The purpose of a beacon is to attract attention to a specific place, event or reality. It is often a light or other visible object that serves as a signal, warning or guide (think of a lighthouse, for example). Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative does just that! It alerts us to the issue of our community’s lack of affordable housing and then guides us to actions we can take to help address that problem.
Beacon, of which Oak Knoll is a member, is a collaborative of 100+ congregations that calls attention to the jarring reality that not all people have homes and aims to create affordable, supportive homes for every family. Beacon creates new deeply affordable homes in the Twin Cities Metro which offer supportive services to families. They also engage in political advocacy in order to enact systemic change that prioritizes affordable housing for all families.
Through Beacon, our congregation members can learn more about the housing process, what steps are required to build deeply affordable supportive housing, how to “do" political advocacy, the history of housing discrimination, and so much more!
Oak Knoll’s Beacon team members are: Jeanette and Jonathan Strandjord, Erika Vickerman, Rick Johnson, Jessica Laabs, and Suzanne Rudi. We are eager to talk with you one-on-one about why affordable housing may interest you and to welcome you into our work to help make sure everyone has a place to call home. Join with us in being a Beacon of hope!
The Oak Knoll Beacon committee is planning a Beacon Sunday on Sunday, May 21st with a speaker at the worship service and a forum after the service. More information to follow.
To see how Beacon makes an impact in Minnesota, explore their website at https://www.beaconinterfaith.org/.
You may donate to Beacon Interfaith Housing through contributions to Oak Knoll at oklutheran.org/give-online. These funds will be directed to Beacon and allocated where most needed by them.
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