"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope." — Maya Angelou
Thinking Religiously Together
First gathering Wednesday, April 12, 7:00 pm, Zoom
MnMN is excited to announce a new "convening" or gathering of people interested in exploring religious traditions together. This convening titled "Thinking Religiously Together" will provide an opportunity for participants to consider different topics that touch on our religious understanding.
Each month we will invite a new guest to present on a topic of interest. This person could be a religious leader, scholar or faith practitioner. We are hoping for lively and personal discussion based on shared learning. As always, we hope that this convening leads to further both education and new connections with others in our greater community.
We were delighted to have a conversation with Dr. John Merkle and Dr. Hans Gustafson about the compelling work they do at each of the Jay Phillips Centers. The activities of the two centers show that there are opportunities for interfaith dialogue throughout the state, whether you are in the Twin Cities or Greater Minnesota. Their work also shows that interfaith connections are not only necessary, they can be joyful and transcendent.
Dr. Merkle said, “Many people feel that interfaith dialogue can water down or attenuate their faith. This is not my experience at all. My experience for so many years now is that students feel spiritually enriched through interfaith dialogue. They can find there is a way to be faithful to their own tradition while acknowledging the goodness, truth, and beauty in other traditions. Hans and I have been working to try to help others find that. There are so many people who are pushing back against the interfaith movement. I think it’s wrongheaded because I think that young people in particular, and people of any age, can find a new lease on their life of faith through interfaith engagement.”
“When students and nonstudents get into interfaith dialogue, they find there’s nothing to be afraid of. What happens most of the time is that people grow in their own worldview, rather than watering it down. They realize there is a space for them. Even if they’re non-religious or have a secular way of life, there’s room for them to join the conversation. Sometimes that is a misconception that there are borders around who can and cannot participate. I want people to know that truly all voices are welcome and we’re stronger together when we have all voices at the table. Great minds don’t need to think alike,” said Dr. Gustafson.
To get connected with the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas, visit their website, join their mailing list, and find them on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
To get connected with the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University, visit their website or send an email to JPC@CSBSJU.EDU and ask to be added to their mailing list.
Taking Heart Iftars
Multiple dates during Ramadan. In 2023 Ramadan falls between March 22 and April 21 Locations throughout the state. Additional sites will be added to the registration list as the information becomes available
Ramadan Mubarak! As we find ourselves in this holy month of Ramadan, MnMN would like to encourage you all to consider attending a "Taking Heart Iftar" dinner. An iftar dinner is the meal taken by Muslims at sundown to break the daily fast during Ramadan. Through the work of the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Minnesota Council of Churches, mosques (or masjids) across the state are opening their doors to share in breaking their fasts with their neighbors. This beautiful act of hospitality is a wonderful time to learn more about Islam and to get to know your Muslim neighbors.
What are the politics of nature? Who owns it, where is it, and what role does it play in our lives? Does it need to be tamed? Are we ourselves natural? Erin Sharkey and Michael Kleber-Diggs will discuss, A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars, a collection of personal and lyric essays in conversation with archival objects of Black history and memory. The collection explores stories spanning hundreds of years and thousands of miles, traveling from roots to space--finding rich Blackness everywhere. Together we will consider the significance of nature in our lives and on the role of nature in the lives of Black folks.
Augsburg's Environmental Action Committee, Pan-Afrikan Student Services, and MFA Department, along with our friends at the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS), invite the Augsburg community and partners to an evening of exploration into the intersections between People and Planet: Intersectional Environmentalism.
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light staff and volunteers have been leveraging the groundswell from the Rise + Repair Rally on February 15 toward truly groundbreaking legislation.
Hear exciting updates from MNIPL’s Strategic Policy Director Sara Wolff and Legislative Affairs Organizer Juventino Meza and how you can support these climate justice and Indigenous rights efforts.
We will give particular attention to the MN Climate Innovation Finance Authority legislation, which has the potential to leverage $500 billion in state and federal funding for Minnesotans across the state, particularly those most affected by the climate crisis.
Minnesota Hindu Milan Mandir, 501 Walnut Street, Farmington, MN 55024
Free and open to the public! You are cordially invited to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti with the Milan Mandir Bhaktas. Chanting of Hanuman bhajans begins at 10 am. Hanuman Puja and Homa at 10:30am. Chanting Hanuman Chaleesa begins at 11:30 am. You are invited to participate in all festivities. Join in chanting Hanuman Chaleesa 27X.
EcoFaith Summit 2023
Saturday, April 15, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Duluth or online
In a moment of deep ecological crisis, this year’s EcoFaith Summit calls us to become part of the Holy Spirit’s subversive plot to pollinate an alternative way of being human for the sake of life. In this plot, we find our model and hope from pollinator species. These tiny, apparently powerless, often overlooked and disregarded creatures, whose drastic decline endangers so much we depend upon, are a key to the regeneration of life itself.
In this great plot, faith communities of every size and place can be demonstration plots, pollinating alternative ways of living. We all steward plots of land, even tiny ones, which can become pollinator habitat. In this critical and decisive time, a ‘Kairos’ moment, what we do with our specific plots wherever we are, matters. How we live the Gospel paradox that God’s power is shown in weakness can engage us in active hope amid the growing crisis we face.
