Dear Friends,

I hope you are doing well and are in a place of centeredness and balance.

This week (Sunday at 11:00) we will be having the second of the book group meetings on Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See. I am excited by this week’s readings of chapters 3-5.  In the book Rohr warns about “us and them” mentalities, how it is a distraction from truly being Present, and how it disintegrates into violent cultures and foundations of discontent.  That is a lot to think about as our president and the pope disagree on war, which holds its own kind of irony.  Maybe there is a bigger picture in which we seek a different kind of peace that keeps on getting better with time, as it matures, and includes everyone. If you need a book, there is still one on the entry table at the church. It’s a deep read.  But since Quakers are from a mystic heritage, it is good that we reflect on exactly what that means or how it holds hope for us.  Please find the questions at the end of this letter.

We have been working ecumenically and across lines of belief at the Interfaith Food Pantry.  There is a want to take this value of inclusion into other things in our town and area.  The food pantry is a beautiful place where people treat each other with respect and love regardless of why they are there: to get food, to volunteer, to hang out with other cool-headed folks. I am happily watching it grow and the people in it grow more inclusive with the day.  The leadership carries a beautiful attitude of compassion and humility that is talked about as signs of spirituality in Richard Rohr’s book. We have a few other things in town that are open to all and inclusive of everyone.  If you want to participate in the Interfaith Food Pantry, please contact Alicia Pinkerton. 

We are also having an open Candlelight Vigil on May 30^th at 6:00 – 6:30 as we spend the first 15 minutes in silence and the second fifteen minutes singing resistance songs that have been passed down to us from the people of Minneapolis during the height of the ICE raids.  There is much to be in prayer for in our lives, our society and our world, but we will not tell you what to pray for or why you “should” pray.  We will give you a candle to light and hold as others around you do the same.  This is a repeat of the vigil we had on March 21 which was a success in producing an atmosphere of peace and inclusion for all involved.

We (a group of ecumenical congregations) are also in the beginning stages of planning a PRIDE event for June 13^th.  The place has not been established yet, but it is a coming together of a handful of progressive worship centers and fellowship centers to host a social in honor of PRIDE.  It will be from 6-8, so please go ahead and mark your calendars.  It is only in the beginning stages of being planned as I mentioned, so right now we are playing with ideas for fellowship such as playing games, cooking out, and dancing.

Please find the following below: questions for the Rohr book group this week (there will be a much smaller list of these questions discussed on Sunday), the April Newsletter for the Interfaith Food Pantry written by Linda Warner, and a flier for the May 30^th candlelight vigil.  We hope you get involved in all three.

It will be good to see you on Sunday, but if not, a shout out to all our nurturing people — Happy Mother’s Day.

Blessings,

Leigh

Questions for Chapters 3-5 for the book The Naked Now

Are you sensate (dealing with what you can see feel and touch), finding satisfaction in understanding the world, or find yourself reaching beyond feeling and understanding to dwell in awe (pg 27)?

Have you ever had a moment when your heart space, mind space, and body awareness are all open and nonresistant (p 28)?

What does it mean that we live in a world where God created things that keep creating themselves (p 32)?

Have you felt yourself able to stand back and reserve judgment seeing both your opinions and those of others without clinging to one side (p 32)?

How can we stay in the anxiety long enough to understand without making a decision or collapsing into heart knowing or mental knowing?

How can you see beyond religious claims you have been taught to experience reality for yourself (p 36-37)?

How can you see beyond true or false, insiders and outsiders to reach harmony (p 39)?

How can we reach beyond private salvation to address “social sin and institutional evil” (p 41-42)?

How can we see beyond good and bad consequences, winning and losing to reach true wisdom (p. 43-44)?

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Interfaith Food Pantry Newsletter

We more than doubled our clientele from the April 22nd pantry to April 29th! Here are the numbers:

April 22: 34 households, 63 adults, 21 children, total people 84

April 29: 67 households, 137 adults, 47 children, total people 184

April Totals: 101 households, 200 adults, 68 children, total people 268.

Could it be that Federal-level budget cuts and layoffs are already affecting our most vulnerable? I think we all know the answer.

Our food stock is almost completely deleted, but Food Bank Director Lori Garrard assures us that we are in pretty good shape–for the time being. Nevertheless, we need to prepare for some serious shortages should the negative effects of the tariffs become a reality. Cash donations are most helpful because we can supplement what the Food Bank gives us whether it be canned fruit or soup or toiletries and hygiene items. This month we received $801 in cash donations from Klamath Lutheran and the UU Fellowship, which enabled us to purchase 234 pounds of additional food–bread, peanut butter, and canned goods.

After last night, “Dan’s Store” shelves are nearly empty. Donations of toiletries like bar soap (which goes farther than bath gel and can be used for shampoo as well), deodorant, toothpaste/toothbrushes, and TP are very much needed. 

We continue to be blessed by so many hard-working generous volunteers. We had 57 volunteers put in 150 hours in April. If you know of anyone who would like to join us, please have them contact me. There is a bit of training and paperwork involved to get started. (Linda Warner, 541-281-5535)

This is such good and important work and so satisfying!

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Announcements

• May 10 – 10:00 – Mother’s Day Celebration
• May 10 –11:00  Book Group – Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now, Chapters 3-5
• May 10 – 2:00 Singing Resistance
• May 11 –5:30  Ministry and Care
• May 13 -5:30 – Music Committee
• May 15 – 5:30 Poster Making Party – supplies will be furnished or you can bring your own.  We will have light refreshments and a good time making our signs for the NAMI Walk
• May 16 – 10:30  Meet at the courthouse in town for the NAMI walk.  There are sign-up sheets and more information in the church office. It is also an opportunity to wear our Klamath Falls Friends T-shirts if you have one. They are available through several venues.  If you purchase a T-shirt, there is a logo for the front and the back of the shirt already set up at Trekkers in town.
• May 17 – 9:00 Peace and Social Concerns
• May 18 – Meeting of the Admin Committee
• May 30 – 6:00 – 6:30 Candlelight Vigil and singing resistance songs
• June 7 – 11:00 Singing after church of three or four songs that we know well for future singing during worship in the future
• June 12 – 6:00 PM – Jay graduates
• June 13 – Pride celebration. Place to be announced. This is a joint effort of Klamath Lutheran, Klamath Friends Church and Klamath Falls Universal Unitarian Fellowship.  Plans are for there to be music and have a cookout with refreshments.