Monday, September 1, 2014

September 2014 Newsletter


The Grand Rapids Friends Monthly Meeting meets for worship at the Browne Center, on the campus of Aquinas College, 2001 Robinson Rd. SE, Grand Rapids,
At 10:30 a.m. on First Days (Sundays). Following Meeting for Worship each month:
1st First Day: Potluck!
2nd First Day: Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
3rd First Day: Program
4th First Day: Singing; Advancement and Ministry & Nurture Committees meet at 9:00 a.m.

Local / Regional Friends Meetings

Holland Friends See their site or contactLarry Dickie at 269-857-4694.
 
Fremont Worship Group ContactTheresa Lindsay.

Manitou Worship Group Contact Penny Herd at 231-352-4470.

Pine River MM Contact Don Nagler.

Kalamazoo Friends MM Contact Jill Terwilliger at 269-385-1298, or see the meeting’s website.

Red Cedar MM Contact Carolyn LeJuste at 517-525-1827.

September Greeters (subject to change)
9/7: Holadays
9/14: Marston / Maluchnik
9/21: Akkerhuis / Buchman
9/28: Webbers
 
October Greeters (subject to change)
10/5: Holadays
10/12: Arcila / Ranger
10/19: Marston / Maluchnik
10/26: Akkerhuis / Buchman

It is time for new greeters to become involved in the life of the Meeting! If you feel led to share in this important contribution to the life of the meeting, please contact one of our clerks

Reminder: Sunday Sept. 14 is Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. On the Agenda: Recap of the Spiritual Journeys workshop with Merry Stanford, Treasurer's Report, Fremont WG "30 Days of Peace."
LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIESCivic Engagement

Because Friends believe there is that of God in all people, we strive for a world of freedom, justice, and equality for everyone. … It is important that Friends speak truth to those in power. We recognize that, in our world, power in government and private sectors lies disproportionately with those of economic means. Speaking out … may be difficult, even dangerous, yet by doing so we may encourage others to work for justice.
Iowa YM Cons, Book of Discipline, 1974.

We must literally not take too much thought for the morrow but throw ourselves whole-heartedly into the present. That is the beauty of the way of love; it cannot be planned and its end cannot be foretold. … In your zeal for the cause, are you tempted to confuse self-righteousness with the righteousness of God?
Wolfe Mendl, Prophets and Reconcilers
London YM, pp. 99-102.

Our first allegiance is to the Holy Spirit. In general, Friends support the laws of the State; but if those laws directly violate our religious convictions, we may be led to oppose them. When contemplating civil disobedience or unpopular personal testimony, do we carefully consider the spiritual basis for our actions and honestly face the consequences?

What conflicts do we perceive between the laws of the State and our consciences? How do we resolve those conflicts in our lives? In what ways do we assume responsibility for the government of our community, state, nation, and world? What role might we as Friends play in facilitating essential governmental action?

How do we order our lives so that we seek and become open to Divine leadings in framing our attitudes and actions? Do we really respect and help those we seek to serve? How do we maintain our integrity when we find ourselves in a position of power? How do we respond when we ourselves feel powerless?


From Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends: Ann Arbor, 2012). Find the PDF online or in printed form in the GRFMM library at the Browne Center.

On the Calendar
  • September 13, (Saturday), "Spiritual Journeys" workshop with Merry Stanford at the Browne Center, 9AM-6PM. Bring Your Own lunch and snacks.
  • September 14, (Sunday), following worship, Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business.
  • September 21, (Sunday) program on Quaker Cloud cancelled. We will try to hold this in October or November.
  • October 6, (Monday) NPR's Scott Simon (who is also a Quaker) will be speaking at GVSU on "Professional Journalism in a DIY Age." Likely to be crowded but open to the public. Downtown campus, Eberhard Center, 7:00 PM.
  • November 3, (Monday) Civil Discourse Symposiumat GVSU. Pre-registration required (now!). Looks very interesting. 

News and Notes
 
We now have a space in the Quaker Cloud. It has not been populated with many documents yet, but as time goes on we think this will be a very useful tool for us. 

The Fremont Worship Group is holding an event titled "30 Days of Peace." For more information, see these FaceBook pages: Newaygo County People for Peace and 30 Days of Peace 2014 Kick-off Celebration.

Amy Ranger will be having spinal surgery on September 10 at Mercy Health Center / St Mary's Hauenstein Neurological Unit. Contact Kim Ranger regarding visitors and post-surgical assistance at home. The recovery period is expected to be 3-5 months, including physical therapy.

