EMC Helps Purchase New Tents for Daylight Center

by EMC Office - February 11, 2021

This week we received a thank-you note from Daylight Center, one of our ministry partners, which runs a school-and-more for tribal children in rural northwestern Kenya. Rev. Eliot Howard, a member of Daylight’s U.S. Board of Directors, writes in part:

This month all students are starting the new school year. This would not have happened without the procurement of tents, made possible in large part by EMC’s financial support. The tents are making enough social distancing possible that the entire student body is back on campus. Thank You!

The Daylight staff has made numerous improvements to keep both staff and students healthy. In addition to social distancing, temperatures are taken daily, and handwashing stations have been assembled for use by everyone across the campus. I’m pleased to share news that there were no COVID cases recorded among students or staff.

During the months while Daylight was in partial shut-down, the 8th and 6th graders were able to continue their studies on campus. One benefit of this uninterrupted schooling is that Daylight’s high academic standards were maintained. Our 8th graders placed 4th out of 400 schools in Pokot County! (The next series of national exams have been postponed to March due to the pandemic.) During the partial school closing all teachers continued to receive their salaries.

Thanks to you and other donors, the school was able to purchase new, higher efficiency stoves and had enough funds to expand the variety of healthy foods students receive.

We on the board understand that these are tough financial times for many — including faith communities. Your steadfast support is very much appreciated. Thanks again for being a part of Daylight’s success. I join with others in hoping that members of EMC soon will be able to visit Daylight!

Thanks for 2020 Daylight Support!

by EMC Office - January 27, 2021

This past year has been a challenging year to all of us in many different ways and Daylight School is no exception. Classes have been delayed and staff has worked diligently to update the health and safety precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve added many hand washing stations, health monitoring and sanitizing procedures. And while this has been complicated at times, there have also been many wonderful and inspirational moments at Daylight School!

Thanks to all of your amazing generosity, we have been able to paint our school buildings, purchase a new printer for the school office, provide needed hand washing stations and cleaning supplies, complete the building of our kitchen and install 3 new locally hand-made stoves, and are in the process of purchasing two large tents to provide shade for outdoor learning.

We continue to provide a caring staff, healthy meals, clothing, shelter, and an excellent education! We have just learned that our 8th grade students had another incredible year on their national exams despite the pandemic, and their scores are ranked 4th highest out of 600 schools in Pokot County! WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR STUDENTS!

Our staff has continued to work through this difficult year to keep the school running to support those students who are boarding at the school, as well as the 8th graders who continued to safely study through the year. They have also been a great support to the families of our students and the local community.

Winter Film Series

by EMC Office - January 17, 2021

Our Winter Film series discussion group starts on Tuesday, January 19 at 7PM! Participants are invited to watch the films on their own, then gather via Zoom for discussion at the appointed times. To register, click on the links below. To facilitate discussion, participation is limited to 12. An “Individual Reflection Version” is also available for those who may wish to view the films and reflect independently. Contact Director of Faith Formation, Susan Weston, if you’d like a copy.

January 19: Defiant Requiem, 7 – 8:30pm
(You can get a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime if you do not already have this service.)

February 2: Girls on the Wall, 7 – 8:30pm
(Rent 1.99 on Amazon Prime Video. You can also check out the “Behind the Scenes” clip on YouTube.)

February 16: Following the Ninth, 7 – 8:30pm
Watch the entire film on the director’s YouTube channel.

March 2: Sweet Honey In The Rock: Raise Your Voice!, 7 – 8:30pm
Rent 1.99 Amazon Prime Video.

March 16: The Singing Revolution, 7 – 8:30pm
Available on Vimeo On Demand for $3.99 or on Amazon Prime Video for $3.99.

Meet Rosemary, Kenya Volunteer & Student Parent at Daylight School

by EMC Office - December 16, 2020

Rosemary and her children.

Rosemary is a volunteer and mother of four students at Daylight Center and School (one of our partner outreach ministries). Her daughter Thelma recently graduated from the eighth grade, top of her class. Thelma qualified to go to a top high school in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi.

In Kenya, High School is not free and is not available to every student. A student’s test scores must be high and one must have enough money to afford High School. In Rosemary’s case to send her daughter to High School, she had to sell a parcel of her land that has been in her family for some time. Rosemary walked me over to the school office and showed me her daughter’s test results. She was one proud mommy!

On top of sending her daughter Thelma through High School, Rosemary is also caring for her nieces and nephews. Rosemary’s sister died and she adopted her nieces and nephews. But like many other parents of Daylight students, Rosemary could not afford to send her kids and her nieces and nephews to school.

That’s where your generosity steps in. Rosemary brought all the children to Daylight and they were given scholarships to continue their education! Now they are star students. Sunday, the oldest niece said, “I want to help people who are sick to honor my mother’s life.”

Education is valued by the community in Kenya as their ticket to a better life for their children. The children take it very seriously and listen intently to their teachers. The students see their education at Daylight as a privilege and gift from God, not to be taken lightly. Thank you for giving the gift of education to Rosemary’s family.

