Volunteers build understanding and deep relationships through learning community events.
Volunteers get to know one another, learn from nationally renowned speakers, engage in interfaith dialogue, and develop strategies to engage others in the work of creating real, systemic change in Greater Saint Paul.
Coming Up
Thursday, November 11, 6:30 – 8pm, via Zoom
(registration will open in late October)
Speaker: Whitney Terrill, MN Interfaith Power and Light
Our topic is the interconnectedness of environmental and racial justice and the impact it has on our communities. Whitney will share a reflection on ways that people and communities of faith can show up powerfully in their communities. She will specifically draw on her work as an environmental justice activist in an interfaith climate justice movement and offer ideas for how we can achieve greater impact. She will connect our work in Minnesota to local, national, and global interfaith work that offers moral leadership for a more just and inclusive world.
Whitney is the Environmental Justice Program Manager at MNIPL where she designs, coordinates, and facilitates community-based programming and partnerships for MNIPL and individual faith communities.
Previous Learning Community Events
Disparities in Mental Health
June 3, 2021
MayKao Y. Hang, D.P.A., Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Founding Dean, Morrison Family College of Health, University of St. Thomas, discussed how to address complex community issues and promote equity for underserved communities.
Acknowledging and Celebrating Earth Day Interconnections for Environmental Justice with Michael Quinn Patton
Thursday April 22, 2021
Michael Quinn Patton, one of the leaders in the field of evaluation studies, discussed how environmental and climate issues have a disproportionate negative impact on communities of color.
American Indian Land Issues: Obstacles and Strategies with Cris Stainbrook
Thursday, March 4
Our March 4 session continued a deep dive into rural racial justice issues. Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, explained the history and current issues surrounding American Indian land ownership.
2020–2021 Learning Community Events
January 21, 2021: African-American Farmers: How Their Struggles Shed Light on Our Community’s Struggles
Stephen Carpenter, Deputy Director of and Senior Staff Attorney at Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc., and Shirley Sherrod, a leader in the African-American farmers movement, director of the Southwest Georgia Project; Interfaith Text Study by Reverend Julie Neraas, Hamline University
Webinar | Text Study
December 17, 2020: Mass Incarceration & Restorative Justice
Professor Jessica Siegel, University of Saint Thomas, and Brenda Burnside, Restorative Justice Trainer & Practitioner, discussed mass incarceration, racial injustice in the criminal justice system, and the way faith community volunteers can help through restorative justice circles.
Webinar | PowerPoint | Text Study | Interfaith PDF
November 12, 2020: Voting Rights with Dr. Yohuru Williams
Dr. Williams explored the history of voting, with particular attention to the historic restrictions placed on suffrage for Indigenous people, immigrants and Black Americans, as well as contemporary challenges to voter participation.
Webinar
October 13, 2020: Racism in Education – Looking back and forward
Gaye Adams Massey, CEO YWCA Saint Paul, and Deena Zubulake, Director of Programs, YWCA Saint Paul, discussed the history of racism in American education, its impact on today’s racial disparities in Minnesota (and the nation), and strategies and tools for effective engagement with young learners affected by this history. Interfaith text study leader was Mark Berkson, Hamline University.
Webinar | School to Prison Pipeline video | Teaching Tolerance video | Racism in Education PDF | Buddhist Texts on Anatman
September 17, 2020: Opportunity Saint Paul Program Year Kick-off