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Church activities this week

Saturday, December 12, 3:00 pm, Outreach & Christian Ed Committees 

Monday, December 14, 9:30 am, Transition Team Meets

Monday, December 14, 12:00 pm, Prayer with Sue

Tuesday, December 15, 7:00 pm, Christmas Carol Rehearsal

Wednesday, December 16, 6:30 pm, Bell Choir 

Thursday, December 17, 8:30 am, Prayer with Kim

Saturday, December 19, 5:00 pm, Caroling

Sunday, December 20^th is Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Update on Our Building and Friends University

We will be having an information session with Dr. Amy Carey, President of Friends University, on Sunday, December 13, at 1:00 p.m.   This meeting will be on Zoom from the President’s Dining Room, in the southeast corner of the Casado Campus Center on the Friends University Campus.   

That room is set up to minimize technical difficulties using Zoom.  It also has space for 10-12 people to meet in-person.  Please plan to attend by Zoom if at all possible.   The meeting will be recorded.     

To be clear, this is an information session.  It will be a time to hear what Dr. Carey has to say and to ask questions for clarification. We will have later opportunities to give input and discuss pros and cons.     

Topic: Friends University Information Session 

Time: Dec 13, 2020 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/93773368064?pwd=azJYMEJ5UVNpdmRTUzFtYXBGWHVTUT09

Meeting ID: 937 7336 8064

Passcode: 911568

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Family Promise host week starts Dec 13^th! 

As expected, we will be having the families shelter in place at the Day House during our host week, December 13. This means we will be providing meals at night and Crossroads will kindly be supplying lunches and breakfast. This time we will be using Meal Train to sign up for dinners. Please sign up (or donate money toward a meal or gift card).

The Meal Train is in the University Friends Family Promise group/page.    

Thank you all for your prayers and support! It’s been a tough year but I appreciate your continued dedication.

For the families, 

Erin DeGroot

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Make Plans to attend these important Meetings

Dear University Friends, 

          As you know, on Sunday, December 13 at 1:00 pm, we will be having a Zoom meeting to learn about potential sharing of our building with Friends University.  This will be a meeting where we hear how they visualize this shared use and what their plans for the future might look like.  We will not be trying to come to a decision on this possibility at our Sunday meeting, just trying to understand what the University is envisioning.  

          We also have need for a regular Meeting for worship with attention to business in the month of December.  It will be on Sunday, December 27 at the rise of worship, on Zoom.  Watch for Zoom links for both meetings.  

Sincerely,

Doug Chambers

Clerk

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Everence to hold Social Security and retirement income planning webinar

Everence will host a Social Security and retirement income planning webinar, on Monday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about Social Security strategies, risks that can impact retirement savings and strategies to help income last throughout retirement. This online workshop is free. Register soon by contacting our office at 316-283-3800, 877-467-7294 or central.kansas@everence.com .

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Unprogrammed Gathering for Worship 

on Advent Wednesdays via ZOOM

Gatherings for Worship After the Manner of Friends

Facilitators:  Randy and Carol Mullikin

You are invited to attend an unprogrammed gathering on Wednesday, December 16 at 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. 

6:30 pm – Gather on Zoom and prepare quietly for worship

6:45 pm – A short reading or prayer for beginning (after this time the “Admit” feature will not be monitored so that all may worship)

7:20 pm – Close of Worship and Fellowship

You can find Zoom invitations through University Friends, Heartland Friends, Facebook or email us and we will send it to you directly: carolmullikin@cox.net  or rmullikin@cox.net. 

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Calling all singers!…..and un-singers!  

Who:  Actually, calling anyone who enjoys singing, being out in the cold, and spreading joy!  

What:  Caroling!

When:  Saturday, Dec. 19.  We’ll meet at 5:00 p.m. 

Where:  Well, we really don’t know yet but we’ll let you know as soon as we have a plan.

Why:  We want to spread some holiday joy to those in our family who are unable to venture out on their own.  (We know, that really means all of us in 2020, but there are some that might be more stuck than the rest of us and would enjoy a pick-me-up home visit).

Stay tuned for updates on a starting location and address list!

If you are interested in joining the fun, please let Dawn Blue know by email (dawnblue72@yahoo.com) or test (316-305-0709) by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, December 18.  Thanks!

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“Christmas Carol” Coming to a Zoom Screen Near You! 

Zoom Radio Hour, under the guidance of Sue Wine, announces the presentation of a readers’ theater version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” featuring Vonda Schuster as Scrooge. Tune in via Zoom at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 20.    