Several jobs are available at FGC. Descriptions and more information available at the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting site

Copyright © 2014 Grand Rapids Friends Meeting, Monthly Newsletter, All rights reserved.
 
Text and composition by Amy Ranger. 

Friday, January 10, 2014

Proposed agenda for Business Meeting, January 2014

Grand Rapids Friends Meeting
Agenda: January 2014 Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

·       Query
·       Approve minutes from November 2013 Business Meeting
·       Treasurer’s Report (Kim Ranger)
·       Ministry & Nurture / Advancement
·       Old business
o    Others interested in Clerking?
o   Clerking workshop, Pendle Hill, February 7–9
§  http://www.pendlehill.org/workshops/winter-2014/931-clerking
o   Development of electronic directory
o   Revised Meeting handbook
o   Budget & finance [committee] issues unresolved
§  This is dependent upon the Meeting’s sense of purpose
o   Email options
§  Mail Chimp [http://mailchimp.com/features/] Pricing: free. “As long as you've got fewer than 2,000 subscribers across all lists in your account, you can send up to 12,000 emails per month without paying us a dime.”
o   Merry Stanford spiritual language workshop
·       New business
o   Aquinas College requests an increase in rent
§  Options? (We could change Meeting time/location, negotiate for more time)

·       Holland Friends meet at Western Theological Seminary 2–3 times each month, in classrooms, at no charge

January 2014 Newsletter

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: INTEGRITY

All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37, Jerusalem Bible. There is no safe dallying with the Truth. Isaac Penington, Letter 47, 1650.

How does Truth prosper in our community? Do we strive to maintain the integrity of our inner and outer lives in our spiritual journeys, our work, and our family responsibilities? Do we seek the Truth and tell it with compassion?

Are we honest and truthful in all that we say and do? Are we mindful in making promises and punctual in keeping them? Do we maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in our dealings with individuals and organizations? Do we use money and information entrusted to us with discretion and responsibility?

Are we honest with ourselves? What unpalatable truths might we be evading? Do we become unduly discouraged when facing our shortcomings? Do we seek the assurance and strength of Divine love through prayer and corporate worship?

Taking oaths implies a double standard of truth; in choosing to affirm instead of swearing, are we aware of the claim of integrity that we are making?

Our responsibilities to God, our neighbors, and all of life may lead us to take unpopular stands; if pressure is brought on us to lower our standard of integrity, are we prepared to resist it? Do we act on our principles even when this entails difficult consequences?

From Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends: Ann Arbor, 2012). Find the whole document online at http://leymquaker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aq3f2.pdf, or in printed form in the GRFMM library at the Browne Center.



January-February Greeters (subject to change)
o   January 5:             Walt Marston
o   January 12:          Rangers
o   January 19:          Robert Maluchnik
o   January 26:          Gerard and Judi
o   February 2:         Holadays
o   February 9:         Rangers
o   February 16:      Walt Marston
o   February 23:      Gerard and Judi

We always welcome new greeters! If you feel led to share in this important contribution to the life of the meeting, please let Mike Holaday know (616-975-4192, mikeholaday@att.net).

On the Calendar
  • January 15: Informational meeting for those interested in joining a winter discussion group on Marshall Rosenberg's Non-Violent Communication: A Language for Life. Would you like to handle difficult or negative situations and get positive results with much less stress? Become more aware of others' underlying desires and needs and coordinate them with your own? Become a more effective and compassionate parent, sister, brother, spouse, friend and coworker? Find out more on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, from 7:00-7:45 p.m., at the Institute for Global Education, 1118 Wealthy St. SE, GR, 49506, (phone 616-454-1642). Or contact Mary McLeod at mecmacleod@yahoo.com.
  • January 16: Following Meeting for Worship there will be a program/discussion focusing on an article by Thomas Jeavons that appeared in the December 2013 Friends Journal entitled “Sharing Our Faith with the Nones.” Judi Buchman has copies of the article if you’d like to read it.

News and Notes
  • Friend Judi Buchman offers this spiritual reflection: A short piece in the June/July 2013 issue of the Friends Journal, "Reclaiming Our Divine Birthright," by Patricia Barber, spoke to me. Patricia reads these words from John Wilhelm Rowntree each day:

"Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power. It is simple. It is serene. It is amazing. It is triumphant. It is radiant. It takes no time, but it occupies all our time, and makes our life programs new and overcoming. We need not get frantic. (God) is at the helm; And when our little day is done, we lie down quietly in peace, for all is well."

“And it is!” Patricia adds.


