May Announcements

During the workshop/retreat with Merry Stanford, Friends will gather at the Browne Center for worship, prayer and discussion. To be eligible, a person must have attended meeting for worship during the past year and participated in an individual meeting with Merry and April. He or she must also commit to being present for the whole of the retreat. Eligible individuals have received an email explaining how to register. Attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. Dinner on Saturday will be provided by the Miller-Seif family.

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: MEETING FOR BUSINESS

The act of listening to God’s will in Meeting for Business is a way for the Meeting to give back the expression of unconditional love. It requires faith and obedience – faith that God will lead us and that we will obey His leading. Cleveland Meeting, Eighth Month 15, 2010

Be faithful in attending and participating in meeting for worship with attention to business. Are our meetings for business held in a spirit of worship? Do we depend on the guidance of God in love and humility? Do we seek the leadings of the Spirit and admit the possibility of error? Do we help one another in our search for unity by listening well and speaking briefly without repetition?

Be tender and considerate of differing views. As difficult problems arise, are we careful to meet them with open hearts, with minds receptive to creative solutions? Can we allow our personal wishes and insights to take their places alongside those of others or even to be set aside as the meeting seeks the right way forward? Do we recognize that the search for unity may require that we accept with grace a decision of the meeting with which we are not entirely in agreement?

Do we avoid feeling pressed by time, neither unnecessarily prolonging nor curtailing discussion? Do we maintain prayerful support for the clerk that he or she may be sensitive to the movement of the Spirit among us? Do we hold each other and the whole meeting in the Light as we conduct our business?

LEYM’s Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups is available online at http://leymquaker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aq3f2.pdf.

April Announcements

On the Calendar

• Apr. 6:  LEYM representatives meeting, Pittsburgh Friends Meeting House.
• Apr. 12-14: Merry Stanford and April Allison visit.
• Apr. 14: Friend Marie Pippenaar sings in the Calvin College choir at Grace Episcopal Church at 3:00 p.m. All are invited.
• Apr. 21: Program: Quaker pastor Silas siboe wanjala, a native of Kenya and a graduate of the Earlham School of Religion, will speak on “Peacebuilding in Kenya.”
• Apr. 28: 9:00 a.m. joint meeting of Advancement & Min & Nurture.
  
• May 11: Memorial service for Ray Jansma, Fremont.
• May 18: GPQM Spring Gathering, MI Friends Center.
• June 15-16 (tentative): Workshop/retreat with Merry Stanford and April Allison
• June 30: Open meeting for discussion of finance

News and Notes

• The worship group at the Bradley Indian Mission in Shelbyville will begin to meet every second and fourth First Day. Waiting worship is at 6:00 p.m., followed by a potluck meal.
• The Kaufman Interfaith Institute sponsors several challenging and engaging talks in the next few weeks. On Apr. 8 you can hear interfaith activist Padma Kuppa speak on “Religious Freedom, Predatory Proselytization and the Case for Pluralism” at 7:00 p.m. in the Loosemore Auditorium. On Apr. 16 you can hear a panel discussion on “Death, Dying and Life after Death,” from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Dominican Center at Marywood. On Apr. 23, you can hear a panel discussion on “Dementia in Your Faith Community,” from 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Postma Center at Pine Rest. On Apr. 26 and Apr. 27, you can hear a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion at 8:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew. From May 5-9 you can see the 15^th Annual Jewish Film Festival at Celebration Cinema North. For more information about any of these programs call 616-331-5702 or visit www.interfaithunderstanding.org.
• Friend Gerard Akkerhuis recommends “Whale Songs and Elephant Loves,” from the March 21 broadcast of the radio program “On Being.” In the program, acoustic biologist Katy Payne, who say she has a “Quaker sensibility,” describes her experiences with two of the most exotic creatures. From the wild coast of Argentina to the rainforests of Africa, she discovered that humpback whales compose ever-changing songs and that elephants communicate across long distances by infrasound. You can hear the program online at http://www.onbeing.org/program/whale-songs-and-elephant-loves/241.
• Join Friends for singing on Apr. 28 after meeting for worship.

