Equal Exchange is back at Peace!
Pam Jacobson is taking over as coordinator of the Equal Exchange program at Peace Church. She has just submitted her first order; look for a resurgence of products in the coffee shoppe in the Commons soon! The popular Breakfast Blend will continue to be available, as will various chocolate bars and green tea. Talk to her if you have any special requests, such as flavored coffee, decaf coffee, or other teas.
Encore Time
Encore is a space for high schoolers to discuss and explore their faith and community. Starting on February 6, we will meet the first and third Sunday of each month after worship in the Fellowship Hall. We’re looking for meaningful ways to use our time together; one example is to connect with the watershed restoration group, VLAMO. Coffee and friends and welcome.
Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC)
TONIGHT, January 18, 6:30-7:30 pm
Zoom meeting
Learn about the challenges of the upcoming legislative session and hear how the JRLC agenda addresses key needs in emergency shelter, affordable and community-centered housing and child care. January 18 Zoom Link, Meeting ID 841 6018 2069, Passcode 123771. If you need the full link, please contact Joan at jmiltenberger@jrlc.org.
Mental Health Impacts of our Changing Climate
January 20, 2022, 7:00 pm
Zoom meeting
Climate change is impacting mental and emotional well-being through the trauma of extreme events (e.g., super-storms, floods, wildfires) as well as the anxiety and depression rough by chronic changes (melting sea ice, increased temperatures, drought). Around the world, young people, in particular, are reporting growing levels of anxiety, grief and anger about the diminished prospects for their future due to inadequate societal and governmental response to climate change.
Dr. Christie Manning, Director of Sustainability at Macalester College and faculty member in the department of Environmental Studies, will share a summary of the findings of a 2021 research review of mental health and climate change published by the American Psychological Association. She will also share her own experiences and observations of how young people are coping with the stress of climate change.
Join this Zoom Event (Thursday, January 20, 2022, at 7 pm) by clicking on the link above or typing this URL into your browser: http://tiny.cc/NEMCA0120. Hosted by Northeast Metro Climate Action, northeastmetroclimateaction.org.
January has 5 Sundays
This is your opportunity to help Peace Church chip away at the principal on its mortgage. You may choose to contribute to Fifth Sundays online (go to the Participants page of our website, note the ‘Donate’ area, log into Simple Church, and click the Fund dropdown to select Fifth Sunday). Or if you prefer, put a check in the plate on Sunday or mail one to the church office with ‘5th Sunday’ written in the memo line. Thank you!
Blood Drive at Peace Community of Faith
Friday, January 28, noon-6:00 pm
There’s a historic shortage of blood at present. To schedule a donation at Peace Church, call 1-800-733-2767 or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter “Peace United Methodist Church”.
About the Good Neighbor Meal (GNM)
Have you ever wondered about the “can trailer” in the Peace parking lot? The funds from recycling these cans, donated by you and many others in the Shoreview area, is used to directly support expenses of the Good Neighbor Meal. In 2021, just over $2500 was received from the cans and used to support meals offered twice-monthly to food-insecure individuals and families near the Capitol.
The Good Neighbor Meal began over 20 years ago as a collaboration between Peace, Wheelock Parkway and Central Park UMCs, and it was known at the time as the Corridor Meal. Central Park was the original host site, but when they sold their building, the meal moved to its current site, the Good Neighbor Center at 441 Rice Street, and became known as the Good Neighbor Meal. Wheelock Church disbanded; Central Park became the Recovery Church and continues to host six meals each year.
Meals are served on the second and last Saturday of each month. They are staffed entirely by volunteers. Panera Bread donates day-old leftover bread and pastries, which are picked up by a volunteer the evening before the meal.
The program is unique in that host groups fund, prepare, serve, and clean up to make the meal a success. It is one of the few that identify the people who come for dinner as “our guests,” and seconds are usually available. During COVID, indoor dining has been suspended, so instead we pass out bag lunches at the door from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.
We’re grateful for all the support we’ve received from you over the years. Anyone can help by donating cans, volunteering on Saturdays, or donating to Peace Church with a memo/note that it is for the GNM. Thank you!