March Announcements

• Contribute to the vitality of the Meeting by serving on the Nominating Committee. This committee identifies members and attenders who will serve on the Meeting’s various standing committees for the coming year. Convener Kim Ranger invites you to contact her (kim.ranger@gmail.com) to help with this important task, which must be completed by the end of May.
• Listen and learn about Quakerism on your computer or iPod. The Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, UK, has sponsored a series of talks called “A Very Short Introduction to Quakerism” which are available free for you to listen to on your computer or iPod. The speaker was Ben Pink Dandelion, Woodbrooke’s Tutor in Postgraduate Quaker Studies. The series consists of seven 40-minute talks, each followed by a 20-minute Q&A, including “Who are the Quakers?”, “The History of Quakerism,” “Quaker Worship and Witness,” “What Quakers Believe,” “Quakers, Theology and Language,” “Quakers and Ecumenism,” and “The Future of Quakerism.” Go to http://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/news.php/6/a-very-short-introduction-to-quakerism.
• Learn more about Being Salt and Light, the theme of the World Conference of Friends 2012, coming April 17-25 in Nakuru, Kenya. One thousand Friends will gather to celebrate Friends living the kingdom of God in a broken world. Delegates will come from around the world (many need support; you can help with a donation), as will many “open place” attendees—including you, if you’re interested! Full details are at www.saltandlight2012.org.
• Broaden horizons at the Interfaith Speaker’s Series on Wednesdays, from 5:45-7:30 p.m. This series, part of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute’s ongoing 2012 Year of Interfaith Understanding, is held at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1025 3 Mile Rd., NE, Grand Rapids. Dinner is served at 5:45; the program begins at 6:30. Childcare is available. The cost—including dinner!—is free, but please RSVP to Mike Fedewa mfedewa@sbcglobal.net. Upcoming presentations include:

Mar. 7: Baha’i (Michael Hampton)

Mar. 21: Islam (Elaine Wahab)

Mar. 28: Latter Day Saints (Garth Aarmodt)

Apr. 18: Christian Orthodox (Fr. Nick Marcus)

• Save your canceled stamps and donate them to Right Sharing of World Resources, a Quaker program that supports grassroots projects for economic development in poor countries. It’s simple. Please go to http://www.rswr.org/ and click on Donors, Stamps Program for details.

Queries for March: Outreach

Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people and to them. (George Fox, Journal, p. 263)

How welcoming is our Meeting to newcomers? When they request information about Quakerism or about the Meeting, what resources do we share?

Do we reach out to the wider circle of Friends? Do we support and participate in Friends General Conference and Friends World Committee for Consultation, whose missions are to nurture the entire Religious Society of Friends?

Do we work gladly with other religious and social groups in the pursuit of common goals? While remaining faithful to Quaker insights, do we enter openly into the life and witness of other communities of faith, creating together the bonds of friendship?

Are we open to being a Meeting of people from different ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds who value and appreciate each other? Do we give sufficient time and effort to a mutual sharing with others about the experience and understanding of Quaker worship, service, and witness?