“Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue.” ― bell hooks
Cutting Through the Noise: A Mindfulness Series
Every Tuesday between August 13th and September 17th, 11:30am-12:30pm, George Floyd Square
Co-sponsored by the Minnesota Multifaith Network, Cutting Through the Noise is a six week series that urges us to come together with a commitment to justice to embody peace and bear witness in shared public places. With a hope for deepening wellness, this series will introduce and practice "retreat" in real time and space... right where we are! Attendees will be invited to reflect, pray, or simply rest in the sights, sounds, and feelings of the present moment. Facilitators will provide brief instructions for finding mindful quiet.
To support this offering, we suggest a donation of $10 per event ($60 for the whole series). No one will be turned away. You may donate via Venmo to @Ben-Connelly-9 or at the events
For more information about the events and its facilitators:
KOOTASCA Community Action: Voting and Elections 2024
Thursday August 1st, 5:30-6:30pm, KOOTASCA Conference Room, Central Square Mall, Grand Rapids
Join uswith Minnesota Secretary of State, Steve Simon, to learn about legislative updates that impact voting in Minnesota in felon voting rights restoration, pre-registration for 16 & 17 year-olds, and more.
Innovation in building materials techniques is on the rise – from carbon-free cement and steel to fossil-fuel-free heating. Can we use our state bonding investments to start to build better? Please join us for a webinar about how we can use state bonding investments to build better now while spurring industry advancements.
Saturday, August 10th, 5:00-8:00pm, Hidden Falls Park, St. Paul
Join us for a celebration with the Mississippi River! Gather with us to con
connect, learn, pray, engage, play, celebrate, and honor the spirit of water. This event is jointly sponsored by United Theological Seminary, RISE Coalition, MNIPL, and Friends of the Mississippi River and includes many leaders and organizations working together to protect water. The celebration is for all ages and will include live music, food, speakers, and children's activities!
Interfaith Action Partners with Instacart to Battle Food Insecurity
Summertime can disrupt eating patterns for children, especially those who rely on school meals as a source of nutrition. This summer, Instacart is making it easy to donate the exact food items for our Department of Indian Work food shelf through the Community Carts program, apartnership with Feeding America. In just a few taps you can help keep our children fed this summer.
United Religions Initiative: Community Call Webinar for North America's Cooperation Circles
Thursday, July 25th, 11:00am-12:00pm CST , Zoom
The United Religions Initiative seeks to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the Earth and all living beings. URI invites interfaith groups worldwide to join them as Cooperation Circles, to create a network of interfaith groups to find solutions to issues that affect communities and the world. Learn more here.
URI presents Let's Get "Political": The Future of the Interfaith Movement. Register to attend!
Interfaith Circle: The Story of the Red Rock: Honoring the Sacred Sites of Eden Prairie and Beyond"
Sunday, August 4th, 4:00pm, Staring Lake Park Building, Eden Prairie
Listen to the story of how the Sacred Red Rock was reunited with the Dakota people through the work of elders from the Lower Sioux Indian Community and local residents. Documentarian Sheldon Peters Wolfchild (Dakota) and Kathie Case of the Eden Prairie Historical Society will share some important local history through this powerful story. Elder LeMoine LaPointe will speak to a better understanding of Native Americans today. Learn about the spiritual significance of the Red Rock, the Sioux's sacred connection to land, and the Dakota origin story. Interfaith Circle is partnering with Community Education and the City of Eden Prairie to offer this FREE event as part of People Fest!.
Get ready to spread the love and peace at the 28th Annual Community Peace Celebration on August 16th at Western Sculpture Park! Join us for a day filled with music, dance, delicious food, and uplifting stories of peace. Save the date and let's make this year's celebration the most memorable yet! Read more and register here.
Interfaith Artist Circle "Hope and Healing in Pandemic Times" and "Transformation"
Exhibit running until July 27th, 2024, Hopkins Center for the Arts
The Interfaith Artist Circle of the Twin Cities is nineteen visual artists pursuing art as a spiritual journey. In this exhibition the artists aim to present a dialogue about life and hope, now and for the future. The Circle artists create art reflecting on spiritual themes including prayer, the soul, mysticism, creation, and mortality. At the launch of each art theme, members study with religious and secular scholars whose teachings inspire the resulting artworks. Learn more here.