Enjoy dinner theater?   This could be a do-it-yourself lunch theater – just get some lunch to have while you enjoy the performance from your very own home.  And wouldn’t a festive beverage be nice with that lunch?  RSVP by December 14 to receive a packet that will turn your mug of hot milk into hot chocolate (no-contact delivery, free of charge).  

Is “A Christmas Carol” a part of the holiday season that you simply don’t want to miss?  This might be just your cup of tea (or hot chocolate).  

Intrigued?  We’re hoping it could be more fun than Monthly Meeting.  Put the Zoom Radio Hour on your calendar for 11:30 a.m. on December 20, and we’ll send out a link later.  

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Book Club

The Book Club meets at 6:30 p.m., the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of each month.  If you would like to join via Zoom, please email Catherine at orcagriffith@yahoo.com and she will send you an invitation.  Everyone is welcome!  On Tuesday, December 22, the Book Club plans to discuss Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies:  Some Thoughts on Faith, (pages 117 through 168).

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Let’s Pray Together, Remotely 

Friends, 

Ministry & Counsel would like to welcome you to participate in regularly scheduled, remote prayer meetings set to begin this week.  May these times invigorate our faith and prayer life, and help us to connect with one another, the Meeting, and our mission.   

Volunteer hosts have appointed twenty to thirty minutes of their week toward prayer and meditation on the Meeting, its present concerns, and its future.  You are invited to join in prayer at the appointed time from wherever you find yourself at that moment.  If you would prefer a more connected sense during these appointed times of prayerful consideration, hosts will also provide Zoom links so that our communion might be more apparent, though still remote.  

You can find the scheduled prayer times in The Light This Week, on wichitaquakers.org and as events within the UFM Facebook group, and Zoommeeting links will be available there too.    

At present, opportunities are Mondays at noon with Sue Wine and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. with Kim Edgington-Keehn. 

If you are interested in hosting an appointed time of prayer, please contact Michael at TheMBarrett@gmail.com.

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Missions giving for December: Share the Season

• Share the Season (STS) is a special program providing help and hope to those in need in Sedgwick County during the holiday season.
• Families who do not qualify for other indigent programs apply for assistance and are screened carefully by the Salvation Army personnel to verify needs.
• Each family can receive one-time assistance for needs such as utilities, paying medical bills, etc.
• Payments are made directly to vendors, such as the bank or utility company.
• The Wichita Community Foundation handles all donations and issues receipts to all who contribute.
• STS works in the best possible way, directly reaching those in need and encouraging our community to be charitable.

          Thank you, from Andrea Suttle

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Listening Groups: Preparing for an All-Church Retreat 

The third Listening Groups Summary went out over email on December 9. The first two summaries are also available. If you would like a copy 

and did not receive one, please reply to this email and request one. 

In our time of transition, we are seeking to answer these questions: Who are we? Who are our neighbors? To what is God calling us?   

These Listening Group conversations are crucial as we consider questions related to the future of University Friends Meeting. Please keep them in your prayers. 

What would it mean for us to join God’s work in our community, in our time?

How can we be better stewards of our assets, in terms of people, facilities, and money?

What is God calling us to be and do?

Remember to pray earnestly and often for our church.

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IN SYMPATHY

Sadly, Steve Grether passed away December 6.  We are holding Pam, Melody, and others in the family in our prayers.

The Memorial service will be Wednesday, December 16, 2:00 p.m., at Baker Funeral Home, 6100 E Central Ave. 

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PRAYER REQUESTS AND CONCERNS

·         Don Mallonee had two stents put in Monday, December 7, and a planned valve replacement.  Surgery was postponed, and he is currently at home.  Linda reports that her recovery is going well, though slowly. 

·         Our church during this time of transition – May we find clarity and energy for the tasks at hand and the decisions we will need to make as we find our way forward.   May we find ways to use our assets wisely and well.  May we discover ways we are to be a beacon of love in our world. May we be looking for the doors God is opening, and may we have the courage to walk through them.

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ANNOUNCING AN AUTHOR AMONG US

Dolores Dick has one of her two novels that she has written recently published:  MILES TO DUNDEE  is the name of the novel, publication date, October 22, 2020, by Xlibris Press. 

Dolores has a new address as of 3 weeks ago.  Rainbow Care Homes, 1858 So. Greenway Blvd., Wichita, KS 67213. 

Rejoice with her, and in case you might wish to buy a copy, hardcopy copies are available from the publisher’s website or from Amazon.com and other places.  An e-book version will be available soon.