ESC: The Good Seed Project - Cultivating Peace and Solidarity in Luleå

Our foundation, EFS church in Lulea, is a practicing Christian faith community. We are a renewal movement within the Swedish Lutheran church. We aim to be a place of welcome for all people, those who share our faith as well as those that do not. We want to be a community where our members are shaped and formed by the love of God as well as a safe place for seekers to explore existential questions about life and death. Our organization strives to reflect the love of Jesus and to invite people to be transformed by this love. We strive to be a place of nurture and support through all of life's different stages, joys and challenges. And we want to be an active influence in our local community and city and work for a more just and peaceful world. Our main activities are focused on putting our faith into practice. They are: 1. The weekly liturgy (our target group for this activity is all people that are interested in participating). 2. Social work: We gather weekly for a community dinner each Tuesday. Our focus is on offering hospitality for the homeless, marginalized and lonely in our city (Our target group is all people that are seeking community in our neighborhood, but especially those are homeless or marginalized). We also offer a space of welcome each Thursday (The target group for this is elderly people or people that are not working during the week and are seeking counsel, to be in a quiet place, or just to be in community). 3. Agriculture: We garden and raise organic food as we try to contribute to a sustainable local food system. We serve our produce at community dinners. (Our target group is our local community). 4. Youth Ministry: We reach out to children and youth of all ages as we try to teach peace and justice and influence future generations to be people of conviction and active creators of change. We have many different groups for all ages that meet regularly to build community, support families, and offer safe spaces for youth to grow and learn. Our youth group for example meets weekly and welcomes teenagers in our city into safe and positive community that is alcohol and drug-free. The youth group gives youth an opportunity to grow and learn, to practice leadership skills, to be mentored and educated in the values that our organization strives towards: solidarity, compassion, and care for the earth.