Metamorphosis – June 2012

Metamorphosis: Newsletter for Bellingham Friends Meeting
Weekly Meetings for Worship are on Sunday @ 10-11 AM.  Childcare is provided.
Monthly Meetings for Worship with Attention to Business are on the 2nd Sunday.
1601 Ellis Street in Bellingham, WA 98225   Phone:(360) 734-0244

June’s Query:
Do you try to set aside times of quiet for openness to the Holy Spirit?  All of us need to find a way into silence which allows us to deepen our awareness of the divine and to find the inward source of our strength.  Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid the activities of daily life.  Do you encourage in yourself and in others a habit of dependence on God’s guidance for each day?  Hold yourself and others in the Light, knowing that all are cherished by God.

This query was taken from the Britain Yearly Meeting little red book.

 

Calendar:
June 17 (Sunday):  Singing 15 minutes prior to worship
June 18 (Monday):  There will be  a soup supper beginning at 6 pm.  The discussion will be about The Crying Tree, written by Naceem Rakha.
June 24 (2nd Hour):  Author Naceem Rakha (who will wlso be joining us for worship) will give a presentation on her book, The Crying Tree.
July 01Potluck Sunday

July 08: Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

July 10:  Book Group meets.  We will be discussing, The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi.
July 15 (Sunday):  Singing 15 minutes prior to worship

July 15:  (2nd Hour):  Walking Meditation along the Whatcom Creek Trail to Heritage Park.
SAVE THE DATES:  Sunday – August 5th – Annual picnic, with Meeting for Worship, at  Fairhaven Park Pavilion, 9:30 – 12:30 pm.
Sunday – October 7 – Retreat at Quaker Cove
 

From Our Social and Environmental Committee:

The Concern of the Month is for “Compassion and Choices” in memory of Annelise Pysanky.  This organization holds the view that how one dies is an individual decision.

ECO-QUERY for June:  How are we affected by the abuse of the Earth and the imbalance in our relationship with nature? (Eugene Meeting, 2002)

 

SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER:  Friends Committee on National Legislation says that ending hunger is the world would cost 30 billion dollars per year for 10 years.  This money can be found by ending the 100% crop insurance subsidy to major agribusiness firms, which would save 30 billion dollars per year. Please communicate your desire for this to happen to your representative and senators.

 

 

Pomp and Circumstance:  Bellingham Friends wish to congratulate Kendra Herrick and Liam Horner on their graduation  from high school.

Graduation Day

Graduation Day is the climax of a dream.
A parental dream that began when a child is born,
And their hope come true it would seem,
A triumph held after periods of forlorn,
A feeling of pride and euphoria years away
For a daughter or son – Graduation Day.

It is a peak of success for the graduate,
Not only for the graduate but parents too.
A joyful event after many years they had to wait,
Realizing the glorious thrill of a dream come true,
A genuine smile accompanied by a deep sigh,

Often a handkerchief in hand as the class goes by.

Graduation is a deserving, hard earned goal
With mortarboard and gown as foretold,
A gratifying service of the mind and soul
In a simple and beautiful sheepskin told
That the graduate fulfilled the educational rule.
At last, for the mother and father, a dream come true.
Graduation Day!

Joseph T. Renaldi

 

What we believe:  Testimonies & Queries

Quakers believe in living life in the spirit of love and truth and peace, reaching for the best in oneself and answering “that of God” in everyone.  Quaker testimonies are expressions of the commitment to put those beliefs into practice.

 

The testimonies bear witness to the truth, as Friends in community perceive it—truth known through relationship with God.  They do not exist in any rigid, written form; nor are they imposed in any way.  Each Quaker searches for how the testimonies can best be expressed in his or her own life.

 

While attempting to live in concert with these teachings, Quakers are tender with themselves and with each other when they fall short, ready to recommit and try again.

Quakers use queries for personal reflection, self-examination, or spirited discussion.

 

To be continued…
Metamorphosis is a monthly newsletter.  If you would like some particular information placed in the Metamorphosis, please send it via email to the newsletter editor Betty McMahon:  . (If you do not have email:  (360) 734-0244.)