Read the full issue of this week’s newsletter here: The Weekly Liberal Sept. 8.

Rev. Justin Schroeder writes:

What does it mean to be a part of this faith community? It’s a commitment to give, receive and grow together. As we begin a new church year together, learning to give, receive, and grow in ever deepening ways, we invite you into a religious life that contains some combination of the following three interconnected components:

• Engage in a personal spiritual practice: Attending worship every week is a great place to start! Practices such as meditation, prayer, or journaling are also powerful anchors for the spiritual life.
• Discover your community within the larger community (for example, join a Circle, Daytime Connections, a Religious Education teaching team, the Choir, or another smaller community within the larger church community; this is place where you are known and know others.)
• Participate in one of our Faithful Action Partnerships as we support one another and learn to act with humility, bravery, and compassion in service to justice.

We have heard from many of you that you want to be more involved in serving our larger community, and we’re pleased to announce that over the next few months in our Sunday worship services, you’ll meet our seven Faithful Action Community Partners – EMERGE, Project for Pride in Living, Simpson Housing Services, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, Augsburg Fairview Academy, Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, and Habitat for Humanity – and discover clear avenues for engagement. Faithful Action is how we describe our justice ministry, and the term “Faithful Action” recognizes that there are hundreds of ways to act faithfully as we work for a more just and equitable world – we can advocate, write letters, learn about issues, cook and serve meals, build a home, mentor students, protest, stand in sacred witness, and so much more. In our Faithful Action efforts, we work through partnerships and with a racial justice lens.

This fall, we invite you to chose one or more of these three components, inviting the Spirit of Life to sing in your heart, and to give our collective lives the shape of justice. May it be so.

I’ll see you in church,
Justin