Why don’t all Christians believe the same things about what Jesus taught? Perhaps a more common question today is why does it matter? Our Lord himself gives us a reason it matters:
"And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me; That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17: 21
This is Our Lord praying for us, just before he goes to die for us. Not for us to tolerate each other, but that we “be one”. To quote Saint Paul: “Fulfill ye my joy, that you may be of one mind.” Philipians 2:2
At a time when the earth seems determined to tear itself apart, we are convinced that a reunion of Christians can be a powerful and necessary witness to a broken world. Out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ then, we invite you to join us for coffee and discuss the truth and unity which He has prayed for.
Come Join Us!
The Patria Coffee Shop meetups are a bi-monthly opportunity for Christians of any denomination who out of love for Christ would try to cooperate with His Will that all Christians be one. The gatherings are organized by a group of Catholic men who live in the greater Twin Cities area. We love Jesus Christ and his prayer revealed to us in John 17:21 for all Christians to be one in Him has moved us to extend this invitation to you. We are sending the invitation to all Christians of whatever denomination in the greater Twin Cities area so feel free to pass it along! Below is the calendar with dates and meeting places:
Currently there are opportunities in the greater St. Paul area and in Hastings, MN. The calendar is updated regularly so check in prior to joining! If those dates won't work or you don't want to join in person send us an email and we'd happily converse that way, over the phone, or schedule a separate time to meet up!
We are committed to charitable discussion about Jesus Christ and His teachings and we ask any who comes to be committed to the same. This passage from John we hope can give some direction to how we as Christians can pursue unity and what the end goal looks like. Two key considerations we'd like you to take to heart prior to joining us.
Unity means more than tolerance or indifference:
"That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us." is asking for more than tolerance. He prays that we be one in the same way He and the Father are one. He prays that we would find this unity with one another by being grafted into the unity the Father and Jesus have. The Father and Jesus do not simply tolerate each other. They do not have disagreements about how humanity is saved or what books of the bible the Holy Spirit inspired. So if Christians find themselves with disagreements or divisions on things Christ and the Father would not be divided on we should pursue unity.....because Jesus prayed it would be so.Growth in unity will witness to the world that the Father sent Jesus:
This whole world desperately needs to return to Christ. It is looking for happiness in all the wrong places. Jesus' prayer reveals our growth in unity is a means to help the world believe in Christ. What does this tell us about the Greater St. Paul/Minneapolis area and Hastings, MN? Can our pursuit of unity help them? From Jesus' prayer we see the answer is a divinely revealed YES!
We are open to discussing any topic or question you would like to bring with you. A great place to start is answering the question: How can we know what true Christian teaching is? We'd enjoy the chance to hear your answer. If you'd like to get familiar with the Catholic perspective prior to coming to a meet up you can view some short introductory articles here: