wfn.org | Native Americans establish congregational development fellowship

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

Aug. 17, 1998	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (UMNS) - The governing members of  the churchwide plan for
United Methodist Native American ministries have established a
fellowship aimed at helping develop new Native American congregations.

At their Aug. 13-16 meeting, the 22 board members of the Native American
Comprehensive Plan approved a $30,000 fellowship for a native person to
research and develop new Native American congregations and to revitalize
existing ones. The fellowship will begin in 1999 and will fund work at a
United Methodist-related institution.

The Native American Comprehensive Plan emphasizes congregational and
leadership development, Native American spirituality and native
involvement in the total life of the United Methodist Church. The task
force's mission is to help United Methodists no longer view Native
Americans as a mission of the church but as partners in ministry. The
church's General Conference, its top lawmaking body, mandated the plan
in 1992 and continued it in 1996.

The United Methodist Church has done much to train native people in
forms of congregational development, but there has been  a missing link,
according to the Rev. Sam Wynn, comprehensive plan chairman. "The
church's training has not been culturally sensitive to the concerns of
grass roots native people in the Christian faith." 

Areas where greater sensitivity is needed include:
*	how  to do evangelism to native people; 
*	how to establish ministries with youth; 
*	how to present the gospel to people with appreciation for their
identity and integrity;
*	how to address policy and governance in the life of the church.

Native-oriented congregations are essential because "the church
historically has tried to impose on Native Americans a Western European
understanding of what it means to be Christian while forgetting about
the cultural differences of native people," Wynn said. In addition to
cultural differences, Wynn said, there also are tribal distinctions that
need sensitivity and affirmation.

There is an increasing need for outreach to traditional  Native
Americans who have "been excluded" by the Native American Christians,
said the Rev. Alvin Deere, executive director of the Native American
International Caucus in Oklahoma City. He wants to see the research that
will be compiled used to open dialogue of "the commonalties between
Native American spirituality and Christianity." 

In other actions, plan members voted to strongly urge the church,
through the United Methodist Council on Ministries, to keep the Native
American Awareness Sunday as one of the denomination's "special
Sundays," to provide opportunities to educate United Methodist churches
on Native American ministries.

If the joint committee of the General Council on Ministries and Finance
and Administration decides to recommend that the denomination eliminate
Native Awareness Sunday at the 2000 General Conference, "we ask that the
present monies, including prior claim monies, be included in the world
service monies for Native American ministries," said the Rev. Billie
Nowabbi, of Okmulgee, Okla., and chairwoman of the plan's congregational
development component,

Plans for two events that will enhance ministries to native people and
affect them in life-changing ways also were developed further.
 
A national symposium on AIDS in the Native American community will be
held Oct. 15-17 in Oklahoma City. The conference will help Native
American pastors and lay people develop skills in dealing with AIDS
patients and their families, allow personal testimonies of Native
American AIDS/HIV victims and develop a network for sharing resources. 

Five states -- Oklahoma, Alaska, Arizona, Washington and California --
have heavy Native American populations affected by AIDS and HIV,
according to the Rev. David Wilson, leadership committee chairman and
staff member of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.

"We hope this symposium will educate Native American people about the
effects of AIDS in our committees," Wilson said.

A national meeting to benefit chairpersons, committee members and
conference staff people of Native American ministries will be held April
30-May 2 in Tulsa, Okla. The conference, "Linking the Past to the
Present -- Looking to the Future," will focus on strategizing about
where native people will be after the year 2000.

Comprehensive plan members also:
*	recommended the continuation of the Native American
Comprehensive Plan into the 2001-2004 qaudrennium;
*	voted to encourage the churchwide program agencies to begin
incorporating money into their budgets to help undergird the ministries
of the Native American Comprehensive Plan for the next quadrennium;
*	developed priorities of ministry for the next four years;
*	agreed that 1998 is the third and last year the plan will
provide funding to the Northern Arizona Native American Ministry;
*	agreed to providing funding for a Native American Film Resources
Library that will be networked through Ecufilm and will become a
churchwide resource on native people;
*	set Feb. 4-7, 1999 in Charlotte, N.C., for their next meeting;
*	set the fourth quarter of 1999 for a national Native American
Lay Speaking School;
*	set the last quarter of 2000 for a Native American School of
Evangelism; and
*	visited Four Corners United Methodist Church, a Native American
congregation on the Cattaraugus reservation in the Gowanda area, south
of Buffalo.

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