of
the Religious Society of Friends
Meeting
for Worship
1st
Month, 15th Day, 2012
Seeking God daily through integrity, simplicity, community, equality and
peace ~
An Open and Affirming Congregation
1st Month, 15th Day
Meeting for Worship
Centering Down
Order, discipline, detailed
plans, no surprises, that's the way I like it. I want everything neatly tucked
away in its proper place. I like my ducks in a row. I want the organization
organized. The square peg in the round hole drives me crazy. Formulas make me
happy. Geometry was a favorite class of mine. It gives you results that are
perfectly predictable and that way every time. If everything (and everyone)
would just behave the same way every time, like it is supposed to, I would be
so much happier, or so I think. It just seems that I could function so much
better if God would provide a formula to resolve every problem. I could simply
plug in the variables and all would be perfect in my little world. . . . I
really like answers, especially well-defined answers. I want closure. I'm not
that crazy about questions. I'm just made that way. I covet closure. I want to
know how this thing will turn out, how this ride will end. God seems to present
about as many questions as He does answers.
—Steve Ellison,
2008, Christian blogger
...I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well
as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try
to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written
in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be
given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is
to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the
future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the
answer.
—Rainer Maria Rilke, 1903, Letters
to a Young Poet
1st Month, 15th Day
Meeting for Worship
From the Lectionary
LORD, you have examined me
and you know me. You know me at rest and
in action; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeying and my resting-places, and are familiar with all
the paths I take. For there is not a
word that I speak but you, LORD, know all about it. You keep close guard behind and before me and
place your hand upon me. Knowledge so
wonderful is beyond my grasp; it is so lofty I cannot reach it. You it was who
fashioned my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for you fill me with awe;
wonderful you are, and wonderful your works.
You know me through and through: my body was no mystery to you, when I
was formed in secret, woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my deeds, and they were all
recorded in your book; my life was fashioned before it came into being.
How mysterious, God, are
your thoughts to me, how vast in number they are! Were I to try counting them, they would be
more than the grains of sand; to finish the count, my years must equal yours.
—Psalm
139: 1-6; 13-18, New English Bible
The boy Samuel was in the
LORD’s service under Eli. In those days
the word of the LORD was rarely heard, and there was no outpouring of vision. One night Eli, whose eyes were dim and his
sight failing, was lying down in his usual place, while Samuel slept in the
temple of the LORD where the Ark of God was.
Before the lamp of God had gone out, the LORD called him, and Samuel
answered, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli saying, “You called me: here I am.” “No,
I did not call you,” said Eli; “lie down again.” So he went and lay down. The LORD called Samuel again, and he got up
and went to Eli. “Here I am!” he said.
“Surely you called me.” “I did not call, my son,” he answered; “lie down
again.” Samuel had not yet come to know
the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not been disclosed to him. When the LORD called him for the third time,
he again went to Eli and said, “Here I am! You did call me.” Then Eli
understood that it was the LORD calling the boy; he told Samuel to go and lie
down and said, “If someone calls once more, say, “Speak, LORD; your servant is
listening.” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the LORD came and standing there called,
“Samuel, Samuel!” as before. Samuel answered, “Speak, your servant is
listening.”
1 Samuel, 1-10,
1st Month, 15th Day
Meeting for Worship
CFM Announcements
WINTER OFFICE HOURS
Donne
Hayden, Minister & Public Friend
Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday ~ 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Available other times by appointment or in
emergencies.
Katie
Heape, Office Administrator/Webmaster
Monday -
Friday ~ 3:00-5:00 p.m.
TODAY
(Jan. 15, 2012)
CFM Trustees ~
12:00-1:00 ~
Library
Comfort of
Friends Group ~ 1:00-2:00 ~ Library
Quaker
Conversations
~ 4:00-5:30 ~ Fireside Room ~
Topic: From FCNL: How to
communicate & lobby effectively with your senator/congressman without going
to
Quakerism 101 Study Group begins this week ~
Thurs., Jan. 19, 6:30-8:30 in the Library
Anyone is welcome to join. Contact Donne if you have questions.
Quaker Quest ~ At the last Meeting for
Business, Friends requested that information about Quaker Quest be distributed
to members/ attenders of Cincinnati Friends Meeting in order to help discern in the next few months whether or not to
arrange for Quaker Quest facilitators to come lead us in an all-day
workshop. Those who have attended
introductory sessions are enthusiastic about bringing this experience to
Cincinnati Friends.
See QUAKER QUEST insert in
today’s bulletin. Please read it and
bring your response &/or questions to the
next Meeting for Business,
February 12, 2012.
Turtlebox Group, Session 2
After a wonderful first run
of Turtlebox Stories Spiritual Nurture Group, I am scheduling a second session
of 8 weeks' duration. This group explores our spiritual lives, the seasons we
experience, sharing deeply (but never mandatory) and building a trusted
community. It's part experiential, quiet reflection, discussion, worship and
blessed community. All you have to do is show up with an open heart.