Would you like to help give toward the furthering education of these amazing students? Donate here via credit card or ACH and select High School Student Support Sponsorship, or if donating by check please note High School on your donation.

Daylight Center and School
PO Box 40533
Saint Paul, MN 55104

Expand Your Voice & Free Your Spirit Workshops

by Conie Borchardt - December 16, 2020

‘Voice’ is how our inner truth makes its way into the world. Voice is a tool we all have access to, and singing is a technology of community and creativity.

Through the Full Voice Institute, Dianne Baker, Eoghan Carrick, & Conie Borchardt were prepared by Barbara McAfee to lead practices of helping folks unlock the power and beauty of their own voices.

In this multi-session workshop retreat, participants will both explore the depths and heights of their voices, and also reflect on the connections between their voice, body, and spirit.

Join us for an online workshop to expand your voice and set your spirit more fully free–for the sake of your heart and soul, and for the mending of the world.

Details

WHEN: 6.5 contact hours over 5 sessions and three days

For femme-identified voices (with Dianne & Conie):

Friday, February 5, 7-8:30 p.m. Central
Saturday, February 6, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. AND 2-3 p.m. Central
Saturday, February 20, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. AND 2-3 p.m. Central

For masc-identified voices (with Eoghan & Conie):

Friday, January 29, 7-8:30 p.m. Central
Saturday, January 30, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. AND 2-3 p.m. Central
Saturday, February 13, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. AND 2-3 p.m. Central

Please plan to attend all sessions with your voice type.

WHERE: via Zoom

FEE: $40-50 suggested donation to secure registration. Supported and Supporting participants also welcome.

REGISTER: Email emcucc@emcucc.org to register. Maximum 14 participants per series.

Bios

Dianne Baker is a therapist, song circle leader, retreat facilitator and Full Voice Coach in Sechelt, BC, Canada.

Dianne takes joy in supporting people in their healing journeys and in their discovery of their full selves, and creates safe and trustworthy spaces for this to happen. She delights in nature, expressing this joy by eliciting garden beauty, having scuba adventures, taking forest and beach walks, going canoeing and camping, and singing as she goes.

Dianne shares life with Jim Hathery, her husband of nearly 40 years. They have 3 adult daughters.

Conie Borchardt is the Music Director at Edina Morningside Community Church (staff bio here). When not at EMC, they tend practices of listening and expression in sound and movement for personal healing and birthing new collective stories at Points Of Light Music.

Read more about Conie’s vocal journey in this piece they wrote for the UCC Musicians’ Association. They are in the process of rewriting it for a general audience and planning a Greater Minnesota “Freeing Refrains” tour in 2021 (outside and socially distanced, of course). This tour is the first year of “Biracial and Rural,” a multi-year project that will connect, empower, and share the wide variety of experiences folks who identify as “Mixed” with rural roots have.

Eoghan Carrick
At age 13, other musicians told Eoghan he had a ‘bad’ voice. So he stopped his childhood love of singing. Recovering his voice has been a deeply challenging healing process with teachers and collaborators ranging from indigenous Sumatran singers to esteemed choral director Dr. Joy Sherman to the grief ceremonies brought to the West by Sibonfu Somé.

Today Eoghan serves as music director for the storydwelling community in his homeland of Bend, Oregon. Pre-pandemic he served as director for a regional community choir called Open Hub Singing. He has facilitated expansive Full Voice experiences with students, educators, business people, singers, both online and in-person. Eoghan actively engages an ongoing men’s circle and is committed to practicing an embodied, collaborative, gracious form of masculinity. He does not do this perfectly… To honor his ancestors, his joyful child, dear friends and his soul, Eoghan is finally recording his first album of original music for release in 2021.
Learn more at openhubsinging.com

Add to the #WailingHedge and #FlaggingHope!

by Conie Borchardt - December 15, 2020

“I’ll have a blue Christmas without you, …” As we move closer to the 2020 Covid Christmas, many of us are grieving the family gatherings and other holiday celebrations that are missing this year, and many other things we have missed during the past several months. Since we can’t gather to share our feelings of loss, we have installed a “wailing hedge” on the patio of EMC. Come anytime, write your griefs on flag tape with markers (all provided; look for the plastic box with the white lid), and tie them to the hedge. See what others are grieving and share your griefs with the community. Express the loss and notice if it shifts.

If you’d like to post your lament flag on social media, tag with #WailingHedge

Seen Grace? Got Hope? Share the Gratitude

Many have also found points of light in 2020. If you have found grace during this year, stop out front and help our community give thanks and celebrate the positives by writing your point of light on white flag tape and tying it to the twine strung in the garden by the electronic sign. See what gifts others in our community have found during this challenging year as we approach the longest night of the year and embrace the gifts of the dark, celebrate Christ’s birth, and draw 2020 to a close.

If you’d like to post your hope flag on social media, please tag it with #FlaggingHope.

