As the clock winds down on Minnesota's legislative session, our friends at Lutheran Advocacy Minnesota are asking for your calls and emails TODAY to advocate for affordable housing. Please contact your legislators to emphasize the importance of affordable housing policy priorities including housing infrastructure bonds, government obligations bonds, tenant protections and emergency rental assistance. Click here for suggested messaging, links to finding your legislators and more.

How can we balance gun rights with the call to live safely with each other? Dr. Matthew Filner, Professor of Constitutional Law at Metro State, will guide our ENGAGE-FOCUS conversation as we engage this faith-life-value question. Hosted by ENGAGE: Lutherans for Gun Violence Prevention, a work group of the Saint Paul Area Synod. Click here to register to receive the Zoom link. Questions? Contact the Rev. Dr. Ron Letnes at letnesron@gmail.com.

ELCA Advocacy invites you to a webinar today to hear the authors of the new book, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy. Samuel Perry and Philip Gorski are university professors who have documented the rise of white Christian nationalism in the U.S. Register here.

Here locally, Pastor Rolf Olson and Dr. Nancy Koester have developed their own two-part program on Christian Nationalism and are available to speak at Twin Cities ELCA congregations. You may wish to consider them for fall land winter adult education! Session 1 explains what Christian Nationalism is and why it matters; Session 2 explores who’s involved in Christian nationalism, what are its components and ways we can respond. For more information, email rolson@rosevillelutheran.org or nancykstr@gmail.com.

Start getting your group of 20 or more together for Lutheran Night at the Twins...congregations, youth groups, Bible study groups, etc. You'll receive group discounted tickets seated together, a welcome message on the scoreboard and the opportunity to participate in the national anthem choir. Ticket prices range from $17 to $37 in a variety of seating areas including the Deck, Field Box and Home Run Porch View. To reserve group tickets, contact Ryan Thomson at 612-659-3582 or ryanthomson@twinsbaseball.com. Payment isn't due until three weeks before the game. Learn more.

Nearly half of all people in the U.S. will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in their lives. That means you probably know someone in your congregation or community who is living with a mental health condition. Check out these resources from M Health Fairview Interfaith Health Collaborative:

In addition, M Health Fairview Community Advancement is offering a free virtual class called "Psychological First Aid," designed to help you assist others in healthy recovery following a traumatic event, natural disaster or public health emergency. There's a session on Tuesday, May 10 and another on Wednesday, June 5, both at 1-3 p.m.

Don't forget that our synod still has funds available for mental health grants designed to help rostered ministers and congregations keep current with lay education about mental health. A number of congregations have written summaries of how they used these grants for things like helping with the hurt, navigating COVID times together, creating healthy safe spaces and learning about ambiguous loss. To learn more about the synod's mental health grants, click here.

In a video message for Mental Health Awareness Month, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that caring for our mental health is not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of courage, faithfulness and hope. Watch here.

Join with Cherish All Children to learn about its Safe & Healthy Relationships Youth Guide, and how YOU can make a difference in keeping children and youth safe.

Co-authors Deacon Erica Larson, director of faith formation at Lake Nokomis Lutheran, and Joy McElroy, executive director of Cherish All Children, will walk through the four-session guide, engaging you in activities that help youth understand healthy relationships, signs of unhealthy or unsafe relationships, and how to keep themselves safe in online spaces. Youth leaders, pastors, church leaders and other supportive adults are encouraged to learn about this timely resource before your 2022-23 planning sessions begin!

https://lssmn-org.zoom.us/j/87069374034

Download the Youth and Leader’s Guides, or contact joy.mcelroy@cherishallchildren.org by May 13 to have a hard copy sent to you. The Cherish All Children Ministry Team is one of the synod's public witness work groups.

Children, youth and family leaders of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods, you have been doing so much to offer God's care and courage to the people you serve the last two years. The MAS/SPAS CYF Leadership Team wants to offer you a time to come together to rest and enjoy at the Ascension Day Breakfast. Come eat, connect, be supported and worship. Your bishops will be there, Rev. Jenny Sung will preach, and worship music will be led by Christian Ankrum from The Table. There will also be a raffle for free registration to the 2023 ELCA Youth Ministry Extravaganza! The cost is $10 per person. Register here.

