Feb. 29, 2024

By Rev. Rick King

PrideFest: Last year, a number of us from Falcon Heights Church joined with other UCCs in the Minnesota Conference to have a booth at the Pride Festival, which is on a Saturday, followed by marching as a group in the Pride March the next day. It was great fun, despite rainy weather for the march on Sunday.

Two years ago, the conference was still focused on recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and did not organize quickly enough to claim a booth space or a place in the march. Last year, a few other pastors and I started asking the question of whether we could organize to participate in Pride again, and last year we did.

The organizing is starting earlier this year than last, and so I write to you to ask about your interest in being part of this year’s Minnesota Conference UCC collaboration. Would Falcon Heights Church be game for participating? If you’re absolutely new to Twin Cities Pride, check out their website here: https://tcpride.org/.

Kevin Brown, associate conference minister for faith formation, is the staff member leading the organizing effort, but there’s much work to be done preparing for the booth and mobilizing members of our congregations. You can let others organize and simply sign up to work in the booth and/or march the next day. But if you’d like to be in on deciding what our participation looks like—and to meet some other great UCC people—watch the TAB or talk to me.

Vanessa Bradby, pastor of New Spirit UCC in Savage, will be setting up a signup link soon, so watch this space for more information!

Banners: If you came to worship last Sunday, you saw the new banners for Lent that are up in the sanctuary. This Sunday, Marianne Dietzel will be doing the time for the young and young at heart to share the meaning of the symbols and the colors of the banners. And I hope you can be here for that, as well as communion, followed by a party during coffee hour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Holy Hammers build, with Shane Ellanson speaking about it during coffee hour.

Will you be there?