Looking for volunteer drivers!

To drive students from Augsburg University and the University of St. Thomas to Northfield for our upcoming event with St. Olaf and the Jay Phillips Center: Multifaith Leadership and Engagement in a Fractured World

• If you are available to drive Augsburg University students, please email Michon True Smith, Managing Director, Interfaith Institute, Augsburg University  truesmit@augsburg.edu
• If you are able to drive University of St. Thomas students, please download this short form and send a copy of your drivers license to Dr. Hans Gustafson, Director, Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies, University of St. Thomas, hansgustafson@stthomas.edu

Multifaith Leadership and Engagement in a Fractured World

Sunday, March 3, 1:00 - 7:00 pm, Buntrock Commons, St. Olaf College, 1521 Campus Dr, Northfield, MN 55057

This year we welcome keynote dialogue speakers Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva, Rabbi Herman Schaalman Chair in Jewish Studies, InterReligious Institute Senior Faculty Fellow at Chicago Theological Seminary and Professor Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and Executive Director of the Augsburg University Interfaith Institute.

Join us for this daylong workshop at St. Olaf College, to explore what it means to engage across religious differences in a time of heightened fracturing globally and locally. Learn from practitioners, scholars, and leaders about developing skills to cultivate connection through storytelling, deepen understanding of how trauma impacts engaging with religious and spiritual practices, approach challenging conversations in person and online, and to develop greater self-awareness for leadership in religiously diverse societies.

The workshop is free and open to the public, ages 16+. We invite people from all religious, nonreligious, and spiritual identities, worldviews, and ways of life to join us for rich conversation, deep engagement, and good food. Registration is required and closes on February 24th.

Click here to view workshop schedule

Joint Religious Legislative Coalition
Legislative Kickoff Webinar

Feb. 20th, 7pm to 8:30pm, zoom

Please join us next week for our Legislative Kickoff webinar. We will discuss our 2024 Legislative Agenda and outline our plan for member programming in the coming months.

The 2024 Legislative Session has commenced! More than 600 bills have been introduced so far, and we have heard that some committee chairs already have their dockets scheduled through the end of session. With this being the shorter session of the biennium, we have realistic expectations about what we can accomplish this year, but we are ready to get to work!

Our legislative agenda cuts to the heart of poverty and its causes, and we are excited to partner with so many amazing organizations on this year’s priorities. These action items include:

• Maternal health and death research
• Housing for people with severe mental health conditions
• Early intervention for individuals at the onset of schizophrenia
• Payday lending interest rate caps for out-of-state lenders
• Damaging debt collection practices
• Treatment and prevention measures in the proposed online sports gambling bill

Taking Heart Ramadan Iftar Meals

Multiple dates during Ramadan. In 2023 Ramadan falls between March 10 and April 9

Locations throughout the state. Additional sites will be added to the registration list as the information becomes available

Taking Heart is a long-running program coordinated by Minnesota Council of Churches and the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN) to bring Christians and members of other faith communities together with Muslims for food and conversation during Ramadan.

Ramadan is a blessed month of the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the “five pillars” of Islam and is performed to learn piety, self-restraint, compassion, and generosity.

Iftars will include opening remarks and welcome with a recitation of the Quran and the call to prayer; a presentation on Islam and Ramadan and its customs; breakout groups where a number of topics can be discussed.