About Circle of the BelovedIn the Fall of 2016, The Episcopal Church in Minnesota, together with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, community organizers and neighbors, launched Circle of the Beloved: the Minnesota chapter of the Episcopal Service Corps. Four Residents live in intentional community on the North side of Minneapolis and serve full time at Americorps sites that work to close opportunity gaps in Minnesota.
At Circle, we intend to live together in intentional Christian community that acknowledges and deepens kinship across many lines of difference. In community, we live out these values: |
|
Kinship
Instead of operating from a benefactor paradigm of “us” helping “them,” we acknowledge our innate kinship, where all sides give and receive based on our mutual gifts and needs. |
Rule of Life
We will craft a rule of life together that encourages holy listening and prayer, simplicity, a ministry of presence, and active justice-making in our neighborhoods. |
Reconciliation
We will embark on a journey of racial, socioeconomic, and spiritual reconciliation, grounded in following the way of Jesus. |
Our Staff
The Rev. Craig Lemming
Volunteer Program Director The Rev. Craig Lemming is thrilled to serve as the Volunteer Program Director for Circle of the Beloved - the Twin Cities chapter of the Episcopal Service Corps - working with justice-seeking young adults living intentionally together in prayer, simplicity, and kinship with the marginalized. A Zimbabwean native, Craig holds a Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory, a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, and a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Theology and the Arts from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.
Contact: clemming@hotmail.com 857.891.8780 |
The Rev. Lisa Wiens Heinsohn
Program Chaplain The Rev. Lisa Wiens Heinsohn is the Assistant Rector at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota. She has been involved in the creation of Circle of the Beloved from the beginning, while she was attending Luther Seminary and in formation to become an Episcopal priest. Lisa understands Christian faith as a way of life best summed up by the single word reconciliation, and is passionate about walking with Circle residents in what she hopes will be a year of great transformation for all concerned. Contact: lheinsohn@ststephens.com |
“Stepping back and connecting reconciliation to God’s story also helps us move away from dramatic visions of fixing the world, as if our job were to provide solutions to problems outside us. If Christians believe anything, it is that no one—including ourselves and the church—is separate from the brokenness as an untainted solution to the problems of our world. The new creation contends with the old. The dividing line between good and evil runs straight through each one of us. So the journey of reconciliation begins with a transformation of the human person.”
― Chris Rice, Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing
