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Meeting Tasks for this Sunday:
Care of Meeting: Sharon T.
Key - Margaret H.
Setup help - Karen S.
Greeter - Wendy G.
Snack - unknown - was it you?
Kitchen - Mark H.
Kitchen help - Don R.
Children's Teacher - Don G.
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Calendar for Bellingham Friends
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TONIGHT!
Wed., July 15,
7-9:00 PM
Midweek Worship
Where: Mary Ann Percy's home
(1 hr worship + worship sharing and/or check-ins).
Friends gather for midweek worship on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays each month.
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Thursday, July 30
SEC Film night
"The Harvest"
7 pm - light refreshments
At the Hopkinson's
Please RSVP by clicking here
More than 400,000 children work in American fields to harvest the food we all eat.
Children working in agriculture endure lives of extreme poverty
To read more about the film and the issue, click here
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Sun Aug 2
Annual Picnic - see information on the right.
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Sat., Sept. 12th 2 pm - Sun, Sept. 13th 2pm
Annual Retreat
Camp Lutherwood
(see more information below)
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BOOK GROUP
Aug 11
at Joanne C.'s home
The upcoming book is the Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, which is a fictionalized account of the story of Sarah Grimke and a slave she was given as a child , her becoming Quaker and her role in abolition. It's a Library kit and a wonderful read, and the book that inspired Joan to present The Grimke sisters as a QEI biography. To get a copy, contact Susan R.
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Opportunities for Friendly Activists
From your Social and Environmental Concerns Committee
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SUPPORT THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
A huge vote on war and peace is right around the corner. Yesterday, world powers announced a deal over Iran's nuclear program -- and now Congress will weigh in.
Take action when it
Matters Most
click here
and follow the instructions (very easy) so that Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL) can help you send a message to your legislators.
If diplomacy is a marathon, we're at 26 miles. Now we need your help to go the last few feet. Many members of Congress will be speaking out today and tomorrow, and everyone will vote in September. What they hear right now from their constituents will influence their position going forward.
Over the past decade, Iran and the U.S. have been on the verge of war many times. FCNL has worked to avert crisis after crisis. In the past two years, sustained diplomacy has put us on a path to avoid another war in the Middle East. Thank you for your help to get us this far, and please act now.
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Support Local Farmworkers
If you would like to help the farmworkers' effort to gain living wages, you can call Sakuma at 360 757 6611 and ask them to offer fair productions standards and a union contract.
Support for the farmworkers' effort is spreading to other unions, including the longshoreman:
"The 36th Convention of the ILWU passed a resolution supporting a boycott of Sakuma Brothers Farms, Haagen-Dazs and Driscoll's Berries until the demands of Familias Unidas Por La Justicia are met"
"An Injury to One is an Injury to All"
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BFM Annual Retreat 2015
The 2015 BFM Annual Retreat will take place at Camp Lutherwood, on Lake Samish just south of Bellingham, beginning about 2 pm on Saturday, September 12th and ending about the same time on Sunday, September 13th. Most, if not all, of us will be staying overnight in one of two modern lodges with beautiful lake views and cozy kitchens/small meeting areas. Camping space is also available.
This year’s annual retreat includes time for several simultaneous interest groups from 7:30 to 8:30 pm on Saturday evening.
Request for Proposals for Interest Groups at 2015 BFM Retreat
The Retreat Planning Committee (Mary Ann Percy, Carole Teshima, Wendy Goldstein, Mark Hersh, and Don Goldstein) invites Friends to develop short proposals (1-2 paragraphs) for interest groups that somehow connect with our overall retreat theme of “Spiritual Deepening” and submit them to the committee not later than August 15th. Depending on the number and nature of the submissions, we expect to select between 3 and 6 proposals for inclusion in the retreat, and will announce the list of interest groups selected by about September 5th. The assumption is that you are willing to facilitate any interest group that you propose.
Interest group activities could be either individual (e.g., sharing a poem to express your experience of spiritual growth) or something requiring a group process (e.g., improvisation exercises). Your proposal should include a sentence or two explaining how your activity or subject matter relates--for you--to Spiritual Deepening.
