Twin Cities District
Connecting United Methodists in Minneapolis and Saint Paul
Transforming Lives
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Learnings from Liz . . .
ARISING FROM ASHES
One of the things I did regularly in the local church as I prepared for Lent, Holy Week and Easter was to find stories of this season that spoke differently to the traditions I experienced and celebrated. This season speaks so differently to so many Christians around the world that I find that others' experiences not only challenge but many times uncover things that I had not thought of before. As you prepare for this most “holy” season I offer this story from the country of El Salvador.
Guarjila and many other villages in the Department of Chalatenango were forcibly depopulated by the Armed Forces’ bombing and ground incursions in the early 1980s. Most of the survivors fled and sought refuge in camps in Honduras. Seven years later, the refugees organized a repatriation to repopulate their abandoned homes in El Salvador. In the following selection, a North American priest writes about his visit to Guarjila during Holy Week in 1988:
". . . I also remembered what I had seen that morning. We had walked to San Antonio de los Ranchos, a small community hidden in the hills of Chalatenango. The day before, a battle had taken place between the Army and the guerillas. The village looked like a ghost town. The church had been bombed, houses were destroyed, and the plaza had been turned into rubble. Many other villages suffer the same violence.
"This is a fundamental mystery of Christianity—the emergence of life from death. The people understand this mystery.
"Perhaps some light can be shed on this by describing what happened on Holy Thursday. On this day the Church commemorates the Christian commandment to love and serve on another by washing of the feet. Here in Guarjila, however, the people used another symbol. An old man gave a young widow an armful of firewood, and she gave him some tortillas. These gestures expressed service to one another. This new symbol of firewood and tortillas added an important element: the mutuality of service and the giving and taking which builds community.
"This is how they expressed their faith: To go from death to life is to grow from individualism to community. These people who pray for their dead also pray for the soldiers who committed these crimes. Then one woman said, ‘may we always be able to love, to hope, and to forgive.’
"During Holy Week, I became convinced that sharing is a great truth that cannot be concealed.
"The oppressors will not triumph over the victims, just as they did not triumph over Jesus. From Guarjila, a thousand men, women and children proclaim to the world that they have not been vanquished. They proclaim a new way to live, oriented toward community service, work, and hope. They speak of a new way to die and of resurrection!” (Gifts of Many Cultures –Tirabassi & Eddy)
As we enter into this season of Easter with all that not only surrounds us in our economic chaos but the global economic chaos as well, how will we proclaim a new way to live, to be in community and service with one another, to love, hope and forgive and speak of a new way to die and of resurrection? We have been given the greatest gift of Jesus Christ. How will we share his good news with all whom we meet?
May this Easter season be one of new “resurrection” for us all!
Blessings . . .
Liz
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United Methodism's Four Foci for the Quadrennium
- Developing Congregations
- Strengthening Clergy and Lay Leadership (Equipping Leaders, Transforming Existing Congregations, Teaching the Wesleyan Model of Forming Disciples of Jesus Christ)
- Global Health and Connection (Ending Malaria and HIV/AIDS, Global Outreach, Transforming the Lives of Children)
- Eliminating Poverty in Community with the Poor
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Focus 1: Developing Congregations
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More People Going to Church for Help
In the March 30, 2009 USA Today, an article speaking to the problems in the economy of today shared the following:
Among 1,000 pastors who were asked about the effect of “problems in the economy”:
62% have had more requests for financial assistance from outside the congregation
40% have members of their congregations who have lost their jobs
37% have increased spending from the church budget to help those who are in need
31% have explored starting new ministries to aid the disadvantaged
31% have had more requests for financial assistance from members of their congregation
27% have paid for more ministry items out of their own pocket than normal
Does this ring true for your congregation? How are the churches of the Twin Cities speaking to the problems of the economy today? Please let Liz Lopez know so that we can share how we are in ministry in these days.
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Focus 2: Strengthening Clergy and Lay leadership
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Structures of Care for one Another
Worship and Education Resource: The native American Action Team of the Minnesota Annual Conference has put together and excellent resource, Worship and Educational Resources from Native Americans. For further information contact Joann Church at (218) 834-2465.
Clergy Communion: Third Wednesday monthly communion service and luncheon. April 15, 11 a.m., Hennepin Avenue UMC, $8.
Upcoming Fellowship Events and Celebrations__________________________________________________________________________
Moving Forward Employment Support Group: April 27, June 1, June 29; 6-8 p.m., Community UMC, 950 Gould Ave. NE, Columbia Heights. Free monthly meetings to network and enhance job skills. Contact the church at (612) 781-3630 for more information.
Focus 4: Eliminating Poverty in Community with the Poor
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Concentrated Poverty
While just over one-fifth of the region’s population lives within the top two central cities (Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul) the majority of the region’s poor live there. Concentrated poverty—neighborhoods where the poverty rates are 40%—is solely found in Minneapolis/St. Paul. In other words, there are no extremely poor suburban neighborhoods, only extremely poor central city neighborhoods. According to a study done by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the Twin Cities has the second starkest differential between city poverty rates and suburban poverty rates in the country. (The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program)
God’s Closet – A Ministry of Clothing and Caring
submitted by Rev. Carol Zaagsma
On a recent Monday, 62 adults with 28 children shopped at God’s Closet, a free clothing ministry on the East Side of Saint Paul. That is a lot of people to serve within a short four hour timeframe; and yet because of such great need, helping this many people on any given day is not uncommon.
God’s Closet started in 2001 as a ministry of Epworth UMC in St. Paul. It is now located at 820 White Bear Avenue in a handicap accessible storefront on a well-traveled bus line, and is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and the first Saturday of every month from 1-3:30 p.m.
Since its first year, over 28,000 adults and countless children have received quality used clothing and household items from God’s Closet. This ministry could not serve so many people without a partnership with Woodbury UMC and other faith communities in St. Paul.
Would you like to help support this important ministry? Here are some great ways to get involved:
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DONATE CLEAN, WEARABLE CLOTHING – Please donate clothing and shoes within the current season (Spring and summer items accepted after April 1; Fall and winter items accepted after September 1). Men’s and children’s clothing are especially needed!
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DONATE NEW SOCKS – Consider coordinating a “Sock-it-to-you Sunday” where church members are encouraged to bring packages of new children’s or adult socks to church for God’s Closet.
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DONATE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS – Linens (sheets, blankets, towels, curtains), dishes and cookware, and personal items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant) are always appreciated. We also take luggage, toys, games, books, and small appliances (if working), but we cannot accept infant or child car seats or furniture.
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DONATE CASH – Financial contributions are used for new socks or rent. Make checks payable to Epworth UMC with God’s Closet in the memo line (mail to Epworth UMC, 1965 E. Sherwood Ave., St. Paul 55119). Some of our individual and faith community sponsors faithfully send a set dollar amount every month. Others take special offerings (such as a loose change offering in worship) several times throughout the year.
The ministry of God’s Closet is not just about physical comfort in trying times. There is a prayer room at God’s Closet where a shopper can pick up a Bible or pray with a volunteer. Each shopper is asked if they would like a phone call and word of prayer with a pastor. God’s Closet is also a resource center, sharing information with shoppers about where to get food or other assistance that might be needed.
If you are interested in volunteering at God’s Closet, or coordinating a special drive for us, or if you have more than three bags or boxes of items to donate at one time, please call (651) 771-4627 to make arrangements.
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Reach New People!
Cultivate Spiritual Vitality!
. . . in our United Methodist Churches