wfn.org | Urban missioners brainstorm on services for children

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Oct. 20, 1999 News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{551}

By Frances S. Smith*

LONG BEACH, Calif. (UMNS) - Urban ministry workers shared stories of
"miracles and heartbreaks" while searching for ways to fill the void in
services for inner-city children.

Twenty-five people involved in urban ministry in Southern California
attended an all-day seminar Oct. 5, sponsored by the Committee on Urban
Strategy and Shalom Ministry of the California-Pacific Annual (regional)
Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The purpose of the gathering was to share "our experiences, the miracles and
the heartbreaks of ministry in the cities of this region," according to
James Conn, urban strategist for the United Methodist Church's Los Angeles
Area.

The Rev. Bob L. Isip, pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in
San Diego, said his church had a "theology of sharing space." It
collaborated with the San Diego Unified School District and the Adams Avenue
Business Association to gain property on which to build a school annex. In
11 years, the church will own the property and can use it for various
programs. "Meanwhile, the church is contributing to the education of young
people in the neighborhood," Isip said.

C.H. Muller, a retired layman, told how the Good Neighbor Center at Chollas
View United Methodist Church in San Diego was almost completely gutted by
arson four and a half years ago. "We rebuilt on what was left and the
two-story building now houses the San Diego Metro District, plus a center
that distributes food and clothing."

Urban ministry worker DiAnn Johnson said the Hamilton Church in Los Angeles
held a meeting of homeless people and encouraged everyone to give input on
how to make the community more livable.

A new group in San Diego called "Common Ground" is bringing together people
from Roman Catholic, Christian Fellowship and United Methodist churches to
identify community needs and collaborate on meeting them.

Martin Luther King Jr. Church in South Central Los Angeles buses children
from an elementary school for a three-hour after-school program at the
church. The children get help with homework and enjoy early dinner before
parents pick them up at 6 p.m. Each Friday, guests help with arts, crafts
and music. Church members donate supplies and parents pay a weekly fee.

But not all the reports are rosy. Discussing changes in the urban situation,
participants pointed to internal migration (bringing different cultures and
needs), economics (the widening gap between rich and poor) and changed
social consciousness.

The urban missioners agreed that aging congregations present a major
problem. Members who have been in control for 40 years are unwilling to
relinquish power to the younger generation, they said. One participant noted
that institutions preserve themselves by bringing in new leadership, but the
younger generation is seen as "not trustworthy." Another said that a new
generation is ready to move up, but the older generation fears change.

Members of the younger generation are "sprinters," said the Rev. Steve
Islander, Grandview United Methodist Church in San Pedro. They will come to
a church to hear a specific speaker, but they are not interested in
long-term involvement. "They're one time and out. They're not interested in
a 36-week Bible study."

Mentoring was discussed as a way of preventing youth violence. Spiritual
mentoring based on close relationships must show a boy "how to be a man, how
to be a Christian," said the Rev. Paula Ferris, of First United Methodist
Church in Long Beach.

A pastor described seven young men in his congregation - three with fathers
at home, four with fathers in prison. No mentoring generation exists, he
said, so the church must raise the children. Can it fill the void? he asked.

The Rev. Lesa Smith of MLK Jr. Church shared the problem of a congregation
that doesn't "buy into" the church's daily after-school tutoring program.
Its members come to church on Sunday to gain spiritual resources. "Both are
full-time jobs for the pastor," she added.

The Rev. Cherrye Cunningan of Wesley Church in Long Beach was more
optimistic. "Every church has people who want to help," she said. "Our job
is to find them."

After discussing common needs, the urban workers agreed there is no single
model, no program that works for all. Each of the ministries is unique, they
said, but "we can learn from some models."

Responding to a common need for resources, the Rev. DarEll T. Weist,
president of the Los Angeles United Methodist Foundation, said his
organization is funding programs for urban children. In addition, it has set
up a challenge fund that will match what any church in the Los Angeles and
Long Beach districts gives to agencies working with urban children and
youth.
		# # #
*Smith, a former UMNS staff member, is a free-lance writer living in
Claremont, Calif.

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United Methodist News Service
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