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Meeting Tasks for this Sunday:
Care of Meeting: Sharon T.
Key - Wendy G.
Setup help - Don G.
Greeter - Joanne C.
Snack - Tom Z.
Kitchen - Tom Z.
Kitchen help - Don R.
Children's Teacher - Jessica B.
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Query of the Month
" Every stage of our lives offers fresh opportunities. Responding to divine guidance, try to discern the right time to undertake or relinquish responsibilities without undue pride or guilt. Attend to what love requires of you, which may not be great busyness."
Advices and Queries. - #28 - Little Red Book
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MfWfB Highlights
Most important for you, Gentle Reader,
your input is needed on the following:
1) Friends are requested to contact Don Goldstein if they are not attending the retreat and would like to attend Meeting for Worship that weekend (Sept 12). In order to hold meeting in town on that date, sufficient volunteers are needed to cover meeting tasks. Alternatively, Friends not attending the retreat may be invited to join retreat participants at Camp Lutherwood for Worship that Sunday.
2) Ministry and Counsel is reviewing our overall on-line communications. Friends are requested to contact a member of Ministry and Counsel with comments / suggestions / concerns about the various forms of on-line communication and postings for Bellingham Friends.
You might also like to know that:
- Harry Finks' nomination as Native American Representative was accepted for seasoning.
- Lopez Preparatory Meeting is seasoning a proposal to become a Monthly Meeting.
- A proposal to donate $200 from our non-permanently- restricted meeting house fund to Port Townsend Meeting to help with their kitchen fund was accepted for seasoning.
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Calendar for Bellingham Friends
Wed., May 6 (tonight), 7-8:30 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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Tuesday, May 12
Book Group
7pm - at the Richardson's
This month's book:
Sense of an Ending
Additional library copies are available.
contact Susan R. for more information
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May 19 6:00 pm
"Clerk's Supper"
Potluck at the Richardson's (all are welcome)
RSVP to Susan, please, and speak with Susan to determine what type of dish to bring.
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Wed, May 28
SEC Film Night
Featuring Eri Schlosser & Eva Longoria
Film starts at 7 pm at the Hopkinson's
light refreshments will be served
RSVP , please
(This is the 1st in a 3-part series of programs planned by SEC to help Friends explore the issue of farm workers and migrant labor.)
*****
Sat., Sept. 12th 2 pm through Sun, Sept. 13th 2pm
Annual Retreat
Camp Lutherwood
(see Announcements for more information)
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Are you being Called to work on
Racial Justice?
The new Racial Justice Coalition meets the first three Tuesdays of each month. The next meeting will be May 12th at 7:30pm at the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center (1220 Bay Street, Bellingham).
For more information contact Christa at christaayele@hotmail.com
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Opportunities for Friendly Activists
2 Initiative petitions are hitting the streets this month
Both speak to our Testimonies
If you have a bit of time to participate in the public process,
Both can use more signature gatherers- click the links for more information
I 732 - concerns taxes. This measure would impose a carbon emission tax on certain fossil fuels and fossil-fuel-generated electricity, reduce the sales tax by one percentage point and increase a low-income exemption, and reduce certain manufacturing taxes"
CarbonWa is the sponsor
for more information click here
I 735 - An Act Relating to the influence of corporations and money in our political system; and creating new section. This act declares that the people of Washington State support amending The Constitution of the United States to eliminate the undue influence of concentrated money and political power on elections and governmental policy. The amendment would overturn decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States extending constitutional rights to corporations and other artificial legal entities as well as those decisions equating the spending of money with free speech. It also provides for the regulation and disclosure of political contributions and spending.
for more information click here
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Charter Review Commission
Only two more chances to make your voice heard!
