wfn.org | Minority Group Self-Determination Fund grants aid many

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

ministries

Sept. 30, 1998	    Contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
{557}

NOTE: This story may be used as a sidebar to UMNS #556.

ARLINGTON, Va. (UMNS) - In Compton, Calif., a congregation working with
young people of three races will receive a $14,000 grant from the United
Methodist Church's Minority Group Self-Determination Fund.

"I See What Is Special in You - and Me: Bridging Cultural Differences"
is a multifaceted program of the Crossroads United Methodist Church in
Compton. It helps Hispanic, African American and Asian American youth
discover their own uniqueness and talents and appreciate the differences
and talents of others. Through this process, the program seeks to
address racism, hopelessness, poverty, violence and powerlessness.

The $14,000 is part of $703,900 awarded from the fund by the
denomination's Commission on Religion and Race at its Sept. 24-27
meeting. Combined with $281,604 awarded earlier in the year, a total of
almost $1 million has been granted to 62 projects and programs during
1998. 

Of the 39 grants made in this round of funding, 20 were awarded to local
church projects like Compton's; nine were to community or wider-reaching
groups; and 10 were to churchwide or jurisdictionwide ethnic caucuses or
inter-ethnic gatherings.

The projects provide a variety of ministries.

In Amarillo, Texas, the Community of Grace United Methodist Church
looked at some startling statistics. Domestic violence and child abuse
affected more than one-fifth of the local population in 1996. Reported
child sexual abuse had increased 140 percent from 1994 to 1996, and the
church is located in the northern part of town, where the greatest
number of cases was reported.

The church's answer is the "Community of Grace Shelter of Blessing,"
founded on the belief that spiritual regeneration based in Jesus Christ
is the way to healing. An $18,000 grant will help the church carry
forward the program among the largely African American and Hispanic
population of the area.

Other church-based projects include a program for Hmong people in
Charlotte, N.C.; Peace Community Center for Hispanics in Chicago;
KidTown for African American children in Gary, Ind.; an academy for
Tongans in Palo Alto, Calif.; an empowerment program for Ghanaians and
West Africans in Chicago; and a tutorial program for African Americans
in Baton Rouge, La. In all, the 20 church-based projects were awarded
$273,700.

Grants to nine community projects totaled $114,000. These included
$17,000 to the "Young People for the 21st Century," a project in
Anaheim, Calif., that works with Vietnamese and other Asian American
youth, as well as African American, Hispanic and Native American young
people. Also included in this category is the "Faith in Action for
Community Equity" project in Honolulu, which serves Filipino, Pacific
Islander, Chinese and Southeast Asian people.

A Native American Women's Convocation in Arizona is one of the 10
projects in the category of ethnic caucuses and inter-ethnic gatherings.
Other recipients included a self-determination program in San Juan,
Puerto Rico; the new Pacific Islander National Caucus United Methodists
organization and the Western Jurisdiction Inter-Ethnic Consultation.

# # #

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/