Our Racial Justice Workgroup began with a small group of committed members attending a local conference on Race and Privilege in 2016. From there we continued to discuss how we understand race, privilege, and justice, and began to plan further educational opportunities for ourselves and for our whole congregation.

The Racial Justice Workgroup invites you to a monthly summer conversation series. Throughout the summer, we will explore three questions:

1. What is the history of race and racial justice?

2. How does that history affect us now?

3. How can we apply what we learn to love our neighbors better?

We will gather after worship during fellowship time, 11:15am-noon. Each event will include suggested readings or videos beforehand, and will have conversations and activities to help us engage with these ideas.

Come and learn with us!

June 10 Resources

Video: RACE: Are We So Different? produced by The American Anthropological Association (AAA) video introduction. Learn about RACE and unlearning racism: www.understandingRACE.org

Reading: “A Revealing Timeline of Race Relations In the U.S.” Oprah.com, www.oprah.com/inspiration/timeline-of-race-relations-in-america.

Video: What is Privilege? from Buzzfeed

Article: “A History: The Construction of Race and Racism” Dismantling Racism Project Western States Center from www.westernstatescenter.org.

Further Reading

Smith, V Chapman. “American Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights Timeline.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htm.

Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 1 PM

It’s time for mothers, daughters, sisters and friends to gather at this annual, elegant event. The tea will be held in Mary & Martha’s Tea Room (AKA the Grace Center Multipurpose Room).

Tickets are as follows:
Ladies: $15.00
Young Ladies (5 – 12 yrs): $7.00
Little Ladies (under 5 yrs): No Charge

Reservations are requested by May 2 (or earlier), seating is limited. For tickets, please see or contact Jennifer Fischer (612-781-1117 or Snooky1022@comcast.net) or call the church office at 612-788-2444.

The tea is a fundraiser; $5 of the $15 ticket is tax deductible. Hats are strongly encouraged, and no jeans please.

The event will include a quilt raffle and small marketplace available before and after the tea. If you would like to donate handmade items for sale in the marketplace, the MDSF Tea Team suggests items that are knitted, crocheted, sewn, embroidered, cross-stitched, or are jewelry or ceramics. If you have questions about what to donate, please see or speak with Jennifer Fischer or Kathy Munson.

How do we respond to panhandlers?

As the weather warms up, “signers” (also known as panhandlers) return to street corners and highway off-ramps. There are a lot of questions and concerns that surround signers and how we should best care for them.