There's no prescribed reading, although I share parts of my book, Turtlebox
Stories: Nurturing the Divine Within,
during group.
The last set was held Thursdays
from 7 to 8:30pm. For this session, I am considering other days such as Tuesday
evenings, Saturday or Sunday afternoons. If you are interested, please
let me know the best day for you based on the above options. This
session of eight weekly meetings will begin in late January or early
February.
Please don't hesitate to
call (513-576-6265) or email (cathybarney@the-nose.com) if you have questions
or concerns.
Thanks ~ Cathy Barney
Peace &
Social Concerns
BUCKETS FOR
Mops, brooms, floor cleaning products, counter cleaning
products, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, paper towels, sponges, dishcloths,
dish towels, plastic or rubber gloves, face soap, shampoo.
Stuffed animals in excellent condition are also welcome.
Buckets have
been donated.
Please bring your donations
of cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, or stuffed animals on the
first three
Sundays in February!
Thank you ~
BOOKS
RELATED TO THE PEACE TESTIMONY ~
The
Peace and Social Concerns Committee has purchased 3 books from Quaker House
Books: “Yes to the Troops—No to the Wars,” Patience and Determination,” and Study War Some More (If You Want to Work
for Peace) for the meeting’s library.
Yes to the Troops—No to the Wars describes 40
years of Unique Witness by Quaker House,
The recent
changes in
personal" with a military hub like
Patience & Determination is
a compact study booklet, suitable for group reading and discussion. Published
in association with the Quaker Initiative to End Torture (QUIT) its 50 pages
include ten sections which deal with issues of torture and accountability from
various perspectives. (See review
below,)
Study War Some More (If You Want To Work for Peace) presents a new strategic approach to peace work,
based on 40-plus years of experience at Quaker House, up close with the
Military Industrial Complex. It contains seven concise chapters in 60
pages with discussion questions.
Check out these books from our library!
REVIEW
by Patti Moore
The pamphlet, Patience
& Determination: Tools For Ending Torture & Seeking Accountability,
has just been purchased by the Peace & Social Concerns Committee for the
Cincinnati Friends Meeting library. It
is a very disturbing look at the policy of torture that the
I would highly recommend reading this pamphlet.
Everyone should know what we are allowing our government to do and what they
will continue to do if
FUM WATER OF LIFE
MINISTRY
Throughout the year, the Peace and Social Concerns Committee presents
information about organizations which
We received an update from Terri Johns, Program Manager, Global Ministries at Friends
United Meeting, who wrote:
“We’ve installed several bio-sand water filters in Turkana and the
Kaimosi area. The Turkana people have learned to make and sell bio-sand water
filters.
We also drilled a borehole in Katapakori, Turkana. It services the
local people and their livestock. Here are a couple pictures of the borehole
that show the trough for animals and the children using the pump to collect
water for their homes.
We have purchased a couple rain catchment barrels for
There is still money left and we are looking at several options
from another well to more bio-sand water filters to other rain water catchment
barrels in other locations.”
To communicate with CFM
members/attenders via our newslist,
send
an email directly to news@cincinnatifriends.org.
What is Quaker Quest?
Quaker Quest is a dynamic and
transformative inreach and outreach program that is
based on the experience that the Quaker
way is a spiritual path for our time that is
simple, radical, and contemporary.
Quaker Quest was founded in
2002 by twelve Quakers from Hampstead Meeting in
who were called to do outreach. They honed
the process over more than five years. They asked
FGC in 2007 to shepherd Quaker Quest in the
Quaker Quest is both a process and an
experience. It is:
● A workshop
for the whole meeting, co-led by Quaker Quest Travel Team members.
● An
invitation to the meeting to discern for itself what changes it wants to make
in order to
integrate newcomers into the life of the
meeting and nurture those who are already there.
● A deliberate
process for the meeting to discern if it is led to undertake the public
sessions.
● An
opportunity to look at the meeting from a newcomer’s perspective.
● A chance to
consider how to be more welcoming.
● A set format
for public sessions, where the topics and content are determined by each
meeting.
● Much more
than the public sessions: An experience that the whole meeting shares over
many months.
● A lot of
work and a lot of fun!
The Hallmarks of Quaker Quest express
the Quaker Quest approach to sharing who we are.
Quakers are asked to use positive language,
avoid jargon, use very little history, and refrain from
speaking negatively about other religions or
other branches of Quakerism. And, Quakers are
invited to use stories to share their
experiences and faith journey.
Public Quaker Quest sessions consist
of a set format for each session. This format consists of
three to four topics that are offered in a
series, such as Quakers and God or Quakers and Peace;
the series is repeated once.
● Topics for
the public sessions are chosen with seekers’ needs in mind.
● The meeting
discerns which topics to use.
● The three or
four topics are immediately repeated, making a series of six to eight weeks.
The meeting publicizes the
public sessions, using flyers and pamphlets, radio ads, their website,
and other methods.
● Publicity is
key to intentionally inviting people to attend and to reaching seekers who are
looking for the Quaker way.
