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Beacon Legislative Preview
Tuesday, December 17th, 4:30pm- 5:30pm, Zoom
Come learn about the particular policies we are working on to advance supportive housing in the coming 2025 legislative session. We will also walk through the strategies and events we are planning to help you and your congregation be engaged in ways that work for you. All are welcome!
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 MNIPL: Reparations Learning Labs
Wednesday, December 11th, 12:00-1:00pm.
We are offering monthly, hour-long, interactive sessions on Zoom that invite people into deeper reflection, work, and action towards repair and reparation. These sessions are intended for white-bodied people from across different identities, lineages, traditions, and geographies who are already committed to the work of repair and reparation, and who want to continue to learn, grow, and build community. We will focus on moving from ideas towards action, and on building personal, collective, and systemic reparations practices. Black, Indigenous, Brown, and Native folks and other people of color are also welcome to join. Click the links below to RSVP! (Note: you'll have to RSVP to all of the events you want to attend)
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| Watch the video "Reparations: What are they?" to learn about the foundations of these labs |
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Christmas Concert with MN Saints Chorale & Orchestra
Friday, December 13, 7:30pm, Benson Great Hall
The Minnesota Saints Chorale and Orchestra return to Benson Great Hall for another magical Christmas Concert. The performance will feature fresh and powerful arrangements of beloved holiday carols. Audiences will recognize favorite arrangers such as Mack Wilberg and Elaine Hagenburg. Don’t miss the opportunity to be immersed in the captivating sound of a powerful choir and full orchestra bringing you to Jesus Christ, the heart of the holidays.
The Christmas concert will be held in the beautiful Benson Great Hall at Bethel University, featuring a magnificent 4,000 pipe organ, one of the finest performing arts halls in Minnesota.
Join us for this beloved holiday tradition— invite some friends and make a night of it!
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Mark Your Calendars
- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast January 20th, 2025. Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul is partnering for the 24th year with General Mills and UNCF to bring to the greater twin cities communities the live broadcast feed from the Minneapolis Convention Center of this annual event. This event will be a community based effort in honoring the legacy of Dr King. Keynote Speaker: Michele Norris. This year’s event will also feature musical entertainment by Grammy award winning Sounds of Blackness and a special collaborative performance by Threads Dance Project and Vocalessence. More information here.
- Joint Religious Legislative Coalition: 2025 Day on the Hill Thursday, February 27th, 2025. The morning session will be held at Central Presbyterian Church in Saint Paul, followed by a rally in the Capitol rotunda. Our focus for 2025’s Day on the Hill is Women, Children, and Families. We are so excited to gather with you to advocate for women, children, and families living in poverty and bring JRLC’s unique voice to the Minnesota State Capitol. Registration for this event will open later this month. In the meantime, please mark your calendars! We hope to see you there!
- Training: Animating Antiracist Ways of Being Friday, February 28th, 9-5pm. For people invested in institutions and committed to race equity, it is critically important to understand what this work requires of them and their institutions. This work includes understanding how systemic racism operates, to be effective catalysts and organizers for transformation. The workshop is designed for institutions who want their staff as well as their leadership to understand the systemic nature of racism and the role institutions play in its
maintenance. Email anna.stamborski@crossroadsantiracism.org for more information and registration.
- Culture of Encounter Ideas Festival April 6-12th, 2025. In partnership with the Minnesota Multifaith Network, the Jay Phillips Center is pleased to host the 2025 Culture of Encounter Ideas Festival, April 6-12, 2025, at the University of St. Thomas, which brings together community members, students, Minnesotans, global thinkers, and cultural enthusiasts to engage diverse perspectives, foster cross-cultural dialogue, and build leadership for the common public goods. Click here view the schedule or to propose a session!
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Resources and Opportunities |
RabaTEENS Winter Registration
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Finding a safe space and wholesome outlet for teenage girls to connect with other Muslim girls is no easy feat. RabaTEENS brings meaningful topics, under the guidance of compassionate and encouraging mentors, to your home. Muslim girls, ages twelve to seventeen, are invited to join these five-week minimester classes in this nurturing space.Registration for the winter session opens on December 15. Classes start January 12.
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In the News
"Ban on religious tests for colleges in state program faces judicial review" ABC News, December 9th, 2024. A federal judge is considering whether to overturn a Minnesota law that bans religious tests for colleges that participate in a state program that allows high school students to take college courses for credit. The state argued at a hearing Monday that the 2023 law rightly protects high school students who are not Christian, straight, and cisgender — those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. The law targets the state's only two conservative Christian colleges that require students to sign statements of faith — Crown College in St. Bonifacius and the University of Northwestern in Roseville. A group of parents and high schoolers who are earning college credits at those institutions, or would like to, are suing to overturn the law, saying it violates their religious freedom under the First Amendment to choose schools with campus atmospheres that that reflect their values. Read more here.
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