Committee on Native American Ministries training
emphasizes more outreach needed for Native Americans
By Gloria Brown,
director of Racial Ethnic Ministries
A Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM)
training was held in Reno, NV on September 28-30, 2007.
The training evolved out of the Native American
Comprehensive Plan and the three goal areas for its
people:
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1. Congregational Development,
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2. Denominational Presence,
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3. Leadership Development.
Gloria Brown, director of Racial-Ethnic Ministry and Dr.
Linda F. Crowell, chair of the Commission on Religion
and Race, East Ohio Conference, The United Methodist
Church were in attendance.
Facilitators and other leaders represented every corner
of the United States. Each was given a medicine bag as a
token of appreciation for their roles in making the
training a successful event. Tribes represented (but not
limited to) were: Apache, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chickasaw,
Chinook, Chippewa, Chotaw, Cree, Crow, Eyak, Hopi,
Ojibwe, Paiute, Seminole, Senneca, Sioux, Lumbee,
Mohawk, Muskogee, and Washo.
Participants were urged to either create a CONAM in
their conference if no such committee existed (working
with bishops, of course) or to strengthen the work being
done on initiatives already in process. The structure of
CONAM’s is different from one conference to another but
it quickly became apparent that committee members needed
to do more than sponsor social events for the Native
American constituency of the United Methodist Church.
Outreach work is imperative and should take the shape of
members actually going into communities where natives
live to get a sense of their needs. Needs should be
voiced by Native Americans; not the conference staff
person/committee members who are not in touch with the
pain surrounding drug and alcohol addiction as well as
other kinds of suffering. Visits are being scheduled for
the East Ohio Conference CONAM members to gain first
hand knowledge from natives in their everyday
surroundings.
One-half of the money collected on Native American
Sunday stays with the conference and is earmarked for
Native American outreach, training and supporting
seminarians. In 2008, please plan to give generously on
Native American Sunday (more information in next issue).
A message that emerged from the training was that Native
Americans understand that gambling is fundamentally
wrong and does not fit into the scheme of what makes one
a good United Methodist. While it is fundamentally
wrong, the question continued to rear its head: “If not
gambling, how do Native Americans generate the revenue
needed for their existence and well-being (i.e.,
hospitals, grocery stores, health care facilities,
recovery programs, etc.)?” Some natives even shared
testimonials about how they had been supported by casino
generated money, including full-time employment.