Mark Your Calendars
Transformative Family Dispute Mediation Training Program
August 19th -23rd, 9:00am-6:00pm, Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Minnetonka, facilitated by Dan Simon. A weekdays only opportunity that qualifies for court certification to practice in Minnesota under Minnesota Rule 114. Early bird pricing is $1,500 until June 1st, and $1,900 after. Read more about transformative meditation as an approach here. Register for the course here.
Bakken Center Mindfulness Programs:August 21, 2024, 12:00pm, Zoom Webinar, Free of Cost. This webinar led by Bakken Center Mindfulness and Wellbeing Instructor Mariann Johnson will provide an introduction to mindfulness meditation and will be particularly relevant to those new to the practice or simply curious about the possible benefits of a mindfulness practice. Participants will have an opportunity to practice a short mindfulness meditation, to share their experiences, and to ask questions. Examples will also be provided for practicing "everyday" mindfulness, at work and at home. The webinar will conclude with an overview of the Bakken Center's mindfulness resources and programming. Register here.
Jay Phillips Center, Co-Pilgrims on the Journey to Truth: Hinduism and Christianity in Dialogue Thursday, September 12, 12:00-1:10pm. Iverson Center for Faith, University of St. Thomas. How can dialogue across traditions deepen understanding of humanity's shared quest for truth? In this conversation between two scholar-practitioners, Fr. Yann Vagneux and Prof. Anantanand Rambachan, explore the intersections between Hindu and Christian traditions. Learn more here.
Wisdom Ways: Writing Through Change and TransformationSeptember 13th, 6-7:30pm, Carondelet Center. In this program, we will consider the gifts and the challenges that come when things are changing and we feel uncertain, we experience a sense of loss, or we notice a quickening we can’t explain. We will write about how faith is a guiding light through times of difficulty and the experience of transformation as a journey from “chrysalis” to “butterfly.” Each session begins with a mindfulness practice and includes inspiration from . world-renowned spiritual and contemporary poets. Register here.
MAS: 19th Annual Minnesota Muslim ConventionSeptember 14th, 10am-10pm, Minneapolis Convention Center. This year's theme, "Steadfast: Faith. Family. Future," explores how steadfastness manifests in a believer’s life. Buy tickets here.
Jay Phillips Center, Author Talk with Colum McCann September 24th, 7:00pm, OEC Auditorium. Join us for a conversation with the award-winning author, Colum McCann, co-sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences, the Jay Phillips Center for Irish Studies. Apeirogon is a unique exploration of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This book is named after a shape with a countably infinite number of sides, reflecting the myriad perspectives and stories within this conflict. At its core, the novel is centered around the true stories of two fathers— one Israeli and one Palestinian— whose daughters were killed in the conflict. Register here.
Resources and Opportunities
Interfaith Action: School Tools Drive
Every summer Interfaith Action's member faith communities collect new backpacks and school supplies to help our young people start the academic year with the tools for success. Visit our website for a list of supplies needed or to make a monetary donation to purchase needed supplies not collected at the drive. Drop-off/distribution is Tuesday, August 20, at Saint Paul United Church of Christ (900 Summit Ave).
Retro Report is launching its inaugural Civic Engagement Challenge! Students, your voice matters! Spotlight civic issues you are passionate about to a national audience by joining Retro Report’s #CivicEngagementChallenge. Retro Report is teaming up with Civics Unplugged to invite students to create essays or videos that model civil discourse while exploring issues and places that people aren’t paying attention to, but need to. Judges will select 10 winners to receive $500.
The submission portal will open on this page on August 5, 2024.
"Former St. Anthony bank being converted to mosque vandalized or broken into 7 times in two months" Twin Cities Pioneer Press, July 18th, 2024. A building being established as a youth-focused center and mosque in St. Anthony has been vandalized and broken into seven times in two months, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Damage is estimated to exceed $20,000. Jaylani Hussein of CAIR urges, "We need average Minnesotans who hear this message tonight to speak to their neighbors and friends and say, 'This is not acceptable.'" Read more here.
Submissions to the Newsletter
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, August 2nd. 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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