Monday, December 9, 2013

November 2013 Newsletter

The Grand Rapids Friends Monthly Meeting meets for worship at the Browne Center,
On the campus of Aquinas College, 2001 Robinson Rd. SE, Grand Rapids,
At 10:30 a.m. on First Days (Sundays).
Following Meeting for Worship each month:
First First Day: Potluck Lunch
Second First Day: Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
Third First Day: Program
Fourth First Day: Singing. Advancement and Ministry and Nurture Committees meet at 9:00 a.m.

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: SELF-DISCIPLINE

Simplicity, beauty, and happiness go together if they are a by-product of a concern for something more important than ourselves.--Elise Boulding, My part in the Quaker adventure, p. 21.

Do we center our lives in the awareness of the presence of God so that all things take their rightful place? What most distracts us from God? What are we ready to release so that we can give our attention to what matters most?

Do we regard our possessions as given to us in trust? How freely do we part with them to meet the needs of others? How do we manage our commitments so that over-commitment, worry, and stress do not diminish our integrity?

Do we keep to moderation and simplicity in our daily lives? To what extent do we allow prevailing culture and media to pressure us into buying what we do not need, more than we need, or more than we can afford? How do we recognize when we have enough? Are we mindful to encourage our children toward these values?

LEYM’s Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups is available online

Other Friends Meetings in Our Area

  • Holland Friends Meeting For information, please contact Greg Murray at 616-994-7282
  • Fremont Worship Group For information, please contact Theresa Lindsay 
  • Manitou Worship Group For information, please contact Doris Loll at 231-882-7062. 
  • Pine River Worship Group For information, please contact Don Nagler    


November—December Greeters (subject to change) 

  • November 3: Gerard and Judi 
  • November 10: Walt Marston 
  • November 17: Robert Maluchnik 
  • November 24: Gerard and Judi 
  • December 1: Holadays 
  • December 8: Rangers 
  • December 15: Walt Marston 
  • December 22: Robert Maluchnik 
  • December 29: Gerard and Judi

December 2013 Newsletter

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: SIMPLICITY

Simplicity, beauty, and happiness go together if they are a by-product of a concern for something more important than ourselves.
    Elise Boulding, My Part in the Quaker Adventure, p. 21.

Do we center our lives in the awareness of the presence of God so that all things take their rightful place? What most distracts us from God? What are we ready to release so that we can give our attention to what matters most? 

Do we regard our possessions as given to us in trust? How freely do we part with them to meet the needs of others? How do we manage our commitments so that over-commitment, worry, and stress do not diminish our integrity?

Do we keep to moderation and simplicity in our daily lives? To what extent do we allow prevailing culture and media to pressure us into buying what we do not need, more than we need, or more than we can afford?  How do we recognize when we have enough? Are we mindful to encourage our children toward these values?

LEYM’s Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups is available online 


December-January Greeters (subject to change)
  • December 1:                         Holadays
  • December 8:                         Rangers
  • December 15:                       Walt Marston
  • December 22:                       Robert Maluchnik
  • December 29:                       Gerard and Judi
  • January 5:                               Rangers
  • January 12:                            Walt Marston
  • January 19:                            Robert Maluchnik
  • January 26:                            Gerard and Judi

On the Calendar
  • Dec. 15: HOPEGrows, a United Methodist group teaching youth gardening skills, hosts a neighborhood community celebration from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at La Nueva Esperanza/Hope Center, 1933 Buchanan, Grand Rapids. Craft activities and Christmas singing. Doors open at 5:30, dinner served at 6:00 p.m.. Volunteers are needed to help serve, decorate and clean up. Spanish speakers are especially encouraged to volunteer! Contact Charlie Snedeker (616-706-0903 or  chariliesnedeker@gmail.com).
  • Dec. 22: Worship in the manner of Friends will be gathered at the Bradley Indian Mission, 695 128th Ave., Shelbyville, MI, at 6:00 p.m. A potluck dinner follows.
* * * * * * * * * *

From the Wider World of Quakerism: Passion without Apologies 
Ed. note: From time to time I receive emails from emergency room physician and Quaker Brad Cotton, who lives in Circleville, Ohio. A version of this letter he wrote appeared in the Circleville Herald on 23 Oct 2013.

I love to engage the crowd Saturday afternoons standing just outside the Democratic Party booth at the Pumpkin Show. I was prepared to discuss the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), seeing as Pres. Obama and congressional Democrats had finally, finally shown some much-needed moxie and stood firm against the Republicans.
  
One self-identified Republican visited our booth, coming in out of the cold rain. He asked for me by name, then told me I perhaps was “too passionate” about health care reform. I’m too passionate?! About advocating for patients who die, suffer, and are ruined financially in our current market based system?

