You are invited to… The Groundswell!
Please join us at our second bi-annual Groundswell event, co-hosted by the Minneapolis Area Synod’s Faith & Neighboring Practices and Augsburg University’s Riverside Innovation Hub.
The Groundswell is a community gathering of like-hearted folks in the Twin Cities committed to contributing the common good, locally, relationally and in the small simple practices that build connection and trust. This is a growing network of faith communities, local leaders, and other individuals of good faith and good will seeking to be vital and faithful neighbors.
We will celebrate & inspire through stories. We will engage with resources & take next steps to mobilize people of faith to do the work of vital neighbors at this time. We are excited for special keynote storytellers joining us this year, De’Amon Harges and Pr. Mike Mather.
Our theme this year is:
“Look, Now is the Acceptable Time”
Be a part of community connection that seeks to celebrate and inspire, resource and mobilize for the work of thriving neighborhoods, in a time when fear, uncertainty and crisis abound. Now is the time, more than ever, to reclaim the gift and necessity of community, to devote our energy to connection and reconnection to mend the ties that bind us together, one relationship, one congregation, one neighborhood at a time.
When: Friday, October 24th (evening) & Saturday, October 25th (morning and afternoon)
Where: Hagfors Center at Augsburg University
Registration Link: https://mplsareasynod.regfox.com/groundswell-2025
More about our keynote facilitators:
Here is a short video of De’Amon talking about the neighborhood impact that grew out of his collaboration with Pr. Mike and Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. And here is an interview with Pr. Mike describing the transformation that took place in the congregation as they began to pay attention to the gifts of their neighbors.
Learn more about De’Amon’s ongoing work supporting thriving in communities through the organization he founded, The Learning Tree.
Three years ago at this time, our RIH team was making preparations to host 50 young adults on campus at Augsburg University from across the country. The purpose of this gathering was to listen to the stories of younger generations as they shared their experiences of gratitude, hopefulness and frustration in the church. Collectively these stories spoke to the hunger of this generation for a more hopeful and thriving world. The young adults gathered also shared a belief that God is calling the church to engage seriously in that vision, no matter the challenges.
“Rivers carved stones, not by force, but by showing up day after day until Earth remembers.”
Picture this: teams scattered around tables, sharing their stories – not the clean sanitized versions they tell at board meetings, but the messy truth. The breakthroughs mixed with grief. The celebrations tangled up with the spaces where they’re stuck.
There’s something that happens when you stop theorizing about interconnection and start looking at it. Actual roots. Actual water flow. Actual evidence of what thrives and what doesn’t, and why.
