Minnesota Council of Churches

We reached our ticket limit fast for this event but have increased our max! Join MCC Truth and Reparations and Rev. Dr. Iva E. Carruthers of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference for American Democracy at the Crossroads on October 10.

American Democracy at the Crossroads Learn about American democracy and what role you can play in a pluralistic future at this Minnesota Council of Churches Truth and Reparations truth-telling event.

We are proud to announce that Director of Strategic Relationships Rev. Jerad Morey has been named an Obama Foundation USA Leader!

MCC director named as Obama Foundation USA Leader FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 19, 2024 Contact: Jerad Morey, Director of Strategic Relationships; [email protected] or (612) 230-3211 Rev. Jerad Morey of the Minnesota Council of Churches Announced as 2024-2025 Obama Foundation Leader MINNEAPOLIS — Today, Rev. Jerad Morey announced that he ...

RSVP now to attend the service of installation for our new CEO, Elder Suzanne Kelly, on October 22

CEO Installation Service: October 22, 2024 Join us for Elder Suzanne Kelly's installation as MCC CEO on October 22, 2024, 6:00pm at Shiloh Temple in Minneapolis

Learn about American Democracy at the Crossroads, an MCC Truth and Reparations Truth-telling event featuring the General Secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference and McCormick Theological Seminary faculty Rev. Dr. Iva E. Carruthers.

American Democracy at the Crossroads Learn about American democracy and what role you can play in a pluralistic future at this Minnesota Council of Churches Truth and Reparations truth-telling event.

Calling all property owners, property managers, and landlords: there are many benefits of renting market-rate housing to refugee tenants. Learn more at this October 7 online webinar!

Calling all property owners, property managers and landlords: safe inexpensive housing is a key need for refugee resettlement and there are many benefits of having refugee tenants.
Join MCC and other refugee resettlement agencies for a virtual forum on renting market rate to refugees to learn about the good you can do. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1_VraKBhMK9jEz8O6tSZWj2lCk41LW93uY0fsTK7cx2MD4A/viewform

Join us for Rev. Dr. Iva Carruthers' "American Democracy at the Crossroads" -

Join us for Rev. Dr. Iva Carruthers' "American Democracy at the Crossroads"

American Democracy at the Crossroads | You're invited! -

Minnesota Council of Churches' bi-weekly newsletter Active faith community members in Minnesota receive news about Minnesota Council of Churches' programs and related cross-sector events, resources, grants, workshops and jobs that help to build the common good.

Pastor Bolles reflects on her Healing Minnesota Stories Dakota Sacred Sites Tour, saying that only by taking responsibility for one's own story and one's group's stories can one to move to God's story. To do less is 'spiritual bypassing.'

Shmita (Shemitah) pronounced Sh-me-taw In the Hebrew tradition there is the concept of the sabbatical year called Shmita, where every seven years, they would give the land a rest. The denomination that I belong

Historic Minnesota church works to gather the community // “So much of the other stuff in this community is gone — the historic Good Fellowship Hall, the high school,” she said. “There were several kinds of community gathering points in Morgan Park, and this church, especially if it’s made more accessible, could play a major role in being a community gathering place.”

Morgan Park church wins place on national registry; highlights historic Duluth properties tour - Perfect Duluth Day A monumental concrete block church constructed by idle steelworkers in early 19th-century Morgan Park earned national recognition last month and will be a stop on a historic building tour this weekend in Duluth. The United Protestant Church, 830 88th Ave. W., will be one of seven buildings and priva...

Our mission is to manifest unity in the body of Christ. Disunity is never more apparent than during election season. Through projects like Respectful Conversations and partnerships like 31 Days of Unity we testify to love in the midst of division.

MCC Board committee member Dr. Billy Charvez Russell reflects on faith communities and Tim Walz for Sojourners magazine. // How Tim Walz Worked With Faith and Justice Organizers in Minnesota

How Tim Walz Worked With Faith and Justice Organizers in Minnesota Those who worked with Walz say their relationship began well before the murder of George Floyd in 2020, describing the Minnesota governor’s faith outreach as “authentic and genuine.”