April Advices & Queries

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: MEETING FOR BUSINESS

The act of listening to God’s will in Meeting for Business is a way for the Meeting to give back the expression of unconditional love. It requires faith and obedience – faith that God will lead us and that we will obey His leading.

Cleveland Meeting, Eighth Month 15, 2010.

Be faithful in participating in meeting for worship with attention to business. Are our meetings for business held in a spirit of worship? Do we depend on the guidance of God in love and humility? Do we seek the leadings of the Spirit and admit the possibility of error? Do we help one another in our search for unity by listening well and speaking briefly without repetition?

Be tender and considerate of others’ views. Are we careful to meet those with open hearts and minds receptive to creative solutions? Do we allow our personal wishes and insights to take their place alongside those of others? Can we let them be set aside as the Meeting seeks the right way forward, recognizing that the search for unity may call us to accept with grace a decision of the Meeting with which we are not entirely in agreement?

Do we avoid both unnecessarily prolonging and curtailing discussion? Do we prayerfully support the clerk in detecting the movement of the Spirit among us? Do we hold each other and the Meeting in the Light as we conduct our business?

Adapted 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). Available online at http://leymquaker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aq3f2.pdf or in printed form in the GRFM library at the Browne Center.

March Announcements

March-April Greeters (subject to change)
March 3: Holadays
March 10: Kim Ranger
March 17: Gerard Akkerhuis and Judi Buchman
March 24: Walt Marston and Mark Hepper
March 31: Holadays
April 7: Kim Ranger
April 14: Gerard Akkerhuis and Judi Buchman
April 21: Walt Marston and Mark Hepper
April 28: Holadays

On the Calendar

• Mar. 3: Grand Rapids Symphony Sacred Dimensions Concert, Cathedral of St. Andrew, 301 Sheldon Blvd., at 3:00 p.m. The program features 14 choral works with the Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Tickets are $22 at the box office.
• Mar. 5: West Michigan Hindu Temple Tour, 4870 Whitneyville Ave. SE, Ada, at 5:00 p.m. For more information please contact Fred Stella at stelthom@juno.com.
• Mar. 7 and Mar. 14: Shoah: Remembering and Learning from the Holocaust continues with “The Holocaust” (Mar. 7) and “Post-Holocaust World” (Mar. 14). Presented by Jaymie Perry, a Catholic holocaust educator, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. At the Catholic Information Center, 360 Division Ave., Ste. 2A.
• Mar. 12: Passover Seder, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 47 Jefferson SE, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Led by members of Congregation Ahavas Israel. Space is limited—please call Sherrill Vore at 717-5541 or contact sherrillv@wpcgr.org. $10 contribution.
• Mar. 14: Cecile Pineda, DEVIL’S TANGO: How I Learned the Fukushima Step by Step. 12:15 pm at Aquinas College, Wege Ballroom (Wege Student Center) Grand Rapids, Mi. ; 2:30 pm Raybrook Manor (Friendship Room), 2121 Raybrook SE Grand Rapids, Mi.
  
  On the second anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, Cecile Pineda, anti-nuclear activist and critically acclaimed author, will tour the Great Lakes region March 10-20. The author of Devil’s Tango: How I learned the Fukushima Step by Step, Cecile will give her stirring insight of the nuclear industry and update us on the consequences of the tragic event that began to unfold on March 11, 2011, with the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. Devil’s Tango is an anguished dissection of the nuclear industry in which a crazy quilt of multiple voices, pieced together day-by-day, reflects Cecile’s attempt to come to terms with Fukushima’s catastrophic consequences to the planet.
  
  Devil’s Tango will be available for sale and signing by the author. Browse our literature tables at 12 noon. 
  
  Sponsored by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Co-sponsored by: Kent County Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, POLIS (Aquinas College Student group), Don’t Waste Michigan, Left Forum, Micah Center. For more info. contact smaki1@hotmail.com or (616) 897-5107
• Mar. 15-16: Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting mid-winter gathering, Ann Arbor Friends Meetinghouse, 1420 Hill St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. To register, write to Scot Miller (r.scot.miller@gmail.com, or phone 269-792-9183).
• Mar. 24: Next open finance committee meeting to discuss the budgeting process, noon.
• Apr. 6: LEYM representatives meeting, Pittsburgh Friends Meeting House.
• Apr. 12-14: Merry Stanford and April Allison visit.
• May 11: Memorial service for Ray Jansma, a Friend from the Fremont Worship Group. Visitation begins at 2:00 p.m.; memorial service at 3:00, at Crandall Funeral Home, 7193 W. 48th St., Fremont.
• May 18: GPQM Spring Gathering, MI Friends Center.

