jerad's blog

Press release for Gone for Good

Coming Wave of Church Closings May Destabilize Communities —or Create New Opportunities for Church-Neighborhood Partnerships

MCC’s Racial Justice Program celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Minnesota Capital on Monday, August 28^th, with Beacon Housing Interfaith Collaborative. The event focused on housing disparities in the Twin Cities: Still Marching for Housing Justice. Several other community organizations were present, including Mother St. James AME Church, SEIU African American Caucus (AFRAM), Sakan Community Resource, Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, and Wayman AME Church.

Our CEO and Minnesota's Attorney General have both released books about their leadership in two sectors of Minnesota - faith and law - in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. Join them for a brown-bag lunch and public conversation about their books in August!

Please bring your own lunch and questions for the authors. Every person who donates $40 or more will receive a copy of each book as a thank-you gift. Your donation of at least $40 will help to cover the cost of the books and other refreshments.

Minnesota Council of Churches continued its Truth and Reparations series with "Shifting the Spotlight," featuring Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III and the Sounds of Blackness (edited out for copyright reasons).

Since 2012 Minnesota Council of Churches has equipped faith and other communities to manage conflict and depolarize arguments with Respectful Conversations. Beginning out of a design partnership with the Public Conversations Project (now Essential Partners), we discovered that the structured, facilitated methodolgy we put together was a sought-after tool well after the specific  polarizing discussion Minnesotans were having in 2012.

In times of crisis and chaos, faith communities regularly find ourselves on the front lines. We are often trusted peacemakers and mediators with our members, communities, and local officials. We are stakeholders in conversations on important and occasionally divisive political, social and cultural debates.

As we go about our daily lives, it can be easy to focus on what divides us rather than what unites us. Whether it's differences in politics, religion, or culture, it can sometimes feel like the things that set us apart are more significant than the things that bring us together. But as Christians, we're called to a different way of living. In John 13:34-35, Jesus tells us, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another."

Crossposted from Healing Minnesota Stories blog

What is it?

(See also Part I: The Religion of Whiteness: What survey data says about White Christians’ attitudes about race and privilege.)

(Crossposted with permission from Healing Minnesota Stories Blog)

What survey data says about White Christians’ attitudes about race and privilege

White Christians are twice as likely as other groups to agree that it’s acceptable for White people to have more wealth than other people.