders with 3 holes, 4) Spiral notebooks. First Friends (and the other Shalom Zone churches) will be collecting such items through August 14. Please place items in the box in the foyer of the meetinghouse. Thanks for your support. Also, a big “THANK YOU!” to those who contributed items to our previous Washington Township school collection effort.
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. Each session will last for an hour. This gentle practice will stretch and restore you. $10 suggested donation. Hope to see you there!
SUMMER SING-A-LONG! Come join Jim, Jesse, and many Friendly noisemakers for a sing-a-long on Friday, August 12, 7pm, in Fellowship Hall. Bring your favorite percussion instruments. Some will be provided to share. Warm up those voices and join us!
The First Friends Thursday night Bible study invites you to study the book Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job: Three Ways of Wisdom for thirteen weeks beginning August 25. The book is in the Illuminate series, which was recommended by Bob H. Contact the office if you'd like to participate in this small group, or even if you'd like join only occasionally. The study meets by Zoom every Thursday at 7:30 pm. From the website: "These books of wisdom help readers consider life’s big questions of meaning, purpose, and the existence of suffering. Readers are encouraged to grow in wisdom and to avoid folly, and there's a promise offered—that by seeking wisdom, we will be guided into righteousness. This path is not free from suffering, but God is present, and we can find joy in the moments we have. Journey through these books to discover three aspects of biblical wisdom and reflect on how God is leading you in the way of wisdom today."
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.
Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading would like you to join us from virtually anywhere in the world as we discuss Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks (256 pages) Everyone is welcome!
To get ahead today, you have to be a jerk, right?
Divisive politicians. Screaming heads on television. Angry campus activists. Twitter trolls. Today in America, there is an “outrage industrial complex” that prospers by setting American against American, creating a “culture of contempt”—the habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect, but as worthless and defective. Maybe, like more than nine out of ten Americans, you dislike it. But hey, either you play along, or you’ll be left behind, right?
Wrong.
In Love Your Enemies, the New York Times bestselling author and social scientist Arthur C. Brooks shows that abuse and outrage are not the right formula for lasting success. Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research, ancient wisdom, and a decade of experience of experience leading one of America’s top policy think tanks in a work that offers a better way to lead based on bridging divides and mending relationships.
Brooks’ prescriptions are unconventional. To bring America together, we shouldn’t try to agree more. There is no need for mushy moderation, because disagreement is the secret to excellence. Civility and tolerance shouldn’t be our goals, because they are hopelessly low standards. And our feelings toward our foes are irrelevant; what matters is how we choose to act.
Love Your Enemies offers a clear strategy for victory for a new generation of leaders. It is a rallying cry for people hoping for a new era of American progress. Most of all, it is a roadmap to arrive at the happiness that comes when we choose to love one another, despite our differences.
We will gather in the parlor simultaneously with Zoom starting at 7 pm EST on Tuesday, August 30, 2022 led by Mary B.
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for August
Indigo Bunting: Seeing Is Believing…or Is It?
This time of year I love encountering male Indigo Buntings. These little jewels, although common, bring color to our summer landscape and our meditational woods. What color is the bird, really? Indigo is a shade that falls between blue and purple, and in spite of ROY G. BIV, some have argued that rainbows do not have a band of indigo color. There is not room here for the story of the indigo plant, slavery, and the refusal of some early Quakers to wear blue-colored cloth. The story I want to relate is about the true color of this bird. It is NOT blue (or indigo). The feathers that appear bluish are actually black!! While shoveling snow, have you ever noticed a hint of light blue color in the snow that will be the next shovelful? Have you ever seen the wall at the edge of a glacier that appears bluish? It is an optical illusion. There is no blue pigment in the snow or ice. What you see is the result of light striking the crystal structure, and being reflected into our eyes. The cells in the feathers of the bunting do the same thing, resulting in our perception of color. Indigo Buntings do have black wings and a black tail, and the head is a darker “blue” than the rest of the bird. Females are a grayish, milk-chocolate brown.
The song of the male Indigo Bunting is a series of paired notes on different pitches, sometimes ending with a triad of notes: “Fire, fire! Where, where? Here, here! See it, see it? Put it out!! We can debate whether it REALLY says that, or is simply our perception of the song. Hearing is believing?
- Photos and story by Brad J
This Week’s Queries
· As Quakers do you and I have interrogative souls?
· Are we allowing the Spirit to use the queries presented to us to rip us up, lay us open, and make manifest what is truly in our souls?
· Are we utilizing the gifts we have been given to critically think or are we simply blindly following those in leadership before us?
· Do we spend more time scrutinizing others instead of first scrutinizing our own souls?
· What do you know for sure?