Next Sunday, June 19
Jason’s Message – Did Jesus ever need to learn? As fully human (and fully God), it makes sense that Jesus would grow from his interactions with others. When we look at Mark 7:24-30, we see a challenging and intriguing (and heartbreaking) story. Who are you learning from?
Juneteenth – This Juneteenth, learn the why’s, wherefores, and history of this newly minted Federal Holiday (just last year!) through the Juneteenth Worldwide Celebration website; dig into the history and joy with books – and worship – prepared for all ages in the Ministry Lab/United Theological Seminary’s Juneteenth library guide; and join local celebrations found through the Family Fun Guide page for Twin Cities Metro Area joy.
Families can participate in Juneteenth celebrations with more authenticity by allowing Ibram X. Kendi to teach your parents How to Raise an Antiracist (One World) and your children how to say, Goodnight Racism (Penguin Random).
Happy Father’s Day – On Sunday, June 19th we celebrate fathers, those who have loved us well and helped us grow into the people we are today.
New Section Below – Jason’s Jots!
Each week, Jason will provide reflections on the previous Sunday’s message and other random thoughts that come to mind. Here’s a preview of what’s below…
The Body of Christ is not a place for tolerance or mere acceptance. ‘Sympathetic relationship’ requires that we see the inherent, God-given, image of the Divine in all persons. The beauty and wonder of being human, in all its complexity and mystery and history, provides all of us with so much to learn from one another.
Summer Events for your Calendar
June 24 – Red Cross Blood Drive, noon-6 pm
June 26 – Family Game Night
July 3 (Independence Day weekend) – outdoor worship
July 10 – Communion, Encore group
July 24 – Family Game Night
August 7 – outdoor worship and blessing of the animals
August 7-12 – Storm Mountain service trip
August 14 – Communion, Encore group
August 28 – Family Game Night
September 4 (Labor Day weekend) – outdoor worship
Summer Worship and Music
You are invited to share your favorite Bible passages, stories, or characters with Pastor Jason, and he will build worship services around one of your themes each week. If you want to contribute musically to a summer service, please sign up here.
Good Neighbor Meals: July 9
We especially need summer volunteers; only three people served our guests last Saturday. Please sign up soon so we can see where the crunch times might be! Use this link to volunteer to help prepare and serve meals to food-insecure individuals down by the capitol. The link is also found–any time!–on the Connections and Partnerships page of our website.
Family Ministries Update
Family Ministry Summer Plans At Peace
Hello, Peace Families! We’re adding a Family Ministries Section to Tuesday News. Please look here for summer plans and ways to get involved. Encore Summer Book Club started last Sunday; if you missed it, contact Amanda to pick up your copy of the summer reading. Congratulations again to our graduates! This is an exciting and busy time of year, enjoy those moments and accomplishments! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, would like to see any particular events or activities, or just to say ‘Hi!’ Find me at amanda@peaceumc.com or 651-587-3451.
Church School & Nursery Volunteers Needed!
We are looking for volunteers to be in the nursery on Sundays. Each Sunday we would like two volunteers in the nursery from 9:45-11 am. We would also appreciate having one or two volunteers to assist with children’s church from about 10:15-11 am. Please let Amanda know if you’re interested (amanda@peaceumc.com or 651-587-3451).
Encore Summer Book Club
Sundays: July 10 and August 14
11:15 am-12:15 pm in the Gathering Place
Middle-schoolers and high-schoolers are reading segments of Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Family Ministries will purchase the books for distribution.
Family Game Nights
Sundays: June 26, July 24, August 28
5:30-7:30 pm in Outdoor Worship Area
(Fellowship Hall in case of rain)
Monthly dinner and game nights are back! We’ll order pizza for the first night’s dinner, and, weather permitting, we’ll gather outside with yard and board games and enjoy s’mores around a bonfire. Families are welcome to bring their own games, lawn chairs and beverages.
Storm Mountain Service Trip
Save the dates: August 7-12
Details to come
Seminars presented by the Minnesota Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW) –
This may be of particular interest to women attending the fall retreat to discuss Louise Erdrich! You can register now and view these sessions later. Participate in this two-part series for $10:
Where Are My Sisters? Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women – June 17, 7-9 pm, online.
There have been over 6,000 cases of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) within the past six years. Why is there so little reporting, arresting, and convicting of perpetrators?
Voting in Native Country: Hurdles at Every Turn – June 18, 9-11 am, online.
There are 11 reservations and Indian communities in Minnesota but only one reservation has an on-site place to vote. What’s going on? Learn the hurdles that deter indigenous citizens from voting.
Register now at https://mnumc-reg.brtapp.com/COSROWSeminar.