● Communications
are written to reflect the Hallmarks of Quaker Quest and other learnings.
● Some people
may come to worship who will not have come to a Quaker Quest public session.
● This is an
investment in the meeting, and will cost money.
Friends General Conference provides:
● Quaker Quest
Travel Team members who co-lead a meeting’s Full-Day Workshop.
● A Quaker
Quest Travel Team member, who leads a meeting’s Half-Day Preparation Session,
which is held six weeks before the first
public session.
● Templates
for flyers and posters.
● Email and
phone support to the meeting throughout the process, through the clerk of the
core group, and follow-up after the public
sessions are over.
Costs for a meeting to
undertake the full process are:
● For the
Full-Day Workshop, budget $1,000 for transportation and materials.
● For the
Half-Day Preparation Session, budget $500.
❍
We ask that meetings reimburse for transportation costs of a
Quaker Quest Travel Team
member, and for materials, postage, and
handling. If this is a hardship, the meeting
should contact FGC Quaker Quest Staff, who
will try to ensure that finances are not an
obstacle for your meeting.
● For
publicity, budget around $2,000.
❍
FGC has a matching grant for publicity of up to $1,500 for
eligible meetings, while the
funds last.
Benefits of the
entire Quaker Quest process can include:
● Energizing
the meeting.
● Deepening
the sense of community.
● Becoming
more confident in sharing one’s faith with others in the meeting as well as
with
seekers.
● Considering
what it is like to be a newcomer in the meeting.
● Inviting
seekers to share the Quaker spiritual path.
Success is defined by the positive energy that
the Quaker Quest experience brings to the
meeting, by the way current participants feel
included into the life of the community, by the
experiences of transformation that occur
throughout the process, by the increased exposure
that the meeting or church has in the local
community, by having seekers come to the public
sessions, and by having newcomers attend
worship.
Since its beginnings in the
summer of 2011, over one hundred
meetings, churches, and other Quaker bodies across the United
States and
congregations. Contact quakerquest@fgcquaker.org
or go to www.fgcquaker.org/quakerquest
to find out
more!
From Friends General Conference’s Quaker
Quest Basic Information Packet for Meetings. This, and other Quaker Quest
documents and informationabout QQ in the
Portions of this document are based on the
Quaker Quest Network’s Quaker Quest: How to Do
It manual
and are used with permission. To find out
about Quaker Quest in
Permission to copy or adapt this document is
under Creative Commons conditions.
Permission is granted as long as it is
clearly noted that the material comes
from FGC’s Quaker Quest Basic Information
Packet for Meetings.
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CFM CALENDAR January 15 – February
19, 2012 |
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FACING BENCH ~ JANUARY ~ JIM KIMMEL |
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SUN. Jan. 15 |
10:00 11:00
12:00
noon 12:00
– 1:00 1:00-2:00
(this week only) 4:00
– 5:30 |
Adult
Discussion Group Meeting
for Worship Message
~ Donne Hayden Fellowship
in Fireside Room Trustees Meeting “Comfort of Friends” Group Quaker Conversation Group – Topic: From
the FCNL – Advice on how to communicate effectively with your
senator/congressman. |
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Thurs. Jan. 19 |
6:30-8:30 |
Quakerism 101 Study Group |
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SUN. Jan. 22 |
10:00 11:00
12:00
noon |
Adult
Discussion Group Meeting
for Worship Message
~ Donne Hayden Fellowship
in Fireside Room Peace & Social Concerns
Committee |
|
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Mon. Jan. 23 |
7:00 |
Kabbalah Study Group |
|
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Thurs. Jan. 26 |
6:30-8:30 |
Quakerism 101 Study Group |
|
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SUN. Jan. 29 |
10:00 11:00
12:00
noon |
Adult
Discussion Group Worship
~ Unprogrammed Fellowship
in Fireside Room |
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Wed. Feb. 1 |
6:30 |
Ministry & Counsel |
|
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Thurs. Feb. 2 |
6:30-8:30 |
Quakerism 101 Study Group |
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Fri. Feb. 3 |
6:30 |
Young Friends Game Night |
|
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SUN. Feb. 5 |
10:00 11:00
12:00
noon |
Adult
Discussion Group Meeting
for Worship Message
~ Donne Hayden Potluck Lunch & Fellowship |
|
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Thurs. Feb. 9 |
6:30-8:30 |
Quakerism 101 Study Group |
|
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SUN. Feb. 12 |
10:00 11:00
12:00
noon |
Adult
Discussion Group Meeting
for Worship Message
~ Donne Hayden Meeting for Business |
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Thurs. Feb. 16 |
6:30-8:30 |
Quakerism 101 Study Group |
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SUN. Feb. 19 |
10:00 11:00
12:00
noon 12:30
– 1:30 4:00
– 5:30 |
Adult
Discussion Group Meeting
for Worship Message
~ Donne Hayden Fellowship
in Fireside Room “Comfort of Friends” Group Quaker Conversation Group |