[ In a world that seems increasingly chaotic and broken, many of us feel helpless and afraid. We may question what we can do to make a difference. To build collective courage, in this space we will share examples of how individual members of GEC are practicing the way of Jesus, in private action or in the public arena. How might you find inspiration and hope in the small steps others are taking? ]

It’s Workers Over Billionaires - On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping.

For more information go to maydaystrong.org

Submitted by Joe Lex

[ photo credit ]

Tags: Faith in action

[ In a world that seems increasingly chaotic and broken, many of us feel helpless and afraid. We may question what we can do to make a difference. To build collective courage, in this space we will share examples of how individual members of GEC are practicing the way of Jesus, in private action or in the public arena. How might you find inspiration and hope in the small steps others are taking? ]

Many Minnesotans of faith attended the No Kings 3 rally at the state capitol this past Saturday as an opportunity to put their values into action. Participants including Christians, Muslims, and Jews attended the event as a moral commitment to justice, compassion, and the protection of democratic values over authoritarianism. Their actions mirrored their religious beliefs and showed their objection to Christian Nationalism.

The next day, on Palm Sunday, many Christians returned to the capitol to take a stand against the avarice, inhumanity, and brutality of the current administration thus recalling Jesus humbly entering Jerusalem on the original Palm Sunday as a response to the corruption of the Roman Empire.

Coming Soon: General Strike on May 1

-submitted by Joe L

[ photo credit ]

Tags: Faith in action

Friends,

On Sunday, I preached about the first Palm Sunday, and the ways the defiant story of the Passover made Jesus' procession into occupied Jerusalem a dangerous, provocative event. Matthew's Gospel says that "the whole city was in turmoil" as Jesus entered, and then tossed those exploiting the people out of the Temple, and healed the sick. "Who is this?!?," the people of Jerusalem asked?

Who is this? Who do we say Jesus is?

It's an urgent time for the church to be able to speak clearly about who Jesus is. As voices around us claim that Jesus is a figure of judgment who will ride in on a white battle-horse with an army of avenging angels, we proclaim a Gospel that is actually Good News.

Listen to the rest of the sermon here.

With love,
Susan+

[ photo credit ]

Tags: Rev Susan, Palm Sunday, Jesus, Good News

Friends,

There was a line in Lydia’s sermon last week that really hit home for me. Lydia said, “We are sent forth in the name of Christ, back out into the world of mundane to-do lists, blatant fascism, and joyful birthday parties.”

Holding all of it—the daily details, the heartbreak and fear, and the joy—is the human condition. And God joins us in it: "Our God cannot help but feel his way through, even in the most divine moments. Hope and despair are not mutually exclusive.”

Listen to the rest of Lydia's sermon here.

With love,
Susan+

[ photo credit ]

Tags: Rev Lydia, Lent, Hope, Despair

Friends,

In Sunday's sermon, I preached about a town filled with fear. When Jesus arrives and gives sight to a man who had been blind his whole life, instead of joining the man in celebration, they react with suspicion and throw him out. The way they respond to this man, and the miracle he receives, is a glimpse into what fear does at the societal scale.

All of us have been living in this story in recent months. We’ve been a community wracked with fear that has to choose how to relate to their most vulnerable neighbor. The Twin Cities had to decide: Would we sacrifice the immigrant neighbors among us in order to avoid a military occupation?

Read the rest here.

With love,
Susan+

[ photo credit ]

Tags: neighbors, Healing, Fear, Lent