Omaha Friends Meeting
Meeting for Business
20 January 2007
Present: Debbie, Curtis, Marshall, Lynda, Frank, Carol, Vivian, and Pam.
Minutes from 17 December were read and approved.
Query: Query 12 notes appear to be lost. If they are found, they will be reported.
The adult response to Query 1 was read and approved. The youth response was read and accepted with appreciation. It is intended to share the youth responses with Yearly Meeting, as well.
The adult response:
We seek a settling of the mind in our worship so that there are no big distractions. Self-directed thoughts can cause a separation from the Holy Spirit. We are also limited by language since there are no words to satisfactorily explain the Divine with the depth it deserves. Words can actually lead to miscommunication and incorrect assumptions of the meaning that is trying to be conveyed. This can be seen for some in the use of gender in referring to God. Some may have a different perspective with “he” or “she” attached to God. Perhaps it is misleading to anthropomorphize God in any way. The voice of Christ is the voice of what is right and good. By being attentive to that Voice in our daily lives, our worship is more effective on Sunday morning.
Prayer during the week, and seeking God’s guidance during the week, can help prepare us for Sunday worship. Other tools we use include studying religious-based texts or books whose themes are on spirituality. Being physically active so that our bodies are healthy, nurtures energy and attentiveness to worship.
It is appreciated when people get to Meeting on time. Even being there early allows time to get settled. A worshipful attitude can begin at home Sunday if we get up early and begin to be prayerful there. Rushing on Sunday morning detracts from that spiritual centeredness that richens worship. When a deep sense of trust fills our lives away from Meeting and within Meeting, we become more aware and open to a spiritual center. Vocal ministry occurs anywhere, so this trusting attitude allows us to hear that ministry outside of Meeting.
We question whether this is catalogued or is in the sense of the Meeting. We are still learning in this aspect.
The youth response:
The youth present discussed their individual experience of the query. No attempt was made to come to a "sense of the Meeting".
None of us present has experienced the Spirit, in Meeting or Worship. Some of us are expectantly waiting, some have given up, some have never been expectant. One of us experiences the Spirit in vivid, memorable dreams that seem an alternate reality. One experiences the Spirit within, as conscience. One wonders is conscience God or social conditioning? Others have not experienced the Sprit in our lives, although some have tried hard. Some of us have thought things about God that make us afraid because, if there is a God, we have been conditioned to think bad things will happen to us if we think of God like that. Since nothing bad has happened yet, does that mean there is not a God?
We wonder if the adults in our meeting experience the Spirit in Worship since no one talks. We wonder how priests who have devoted lives to God can rape kids. If God and its teachings are so strong how can this happen? Some think the priests are ignoring their leadings and conscience, some wonder if they ever experience God.
We wonder how people find God when some of us have looked so hard and either have not found God or have rarely experienced God.
Why did God stop talking to people? We have not read or heard of God talking to people outside of the Bible prophets and the burning bush. Is it worth trying to find God if we are not as divine as Christ? Some of us wonder if it is all made up.
Preparation - One who lives in the Meeting House said it is hard to shift mentally from being at home to being at Meeting for worship. Another said it helped in preparation to be able to sleep longer and not be stressed by getting ready to leave. Some felt that the place made no difference in the worship experience. One tries a peal the onion preparation technique learned at Yearly Meeting - look at people’s faces, listen to what people say, listen to other noises, experience your own thoughts, just be there. When some try to think of nothing during worship, they get a headache and nothing happens.
None of us thinks of God as having a gender unless hermaphroditic is a gender.
God needs to be stronger and more recognizable. All of us think that God needs to give more messages through people and otherwise.
We think musical gifts are nurtured enough by Meeting at Christmas. We aren’t really sure what other spiritual gifts there are.
