9:30 AM unprogrammed meeting for worship: Mary Logue on the facing bench
11:00 AM semi-programmed meeting for worship: Terry Hokenson, speaker; Kathy Webster, musician; Allen Gibas on the facing bench

The Spirit “is like the wind, it blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8

TODAY

Willing to water plants around the meetinghouse while you are here on Sun (or other times too)? Talk to Susie downstairs.

MEETING MATTERS / CALENDAR

Lunch Bunch will meet this Wednesday, July 25th at The Commons, 10030 Newton Avenue South, 11:30. Call Louise White by Tuesday to make a reservation.

The annual Metro Friends potluck picnic is this Thurs, July 26th, 5-dark at Wabun Picnic area, shelter A of Minnehaha Falls Park. Program, 7-8:15 on local communities preparing for an era of scarce fossil fuels: urban agriculture, community energy production, town planning and more. Come to meet and learn what your neighbors are creating! There will be fresh corn-on-the-cob! Also great wading pools and playground! Metro Friends events facilitate networking and friendship-building between and among Friends in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.

MFM is offering special meetings for worship for healing around the marriage amendment the fourth Thurs of each month until Nov 2012 when the amendment comes to the ballot. Worship at 7:00 p.m. followed by worship -sharing, discussion and social time with refreshments. This Thurs, July 26th. Barbara Mohr and Connie Jacobs will host. All are welcome.

Loaves and Fishes dinner served by metro area Quaker meetings is Monday, July 30th, 2-7 pm. Holy Rosary Church, 2424-18th Ave S, Minneapolis. Another great opportunity to meet Friends from area meetings while being of service to others. Child helpers welcome. Food prep (2 pm), serving (4:45 to about 6:30 pm) and/or cleanup (6-7 pm). Dessert donations of fruit or baked goods requested. See sign-up sheet on bulletin table.

The August potluck will be a do-it-ourselves, simple affair; suggested cold dishes only – salads, sandwiches, fruit, raw veggies, desserts, etc. There will be no one in the kitchen to heat dishes or do any last-minute preparations. Start thinking now about what delicious, easy item you could bring. Plan to help with clean-up. Help with set up at 10:30 would be greatly appreciated too! Thanks!

George Watson loved to read and discuss social issues with Friends. If you would you be interested (this fall) in a “George Watson Memorial Friends’ Reading & Discussion Group”, please call John Stuart at (612) 920-1735 or e-mail john.stuart(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)mnpd.us If a few names come in, John will organize an organizational meeting.

MFM is looking for a part-time, part-time custodian (3-4 hours / week); someone to assist Nancy Helfrich in keeping the meetinghouse sparkling, starting in September. Contact Sue Kearns with interest or leads: 612-724-2214.

Congratulations to John VandenDolder who recently became a Certified Flight Instructor!

Sarah McClellan (MFM) is Director at the Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Frontenac MN (15 miles south of Red Wing). MFM Friends are welcome to overnight accommodations at the Villa in exchange for gardening and painting help in July and August; one overnight for four hours of labor. Call Sarah, 651 345 4582, for more.

Offering boxes are located on small tables near the meetingroom doors. To meet our budget obligations, we need to average $2,204.00 in donations per week. In the month of June, we received $5087.25; an average of $1271.81 per week. If you would like to consider automating your contributions, ensuring a more regular flow of funds to meet the Meeting’s operating expenses, please talk to John Kraft or Suzanne Ferguson, receiving treasurers.

OUR WIDER COMMUNITY

The Spiritual Nurture Program for Northern Yearly Mtg is intended to aid those who feel a longing to live a life more centered in the Spirit and who want to experience deeper spiritual community. Two retreats: Sept 7-9, 2012 and April 26-28, 2013 at the Christine Center in Willard, WI. Small spiritual nurture groups form, meeting Sept through June. For more: Elizabeth Evans, elizabevans(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)gmail.com . Register by Aug 1. Annamary Herther, from MFM, would love to share rides to the two retreats. Email ajherther(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)yahoo.com.

There are two posted part-time positions open at Twin Cities Friends Meeting: a rent exchange Resident Caretaker, 12-15 hours/week and a temporary Office Assistant, 8-12 hours/week. Send resumes to anne-supplee(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)juno.com by August 1.

Friends for a Non-Violent World’s People Camp will be Sun, Aug 12 – Sat, Aug 18 at Northern Pines, near Park Rapids, MN. Founded by Quakers and welcoming everyone, People Camp is an experience of cooperation, community living, and exploration of ideas and issues for people of all ages. This year’s focus: raising awareness and skills regarding local food self-sufficiency. Not only will we be preparing our own meals and planning our own menus (as always) – but we will be looking ahead to a time when it may be necessary for us all to produce the food we eat! Workshops given on the production, harvesting, preserving and marketing of food in our own yards and communities and preparing, menu- planning, and cooking with local, seasonal produce. Tai Chi throughout the week; singing, music, board games, nature, campfires, folk, contra, and swing dancing, tie-dye, swimming ‘cross the lake, and talent show. Visit fnvw.org to register!

The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace and justice organization, is seeking a qualified person to be the Healing Justice Program Director in the Twin Cities. Using convening skills, support collaboration among restorative justice workers and volunteers to rebuild the movement for healing justice and advocate for systems and communities that respond to harm primarily with healing practices, not punitive ones. Facilitate training and shared learning about healing justice. Submit resumes along with cover letter by midnight, CDT, August 13 to jobs-afsc.icims.com/jobs/1249/job.

The annual Living Spirit (aka Oakland Ave UM Church) barbeque is this Sat, July 28th, 11-4. Dinners include ribs, (with/ without bones), coleslaw, baked beans, and bread. Beverages and desserts sold separately. 4501 Bloomington Ave, Mpls.

The Pendle Hill board and a working committee have developed vision and mission statements through a thoughtful seasoning process. Join in reviewing the statements prior to further consideration by the board: reflecting upon the fundamental reason we come together as a group, the mission of Pendle Hill, as well as the vision of what we want to become in the future. To add your input, just click on this link: surveymonkey.com/s/K5KZ6Y8.

Looking Ahead: Friends Committee on National Legislation has a new opportunity available for Friends “ . . . to contribute to the shaping of wise and right legislation . . .” (from a statement of Friends determined to witness to our nation’s political leaders in the midst of WWII.) Friends are invited to Washington for the first Quaker Public Policy Institute to be held November 15-16, 2012. In the midst of the post-election lame duck session of Congress, there will be a unique window for lobbying Congress for a more moral federal budget. Your voice at this time will have maximum effect as members run up against two critical deadlines: making cuts to Pentagon spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, and the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy Americans. More at fcnl.org/QPPI

OFFICE HOURS
Pat Jones will be in the office 2-5 on Wednesday and at other times on Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sunday.
Carolyn Sherer VandenDolder, the Admin Assistant, will be in Wed. afternoon and Fri. Bulletin deadline, noon Thurs. Bulletin items can be phoned in to the office, emailed or written and placed in the bulletin file in the blue box.