November Announcements

On the Calendar:
Dec. 9: Carol singing at Betty Ford's, 7:00 p.m. Please bring a snack to share & instruments.

Nov. 4-5: Relationships & the Church.” Advance registration is requested. To register, or for more details: www.GUMonline.org, or call 616-669-0730.

Nov. 6: Potluck. Earmarked collection for Congregational Partnership Program. Details available at http://www.graceoffice.org/cpp.html.

Nov. 20: Program. AFSC Jail Ministries. Speaker TBD. At the Browne Center, following Meeting for Worship. 11:45 a.m.

Ministry & Nurture:
The focus for Ministry and Nurture for November is building community. For example, when we think a fellow member is suffering, we can reach out by sharing a cup of coffee or even offering to worship in their house. It is important to understand that all of us experience community in different ways. If you are not sure how to reach out, ask one of our clerks, Walt Marston or Scott Miller, or our convener of Ministry and Nurture, Mark Hepper.

News and Notes

• You can volunteer at Well House! There are opportunities for micro-loan partners, work parties, & tasks to tighten up Well House for the winter. Please contact Judi Buchman.
• The Grand Rapids LGBT History film & related materials are at http://grandrapidslgbthistory.com/
  
• Jenn Seif reports that a small group met at her house on Oct. 23 to begin planning for the Meeting's 50th anniversary year celebration in 2012. The group agreed to make this a homecoming celebration for all current and former members and attenders, with events planned for Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 8-9, 2012, probably at Aquinas College (not necessarily the Browne Center). Planning will need to take a back seat temporarily while the Meeting prepares to host the LEYM Quarterly in February, but there will be lots of opportunity for everyone to get involved. Please contact Jenn Seif if you're interested.
• Special (earmarked) donations to GRFMM during November will be directed to the Congregational Partnership Program. Contact Jana Norlin, Mark Post or Mark Hepper for details.
• We received word from Merry Standford that Verne Bechill died quietly Oct. 24. A memorial service will be planned at a later time. Merry adds, “We are all very grateful for his life, his love, and his way of being in this world. Please share the news as you are led.”
• We received the following note of thanks from Gordon Wiersma, youth leader at Hope Church in Holland: “Dear Friends at the GR Friends Meeting, On behalf of the 8th and 9th graders in my GIFT class (Growing in Faith Together) I wanted to thank you for your welcome and hospitality. It’s lovely that you welcome us to join you for worship, and that is a meaningful experience for our youth—but to do so in the context of your warm and hospitable community makes all the difference. Blessings to all of you in your faithful service to our God. Peace, Gordon.”
• Cathi Deyo reports “I am trying to put together a day trip to Galilee on the 30th, but I am having some issues with logistics (not having a car is a definitely a challenge!). This is a “bucket list” kinda thing so I am hoping it works out. The first week of November I will be traveling in the northern West Bank, harvesting olives with the Fair Trade Association – you know that olive oil you love so much! I hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers!”

November Query

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
(J.G. Whittier, “Brewing of Soma”)

• Meeting for worship is the heart of the Religious Society of Friends. Worship is our response to the awareness of God's presence. Go regularly to meeting for worship, including those times when you feel tired, angry, or spiritually low. Bring your joys, hurts, hopes and fears, and your awareness of the needs of other people. Are you unduly troubled by distractions? Can you let them drop away so you might sink into the holy stillness in unity with your fellow worshippers?
• Come to meeting with heart and mind prepared. How do you prepare? Are our meetings for worship held in expectant waiting for Divine guidance? Is there a living silence in which we feel drawn together by the power of God in our midst? What has helped you to find the quiet center and to hear the promptings of the Spirit?
• Do you attend worship clear of any predetermination to speak or not to speak, and expecting that worship will be a source of strength and guidance? Do not allow a sense of unworthiness or fear of not finding the right words turn you from a true leading to speak. Are you apt to speak too often, too predictably, or too soon after someone else has spoken? Do you receive the spoken ministry of others in a tender and understanding spirit, recognizing that what may not be helpful to one listener may speak to the condition of another? Do you take the time to reach for the deep meaning in the spoken ministry of others?
• Do you respond to the children's special needs during meeting for worship? When they are involved in separate activities, do you uphold them and those who are with them?
• Prayer springs from a deep place in the heart. Vocal prayer, though it may be expressed in imperfect words, can draw those present into communion with God and with one another. What helps you find that inner place of prayer?