February Query

Do you give sufficient time to sharing with others in the meeting, both newcomers and long-time members, your understanding of worship, of service, and of commitment to long-time members, your understanding of worship, of service, and of commitment to the Society’s witness?
(Britain YM Quaker Faith & Practice, 1.02, 20)

What are we doing to recognize and nurture the skills and spiritual gifts of adults and children in our Meeting? Do we encourage attenders to take part in committees, attend business meeting, and participate in the activities of the Meeting? Do we encourage them to pursue membership when they are ready?

Do we support the Meeting financially and in other ways, according to our resources and abilities? Do we accept our share of responsibility for carrying out the Meeting’s work? How do we share our gifts and what do we hold back from offering?

When faced with personal or corporate decisions, do we join with others in seeking clearness, in asking for God’s guidance, and in offering appropriate counsel to one another?

Are we involved in the support, care, and religious education of our Meeting’s children? How do we rejoice in the presence of children and young people, nurturing and learning from the gifts they bring? How do we both learn from them and accept our responsibilities toward them?

January announcements

On the Calendar:

• There is a planning meeting today, Saturday January 21, 2:00 p.m., at Georgetown United Methodist on Baldwin to look at the spaces available for the Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Midwinter Gathering. Please join us!
• Jan. 22: Ministry and Nurture committee meets at the Browne Center, 9:00 a.m.

News & Notes:

• Mark Your Calendar for the Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Mid-winter Gathering GRFMM will host the GPQM Mid-winter Gathering on Feb. 24-25 at the Georgetown United Methodist Church in Jenison. The theme for the gathering will be “Small meetings and the task of re-envisioning—how do we transition into the future?” Guest speakers will include Dr. Philip Beasley, Earlham School of Religion, and Laura Norlin, of the Atlanta MM and formerly of GRFMM. Please note that we’ll need volunteers to host visiting Friends, transport travelers from the airport, work with young people, prepare refreshments, etc. Please let Mike Holaday know if you’re available to help in any capacity.
  

• Reminder: the PBS series “God in America” airs on WGVU Channel 35 on Sundays from Jan. 8--Feb. 12, 2012, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. If you’re interested in joining an informal discussion group to discuss this excellent and thought-provoking series, please contact Mike Holaday, who is coordinating activities with the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at GVSU (mikeholaday@att.net, or 616-340-5406).
• Come to dinner at the Monthly Interfaith Dinner and Discussion, Dominican Center at Marywood, from 5:30—7:00 p.m. Participants will dine at round tables with persons of various faith traditions and enjoy a presentation on “The Spiritual Disciplines of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving,” followed by a discussion. The cost is $10 per person; pre-registration is required. Contact the Dominica Center at 616-454-1241 (option 5), or http://Dominicancenter.com/programs/.
  
  
  • 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.
    

Meeting today!

There is a planning meeting today, 2:00 p.m., at Georgetown United Methodist on Baldwin to look at the spaces available for the Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Midwinter Gathering. Please join us!

December Announcements

On the Calendar:

• Dec. 9: Carol singing at Betty Ford's, 7:00 p.m. Please bring a snack to share & instruments.
• Dec. 18: Holiday gathering and potluck, after Meeting for Worship, at the Browne Center.

Ministry & Nurture:

The focus for December is strengthening our community by making contact with Friends during the week, &r eaching out to Friends we may not have seen for awhile. If you are not sure how to reach out, ask one of our clerks, Walt Marston or Scot Miller, or our convener of M&N, Mark Hepper.

News & Notes:

• The Kaufman Interfaith Institute at GVSU encourages congregations to view & discuss the PBS series "God in America," which will air on WGVU Channel 35 on First Days from Jan. 8 to Feb. 12, 2012, from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
  

• This kicks off a "Year of Interfaith Understanding" --if anyone is interested in an informal discussion group to discuss this excellent & thought-provoking series, please contact Mike Holaday, who is coordinating activities with the institute.

• Do you have ideas for programs in 2012? Judi Buchman, Program Committee convener, would welcome them!
• Friends School in Detroit needs help. Please consider a donation: send your check to Headmaster Ed Harris, Friends School in Detroit, 1100 Aubin St., Detroit, MI 48207-2896. For more info, please contact Alicia Harri-Turner at the school.
  

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?

October Newsletter

On the Calendar

• Oct 16:

1. Program on "How I Came to Quakerism" as part of annual Basics of Quakerism (Advancement Committee).
2. Post Program Program: Trip to Richard Schwallier's farm, 17537 40th Ave, Conklin, MI, meeting there about 2:00 p.m., to learn about habitat restoration, wind and solar power, wood heat and other earth-friendly technologies, & to glean apples. Organized by our Earth Care committee.

• Oct. 23: Anniversary committee meeting. 5:00 p.m. at the Miller-Seifs.
• Oct. 27: Annual Heartside Ministry Gala. 6:00 - 9:30 p.m. at Noto’s Old World Dining.
• Nov. 20: Program on AFSC Jail Ministries at the Browne Center, following Meeting for Worship, 11:45 a.m.

News & Notes

1. Recently many of you took part in a survey regarding meeting space. Here are the major findings from the survey.

• In an ideal world, a slim majority of 53 percent would favor owning a meetinghouse, while 37 percent favor renting space and the rest have no opinion. Notwithstanding our preference for owning, the Browne Center is well regarded. 90 percent rate it good, very good or excellent on both the amount of space it offers and the appearance, style or atmosphere of the space. Several Friends described it as “peaceful,” “quiet,” and “homelike,” and many appreciate its central location and abundance of free parking. A much smaller majority, 58 percent, rate its community outreach possibilities as good, very good or excellent, making outreach potential its weakest aspect.
• The Meeting is evenly divided as to whether we should be concerned about losing the Browne Center despite reassurances from Aquinas College. 47 percent say they’re not concerned, while another 47 percent say they’re either a little or definitely concerned. Similarly, there is no clear direction from the Meeting as to whether we should consider a change regardless of Aquinas’s plans: 21 percent say we should, 36 percent say we shouldn’t, and 37 percent have no opinion.
• Next year will be not only the GRFMM’s 50th anniversary year, it will be the Year of Interfaith Understanding in the Grand Rapids community, co-sponsored by Grand Valley State University, the Grand Rapids Press and other groups. Watch for tours of sacred spaces, study groups, speakers, interfaith services and other events.

2. Special (earmarked) donations to GRFMM during October will be directed to the Grand Rapids Food Bank. Contact Jana Norlin or Mark Post for details.