News and Notes

• Holland Monthly Meeting now meets at Western Theological Seminary on the first, third and fifth Sundays of every month, rather than just the second Sunday as they’ve been doing for a couple of years. We’re glad to hear they’ll be able to keep more connected with each other in this way. For more information, please contact Greg Murray, 616-395-7716 or gmurray@hope.edu.
• Ray Jansma, longtime member of the Fremont Worship Group, died Feb. 19. A memorial service is planned for May 11 at the Crandell Funeral Home, Fremont Chapel. Cards or letters may be sent to Phyllis Jansma, 3055 Ramshorn Dr., Fremont MI 49412-7713.
• Robert Foulkes from the Manitou Worship Group will be at the Foinse Research Station in Ireland during March.
• GPQM’s mid-winter quarterly gathering will feature speakers Chuck Fager and Paul Buckley. Fager will speak on the topic “Mystics, Psychics, Skeptics & Critics—The Roots and Evolution of FGC Quakerism,” at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening, Mar. 15. On Saturday, Mar. 16, at 10:00 a.m. Buckley will speak on “What does Elias Hicks have to tell contemporary Friends about how to live a faithful life in the face of the world’s temptations?” On Saturday afternoon at 1:30, Fager and Buckley will discuss “Diversity and Unity Among Contemporary Liberal Friends.”

Some Comments on Science and Religion, by Douglas Kindschi, PhD, Director of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute

I am wondering whether we can learn something about interfaith from the sciences. The various disciplines look at the world by asking different questions and using different sets of assumptions. A biologist might be interested in how a particular species interacts with its environment, whereas the chemist would focus on the chemical compositions in the cell of the organism. The physicist, however, would be more interested in mass and energy exchanges. They are asking different questions but not to the exclusion of other approaches that can be taken. While the biologist might be quite certain of her understanding it does not mean that the chemist or the physicist is wrong.

This is the approach that Stephen Prothero took in his recent book, God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter. He argues that the religions are not just different paths to the same truth, but they ask significantly different questions and hence provide different answers. Christianity deals with the problem of sin and salvation, while Islam is concerned about pride and submission. Each can be quite certain of its perspective but not in a way that negates the other questions and issues posed by another faith understanding. Of course this is not the only way of seeing the various faith traditions. There are truth claims that can be seen as in conflict and these cannot be ignored.

In the sciences a person in one discipline can learn from the other discipline’s insights without changing one’s primary affiliation. Furthermore some of the most interesting questions lie at the intersection or at the borders between disciplines. Could interfaith dialogue benefit from this model and can a person be comfortable in affirming one’s own firmly held perspective while not insisting on the error of the other’s perspective? Could it also be that there is much to learn from the intersection of these perspectives? Could it be that the “borders” need not be always the point of conflict, but a place of increased insight and growth in understanding?

March Query

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: MEETING FOR WORSHIP

The most powerful ministry is a wordless radiation of the love of God.--William Taber, “What canst thou say?” Deepening Worship & Ministry, Feb, 1998.

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 feeling tired, angry, or spiritually low. Bring to worship joys, hurts, hopes and fears, and awareness of the needs of other people.

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 us to find the quiet center and to hear the promptings of the Spirit? Can I let distractions drop away?

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 me find that inner place of prayer?

Do I attend worship clear of any predetermination to speak or not to speak? Do I allow a sense of unworthiness turn me away from a true leading to speak? Am I apt to speak too often, too predictably, or too soon after someone else has spoken? Do I 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?



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 GRFM library at the Browne Center.

