It's caffeine and camaraderie for the male members of MCC and guests! This group meets every other Thursday and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going. Please register by the Monday prior to Men's Coffee and Conversation. This week, MCC member Bob Whitlock hosts. Bob's guest will be Hennepin County District Court Judge Jay Quam, who will speak on the changes in the court pointing to rehabilitation rather than punishment and warehousing of prisoners.

MCC members sign up here; guests email MCC.

Immigration, Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Minnesota

Thursday, February 21, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

DeLaSalle High School, 1 DeLaSalle Dr, Room D104

For more than 200,000 years, humans have migrated to survive for the same reasons: family, food and freedom. Learn about today's refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants from Sarah Brenes, director of the Refugee & Immigrant Program at The Advocates for Human Rights. Sarah will provide an overview of the different ways people may migrate to the United States, what migration looks like in Minnesota and how you can help welcome these new neighbors to the community.

MCC members sign up here.

Great Decisions - Nuclear Negotiations: Back to the Future

Monday, February 25, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

DeLaSalle High School, 1 DeLaSalle Dr, Room D104

Nuclear weapons have not gone away, and the Trump administration has brought a new urgency, if not a new approach, to dealing with them. The president has met with Vladimir Putin as the New Start Treaty with Russia comes up for renewal in 2021; the first presidential summit ever with Kim Jong-un occurred to discuss denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula; and President Trump has decertified the Obama nuclear deal with Iran. To what degree should past nuclear talks guide future U.S. nuclear arms control negotiations? Can the art of the deal apply to stabilizing our nuclear future? Speaker Dr. Mary Curtin had a 25-year career as a State Department foreign service officer before joining the U of M's Humphrey School of Public Affairs as Diplomat-in-Residence in 2013. Among her areas of expertise are nuclear nonproliferation.

Meditation Circle

Tuesday, February 26 & March 5, 9:30 - 10:30 am

Mill City Quarter Club Room, 322 2nd St S

Mill City Commons members are invited to join in a weekly drop-in meditation hour. This is a time for self-guided meditation; if you're new to meditation, we'll provide a brief explanation to help you get started. Our hope is that meditating with each other may help each of our practices and create a shared energy among participants. Drop-in sessions are on Tuesdays from 9:30-10:30 am at Mill City Quarter, across the parking lot from Abiitan. An MCC member will be there to greet you at 9:30 a.m. Please register for sessions you plan to attend so we have an idea of how many to expect. All sessions are free.

Last Tuesday Happy Hour

Tuesday, February 26, 5:00 - 6:00 pm

Black Sheep Pizza, 600 Washington Ave N

Join us for Last Tuesday Happy Hour at Black Sheep Pizza! Hosted by Bob Callahan and Carol Jordan, this gathering is a time to catch up with friends and neighbors over drinks and small bites. The event is dutch treat--no reservations required. If you'd like to stay for dinner, reservations for 8 or more can be made by calling (612) 342-2625.

Social Bridge
Wednesday, February 27, 3:00 - 5:00 pm

Washburn Lofts, 700 2nd St S

MCC members sign up here; guests email MCC. 

MCC Women Connect

Thursday, February 28, 10:00 - 11:30 am

Mill City Quarter Club Room, 322 2nd St S

At this month's MCC Women Connect, member Mary Moos will lead a discussion on joy and contentment, inspired by a recent New York Times opinion piece, "The Joy of Being a Woman in Her 70s." Do joy and contentment come with age? Is there a difference between joy and happiness, delight and pleasure? Is there a difference between contentment and success, satisfaction and serenity? Has your perception of these words changed as you've aged? The discussion will go beyond age 70, but it's a starting point.

MCC Women Connect's purpose is to gather to connect and grow, sharing our experiences and learning from each other as we adapt to life's changes and transitions. Discussion ideas come from members, volunteer facilitators and a list of suggestions being developed. We meet once a month, from 10:00-11:30 a.m., on the fourth Thursday.

MCC members sign up here; guests email MCC.

The Silence Breakers and the Me Too Movement

Monday, March 4, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Winslow House, 100 2nd St SE

Macalester College professor Dr. Duchess Harris, author of Hidden Human Computers: The Black Women of NASA, will speak on her newest book, The Silence Breakers and the #MeToo Movement. The book, written for high school students, explores the movement promoting awareness of sexual abuse, harassment and assault in the U. S. Through this movement, silence breakers have spoken out and held abusers accountable for their actions. Harris promises the talk will be uplifting and help us understand how young people can think about trauma and vulnerability.