Of special interest to Friends:
- Proposed Amendment #1 to require district only voting (Districts now under-represent city dwellers)
- Proposed Amendment #16 which would ban the country from awarding funds to non-profits (such as the Food Bank)
Last two meetings:
May 11 - 6:30 pm
At the Whatcom Civic Center (322 N. Commercial)
May 18 - 6:30 pm
At the Firs off Lakeway (4605 Cable Street)
If you cannot go, you CAN send an email to: charter@co.whatcom.us
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Nepal Disaster Relief
Concern of the Month for May
(We will pass the hat Sunday)
Heifer International Disaster Relief
Statement from Heifer website:
"...we are saddened to report the deaths of at least 61 (Heifer) project participants due to the earthquake. Our thoughts and prayers are with these families and our colleagues in Nepal who are working to assist them.
So far, the worst damage seems to be in the central districts of Dhading and Nuwakot, where we work alongside farmers to develop goat and dairy enterprises. Early assessment of damage includes thousands of homes that are completely destroyed, as well as loss of livestock and livelihoods. Heifer’s efforts are focused on providing temporary shelter, food and water for communities in need. Longer term work will include rebuilding the communities and providing livestock and related training.
Your donation will make a major impact in the lives of the families that need assistance. Please, give now so that we can help our project participants begin the long recovery process. Your contribution to the disaster rehabiltation fund will be used to assist families in Nepal and other disasters our project families suffer.
More information on Heifer's relief efforts in Nepal can be found here.
UPDATE: MONDAY, May 4—More than 4,000 Heifer project families have received temporary housing materials and other relief supplies and another 5,000 families will receive the aid by the end of the week.
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Celebrate Nature!
Check out introductory nature walks with the Native Plant Society:
Thurs., May 7, 6:00 pm to dusk: Hidden Forest Foray at Sehome Arboretum
Sat., May 16, 1:00-3:00 pm: Padden Lagoon
Thurs., May 21, 6:00 pm to dusk: Coastal Ethnobotany at Woodstock Farm
Thurs., May 28, 6:00 pm to dusk: Downtown Plants at Maritime Heritage Park. Click here for more information: http://wnpskoma.org/field-trips/
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Upcoming Second Hours
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May 17 – QEI – Don Goldstein, Quaker History II: Diversities Among Friends
May 24 – Memorial Day weekend (extended social time)
May 31 – County Comprehensive Plan - visioning workshop
June 7 - Potluck
June 14 - MfWfB
June 21 – QEI: Spiritual Journeys: Looking to the Future (Sharon Trent)
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Looking ahead to wider Quaker gatherings:
Friends General Conference (FGC) Gathering of Friends – July 5-11, Western Carolina Univ., NC
North Pacific Yearly Meeting (NPYM) Annual Session - July 15-19, Whitworth Univ., Spokane
Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) Fall Steering Committee Meeting:October 22 - 25 at Ben Lomond Quaker Center near Santa Cruz, CA
Bellingham Friends are reminded to contact Ministry and Counsel for assistance reaching clearness about attending, and/or availability of financial assistance for attending any Quaker event.
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From Ministry and Counsel:
Friends are asked to hold Kristen McLewin in the Light as she recovers from a serious fall from her horse.
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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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Announcements
From / For Bellingham Friends
Please read the Highlights from MfWfB section for other important announcements!
From Don and Wendy Goldstein
A number of food-serving items and containers were left behind at Wendy and Don's wedding on April 11th.
If one or more of the following articles is or may be yours, please contact Don (671-1395, dnx6309@gmail.com) to claim it so we can get them all returned to their owners:
--- 13 by 9 by 2 inch Pyrex baking dish
--- Round ceramic or glass serving plate (we have 3 of them)
Children's Program Announcement:
For those who have said they would like to teach but aren't sure how to go about it, there will be a teacher training session. Contact Sharon Trent at 714-6141 to set up a time. We welcome all Friends to participate. Our children need us!
Annual Retreat:
The 2015 BFM Annual Retreat Planning Committee announces that the retreat this year will take place at Camp Lutherwood, on Lake Sammish 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. Program details will be coming in June and July, but please mark the dates on your calendars now.
Questions?
Contact committee clerk Don Goldstein at dnx6309@gmail.com
or 671-1395.
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Special Announcement:
Steve Glenn, Alpine Naturalist
has completed his doctorate!
