Minnesota Christians Continue to Wish Muslims a Blessed Ramadan

 

 

 

Minnesota Christians continue to wish Muslims a Blessed Ramadan

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN – (April 13, 2021) – Christian congregations and individuals through Minnesota and the United States are showing their acceptance and embrace of Muslim neighbors with Blessed Ramadan lawn signs from April 12 through May 11, 2021.

 

“Minnesota Christians are stepping forward in an embrace of our Muslim neighbors, who should know as Ramadan begins that they are welcomed and accepted by their community,” says Rev. Dr. Curtiss Paul DeYoung, CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC).

 

Since 2016 MCC has shown signs of welcome to our Muslim neighbors. We have distributed thousands of signs of good will from the Pacific to the Atlantic and throughout the states in-between. The signs read, simply: “To Our Muslim Neighbors: Blessed Ramadan.” From this simple campaign have come many signs of transformation:

 

• One sign posted on a person’s front yard in a north metro area suburb catalyzed a transformative conversation with a man whose attitude went from oppositional to open. Others have reported stronger neighborhood bonds as a result of posting the signs.

 

• The impact has not only been at the individual level. Rev. Katy Lee of Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester, MN, which posted the Blessed Ramadan signs in its churchyard, was surprised at her Christmas worship services by a group of local Muslims, uncertain and nervous to be in a church, but showing up with flowers and wishing everyone a merry Christmas.

 

• The Blessed Ramadan campaign has been reported on in Minnesota, Chicago, New York, Wisconsin, Pakistan, and U.S. News and World Report. It has been a highly effective way to let Muslims know they are not feared, but welcomed by their neighbors.

 

• Beyond the local level, the campaign has also been a global sign of good will. It has been featured on U.S. Embassy websites in different nations, brought by National Guard service members on deployment in Muslim-majority countries,  and reported on as an illustration of religious tolerance in the U.S., such as in this article from Voice of America Indonesia.

 

“This is a campaign with impact,” says DeYoung. “We are fighting fear with love.”

 

“In 2021 there is no less of a call upon Christians to love our neighbors than there was two millennia ago. By continuing this campaign we are living out that call,” he said.

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Individuals or groups interested in participating in the Blessed Ramadan campaign can procure the signs one of three ways via www.blessedramadan.org or www.mnchurches.org

 

1. Request signs be shipped or be picked up from the Minnesota Council of Churches.
2. Request signs be shipped directly from the printer.
3. Download the sign design and have it printed at a local printer in your area.

 

About Minnesota Council of Churches

Representing 27 member judicatories and about 1,000,000 Christians, the Minnesota Council of Churches’ mission is to manifest unity in the church and to build the common good in the world. The Minnesota Council of Churches programs include Refugee Services, Respectful Conversations^TM , Racial Justice, Interfaith Relationships and the Minnesota Church Center. www.mnchurches.org

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