Minnesota churches raise disciples who work to enact their vision of a better world // Ferguson activist raised in the Black Church showed pastors how to aid young protesters

Ferguson activist raised in the Black Church showed pastors how to aid young protesters As twilight descended on Ferguson, Missouri, for a third consecutive night after the killing of Michael Brown Jr. by a police officer, Gwendolyn DeLoach Packnett could no longer hold her peace.

Thank you, Dr. Shah, for naming that in Minnesota immigration strengthens the body of Christ // In Minnesota, for instance, the Minnesota Council of Churches has resettled Karen refugees from Myanmar, many of whom have revitalized their congregations.

When America welcomes refugees to its shores, we all win The United States has long been a beacon for those fleeing war, persecution and violence. We must keep this legacy alive.

We are proud to help St. Olaf tell an "honest story" about their founding! // "they spent an afternoon on a powerful Dakota Sacred Sites Tour led by Sherman-Conroy and Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs that provided insight into Dakota history and culture, as well as the oppression, genocide, and exile they faced."

403 Forbidden

“Malaba trails off and he leans in closer and pauses. ‘Now come to my world,’ he says, his voice soft.” And so begins Malaba’s memories of his harrowing journey from Zimbabwe to Minnesota.

This Much I Can Tell You: Stories of Courage and Hope from Refugees in Minnesota is a collection of essays edited by the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services. These first-person accounts in the voices of eighteen refugees and asylees from nine different countries offers insightful glimpses into the refugee experience. Their own experiences -- witnessing death of family members, suffering torture, struggling in refugee camps -- told by these journalists, pastors, farmers, accountants, healthcare workers, and others led me to a deeper understanding of my immigrant students, the pain they suffered, the dangers they survived, and all they endured to realize their dreams of freedom in Minnesota.

With this understanding I can no longer read news stories about refugees without seeing the faces of real people I know. The headlines don't give us the complete story of daily strife, frustrations, and setbacks; quick bits of “news” don't give us the complete story of human resilience against impossible odds; the political issues don't tell the complete story of red tape and power struggles that keep suffering but hopeful people waiting for rescue and resolution.

This book led my students into telling me their stories and all those stories and the faces of those who told them, live in my memory forever.
~ Reviewed by Shirley Durr

The opportunity to develop a conference on Reparations in Action in your own community resonates across denominations. Thanks for promoting satellite sites, MN UCC! // Message from the Transitional Conference Minister, fall events, and more

Message from the Transitional Conference Minister, fall events, and more News from the Minnesota Conference UCC Volume 21, No. 30 | September 4, 2024  View as Webpage COMMAntary Equipping a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love From the Transitional Conf

Minnesota Church land can help house people // Lakeville considers rezoning church land to add in twin homes

Lakeville considers rezoning church land to add in twin homes - Finance & Commerce The Lakeville Planning Commission will consider rezoning a church property at its Thursday meeting to allow building a 24-unit twin home project in the northeastern part of the city.

Hurray for good news for MCC member Dakota Presbytery // A historic visit to Flandreau from national leaders of the Presbyterian Church has local officials hopeful about the future of their ministry at First Presbyterian and the broader Dakota Presbytery.

Churches in Indian Country receive renewed support - Moody County Enterprise A historic visit to Flandreau from national leaders of the Presbyterian Church has local officials hopeful about the future of their ministry at First Presbyterian Church and the broader Dakota Presbytery.

Save two dates | So much news! | Donate bath stuff -

Minnesota Council of Churches' bi-weekly newsletter Active faith community members in Minnesota receive news about Minnesota Council of Churches' programs and related cross-sector events, resources, grants, workshops and jobs that help to build the common good.

Congratulations on your ministry anniversary! // The congregation is celebrating the 140th anniversary of the church’s founding.