 Congratulations, Dr. Steve!
(And thanks again for the great nature walk at Artist Point last year!)
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Announcements from the Wider Community
World Issues Forum
Wednesdays from noon - 1:20 pm
WWU - Haggard Hall 253
May 6 (today)
“ Shackled Democratically? Global Raciality, Terror, and the Black Body”
Anna M. Agathangelou, Associate Professor York University and Fellow, Science, Technology and Society at John F. Kennedy School, Harvard
Here is an excerpt from the background for her talk:
"After a series of black youth deaths, protesters have taken to the streets challenging the idea that black bodies do not matter in a democracy that promises the world to the world. The protests in several cities in the US have increased along with other protests in other parts of the world. Emerging revolutionary racialized and sexual poetics, I argue, ride the transformative power of the “erotic” while resisting and interrupting tired gendered and universal portrayals of a democracy of potentiality with a masculine rational forward West-subject as its global agent.
May 15
“Terrorism, Propaganda & U.S. Mideast Policy ”
David Barsamian, founder and director of Alternative Radio
Large parts of the Middle East today are engulfed in violence. Why? What historical factors shape the current conflicts? Iraq for example is a country in chaos and the U.S. has been intervening in Iraq non-stop for decades. What has it produced? Actual U.S. policy in the Middle East is buried in a blizzard of propaganda about democracy and human rights while in practice Washington backs feudal and repressive regimes like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Emirates as well as dictatorships like Egypt. Justification for U.S. military bases, invasions and occupations are cloaked in the garb of altruism and noble intent. Is that the way of imperial powers? When does the media question Washington's self-professed motives? While most people are ignorant about what is going on, it doesn't have to be that way.
Thursday, May 7, 7pm
Film: Coal Road to China
Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship,
1207 Elsworth St.
Justice For Freddie Gray
"Sit-Out"
May 9, Saturday, 10:00
Outside Bellingham Farmers Market on Railroad
Local high schools students are organizing an sit-out outside the Bellingham Farmer's Market on the morning of Saturday May 9th. They are inviting all people to meet up and occupy a space with signs for an hour.
".... We live in a predominantly white town, where, thankfully, we don't have to constantly be on guard around police officers...So we invite you to come and join us, protest with us, mourn with us. We ask you to put yourselves into the shoes of those who have lost their children, their brothers and sisters, their fathers and mothers, their friends, and say 'no more'. "
click here for the Facebook event page
CLOSES MAY 10th!
Mingled Visions: Images from The North American Indian
by
Edward S. Curtis
LIghtcatcher Museum
Featuring 40 original photogravures from Edward S. Curtis’ epic work, Mingled Visions showcases pieces from the sweeping collection of more than 700 photogravures in The North American Indian portfolio. Docent tours are free with admission on Thurs., Sat., and Sun. at 1:30 p.m.
The Realities of Advanced
Medical Interventions
Presented by
ICU Nurses Maureen “Koala” RN & Cathy RN, BSN
BELLINGHAM
UNITARIAN FELLOWSHIP
1207 Ellsworth Street • Bellingham
360 733 3837
MAY 13, 2015 • 7:00PM
Saturday, May 16th, 2015
11 am-5 pm
A Native People's Event
Penn Cove Water Festival
A FREE FAMILY FESTIVAL IN HISTORIC COUPEVILLE! (Whitby Island)
Tribal Canoe Races
Native Arts & Crafts
Music, Dancing, Food
Storytelling & Youth Activities.
For more information, click here
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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Metamorphosis
(Each month’s Metamorphosis is available on our website (www.bellinghamfriends.org ) the Wednesday following Meeting for Business. A few of the many offerings in the current issue are:
April:
- Friends' Leadings Series: Hospice work of Lorina Hall and Jeanine Hart-Horner.
- Lightcatcher Museum article:
- Exhibit: Mingled Visions: Images from the North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis.
- Speaker: Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher author, Timothy Egan
May -- will feature Larry Thompson's leading regarding the jail and mental health needs.
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