| Wednesday Feb 2 | 7:30 pm | Meeting for Healing |
| Sunday Feb 6 | 11:00 am | Last Meeting in the old Meetinghouse |
| Sunday Feb 13 | 11:15 am |
FirstDay Meeting (at
Hillel)
Business Meeting (At Betty Odum's) |
| Sunday Feb 20 | 11:15 am 12:45 2:00 |
FirstDay Meeting at Hillel Earthcare Witness at Books Inc, 505 NW 13th St. Ministry and Nurture (at Joan Andrews) |
| Friday Feb 25 | 6:00 pm | Quaker Study Group (at Buskirk's) |
| Sunday Feb 27 | 9:00 am 11:15 am 1:00 pm |
Peace and Social Concerns (at Porter's) FirstDay Meeting at Hillel Bible Study (at Don Smith's) |
| Saturday Mar 19 | 6:00 am | Irish dinner (At Betty Odum's) |
Here is a map. (Note: the correct address is 2020 W University Ave. The address is misstated in the link to get the mark in the right place.)
Locations of committee meetings are given in the schedule above. We will temporarily (and regretfully) lay down Forums, Potluck Sunday, and Meeting for Healing. First Day School will take place in the carpeted area outside the Worship room as well as outdoors in nice weather. The teachers will use lots of creativity to ensure the children a continued rich experience.
Quaker Market 2005 is gearing up it's 2005 building fundraising efforts. The committee is hoping that others will feel led to join the committee and/or volunteer to be a host or cook for the Ethnic/Regional Dinners.
Because we are in transition from one building to another, we are asking for host homes. If you feel you can accommodate in your home or yard 20-40 people for a monthly dinner, we would love to hear from you! We need Chefs who are willing to cook for the dinners (with volunteer assistants). Do you have a specialty you would like to prepare for us? We are also interested in any fundraising idea you may wish to bring forward for consideration. Please contact Patricia if you are able to help.
Our first monthly dinner will be on Saturday, March 19th at 6 PM at Betty Odum's home. Karen Porter will be cooking a traditional Irish Supper.
Sybil Brennan is currently working on another wonderful cookbook. The book will be a "Potluck" theme, and will be filled with Sybil's lovely illustrations. She is looking for potluck recipes. If you have a recipe to share, please talk with Sybil. She expects to have the cookbook for sale in the spring.
January 23, Sunday afternoon our meeting gathered with United Church of Gainesville in their social space for a festive and zestful evening. . We shared a bountiful Chile supper, Sufi dancing and fellowship. Our share of the proceeds ($265) was sent to American Friends Service Committee for Tsunami relief. - Sherrie Sims
We are happy to announce that Marilyn Muller and Phil Hall will be married under the care of the Meeting on April 9, 2005.
Please hold Morrie Trimmer in the LIGHT as he recuperates from a recent illness.
Sybil Brennan, Clerk Library Committee
A good spirit prevailed throughout the year among meeting members and regular attenders. Our worship, as we wrote last year, seemed "deep and filled with a calming silence." We continued the practice of allowing a few minutes after every meeting for worship for "unspoken messages."
A main concern was the transition from our current meetinghouse to our soon-to-be-built one. We signed a binding contract of sale for the old building on June 13 and then closed the deal on December 31. A highlight of the year was a series of dinners to raise funds for the new meeting house, featuring, respectively, Appalachian, Latino, Indonesian, and New England cuisine. An "All-American celebration" was cancelled by a hurricane! Two other fundraising events were a yard sale for students returning to campus and a "Quaker market" featuring a silent auction. Of course we continued to sell beans. (And we will be bringing some to yearly meeting!) We had social events with several other religious groups. At the Peace-Teaching Camp near Waldo, for instance, we had fellowship with Friends from Jacksonville and Ocala. In May we joined the Ocala Friends for a potluck at Larry and Ellie Clayton's-and several folks went swimming in their pool. We also went to the Mennonite Church for a potluck in September. The Peace & Social Concerns Committee helped get out the vote in November. It took many steps to promote just political policies, especially to end the U.S. war in Iraq. Kathie Guthrie, Friends Committee on National Legislation lobbyist, made a presentation to the meeting in May. Don Smith attended the FCNL annual meeting in Washington in November. After several people attended a workshop on how to counsel people over the GI Hotline, there was a request that some of these counselors be recorded as ministers. A clearness committee developed queries and a procedure for doing this. The meeting subsequently recorded Dick Beardsley as a minister for the purpose of counseling members of the armed forces in matters of conscience.
The Bible Seminar studied the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the 3rd Letter of John, and four of the Old Testament's Minor Prophets, while the Quaker Study Group chose to read and discuss many Michener and Walton Lectures. The monthly forum covered a variety of topics, including Karen and Jim Porter's trip to China. A re-formed Quaker Earthcare Witness began to meet for discussion on the third First Day. The Ministry and Nurture Committee sponsored an Inquirers' Group that was well attended at the end of October. M & N also started an outreach project to host brunches for Quaker-college graduates living in the Gainesville area. Meeting for Healing continued to be held twice a month. Two of our dear members, Reuben Keppel and Judy Shea, died this year, to our great loss. A different sort of loss was the departure of the Timmers family for a new life in Ft. Worth. On the joyful side, we welcomed Patricia Ulrey into membership, celebrated the union of Jen Ambrose and Bryan Cotter in marriage, and were blessed with two new babies, Alexander Fetko, grandson of Laura and Jim Winefordner, and Christian Grace, foster child of Jim and Karen Porter. The year culminated in a wonderful Christmas party at the home of Annie McPherson and David Cook.
Submitted by Don Smith, Clerk