Through worship, keynote presentation, diverse storytellers, conversations, and engagement sessions, together we will be empowered to be participants in this unfolding plot.
The rise of white supremacist movements has led to a growing swell of antisemitism and Islamophobia. It has also resulted in anger against far-right Christian extremists that has fueled hostility to religion in general. Join this distinguished multifaith panel for a discussion about the problem of anti-religious bigotry and how interfaith cooperation can serve as a bulwark against bias.
The speakers are all affiliated with the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, a US-based, interreligious coalition to end anti-Muslim bigotry. The annual John Paul II lecture is hosted by the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at The Jewish Theological Seminary with the JP2 Center for Interreligious Dialogue, in cooperation with the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and help from the Russel Berrie Foundation.
Multifaith Leadership Workshop Saturday, May 6, 8:15 am - 3:30 pm Iverson Center for Faith, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul (map)
“If we truly see ourselves as interconnected, we must endeavor for others as we endeavor for ourselves,” writes Executive Director of Aspen Institute's Religion & Society Program Simran Jeet Singh. If "endeavor for ourselves" and for greater self-discovery is inherently wrapped up in "endeavor for others" and for greater interpersonal engagement, then, as Pope Francis proclaims, “our great challenge is to create a culture of encounter which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experience; to break down walls and to build bridges.” Cultivating a culture of encounter, grounded in curiosity and wonder, strives for a world in which “we can also speak with those who think differently, as well as those who hold other beliefs, who do not have the same faith.” Advancing common public goods in such a world embraces the reality that great minds do not – and need not – always think alike but requires them to think alongside one another in order to address the urgent matters of our day.
Join us for this daylong workshop at the University of St. Thomas, free and open to all, to explore what it means to create a culture of curiosity, wonder, and encounter. Learn from practitioners, scholars, and leaders about developing skills to engage religious diversity, cultivate curiosity through storytelling, listen with empathetic understanding, navigate difficult conversations, participate in religious and nonreligious spiritual practices, and to develop greater self-awareness for leadership in religiously diverse societies.
Free and open to the public. Registration Required. Lunch included. Ages 16+. Open to all religious, nonreligious, and spiritual identities, worldviews, and ways of life. Join us for good food, rich conversation, and deep engagement.
Note: Simran Jeet Singh Ph.D. will give the keynote address at 11:00 am. Participants who attend the keynote do not need to attend the daylong workshop, but are welcome to. Sign up to receive an email reminder for the keynote.
All in the Circle 2023: Council of Willow Pond
July 24 - 28, 10 - 3 pm daily Kenwood Park and St Paul’s Church on Lake of the Isles, 1917 Logan Ave S. Minneapolis, MN 55403
For children ages 4-9. $300 for the week; scholarships available!
All in the Circle arts and nature camp is designed to give children the opportunity to fall in love with Earth and be co-creators of a culture of kindness. Informed by the wisdom, teachings, and experience of educators, spiritual leaders, and developmental psychologists, campers spend their days exploring, singing, doing art, playing games, learning, and gaining skills and "know-how" to live peacefully with each other and the natural world.
Minneapolis to Make History Allowing Public Broadcasting of the Adhan, or the Muslim Call to Prayer
Watch Jaylani Hussein, Executive Director of CAIR-MN and Wali Dirie, Executive Director of Islamic Civic Society of America discuss the news on Facebook Live.
March FoodShare Campaign Addresses Growing Hunger in our Community
As our Department of Indian Work (DIW) food shelf faces this growing demand, the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign is especially important. This grassroots food and fund drive brings together organizations, businesses, faith communities, and individuals to help stock and support the capacity of nearly 300 food shelves, including our DIW food shelf.
"Our DIW families are struggling to feed their families, and demand continues to grow with our elders," says Kelly Miller, director of DIW. "Our community's support through the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign can make an enormous difference in helping us keep the shelves stocked with healthy, culturally focused foods."
Dr. Najeeba Sayeed Inaugural Interfaith Spring Symposium
From Dr. Sayeed, "On March 2nd, I offered the keynote lecture for our Interfaith Symposium [pictured right]. We had a large crowd who joined us from across the region. Community leaders, alumni, faculty, and staff filled the chapel for this wonderful event. We are excited to make this event an annual symposium for our region, showcasing cutting-edge scholars and practitioners who are internationally recognized."
If you missed the symposium, you can stream a recording of the event. Password: IFsymposium23
More Events
Echoes of the Divine: A Dialogue Between Jewish and Christian Musical Traditions
Join Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute for LUNAFEST 2023, a night of inspiring films created by women and gender non-conforming directors, April 26, 7:00 pm
Twice every month, Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul joins forces with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, the Twin Cities Cardozo Society, and Progressive Baptist Church to provide a legal clinic free-of-charge for community members, 12:30 – 3:00 pm every other Thursday. Upcoming dates: April 6 & 20; May 4 & 18; June 1 & 15; July 6 & 20
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