“The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
MnMN is Hiring a Communications Specialist!
The Minnesota Multifaith Network (MnMN) is seeking a communications specialist on a contract basis to manage and implement communications tasks on behalf of MnMN. We are looking for a commitment of 100 work hours per month. Compensation negotiable depending on qualifications. Please share with your networks!
Join Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light this January!
Tu B'Shvat Dinner at Shir Tikvah
Wednesday, January 24, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Shir Tikvah, Minneapolis or Zoom
Hosted by Shir Tikvah, Moishe Pod Twin Cities - Kingfield, and MNIPL, Tu B’shvat invites us into exploration, into the play of taste and feel, and into the songs of the earth and the trees and the seasons. What gentleness do you need in this moment? What pleasure might you claim? How, in reminding ourselves of our connection to the earth and to all living things, might we return to our connection to one another? No need to RSVP — just show up!
Sunday, January 28, 4:30 - 5:30 pm, Edina Community Lutheran Church, 4113 W 54th St, Minneapolis, 55424
Voices for Climate is a monthly in-person song circle led by Sarina Partridge, MNIPL’s Songleader and Organizer. No need to be a “singer;” all voices welcome, including kids! Sarina will lead simple songs that all can join, and help us experience the joy, hope, and community that is possible through music-making!
Join MNIPL for Rise & Repair's Pre-Session Policy Exchange
Wednesday, January 31, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Zoom
Rise & Repair is a diverse alliance bringing together Minnesotans from across the state to push for bold proposals during the 2024 Legislative Session to advance climate justice & Indigenous rights! This session will offer a deep-dive about key legislative priorities from partner organizations, and we'll share how to get involved when the Legislative Session begins next month.
MUUSJA's Supporting Abuse Survivors in Congregational Communities
February 1, 10:00 – 11:30 am, Zoom
Intimate partner violence and sexual abuse are issues that impact us all. We all have family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and congregation members who are survivors of abuse, and we may be survivors ourselves. But how many of us know someone who is a trauma-informed advocate for survivors? This 90 minute skill share is to help us all build up our toolbox for supporting survivors of abuse, so we can create a larger pool of skilled advocates ready to hold space for survivors and their families.
February 1, 15 & 29, 12:30 - 3:00 pm, Progressive Baptist Church, 1505 Burns Ave, St Paul (or you can call 651-222-5863 starting at 12:30 pm)
Interfaith Action's PowerUp program provides free legal assistance and practical educational opportunities and resources that help people build economic mobility. Our free legal clinic is available twice every month (on Thursday afternoons).
Unity Church-Unitarian's Planetary Health: Envisioning our Future with New and Ancient Eyes, Presented by Dr. Teddie Potter
Wednesday, February 7, 7:10 pm, Unity Church, 733 Portland Ave, St Paul, MN 55104, or Zoom
Dr. Potter is a leader in the international movement, Planetary Health, that offers a fresh way of seeing, based on old ways of knowing and Indigenous wisdom. Her goal is to leave us feeling hopeful and called to join the global planetary health community. Everyone everywhere has a role to play in achieving the Great Transition, the transformation to a world that optimizes the health and wellbeing of the planet and its inhabitants — of the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Wisdom Ways Center's Circle of Trust Retreat Series
February 9 -11 and/or April 26 - 28
This combination of retreats (participants can attend one or both) combine the principles and practices of Circles of Trust and the power of music to help us understand and live into our lives. Developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, The Circle of Trust® approach is distinguished by principles and practices intended to create a process of shared exploration where people can find safe space to nurture personal and professional integrity and the courage to act on it. In the hands of knowledgeable and skilled facilitators, this approach has the power to transform individuals, families, workplaces and communities.
Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole's Community Practice Cohort Roundtables
Tuesday, February 27 and March 26, 5:30 – 8:00 pm, Augsburg University
Join us to serve as a temporary trustee for our inaugural Community Practice Cohort. Trustees provide care, wisdom and perspectives, but not solutions to our cohort members. One cohort member will present during each of the Roundtables. The individuals will bring a challenge for the group to explore using the Seeing Things Whole Threefold Model to understand a “whole” way forward. Advice is not given, but questions are asked as the group supports the individual to discover the many dimensions of the challenge.
Augsburg University's Interfaith Spring Symposium: Building Trust in Divisive Times
Thursday, March 7, 10:30 am – 2:00 pm, Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center, Augsburg University
An annual invitation to build community, foster collaboration, and create a more caring world through learning about religious/spiritual/worldview diversity, participating in enriching dialogue, and networking with exceptional interfaith leaders. As the most ethnically diverse campus in the Midwest, Augsburg University embraces students with a variety of religious beliefs and worldviews. Join us for this opportunity to learn about building partnerships across differences and how to face the future with hope and determination.
Jay Phillips Center's Zen Buddhist Insights for Self-Awareness, Mental Health, and Wellness, Presented by Busshō Lahn
Tuesday, March 19, 12:00 - 1:10 pm, Iverson Center for Faith, Schoenecker Multipurpose Room C (LL16C) University of St. Thomas, St. Paul campus
The benefits of meditative practices have been intuited for millennia, but now science has clearly observed the connection between mental wellness and curious self-awareness. The practice of mindfulness is now mainstream, and we're beginning to ask deeper questions about what it really is, and about what it might be able to show us: What is the relationship between our mental health and our spirituality? What do words like compassion and wisdom mean for me in this age of anxiety? How are qualities like resiliency, courage, clarity, and kindness made available to us? In this program, Busshō Lahn draws upon insights from the Zen Buddhist tradition to address possible approaches to these questions based on his new book, Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law(2022).