Calendar:
First Day:
Jan. 28 - Query 2 - Curtis
Feb. 4 - Environment/carbon-audit
Feb. 11 - Discipline revision – Carol
Feb. 18 - Meeting for Business
Feb. 25 - Discussion on building a Quaker
community
Other:
Jan. 27 - Bring the troops home protest – Lincoln,
At the state Capitol. Starts at 10 a.m.
March 3 - tentative potluck with Jan Luchini
March 4 - Jan Luchini, director of Scattergood
Friends School
April 14 & 15 - Midyear Meeting at Bear Creek
Meeting, near Earlham, Iowa
April 15 - Peace Expo at UNO
June 1 - Ananda's and Jeff's wedding
July 26-31- Yearly Meeting at Scattergood Friends School near West Branch, Iowa
Peace and Social Concerns Committee Report:
The committee will report on the rationale of supporting OTOC at a later time.
A reminder will be sent out the week before the environmental discussion to compile necessary information for that day.
The meeting approves participating in the Omaha Peace and Justice Expo by spending $30 for a six foot table at the Sunday April 15th 2007 event (which is the day that Midyear Meeting ends).
Treasurer's report:
The treasurer’s report was accepted.
Religious Education:
Curtis presented some videos that might be good for both youth and adults. These might be good for an intergenerational meeting some day.
The youth and adults met earlier this month for a discussion regarding the role of the youth in Meeting. The notes from that discussion are following. A further discussion about this input will be attended to early in February's Meeting for Business agenda.
On January 13, 2007 the second hour discussion topic was our youth, who are mostly teenagers, and how they can get more involved with adult-type Quakerism.
The adults and youth had previously had separate meetings, and both were present at this meeting.
When youth were asked whether they liked being on meeting committees, those who had participated in committee meetings (Religious Education) indicated that they did value their participation. The two on the Peace and Social Concerns committee (which hadn’t met with young members yet) showed some interest in trying it out.
Generally, the youth like to be invited to adult discussions and activities, but not forced to come. One youth indicated that being forced to do things doesn’t allow them to follow their own leadings.
Some teens were interested in getting together for fun at times other than Sunday mornings.
Another topic was how the youth should spend second hour. First hour includes worship with the adults and some kind of religious education with an adult, and is coordinated by the religious education committee. Usually, second hour is under the care of the religious education committee, though an adult is not necessarily present. For the past several months (maybe a year) a member of the ministry and oversight committee has helped the youth answer a query once a month during second hour.
· The youth said they want to be allowed to play video games. They said the adults should try them out before deciding against this. One adult who hadn’t tried video games indicated interest in seeing what they were all about. Other adults already were somewhat familiar with them and not convinced of their value. We discussed having one Sunday, or one Sunday a month, when video games would be allowed, with adults included. There was some discussion of how to include everyone in videogame playing, and whether more TVs would be needed, etc. We felt this should be brought to meeting for business, as it is controversial.
· The youth said they do not like answering the queries during second hour, but did think they might like making up their own queries and answering those. Again, this should be brought up in meeting for business.
· The youth would like to watch movies sometimes during second hour, and agreed that they could be movies with some (good) purpose, and that they could be approved by the religious education committee. This will be brought to meeting for business.
· They would like to design a Quaker uniform during second hour.
· They would like to try Beliefnet.org during second hour.
Building and Grounds:
The bed was moved.
Finance Committee Report:
We hope to hear about Michael O’Bradovich’s
recommendations next month.
Other:
Nebraska Friends Gathering:
Ginny will send Marge information on the Earlham School of Religion’s traveling speakers program.
Nothing has been heard from Lincoln Meeting regarding the Gathering.
Southeast Yearly Meeting minutes:
A letter from Southeast Yearly Meeting was read. The letter described that Yearly Meeting’s struggles over membership in Friends United Meeting (FUM) in light of FUM’s prohibition against employing staff and volunteers who engage in sexual intercourse outside of marriage, which is understood to be between one man and one woman. They asked that we hold them in the Light.