Send proposals by email to committee clerk Don Goldstein or deliver them in hard copy to any committee member.
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Announcements from the Wider Community
Concert in Elizabeth Park
Thursday, 6 pm
SUMMER PARK CONCERT SERIES:
Bellingham's Columbia neighborhood at Elizabeth Park.
Every Thursday through Aug. 27.
http://www.cob.org
6:00 pm - 8 pm
Free concerts sponsored by The Eldridge Society, in partnership with Bellingham Parks and Recreation. Hot dogs will be available for purchase, and picnickers are encouraged to recycle and compost. Donations to enable The Eldridge Society to continue to pay the performers will be gratefully accepted at the concerts.
07/16/15 Kuungana
Irresistible African Dance Music
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Volunteers needed for Bellingham Repair Cafe (bellingham)
We are launching the Bellingham Repair Cafe, a bimonthly social event where people bring their broken items and volunteer experts repair them for free on site. Tea, coffee, pastries, music, children's play area. A great place to socialize and also learn.
This project is designed to counteract the absurd principle of "planned obsolescence" where most consumer items are designed to fail within a short time putting enormous strain on the planet by destroying resources and furthering consumerism.
Fact: About 65% of consumer items can easily be repaired and kept out of the landfill.
We need reliable volunteers to help organize the project. Most of the work at this stage will be research to find volunteer experts, suitable locations, supporters (financial, food, children's play area toys, etc..) PR, and other general research. This is volunteer work and there will be no pay. There is a chance that through donations the staff will be compensated in the future but you should not rely on or hope for that but be genuinely interested in supporting the cause. You need to be reliable, consistent, well spoken and with good organizational and research skills.
Please reply with a brief email describing yourself, your experience and to what degree you wish to be involved. Thank you.bellinghamrc@icloud.com , 360-310-8997
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Upcoming Second Hours:
July 26 – BFM Electronic Communications: Access and Options. Friends Allen S (listserve) John Hatten (website) Jenny Davidow (Facebook) will host an orientation and discussion of how these different choices work. They will also help Friends who are interested to sign up for each of these. Bring your laptops! Someone will set up a hotspot so we can all log on and get connected online!
Aug. 2 – Worship & Picnic in the Park. Please bring a dish or beverage to share, plates, cups, and utensils. It is also helpful if you bring extra chairs, as the picnic benches aren’t comfortable for some Friends during Worship. We also need volunteers to bring tablecloths.
Aug. 9 - MfWfB
Aug. 16 - Proposal for BFM Decision-making Process/F&P Draft Chapter on Discernment
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Highights from the July Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business:
- Accepted for seasoning: Lopez Island Preparatory Meeting application for Monthly Meeting status.
- Accepted for seasoning: Jessica Bee's application for membership.
- Meeting house search: The meeting agreed to make a contingency offer on a building which could serve as a meeting house and a "Quaker Community Center". The contingency offer would allow several months for the meeting to consider and reach consensus on the suitability of the building for our needs, needed adaptations, the feasibility of financing, and the human resources needed to maintain the property.
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Advices and Queries – For July:
(#19 from Little Red Book) :
Rejoice in the presence of children and young people in your Meeting and recognize the gifts they bring. Remember that the Meeting as a whole shares responsibility for every child in its care. How do you share your deepest beliefs with them, while leaving them free to develop as the Spirit of God may lead them?
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Announcements
for/ From
Bellingham Friends
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Welcoming Personal Donations to Help Assist Port Townsend Friends
Our Meeting approved a donation of $200 to Port Townsend Friends to help add a kitchen to their new meetinghouse. Don Goldstein will send the check along with individual donations that Friends would like to add (Individuals have added $100 so far). If you would like to contribute, please bring your donation to Don at meeting next Sunday, or contact him (671-1395 or dnx6309@gmail.com) to make another arrangement.
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Musqueam Community & Long House Tour
Sept 20
A special invitation from Vancouver Friends Meeting
All places are filled, but you can put your name on the waiting list to be called if someone cancels.
