Announcements for February 2012

Young Adult Friends, roughly ages 18 to 35, are invited to share fellowship and a potluck meal on Friday, February 3, at 7:00 in the Fireplace Room. All young adults are welcome.

Reading and Discussion in February: All are welcome on second and fourth Sundays in Quaker House Living Room from 10:05 to 10:55.
On the 12th, Sharon Simonton will lead a discussion of current U.S. sentencing and prison policies, based on selected passages by Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
On the 26th, Sharon will lead a discussion of alternative forms of justice, such as restorative justice programs.
Copies of the readings will be available on the lobby table the previous Sunday.


Meetings for Health and Wellness will continue to meet monthly on third Wednesdays: February 15, March 21, and April 18.

We have met four times and each meeting has been enthusiastically attended. We gather at 7:30 in the Meetingroom, share some concerns for that evening’s gathering, and then take turns sitting, or lying (a massage table is provided), in the center of the circle while the group offers hands-on (or -off) attention to the recipient. We finish by 9:30.

The general response is that the experience is relaxing, comfortable, safe, and helpful. It is a lovely way to connect with others in the Meeting, largely in silence.

All are welcome. No experience is necessary; introduction and explanation are offered as needed.

This event is under the care of the Committee on Ministry and Counsel. Please feel free to contact Cassie Cammann (cassie.cammann at gmail.com) or Steve Morehouse (more2steve at aol.com) with questions or suggestions.


The Religious Education Committee will host a Parent-Teacher Conference on Sunday, March 11, from 12:30 to 2:00, on the theme "How do we spiritually nurture our children?" We will discuss what parents want out of First Day School and look ahead at the coming months. The Committee will provide lunch and childcare. Come to the Living Room after 11:00 meeting for worship.

Quaker Bible Study – involving a “close reading” of a short Bible passage followed by individual responses – takes place every Wednesday morning at 8:30. All are welcome. Questions? Ask Dwight Wilson (dwightlwilson at hotmail.com).

The Scribblers Writing Circle meets on first Thursdays (February 2 and March 1) at 6pm in Quaker House Living Room. Writers, poets, graphic artists, and listeners are invited. Pizza and beverages are provided; other comestibles are welcome.


Palestine-Israel Action Group (PIAG) News

PIAG will next meet on Friday, February 10, at 9:30. A light breakfast will be provided. All are welcome. Contact the convener, Helen Fox (hfox at umich.edu) for more information, including the location.

PIAG maintains its own website and a blog. PIAG also has a connection with QuakerPI.org, a website for Friends with a concern for Israel-Palestine, operated by PIAG member Anne Remley and Friends in Washington State and Massachusetts.

Palestinian, Free Trade, Certified Organic, “Nabali Tree” olive oil, produced by farmer cooperatives, is available from PIAG for $11.50/half-liter. See PIAG members (listed in the AAFM Directory).


Friends can make donations to the Meeting online. On the left side of this website, click on “Make a Donation.” This links to a page that enables donations through PayPal (which takes 1.9% plus 30¢ per transaction). Contributions to the Meeting are tax deductible. You can also contribute by leaving cash or a check in the contributions basket on the lobby table or sending a donation c/o Treasurer, Ann Arbor Friends Meeting, 1420 Hill St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.

Copies of the Meeting Handbook are available in the lobby. A contribution of $4 to cover printing costs is requested.

The Meeting’s wheelchair is stored in the outer lobby for the lift. Friends may borrow it for use between the parking lot and the lift or inside the Meetinghouse and Quaker House.


The Chelsea Worship Group has meeting for worship at Michigan Friends Center on most second Sundays (February 12) at 10am. The contact is Steve Daut (734 475-4686); please check with him before attending, to confirm that worship is taking place that day.

A group of Friends from western Wayne County (mainly from AAFM) meet periodically in a quiet room in the Plymouth District Library (223 S Main) to nurture their faith, in the manner of Friends. They will next meet on Wednesday, February 22, at 7pm. Friends and Seekers are welcome and can contact the group at: friendsinplymouth at gmail.com.


Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Mid-Winter Gathering
and Teen Retreat, February 24-25

Grand Rapids Friends will celebrate their 50th anniversary as a Meeting by offering a full program with two guest speakers, starting on Friday evening, February 24, and continuing through Saturday afternoon. The meeting will take place at Georgetown United Methodist Church, 2766 Baldwin St, in Jenison, Michigan 49428 (just west of Grand Rapids).

Schedule:

Friday, February 24, 6:00 – 9:00
6:00   Doors open, Dinner served
7:00   Philip Baisley speaks on “Vitality in the Small Meeting/Church”

  Saturday, February 25, 9:00 – 4:00
9:00   Light breakfast 9:30   Meeting for Worship, followed by brief business item
             from Nominating Committee
11:00  Plenary speaker Laura Norlin on Small Meeting Envisioning Processes
Noon   Lunch and discussion group with speakers
1:30    Philip Baisley on “Getting from Here to There,” a Visioning Workshop
3:00    Worship and Epistle Committee

Speakers: Philip Baisley teaches pastoral ministry at Earlham School of Religion and pastors the Williamsburg (Indiana) Friends Meeting. He is also a songwriter and performer (folk/country/ gospel). Laura Norlin, who grew up in Grand Rapids Meeting, is program coordinator for the Atlanta (Georgia) Friends Meeting and Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting teen programs, clerks the Care and Counsel Committee at Atlanta Meeting, and teaches Spanish at Friends School of Atlanta.

Teen Retreat: An adult-supervised overnight teen retreat is planned at the gathering site, continuing through Saturday; activities may include ice skating, story-telling, foosball, movies, games, crafts, sledding, etc. For questions or to RSVP, please contact Jenn Seif at jenniferseif at yahoo.com.

Registration: Suggested donation for the gathering is $10 per person or $15 per family - mainly to cover meals, though there is no fee for children and teens. Ann Arbor Friends planning to attend are asked to tell Jeff Cooper (cooperdaub at hotmail.com).

Hospitality: Grand Rapids Friends extend an invitation to all Friends, who are welcome to stay in their homes as guests. This will be arranged after Jeff reports how many Ann Arbor Friends are attending (see above).

Directions:
-  From downtown Grand Rapids, take I-96 west about 7 miles to Exit 69-B,
       for Chicago Drive West (M-121).
-  After 1/3 mile, turn right onto Main St.
-  After another 1/3 mile, turn left onto Baldwin St.
-  Continue on Baldwin for 3.2 miles; the Georgetown; United Methodist Church is
       on the left.

A flier with a local map and more information about the speakers is on the Meeting bulletin board.


Friends and their families are invited to Winterfest at Michigan Friends Center, on Sunday, February 5. Treats, hot beverages, and – weather permitting – snow fun start at 1:30, Gemini’s Benefit Concert for MFC at 3:00. This concert is tailor-made for squirmy children, with space for them to move around, dance, or sit in the front row. Suggested donation of $8/person or $20/family; tickets are available in advance (475-1892 or mfcenter.org or from various Friends who make themselves known at close of worship) and at the door.