February Announcements

On the Calendar

• Feb 27-8: Freedom, Slavery and the Underground Railroad in Michigan: lecture by Veta Tucker.
  Pew Grand Rapids Campus: Wednesday, February 27, 4:30-6 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center
  Allendale Campus: Thursday, February 28, noon-1:30 p.m., Pere Marquette Room, Kirkhof Center
• Manitou Worship group is not holding meetings during March. 
• Robert Foulkes from Manitou Worship Group and member of Cork (Ireland) meeting, will be at the Foinse Research Station during March. 
• Mar. 15-16: Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting mid-winter gathering, Ann Arbor Friends Meetinghouse, 1420 Hill St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. To register, reply to Scot Miller (r.scot.miller@gmail.com, or 269-792-9183). Be sure to register by Mar. 1 if you choose to have the lunch provided on Saturday, Mar. 16 ($7 suggested donation), or if you need childcare. 
• Mar. 24: Next open Finance meeting to discuss the budgeting process
• Feb. 10: Meeting for worship with attention to business, with a special focus on the Meeting’s finance and budget process. Please see the message from Assistant Clerk Wayne Norlin below.
• Feb. 15-17: Next visit by Merry Stanford and April Allison. To arrange a time to meet with them, please contact Amy Ranger.
• Feb. 17: Worship at the Bradley Indian Mission, near Bradleyville. 6:00 p.m., followed by potluck. For more information, please contact Jenn Seif.
• Feb. 17-18: The Kaufman Interfaith Institute presents lectures by Dr. Jeffrey Shandler, Rutgers University. On Sunday, Feb. 17, at 3:00 p.m., Dr. Shandler speaks on “The December Dilemma: Christmas in American Jewish Popular Culture,” at the Loosemore Auditorium, GVSU Pew Campus. On Monday, Feb. 18, at 3:00 p.m., Dr. Shandler speaks on “The Holocaust on American Television” in 114 Lake Michigan Hall, GVSU Allendale Campus. For more information, please contact Prof. Rob Franciosi at francior@gvsu.edu, 616-331-3069.
• Feb. 19: The Kaufman Interfaith Institute cancelled

News and Notes

• Holland Meeting will now hold worship on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of every month, rather than just the second Sunday as they've been doing for the last couple of years. The new schedule will start March 3. Yet to be decided is which Sunday to have business meeting. Greg Murray's note: "I hope this increase in meeting frequency will help us to keep more connected with one another and to lead more vibrant spiritual lives, since we all agree that our experience of corporate silent worship is more satisfying than that when we're alone. Please mark your calendars with the new schedule!"
• Congratulations to Emma Seif! Emma’s story “Walk in the Light” was chosen by a panel of five judges as the best among 295 youth division entries in the first annual Write Michigan author’s contest. Emma read an earlier version of the story to a very appreciative audience at the GRFM’s 50th anniversary celebration. The story is told in the form of letters exchanged by Quaker cousins, one in Michigan and the other in South Carolina, during the Civil War. You can read it at www.writemichigan.org/vote.html. Click on the Youth Entries tab. Emma will receive an award on Mar. 19, and her story will be published.
• Ministry and Nurture has a concern for those who need any kind of assistance in the meeting. If you know of someone who should be brought to M&N’s attention, please contact Mark Hepper.
• The Adult Religious Education study group is studying a curriculum for young Quakers entitled “A Quaker Response to Christian Fundamentalism.” It may be adaptable for an adult audience. The group is planning a gathering soon. For more information, please contact Jenn Seif.
• GPQM’s mid-winter quarterly gathering will feature speakers Chuck Fager and Paul Buckley. Fager is a Quaker author and activist best known for his studies of the American civil rights movement. Buckley is an author who focuses on prominent early American Friends. Fager will speak on the topic “Mystics, Psychics, Skeptics & Critics—The Roots and Evolution of FGC Quakerism,” at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening, Mar. 15. See his special “preparatory quiz” below. On Saturday, Mar. 16, at 10:00 a.m. Buckley will speak on “What does Elias Hicks have to tell contemporary Friends about how to live a faithful life in the face of the world’s temptations?” On Saturday afternoon at 1:30, Fager and Buckley will discuss “Diversity and Unity Among Contemporary Liberal Friends.”

* * * * * * * * * *
A Note on the Meeting’s Budget, from Assistant Clerk Wayne Norlin

Friends,

On January 20, our Meeting's Finance Committee hosted an open discussion regarding our need to develop a process for creating a new Meeting budget. A number of ideas were discussed, and a common theme began to emerge that would involve the Meeting's committees in proposing line items for the budget. While some very thoughtful suggestions were put forth, these ideas need to be explained and explored more completely with a wider group before taking further steps toward an actual budget structure.

