Homeless / Traveling Youth and the Rainbow Gathering.

Seminar, preparation week, Art Fest,
and Jesus Kitchen Outreach in the woods.

Come join us for a night of prayer, a day of prep
or a whole 3 weeks of training and outreach

as the Rainbow comes to our own backyard, Welcome Home!

Jesus Kitchen – National Rainbow in MN/WI (1st time in 25 years)
– Dates: Jesus Kitchen June 23 – July 7
  – June 14-15: Homeless and Traveling Youth Seminar
  – June 18-23 Minneapolis Prayer and Prep Gathering:
     – June 21, Jesus Kitchen Prayer and Worship 6:30 pm (5:30 Meal)
     – June 22 (12p-6p): Fallout Art Fest

Every summer in a National Forest, up to 30,000 come together for a Rainbow Gathering. Since the early 70’s old hippies, homeless youth, travelers, modern-day vagabonds and misfits come together for several weeks in search of community – “Welcome Home.”

The Jesus Kitchen has been a presence in this community for over 20 years and built a positive reputation with a culture that is typically anti-religion. Hundreds of meals, prayer and worship out in the open (morning, midday and evening), and a prayer tent happen daily. Many daily spiritually significant conversations and individual prayer have resulted in first time commitments to follow Christ, baptisms in the woods and young people coming back to live in transitional homes have all been fruits of this organization.

Source staff, Ben and Teresa Pothier (and 2 children) travel across the country each year to co-lead the Jesus Kitchen. National Rainbow Gatherings are backwoods camping. A full backwoods kitchen and supplies for 2 weeks is typically set up 1-2 miles from any roads. Bringing in 50 gallons of water daily, making cooking tables out of trees, digging latrines, setting up a campsite for dozens to eat at a time, and keeping food fresh, are just a small part of the work that needs to be done. Not to mention being outside in the elements.

Location: MN/WI TBD, it will be announced in early June.
The National Rainbow Gatherings are in different parts of the country every year and this year it will be in MN/WI. Specific location will not be announced until the beginning of June.

Holding Camp: Duluth (Prayer, supplies, and camping outside the Rainbow)
Details still forming, but we will possibly have a Holding Camp on the edge of Duluth. In anticipation of the location being in northern MN/WI some friends with land on the edge of Duluth will make it available for people to camp. This is ideal for those traveling across the country (or state) and arriving in late afternoon or evening to have a place to stay before going into the woods the next morning. It will also be a place for volunteers that want to come to do Jesus Kitchen day trips and not stay overnight in the Rainbow (or those that are in for the long haul to have a break). It will be a place to gather supplies and prayer times as well.

Dates: Jesus Kitchen in the Rainbow Gathering: Tentative dates are June 23-July 7 (may adjust one or two days).
The exact location will determine the exact times of going in and coming out. Extra help is needed on both the first couple days of setting up the camp and the last couple days of tear down.

• Homeless and Traveling Youth Seminar June 14-15
  • Friday and Saturday seminar: Hear about how to effectively be a friend and a voice to a vulnerable culture that is hurting but wants nothing to do with religion. Broken homes, addictions, teen prostitution, survival sex, hitchhiking, train jumping, couch surfing, and living in squats are all apart of the culture. Since 1995 Source outreaches have included Rainbows, rave house, Mardi-Gras, street teams, transitional homes, and community meals.
• Minneapolis Prayer and Prep Gathering: June 18-23
  • June 19-21: prep during day, meals and prayer times in evenings
  • June 21: Jesus Kitchen Prayer and Worship 6:30 pm (5:30 Meal)
  • June 22 (12p-6p): Fallout Art Fest

Volunteer: A day or two or the whole 2 weeks
Prep/Supplies, In the woods or at the Holding Camp.

• • Prep and Supplies
    • Volunteer during the Seminar and prayer/prep week in Mpls June 14-22
    • Food and Supplies: Wal-Mart Gift Cards or donations allow specific items to be purchased. See the current food and supplies list.

• In the woods

• • Jesus Kitchen: We need a team prepared for labor-intensive backwoods camping (Note: Some are staying at the Holding Camp and doing day trips). Each day we will be making 100’s of meals, gathering firewood, hauling supplies in, and hauling in 50 gallons of water. Our team will participate in prayer and worship times, spiritually significant conversations, offering prayer and hosting a prayer tent.
  • Kitchen Set Up (Marines: first to land). The first two days are the most labor as the kitchen, latrine, campsite, tables (made from scratch), shade tarps, prayer tent and lots of supplies need to be carried in 1-2 miles.
  • Tear Down: The last day we also need extra help. The main crew will be exhausted from the two weeks of ministry. The kitchen supplies need to be hauled out, campsite restored and latrines filled in.
• Holding Camp: Day trips, The holding camp we hope will be less than 2 hours from the Rainbow Gathering. Some people will be staying at the holding camp. Possibly preparing some food there to bring in as well as having prayer and worship. Holding camp will have people camping.

– Warning: The rainbow gathering is highly spiritual and alternatively counter culture. If you have not been around counter culture people or the drug culture it can be intense. We have families with young kids that are part of the Jesus Kitchen. Many children are always a part of the Rainbow Gathering. We feel physically safe at the Jesus Kitchen and ask people to stay together and not wander off alone. Drugs, witchcraft, pagan activities, and on occasion nakedness are visible. Spiritual warfare can be intense. Anyone coming to help with the Jesus Kitchen we ask would respect and follow the discretion of Jesus Kitchen leaders. Prayer, worship, checking in, and praying for one another several times a day is a common and needed practice.

– Be Prepared: You will be backwoods camping and need to come prepared physically, have your own supplies to camp, like your own tent, and be prepared for bad weather. Also, you will need your own items like plates, mugs, water bottle, and silverware. No paper products are provided or desired in the woods.

If you are interested in becoming apart of the Rainbow Gathering please email at info [at] sourcemn [dot] org.