140 years of faith at St. Peter’s BALATON — This is a milestone year for St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Balaton. The congregation is celebrating the 140th anniversary of the church’s founding. And this weekend, both present and past church members will be gathering to celebrate more than 100 years as a community. ....

Building community has always been part of who we are, at MCC is glad to be mentioned as original funders of the housing community that has become Little Earth of United Tribes.”

More than frybread: The fight to reclaim identity in Minneapolis' Native American community Over 100 miles from the nearest reservation, centuries of oppression have manifested in the Native communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul, leading to high levels of addiction and violence. Now, decades later, they are still fighting to restore their cultural heritage and reclaim their past.

The anxious, divisive 31 days before the election will be a challenge to Christian unity. When we are buffeted by partisan messaging, how can we remember to love our political opponents? Gird your soul with a daily devotional focused not on our divisions but on our commonalities. https://buff.ly/4cRrGzs

Op-ed sees hope in Respectful Conversations held in a couple churches this week: "I’d like that joy to spread. And that old feeling of community. Maybe it can get a leg up in a church in Cloquet on a Wednesday night in late August. Have the conversation."

Knot Pining: Talk beats perceptions I’m jazzed about an event coming to a Cloquet church this month. It’s just what we need in these fractured political times. Our Savior’s Lutheran Church will be the venue for a “Respectful Conversation” about this political season, sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Churches, at 6 p.m. ...

What did people walk away with from last night's Respectful Conversation about This Election at St. Barnabas in Plymouth?

"How quickly relative strangers can create the space to talk openly about things that matter."

"It is difficult but important to be a better listener."

"Comfort that others seek conversation as well. "

"The desire to do this again."

Good news! You can!

https://buff.ly/4cWXoMQ

Thank you Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church for being not just hearers of the word, but committing to be doers also!

We're deeply grateful to Jim Bear Jacobs for sharing stories of our Dakota relatives on the Sacred Sites Tour. Now our job is to share these uncomfortable truths with others and work for justice and healing.
Minnesota Council of Churches

Vokal helped found the Tapestry Project with Jessica O’Brien, formerly of the Minnesota Council of Churches, and Julie Hawker, formerly of Lloyd Management. Housed within MCC’s Refugee Services office in Mankato, the project sought to grow social connectedness between diverse groups in Mankato.

Working on it was a highlight of Vokal’s career, she said. //

Mankato public safety director retires with pride in department

Mankato public safety director retires with pride in department Even in retirement, Amy Vokal knows she’ll worry about police and fire first responders whenever a siren blares.

Bartsh, who is a backer of Restorative Justice, said it helps take some pressure off the court system and help the victims. He was at one of the churches when the four came, he said. They looked the congregation in the eye and said they made a mistake. // A time to cry, a time to heal

A time to cry, a time to heal Juveniles apologize, tell why they vandalized churches

Lead facilitator Joan Haan summarized what attendees wrote in exit surveys.

“There’s an urgency and with regard to this election, and it’s stressful to talk about it, but the respectful conversations process gave them a framework to voice the stress,” she said. Others said, “We can have meaningful conversations even when we disagree,” and “We need more people to participate in this kind of experience.”

How the Minnesota Council of Churches is bridging divides this election year A new election series, Respectful Conversations, is helping communities better love their neighbor amid increasing political partisanship.

"[State Fair] dining halls were both a great way for Minnesota churches to raise money for everything from a new steeple to mission trips abroad, as well as a welcome source of healthy home cooking for rural families far from home."

How the State Fair’s last two church dining halls find ways to survive and thrive In 1903, there were 89 such dining halls, which were seen as more wholesome than hot dog stands. (Less fried stuff on a stick then.)

“This Much I Can Tell You,” our book of refugee stories, is being studied by students across the globe! Find it Malawi in the library. Bless your studies, Mzuzans. We hope the book helps you to fulfill the motto, ‘Serving the Malawi We Want.’

Details for: This much i can tell you: › Mzuzu University Library and Learning Resources Centre catalog