The meetinghouse of Vancouver (BC) Monthly Meeting, along with most of the city, sits on the traditional lands of the Musqueam people (part of the Coast Salish people, along with the Lummi and many other groups), which have never been ceded to British Columbia or to Canada. Vancouver Friends recently recognized a need to learn more about their Musqueam neighbors, and have arranged for a guided tour of the Musqueam Community which will take place on Sunday afternoon, September 20th, beginning at 2:30 pm. Bellingham Friends are invited to join them, with an initial limit of six Friends from outside Vancouver Meeting (more places may open up later).
The cost of the tour itself is being generously covered by Vancouver Meeting. Directions to the starting point will be forthcoming, along with a code of behavior for visitors. Please sign up only if you are certain to attend as spaces are limited and no-shows will prevent others from attending.
To sign up or ask questions, please contact Kirsten Ebsen at orcasandfishes@gmail.com
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Sunday August 2, 2015 10AM -2PM
Come One; Come All
Annual Bellingham Friends' Outdoor
Meeting for Worship
and Picnic
- Where? Fairhaven Park in large shelter on right (when entering from Chuckanut Drive); across from tennis courts which are on left
- What to bring? Chairs if you prefer that to the picnic tables/benches, food (including serving utensils) or beverages to share, your own utensils, plate, cup, napkin,
- Extra Utensils to share extra paper napkins, extra plates, table cloths,
- Games frisbees, other outdoor games you enjoy
- Offer to help? We will need more than 1 person for childcare; please sign up! (at meeting)
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From Ministry and Counsel:
Honor Our Shared Silence
To honor and nurture our precious silent worship together, please plan to arrive before 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Please enter the hallway outside the worship room quietly, as voices carry. Please silence cellphones and arrange belongings before entering, and keep comings and goings during worship to a minimum.
Thank you.
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Looking ahead to wider Quaker gatherings:
Quaker Earthcare Witness
(QEW) Fall Steering Committee Meeting:October 22 - 25 at Ben Lomond Quaker Center near Santa Cruz, CA
if you are thinking about attending these or other Quaker meetings and are deterred by the expense, don't forget many Quaker gatherings offer financial aid and the Meeting has our own scholarship fund as well. Contact clerk of Ministry and Counsel, Virginia Herrick, for more information.
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Concern of the Month for July
2015 Totem Pole Journey
Lummi House of Tears Carvers is planning another Journey this August. This year's Totem Pole will be gifted to the Northern Cheyenne, Lame Deer, Montana, whose sacred lands would be devastated by the coalmine at Otter Creek, at the proposed Tongue River rail line. There will be stops at key tribes along the way, and public events in Bellingham, Longview, Portland, and Billings Montana.
Master carver James Jewell at work
For those who would like to donate directly, click here to make on-line donations:
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More
Announcements from the Wider Community
Sat, July 18
9:00 am
WORK PARTY AND LOW-TIDE FUN:
Join Whatcom Land Trust for a work party from 9am-2pm at Lily Point Marine Reserve, a WLT-conserved Whatcom County park near Point Roberts on Boundary Bay. Take part in weed control and trail maintenance in the morning, then stick around for the opportunity to explore the beach during low tide in the afternoon. Entry is free. Please RSVP. http://www.whatcomlandtrust.org
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Friday Peace Vigil
When
Every Fri, 3:45pm – 4:45pm
Where
104 W Magnolia St, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA ()
Description
The Nation's oldest weekly Peace Vigil. Paricipants gather weekly at 4:00 pm with signs in front of the Federal Building on the Corner of Magnolia and Cornwall Streets.
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Opportunity for Teens!
KVWV, Bellingham's newest nonprofit radio station, is excited to offer our first-ever radio camp! Geared toward teenagers, this weeklong experience will cover everything from producing a podcast to promoting your work on social media and packaging your work for national syndication. Details about the July 27-31 camp are available at kvwv.org/radio-camp . Registration deadline is July 6.
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The July Metamorphosis is out!
Check your email
Hope to have a link next week!
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Friends March in Gay Pride Parade - From your Bellingham Friends Facebook page. Check it out by clicking here |
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