I asked my visitor what he was passionate about, passionate enough to deny real folks real care while costing the nation $24 billion in the Republicans’ Custer’s Last Stand shutdown? Reaganesque trickle-down free-market theory maybe? That has redistributed our nation’s wealth upwards for 30 years, leaving more and more of us impoverished and powerless.

All political questions are in fact moral questions. The question I asked my visitor was, do we continue to allow people to suffer and die in our nation because their job does not provide health insurance? If the answer is, “Let ‘em die!” as the crowd shouted at a Republican 2012 presidential debate, then I am ashamed of my country. The PPACA is deeply flawed—it amounts to giving taxpayer dollars to middlemen health insurers—but it is the best reform the realpolitik in the US would allow. Real efficiency and compassion would have been single payer Medicare for all.

Every time I talk to a Republican the theme of “makers and takers” comes out. Like other Republicans I’ve talked to, my visitor voiced his deeply held belief that a bunch of useless and undeserving lazy folks are living parasitically off the labors of their betters. I admitted it does Continued from p. 2

happen. There are indeed folks who do not contribute meaningfully to society. How do we motivate them without harming innocents? How do we reach their brokenness?

 “Useless takers” are not what I see in the emergency department. I see folks working two jobs, stretching every dollar, going without care, suffering and dying because they don’t have health insurance. I invited my Republican visitor, as we continued to talk, to come with me to the ER and look into the eyes of those his politics would condemn, and tell them why they must be sacrificed on the altar of health insurers’ profits and small government.

We need just as big a government as it takes to insure liberty and true justice for all. That means we pay for health care, education, Social Security first, right off the top. Then, once these essential and moral functions of human society are taken care of, and only then, we can have luxuries like tax cuts for those who need them least.

The market may decide who has a bigger flat screen TV and who drives a bigger Hummer. The market must not decide under any circumstances who lives and who dies, who has truly equal access to education and truly equal opportunities.

I make no apologies about passionately working for this, the real American Dream.

* * * * * * * * * *

Repairing Christianity’s Damaged Brand
Ed. note: A version of this essay by Sally Steenland, director of The Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative, Center for American Progress, appeared online on the Center’s website on 4 Dec. 2013. 

One of the saddest and most damaging consequences of the Religious Right's grip on partisan power over the past three decades has been the tarnishing of Christianity.
Since the 1980s, this organized political force of extremely conservative Christians has inserted its theological views into federal and state laws and attempted to impose its doctrines on a diverse, pluralistic nation. Leaders in the Religious Right have partnered with conservatives in the Republican Party to oppose LGBT equality, women's reproductive health and rights, the teaching of evolution in schools, government safety net programs for the poor, and more.
In the process, the Religious Right has grabbed the media microphone and claimed Christianity all for itself. As a result many people, especially those who are younger, now equate Christianity with intolerance, bigotry, anti-intellectualism, exclusion, rigidity, stinginess and lack of compassion.
But a more inclusive and generous brand of Christianity is increasingly making itself known, a Christianity that goes back to Jesus and threads its way through history. This prophetic, justice-minded Christianity has a proud tradition of standing up for abolition, civil rights, the poor and vulnerable, peace and equality. It is invitational rather than exclusive, communal rather than individualistic, and compassionate rather than harsh.
Those who follow it are dedicating their lives to a wide range of justice issues. They’re joining with immigration activists to bring attention to the suffering of undocumented immigrants and the urgent need to pass immigration reform legislation. They’re speaking out against the tragedy of urban violence and advocating for commonsense measures to reduce gun violence. They’re fighting for Americans struggling to survive because slashed funding for nutrition assistance and other programs has reduced or eliminated help for millions of our children, low-wage workers, the elderly and the disabled.
Such faith leaders are urging America to live up to its calling and core identity.

Many of those working on these issues say they sense new energy around their efforts as the Religious Right loses its grip on the public imagination and conscience. The Right’s harsh brand of Christianity, with its devil's pact with free-market fundamentalism, has ruined lives and shattered livelihoods long enough. What's more, its judgmental rhetoric starves the soul.
Change happens when collective urges and values find public expression and action. Many have noticed how Pope Francis, in office less than a year, has urged the church to be more compassionate and welcoming, cautioning it against exclusion and judgment. The pope has called for connection with the people—for a church that is "bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security."
To me, and I'm sure to many others, those words are nourishment for a hungry soul.

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The Grand Rapids Friends' Newsletter is edited and compiled by Mike Holaday, convener of Advancement. Thank you, Friend!