April Announcements

http://quakerinfo.org/quakerism/faithandpractice

Under Liberal Friends, there is our own Lake Erie Yearly Meeting (which has a Policies and Procedures manual), and Faith and Practice docs for North Pacific Yearly Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting, and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Many of us have the North Pacific; some have Pacific; a few have Philadelphia; a couple have Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith & Practice, under Yearly Meetings Outside the United States.

Ministry and Nurture's focus for April is to provide a safe environment for people to express themselves and their concerns. This entails providing nurture through listening, in order to help Friends clarify their inner direction and discern spirit-led solutions.

On potluck Sundays, Friends are asked to consider that a number of people in our Meeting have food sensitivities, ranging from simple food allergies or sensitivities, to serious diet restrictions due to health issues or moral convictions. We would like the monthly potluck meals to be a time of community and sharing between Friends. There are several ways we can accomplish this:

• Leave “extras” out of your dish, and instead bring them in small serving containers. This way we can individually add items such as croutons, nuts, fried onion rings, salad dressings and sauces to soups and salads.
• When you have the option to make something vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, please do so, and label it as such.
• Please regularly indicate on a 3x5 card the ingredients in your dish.
• If you are not a vegan, vegetarian, or person with food allergies, please allow others to eat the “special food” first.

Greeters are reminded that in the absense of a clerk, the greeter closes meeting for worship. About 10:25, announce that the time for worship is nearing an end; ask if there are further prayers or sharing; rise and join hands when appropriate; be seated, welcome any visitors, begin introductions, and then ask First Day School to report.

You can help Move to Amend-GR place the issue of whether corporations are person on the ballot in November by signing a petition or collecting signatures. Contact Judi Buchman for more info or to get petitions.

See Kaufman Interfaith Institute's Year of Interfaith Understanding Calendar for upcoming events.

You're invited to the Grand Rapids Justice Conference on Saturday, April 14 at 9:00 a.m. at New Hope Baptist Church, 130 Delaware St. For more info, please see the conference website above or contact Laura Hoekstra.

April Queries

Family

It is in the home that Friends' principles first become practices. The home is founded upon love, which reaches farther than words and is understood long before words have meaning.

(Living with Oneself and Others, NEYM, 2001)

How do we make our homes places of love, hospitality, and spiritual growth? Is our home a place where all members of the family receive affection and understanding and where visitors are welcome?

Do we choose recreation and a manner of living that enriches the body, mind, and spirit and shows a high regard for family, community, and creation?

Do we take care that commitments outside the home do not encroach upon the time and loving attention that our family needs? Do we respect the needs for intimacy and separateness of those with whom we live?

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?

February Announcements

On the Calendar

Feb. 24-25:
GPQM winter gathering, hosted by GRFMM. Georgetown United Methodist Church, Jenison.

Join us in hosting the Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Mid-winter Gathering:
As the host Meeting for the GPQM Mid-winter Gathering Feb. 24-25, we’ll need volunteers to host visiting Friends, work with young people, prepare refreshments, etc. Please let Mike Holaday (mikeholaday@att.net, 616-340-5406) know if you’d like to help in any capacity.

Program

Friday, Feb. 24

• 6:00 p.m. Registration
• 7:00 p.m. Dr. Phillip Baisley, Earlham School of Religion, “Vitality in the Small Meeting/Church”
• Overnight Adult-supervised social gathering for teens

Saturday, Feb. 25

• 9:00 a.m. Continental breakfast
• 9:30 a.m. Worship

Following worship there will be brief report of the Nominating Committee, led by Jeff Cooper.

• 11:00 a.m. Laura Norlin, Atlanta (Ga.) MM: Our plenary speaker, Laura Norlin, grew up in the Grand Rapids MM and has a lifelong leading to nurture the Light, especially in young people.
• 12 noon Lunch and discussion: Soup, sandwiches and beverages will be available. We will explore the themes of our speakers’ topics.
• 1:30 p.m. Dr. Phillip Baisley: “Getting from Here to There: A Visioning Workshop”
• 3:00 p.m. Worship

Following worship there will be a brief report from the Epistle Committee.

• 4:00 p.m. Closing and farewell

Note: A donation to help defray costs would be appreciated. We suggest $15 per family, or $10 for an individual. Scholarships are available.

News and Notes
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:

• Feb. 29: Judaism (Shel Kopperl)
• 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.

You can help guide the work of the FGC by participating in an online survey. The subject is, “What is most valuable and necessary for our Quaker meetings to be spiritually vital and purposeful?” The survey will take 10-15 minutes. Find it at https://www.surveymonkey.com/FGCFutureSurvey.

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.

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.