This alternative to the cancelled ELCA Youth gathering is hosted by Humble Walk Lutheran Church in St. Paul and Pastor Jodi Houge. This program for young people in grades 8-12 includes worship, group activities, service projects, art, music, a field trip to Valleyfair and more. Special guests include Rachel Kurtz, Joe Davis, Austen Hartke, Osheta Moore and Jenny Sung. Registrants are asked to stay on-site at the host hotel, the Holiday Inn Express. The estimated cost is $200, not including lodging. Learn more.

Another group affected by the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering cancellation this summer is The Drawer, a Twin Cities based nonprofit that provides new socks and underwear. The Drawer was meant to be the featured nonprofit organization for The Gathering and has received several requests from out-of-state groups still coming to town to host a bundling session as a service project opportunity for their youth groups. They are now planning to have one large bundling session for youth groups to give them the opportunity to meet and serve together despite the gathering as a whole not happening. If your youth group would be interested in attending, email glindquist@thedrawer.org! The time is still TBD but this will most likely be in the afternoon.

Congregations and other organizations are invited to host a sock/underwear and/or financial collection for The Drawer! You can receive promotional materials and other items for your drive. Email glindquist@thedrawer.org for more details.

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities invites congregational pastors to participate in its inaugural Leadership for Social Justice program. Led by a team of teachers, leaders, mentors and grassroots community organizers, this hybrid, tuition-free, nine-month program will equip pastors to reflectively engage in a broad range of social issues - including struggles for economic, racial, gender, sexual and ecological justice - in contextual, practical and faithful ways. The first cohort of 16 pastors will meet twice a month on Friday mornings from September 2022 through May 2023. Participants earn a Certificate in Leadership for Social Justice and may also be eligible to receive up to eight credits toward a Doctor of Ministry degree. Applications are accepted here by July 1. Applicants must also provide a letter of support from congregational leadership.

The upward climb of the past year has presented many challenges for young people. Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) has come together to help youth build resilience and perseverance to reach the summit of their aspirations. This benefit is available via livestream. Registered guests will receive an email with instructions for joining the virtual gathering. Learn more.

BeLoved Teen Group (BLTG) is a newly formed, metro-wide youth group, hosted by Grace Lutheran Church of NE Mpls and Queer Grace Community. It is created to be an affirming space for LGBTQIA+ youth to talk about God, where they can know that they are fully seen, known, and loved by God and by others. BLTG's first summer social event invites teens and their families to an afternoon of crafts! Make a button, bracelets, a Pride wreath, or just draw and paint together. Supplies and food provided. Learn more here or find @bltg.mpls on Facebook or Instagram.

Join Debbie Selsavage, a Certified Dementia Practitioner, for a brief overview and discussion of the characteristics of dementia. She’ll share tips and techniques she’s used to train churches on how to support members and families dealing with dementia and how to become "dementia friendly." This event from Adult Lutherans Organized for Action (ALOA) is free and lasts about an hour. Register here.

Attention, congregations with bell installations! City of Bells invites you to join in community bell ringing on Monday, May 30, at 9 a.m. as we remember and honor the men and women who died in service to our country. The Liberty Bell in St. Paul will be rung at 9 a.m. for 10 minutes as part of a program on the grounds of the State Capitol; the program begins at 8:45 a.m.

New Website: You are invited to check out the City of Bells' new website which features a "Bell Locator" to find bell installations around the Twin Cities. Updates on bells may be emailed to rebecca@jorgensonsundquist.com.

Day of Music: A statewide celebration of bells is planned for Saturday, July 16, by City of Bells and the Minnesota Orchestra. They are partnering on the Day of Music to focus on bells, tours and demonstrations. Activities begin at noon with showcase events on three stages at Orchestra Hall as well as tours and demonstrations at bell locations. The day culminates with an outdoor evening concert at 8:30 p.m. If you'd like to participate with tours and other bell events at your location, contact Rebecca at 952-221-3400 to be added to the list of participating locations.

InterFaith Action of Greater Saint Paul invites you to join them to reflect on their work over the past year, conduct their annual business meeting and discuss timely issues. Featured will be a conversation with Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Anne K. McKeig and Elder Elona Street-Stewart, synod executive for the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, Presbyterian Church (USA). They will focus on the relationship between the church and the American Indian community and on ways people of faith can promote healing and reconciliation. Register here by May 23.

Registrations are being accepted for the 2022 ConNext Summit. Plenary time will be fueled by Sara Thompsen's amazing musical leadership and Danger Boat Production's facilitation of Improv Café Conversations. Workshops are diverse and

interactive. There will be plenty of time for rest, contemplative practices, nature, and socializing. Learn more.

www.spas-elca.org | 651-224-4313