Saint Peter Good Neighbor Diversity Council's Festival of Nations
Saturday, May 18, 1:00 - 7:00 pm, 400 Union St, St Peter, MN 56082
Save the date for the 2nd Annual St. Peter Festival of Nations! Brought to you by the Saint Peter Good Neighbor Diversity Council and community partners. Johnson Hall and Nicollet County Fairgrounds for both indoor and outdoor festivities. All are welcome, always. Stay tuned for all the details, performances, foods, arts, music, vendors, international fair, and more!
Friends for a NonViolent World is offering a Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) In-Person Basic Workshop. January 26-28, Twin Cities. In the context of a supportive community, you'll discover your power to build safer communities and transform conflict and frustration in your life. AVP workshops are fast paced, experiential, and life changing!
How to Lead When the News Erupts (ReligionsGeek): We're into the fourth month of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Since the events of October 7, many organizations and leaders have felt uncertain in how to respond. In today's blog, we share some research on what approaches worked best, what you should be doing now, and how to prepare for the inevitable "next time" that your staff needs support through such a crisis.
Americans are far more likely to say they have become more spiritual over time than to say they have become more religious, according to a new analysis of a 2023 Pew Research Center survey.
Some 41% of U.S. adults say they have grown more spiritual over the course of their lifetime, compared with 24% who say they have become more religious. In contrast, 13% of U.S. adults say they have become less spiritual over time, while 33% say they have become less religious. The rest say their spirituality and level of religiosity have either stayed the same or fluctuated over time. We asked respondents how their spirituality and religiosity have changed as part of a wider U.S. study about spirituality published in December.
Resources & Opportunities
UW-Madison's Center for Interfaith Dialogue is hiring a full-time Program Coordinator! The Program Coordinator position will assist with developing, organizing, and administering the newly founded Center for Interfaith Dialogue as well as its undergraduate interfaith fellows program. It will also assist with developing and organizing interfaith programs, materials, and events to facilitate interfaith relationships on and off campus. It will develop, implement, and execute outreach and networking strategies between the Center for Interfaith Dialogue and its stakeholders, especially members of CID's Faith Leaders Council and religious minority student communities on campus. Application closes January 28th.
Every year, Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul produces a calendar with important dates for multiple faith traditions. This is a very useful tool when scheduling meetings and events.
Listen to The Interfaith Magic of 2023 by the Interfaith Connection podcast. "December finishes off the 2023 Interfaith Connection Podcasts. This was a year of magic in many ways around interfaith. Dave and Rachel review the year and the magical occurrences that made it award winning. We look at the events and how to see them again on social media. We also take a look at some of the wondrous things ahead for 2024."
The Emerging Leaders Multifaith Action Council is growing!
ELMAC is a multifaith cohort of leaders under age 35 interested in working together to support each other and change the world! With members from across Minnesota from a variety of religions, spiritualities, colleges, and organizations, ELMAC provides young peopLe a space to have meaningful conversations about the future of multifaith engagement and the future of the planet. Join us in developing our mission, vision, goals, and action projects.
If you know anyone who may be interested, please feel free to share the following information:
If you would like to sign up for regular emails about meetings, opportunities, and more please complete this form. You are also welcome to send ELMAC Chair Danielle Clausnitzer an email at elmac@mnmultifaith.org or schedule a meeting with Danielle. Please also feel free to sign up if you are over the age of 35 and have an interest in supporting ELMAC and/or receiving updates from ELMAC members. Those over 35 can also reach out to Network Executive Jen Kilps for more information.
From the project manager of 3Faiths@OneTable, Elizabeth Kulus:
The 3Faiths@OneTable project seeks to connect individuals and families from different religious and/or cultural backgrounds with the goal of encouraging meaningful friendships across differences. Once signed up for the project, I will organize and schedule orientation meetings which will give families the opportunity to meet with one another and get to know each other to make sure the groups are a good match. After that, the cohorts are ready to set up meetings at each other’s homes over the next couple of months. Each cohort agrees to meet at least once in each other’s homes for a total of three gatherings. These gatherings can be made over the sharing of a light meal or snack.
Our goal is to create a low-stakes opportunity for people to meet each other, and as the Project Manager, I will be here as a resource to you throughout the whole process. So that’s the “nuts and bolts” of the project. As you can probably gather from the name, the 3Faiths@OneTable project offers the opportunity to engage in interfaith dialogue and share about your own faith traditions while learning about someone else’s. We know that can be intimidating so we will offer some helpful conversation guidelines to make sure folks feel comfortable. And if at the end of the three months the topic of religion never comes up, that’s ok! We hope that you have still made a meaningful friendship connection with a new family.
All are welcome to submit events and news for inclusion in our newsletter. To make a submission, please email us. Submissions for the next newsletter are due Friday, February 2. MnMN Organizational Partners and Individual Members have first priority. If you are not yet an Organizational Partner or Individual Member, we encourage you to join us!
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Every year, Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul produces a calendar with important dates for multiple faith traditions. This is a very useful tool when scheduling meetings and events..jpg)
