current events

PPUMC Service Projects Update: Supporting Afghan Refugees

A big THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the February campaign to support Afghan refugees via the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services. PPUMC collected three carloads of goods. The MCC was especially grateful to receive two car seats and a wheelchair. Most of our donations were household goods: kitchenware and cleaning/laundry supplies to help newcomers set up their new homes. Givers also contributed gift cards and a cash donation of $882. In prior months, we raised over $1250…

Project: Let’s Help (Afghan Refugees)

Over the past months, the PPUMC community has been incredibly generous in helping provide support to Afghan refugee families making their way to a new home in Minnesota. (See our previous post about this service project here.) As the re-settlement efforts continue throughout February, we will be collecting a variety of household items, specifically kitchen and cleaning/laundry supplies, as well as accepting monetary donations to be delivered to the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services for final distribution.   There are…

Service Project Update: Afghan Refugees in MN

Did you know? 578 people have arrived in MN since September, that’s 163 families. The state of MN houses new arrivals at a hotel in Bloomington where they await placement in apartments or houses. 499 individuals have stayed at the hotel. 211 are currently at the hotel. 288 people have moved out and are in permanent housing. 55% of the people at the hotel are children. At any given time of day you can find someone wanting to play Uno…

Tapping Meditation: Calming Fear About What’s Happening in the World

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Angela Hed Vincent would like to offer the below tapping meditation. Whether it’s the coronavirus, climate crisis, or political unrest, there are so many things in the news right now that have us leaning into our fears. Studies have found that chronic states of fear, stress, and anxiety weaken your immune system. This tapping meditation was designed to help you reduce this fear, making space in your body for peace and boosting your…

PPUMC Responds to COVID-19 Outbreak

Beloved friends, by now, I’m certain you have heard several opinions about helpful response to the virus spreading throughout the world. C-19, Covid, COVID-19, the Pandemic – by whatever name, this contagion has its own momentum and must be reckoned with. Let’s respond boldly and set our goal at 0% illness within our small and mighty church community! The facts seem to shimmy a little depending on whose opinion is currently in front of you.This we do know – it is important for…

A message from Bishop Ough: Monitoring and preventing the spread of coronavirus

Dear Beloved in Christ: As if there is not enough fear and anxiety in our lives, the world is now enveloped in the fear of the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. This fear is fed by the repetitive 24-hour news cycle, crashing stock markets, and growing restrictions on travel and large gatherings. And now we have our first confirmed case in Minnesota’s Ramsey County. This probably means that community transmission of the virus is already taking place in Minnesota. The most common…

What Does Nonviolence Mean to You? (Video)

This year, during our annual winter retreat, we continued our series on nonviolence with a community discussion about Dr. King’s Six Principles of Nonviolence. This video shows the answers to the question: “what does nonviolence mean to you?”

Grove Church Response from MN UMC Conference

In light of recent publicity around the closure and relaunch of The Grove UMC church in Cottage Grove, we wanted to provide additional context on what has become a complicated and often confusing mix of media accounts and dialogue. For many years, there have been two campuses for The Grove church – one in Woodbury, and a much smaller congregation in Cottage Grove. Despite efforts to engage more attendees over the years, the Cottage Grove congregation has worshiped about 30…

A Message from Bishop Bruce Ough

Greetings, Friends: you may have already seen various media accounts or read an assortment of online postings in relation to last week’s announcement of a possible plan to form a new structure within The United Methodist Church. A diverse, 16-member group of United Methodist bishops and other leaders has offered a proposal that would preserve The United Methodist Church while allowing traditionalist-minded congregations to form a new denomination. Earlier this week, Bishop Bruce Ough of the UMC Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area, shared…
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