This pop-up community art installation made by all of us will be up until noon on January 5, 2021. #KeepMorningsideWeird

“Blizzard Bags” Delivery by Meals on Wheels

by EMC Office - December 5, 2020

Our ministry partner Meals on Wheels continues safely delivering meals to homebound community members throughout the pandemic , and this Monday they’ll deliver an additional provision: a Blizzard Bag! Each reusable tote contains shelf-stable foods that will tide recipients over of a snowy emergency, items like cereal, oatmeal, fruit, tuna, hummus, pretzel sticks, cheese sticks, mixed vegetables, juice, and mac & cheese. This follows the distribution a few weeks ago of Covid bags, containing hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, toilet paper, paper towels, and other coveted cleaning needs.

EMC member support helps fund our Meals on Wheels affiliate, member Laurie Cory has served on the organization’s board, and several days each month our church community has responsibility to deliver the meals. Distribution happens from United Methodist Church of Peace in Richfield, and takes about 1-2 hours per “route”, and each volunteer takes one route for their shift. If you’d like to join the Meals on Wheels driving team, please contact the church office or reach out directly to EMC’s driving coordinator, Rev. Molly Cox.

Thank you from VEAP!

by Oby Ballinger - December 3, 2020

Our mission partner VEAP–a food-shelf-and-more located in Bloomington–recently sent out a thank you for the incredible support of community organizations like ours. Edina Morningside Church has volunteers who still serve each week at VEAP despite the pandemic, we grow produce (and receive donations from the neighborhood!) all summer, we participate in back-to-school campaigns, and last year our youth led a “Donate and Do” drive, collecting toilet paper and diapers.

Our church’s efforts combine with congregations and neighbors throughout the Cities, leading to this, from VEAP CEO Joe McDonald:

VEAP has provided healthy and nourishing food, as well as rental and utilities payments to more than 7,500 families in Bloomington, Richfield, Edina and Minneapolis… That’s more than 23,000 children, teens, adults and seniors receiving the assistance they desperately need right now. I’m happy to say we’re on pace to distribute 5 million pounds of food for the year, with 50% of that being fresh produce, our biggest year yet. Remarkably, our social services team has issued $2.5 million in rental assistance grants in response to the great need that has arisen from the pandemic.

Read the full note from VEAP here, and thanks for your generous, year-round support of all our mission partners!

Advent Hope

by Oby Ballinger - November 27, 2020

Advent begins this Sunday, a new season of the church year that marks the weeks of preparation before we experience the incarnation of Christ on Christmas Eve. (Check out our Advent theme video for what we’re up to this year.) Each Sunday of Advent has a different theme, and the first Sunday is that of Hope. Consider the words of poet Jericho Brown:

Hope is the opposite of desperation—it’s not as comfortable as certainty, and it’s much more certain than longing. It is always accompanied by the imagination, the will to see what our physical environment seems to deep impossible. Only the creative mind can make use of hope. Only a creative people can wield it.

We enter Advent on the wings of hope, imagining—and thus beginning to create together—a new reality. God’s hope for justice and love “on earth as in heaven” has us envisioning a world where every person is safe, healthy and loved, no matter where they live, what they look like, or how much money they make. These are the “tidings of comfort and joy” that lead us to yearn for the coming Christ, Emmanuel, “God with us”. Confident in this soon-to-be reality (at least in cosmic terms), we are not made hopeless by the near-term challenges we face, but we do what is needed to prepare our homes, hearts, lives and worship for the love of God to be born among us, soon and very soon. Let us wield hope for such times as this, and watch for ways to prepare together as the church. Happy Advent!

Beacon Housing Outreach Opportunities

by EMC Office - November 23, 2020

As winter weather closes in on Minnesota, opportunities to support affordable housing are heating up! Without homes, our neighbors are missing the most basic foundation to health. In a time that requires great community healing, we can advance this faithful, healing work together. The Second Offering for November is Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, and in worship on Sunday, November 22nd, we saw a short video (visible below) demonstrating how different faith communities come together to make a difference through Beacon. In this spirit, our Beacon Core Team is highlighting ways that EMC members and friends can make a difference with our time and voices at this critical time of year.

First, Beacon’s “Rent is Due: Day of Action” is a monthly 30-minute virtual meeting to remember the crisis many families feel on the first of the month, and take strategic action together for home. On our morning meeting this December 1st, 8:30-9am, we will celebrate our work, reflect on our strategy moving forward, and begin pushing the legislature to prioritize housing in this upcoming legislative session and support the statewide funding campaign “Bring It Home, MN”. All are welcome to join the virtual meeting. Please register to receive an email with the link to join the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there!

Second, join us on December 3rd, 4-4:45pm for the second Light the Way Home virtual fundraiser. You will hear stories of resilience from Beacon residents and leaders and Lee Blons, Beacon’s President and CEO, will share Beacon’s vision for doubling down on homes that have supportive services onsite. You’ll be invited to give a gift that feels right for you, and pool resources to create stability for neighbors.

Finally, we know there are going to be many other opportunities to support affordable housing (and families who are on a path towards it) with Beacon in the coming months. Whether or not you can take part in these December events, please add your information to Beacon’s Pledge to Take Action. There you can also explore other opportunities for making a difference now, and will receive news of the latest updates.

Thank you for your advocacy and support of Beacon, and the faithful assertion that everyone should have a home!