Take Action - Save Caring & Sharing Hands!

Mary Jo Copeland needs YOUR help, NOW.

I'm late to the game on this one, I kept meaning to post something on it - no excuse. So now that I'm here, I gotta make this good - TAKE ACTION on this issue, whether you live in the Twin Cities area or not. We need to speak out before April 25th - that's this Friday people!

I've been to Mary Jo Copeland's apostolic outreach Sharing and Caring Hands a few times and I can tell you that it is an AMAZING place. People find hope here - they find Christ here. The organization feeds, clothes, shelters, and provides innumerable forms of assistance to any and all who come here in need. They are the true hands and feet of Christ, who put their money where their mouth is and roll up their sleeves, while never losing sight of the reason for their being - Christ.

I also know personally that the city of Minneapolis, especially the police force, has at many times maligned and obstructed the work of Mary Jo. The city kicked her out of the downtown some years ago, arguing that her presence was feeding drug dealers. Now, at the location where she and other sacrificing citizens have built Caring and Sharing Hands' campus (including transitional housing at Mary's Place for women and children nearby), the site for the new stadium is going to be right across the street. And there's the matter of the Republican National Convention coming up later this summer - guess it's time to hide the uglies, according to City Hall. So what do they do? Try to weasel out of it by threatening to revoke Mary Jo's restaurant license, so that she would no longer be able to provide the hundreds of meals a day to the homeless. Their logic is, stop feeding people and they'll just "disappear", I guess. Of course, as a priest said to me just recently - the only thing worse than a drug dealer is a starving drug dealer.

Minneapolis wants to hide the fact that it is a city of poverty, a city with a high crime rate, a city with a large proportion of homeless or people threatened with homelessness. Instead of encouraging people who actually want to work towards solving the problem, the city wants to hide it.

Make your voice heard - save Sharing and Caring Hands! Tell the city of Minneapolis that you want them to leave Caring and Sharing Hands alone, and work to support the work of Mary Jo Copeland instead of obstructing her.

If you can and want to help, you need to contact Mayor R.T. Rybak's policy aide: Erica Prosser 612-673-2133 or erica.prosser@ci.minneapolis.mn.us BEFORE April 25th!!!

Go over to Cathy's blog for more details!

Spread the word!