June is PRIDE Month
As a reconciling community, we believe in the inclusion of all people – all made in God’s image – and celebrate the uniqueness that is each person. Reconciliation means to remove the barriers that have separated people from the wholeness of relationship. We acknowledge that the church has often failed to remove such barriers and has been the one to put barriers in the way. Our hope and prayer is to truly be the Body of Christ, together in communion, reconciled to one another. If there are ways we can continue to remove barriers, we want to learn. Pride celebrations will be taking place on June 25th and 26th, including a UMC booth for reconciling congregations. For additional resources and information, we encourage people to check-out minnesotamethodists.org.
Be part of Twin Cities PRIDE, June 25 & 26!
Each year, MN Reconciling Congregations has a booth in Loring Park where we greet PRIDE visitors, hand out rainbow peace medallions and let people know that there are United Methodist congregations who welcome LGBTQ+ persons! Please help staff the booth by signing up for a two hour shift on Saturday or Sunday. Go to ttsu.me/4zejnb to select your shift. If you haven’t volunteered in the booth before, an experienced lead will be there to help you. Reconciling Congregations will also be in the PRIDE Parade on Sunday morning, beginning at 11 a.m. Watch for information about where to gather to walk in the March.
Please contact sign-up coordinator Judy Jerde with questions: jaj@hopefultravelers.net or 612-414-4779. She appreciates your help to get the volunteer schedule filled!
LGBTQIA+ Resources
As our hope and prayer is to be the Body of Christ, together in communion, reconciled to one another, we know there is much learning to do. The Minnesota Methodists (www.minnesotamethodists.org) have created a wonderful list of resources that engage a host of topics (www.minnesotamethodists.org/learn-more) from Apologetics to Allies and Parents to Worship. We encourage everyone to continue learning and growing as we continue to be a reconciling community.
Reading with a Spirit of Inclusiveness
Persons with multiple marginalized identifiers tend to be pushed ‘out’ with great force and consistency. Find new ways to ensure they are welcomed ‘in’ with Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America (Beacon), which shares the beautiful and tragic history of Indigenous traditions around gender, sexuality, and resistance to colonizers intent upon subverting Indigenous affirmations of queer folx.
Gender Euphoria: Stories of Joy from Trans, Non-Binary and Intersex Writers (Unbound), reveals ‘the… variety of ways being non cisgender can be… a joyful experience’.
Sign up now to help mow!
Summer lawns don’t go on vacation; they just sit outside our churches and homes and keep on growing! Sign-Up Genius offers opportunities for mowing both at Peace and at Sadie and Joe’s house this summer.
Red Cross Blood Drive
Peace Community of Faith will host a blood drive for the Red Cross on Friday, June 24, from noon-6 pm. Visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter Peace United Methodist Church to schedule an appointment. Or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Video of Bobby Jo Valentine Concert at Peace
Peace Community of Faith was privileged to host a concert by nationally known singer/songwriter Bobby Jo Valentine on March 26th. Bobby Jo agreed to allow us to make a video of that concert, which we are pleased to make available here. The concert was both part of the congregation’s celebration surrounding the retirement of Pastor Gary Walpole and a benefit for OutFront Minnesota. Through a freewill offering at the concert, almost $2000 was raised.
Jason’s Jots
Reflecting on Sunday’s Message…
The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), like the human body, works best in ‘sympathetic relationship’ – think harmony, unity, oneness – where all are honored and included and appreciated for their unique and marvelous presence. Like the human body with parts that might not look as appealing as eyes or a smile, our culture and society has a fraught and devastating history of marginalizing people who don’t fit perfectly into a narrow (and sinful) understanding of what it means to be a people. In western society (including the church), people of color, LGBTQIA+, those with cognitive disabilities, and many others have often been marginalized, oppressed, and seen as less-than.
The Body of Christ is not a place for tolerance or mere acceptance. ‘Sympathetic relationship’ requires that we see the inherent, God-given, image of the Divine in all persons. The beauty and wonder of being human, in all its complexity and mystery and history, provides all of us with so much to learn from one another. We learn how to be more thoughtful and kind and loving the more we open ourselves up to one another. This may require that we un-learn and then re-learn. We un-learn the hurtful ways we have hoarded power. We re-learn how to share power and position. We un-learn by offering our sincere apology. We re-learn by listening to understand not simply to respond.
One way we can start to move towards becoming the Body of Christ is by noticing our language. Are we speaking about an ‘us’ versus ‘them’? Doing so can perpetuate the historical power dynamics that have caused so much pain, even if that is not our intent. And yet, are there times when speaking this way is important, to honor and recognize the trauma people have experienced?
I’m not the first to think of this, but may I offer the word ‘we’. Unlike ‘us’, which has a corresponding ‘them’, ‘we’ doesn’t have a ‘not-we’. ‘We’ includes me and it includes you. ‘We’ moves us towards one another because it assumes we have a shared humanity. ‘We’ doesn’t mean we lose our distinctness, our distinct pain, our distinct history, our distinct privileges, our distinct gifts. ‘We’ simply requires that we don’t turn away when those things are uncomfortable. ‘We’ seeks understanding and moves towards empathy.
May harmony, oneness, unity, sympathetic relationship and ‘we-ness’ become our new normal.