Our next Meeting for Worship with attention to Business will be held on February 10. At that time we will again be addressing the Meeting's budget process. I encourage all of you to attend and help us seek guidance from the Spirit on these and other matters that are so important to the life of our Meeting community. I hope to see you then.

Thank you,

Wayne Norlin, Assistant Clerk

[Note: Next Finance Meeting is March 24 following Worship]

Thinking of going to the GPQM mid-winter quarterly? Take Chuck Fager’s FGC Pop Quiz and read Paul Buckley’s description of the crucial role played by Elias Hicks in events that shaped the structure of the Religious Society of Friends in America in the early 19th century.

Chuck Fager’s FGC Pop Quiz

1. Where did Quakers take the first steps toward what became Friends General Conference?

(a) Philadelphia, PA; (b) Michigan. (Hint: It wasn't Philly.)

2. If the original FGC Quakerism were a cocktail, what would go into it?

(a) A double measure of 100-proof social reform; (b) On the rocks of humanist skepticism; (c) With a dash of mystical something-or-other (vermouth was suggested but there's no consensus); (d) And a jigger of pure resistance to church hierarchy; (e) Shaken, not stirred, into a strict teetotaler's mug, and (f) Topped with a big slice of Pre-New Age Spiritualism. (g) All of the above.

3. Which Quaker organization did not adopt a Uniform Discipline for its member Yearly Meetings? (a) FUM; (b) FGC; (c) FWCC. (Hint: It's not a or b.)

4. Where did you find SPICE in the first 100 years of FGC faith and practice?

(a) In a jar in the kitchen, unless it was Old, then ... (b) It was an aftershave.

5. How long did it take for FGC to have a woman clerk?

(a) 20 years; (b) 40 years; (c) 60 years; (d) 70 years.

6. FGC observed its centennial in 2000. When did it observe its 50th anniversary?

(a) 1950; (b) 1942. (Hint: It's not a.)

7. Two of the following measures apply to 33% of FGC Friends. One applies to 99%. Can you spot the 99% marker?

(a) Friend Identifies as Christian. (b) Friend has read all or most of the Bible. (c) Friend listens to NPR.

Paul Buckley on ‘What does Elias Hicks have to tell contemporary Friends?’

The 1827-28 separations are critical in determining the course of development for each of the current branches of the Religious Society of Friends. In fundamental ways, the events leading up to and flowing out of those divisions shaped the Society. Elias Hicks was at the center of the surrounding controversies and is often credited (or blamed) for the separations. To truly know who we are today requires an understanding of the events of the 1820s and of Elias Hicks. Unfortunately, much of what we think we know about Hicks is wrong. Working from transcripts of his journal and letters, Paul Buckley will introduce this fascinating, complicated man, examining the significance of his views to the Society of Friends both then and now.

February Queries

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: SPIRITUAL LIFE

Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. Trust them as the leadings of God, whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life. Britain YM, QF&P, 1.02.

There is a way into silence that allows us to deepen our awareness of the Light and find the inward source of our strength. How do I bring this inward stillness into my daily life, nourishing a habit of openness to and dependence on the guidance of the Light for each day? Do I set aside times of quiet openness to the Spirit, of spiritual refreshment?

Are we open to new Light, from whatever source it may come? What steps are we taking to become better acquainted with the Bible, the teachings of Jesus, the history, writings, and principles of Friends, and the contributions of other religions and philosophies to our spiritual heritage? How do we apply these to our lives and our spiritual journeys?

Do I live in thankful awareness of God’s constant presence in my life? How often do I pray, giving thanks for all the blessings I have received? Do I hold others in the Light? Am I open to continuing revelation and the possibility of change and religious transformation?

Does our meeting encourage us to share our spiritual journeys with one another and learn from each other? In what ways do we support one another in order to seek God’s will and act upon our understanding of truth? How does our meeting recognize, develop and nurture the spiritual gifts of our members and attenders of all ages?

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 GRFM library at the Browne Center.