MCC members sign up here.

MCC Evening Book Club

Tuesday, March 5, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

RiverWest Social Room, 401 1st St S

Join us to discuss TransAtlantic by Colum McCann. Newfoundland, 1919. Two aviators-Jack Alcock and Arthur Brown-set course for Ireland as they attempt the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, placing their trust in a modified bomber to heal the wounds of the Great War. Dublin, 1845 and '46. On an international lecture tour in support of his subversive autobiography, Frederick Douglass finds the Irish people sympathetic to the abolitionist cause-despite the fact that, as famine ravages the countryside, the poor suffer from hardships that are astonishing even to an American slave. New York, 1998. Leaving behind a young wife and newborn child, Senator George Mitchell departs for Belfast, where it has fallen to him, the son of an Irish-American father and a Lebanese mother, to shepherd Northern Ireland's notoriously bitter and volatile peace talks to an uncertain conclusion. These three iconic crossings are connected by a series of remarkable women whose personal stories are caught up in the swells of history. Beginning with Irish housemaid Lily Duggan, who crosses paths with Frederick Douglass, the novel follows her daughter and granddaughter, Emily and Lottie, and culminates in the present-day story of Hannah Carson, in whom all the hopes and failures of previous generations live on. From the loughs of Ireland to the flatlands of Missouri and the windswept coast of Newfoundland, their journeys mirror the progress and shape of history. They each learn that even the most unassuming moments of grace have a way of rippling through time, space, and memory.

News From Members 

MCC member Will Craig has updated his Oscar Crib Sheet to show the results of Sunday's BAFTA awards. The British Academy Film award has provided a good base for predicting Oscar winners, but this year they went national with The Favorites taking top awards for best actress, best supporting actress, best original screen play, and best British film. Roma took best overall movie and is the odds on favorite to win the Oscar in this category -- much to his chagrin.

MCC member Peggy Lucas shares that there is an opportunity to hear about the innovative projects that were funded last year by the Mill City Farmers Market's Next Stage Grant Program. The open house will include an interactive poster session with grant recipients, a hearty soup dinner and beverages. The grant program is intended to help build a sustainable, local food economy. The event is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, 5:30-7:30 pm, at The Good Acre in Falcon Heights. To RSVP for this free event, click here.

MCC member Nancy Darcy wants members to know that Musical Offering has their annual Food and Wine concert on March 3 from 3:00-5:00 pm celebrating the spirit of spring. Music by Franz Schubert, Andre Previn and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor will be performed. Tickets are $60 and include drinks, "heavy" hors d'oeuvres at intermission and desserts after the concert. Enter code TMO5519 to get $5 off when buying tickets. Purchase tickets here. 

MCC member Dick Olson shares that the Conference for Caregivers and Those Supporting a Loved One with Dementia is now open for registration. The conference is scheduled for April 7 from 8:00 am-1:15 pm at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park. To learn more about the sessions and registration information, click here.

MCC member Ellie Hands invites members to attend "Being Present: A Conversation About Humanness Through Life's End" on April 15 at 6:00 pm. The event will feature the Giving Voice chorus, speakers Dr. Jessica Zitter and Frank Ostaseski, and guest moderator Cathy Wurzer. Both Frank and Jessica feel a call to action to engage in conversations about the end of life, to bring humanity back into the health care system, and to be open to how thinking and talking about death can shed light on how to live. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

MCC member Diane Hoftsede  invites members to participate in the Great River Coalition's 2019 Earth Day 5K Run/Walk and River Cleanup at Boom Island Park! The event takes place on April 20. The race begins at 9:00 am, with river cleanup starting at 9:30 am. There are also plenty of volunteer opportunities. Email Diane at [email protected] if you're interested in volunteering or click here to learn more and register to walk or run.

Baseball season is around the corner! Join your MCC friends and family members at Target Field and attend one or more of these Twins mid-day, midweek games in 2019: Houston (5/2), LAA (5/15), Seattle (6/13), White Sox (6/7), Tampa Bay (6/27), NY Mets (7/17), Atlanta (8/7), or the White Sox (8/21). To request seating for these games (or any other on the 2019 schedule), simply e-mail MCC member Allan Burdick at [email protected] indicating the games you would like to attend and how many tickets you'd like for each game. Ticket cost: $22 (same as if you were a season ticket holder). Pay when you get your tickets. Last year, 200 tickets were purchased in this program.