By Michelle Schwartzman, VIM Coordinator
Building the Beloved Community, what does that mean? What is the Beloved Community? Why do I keep hearing this in the Susquehanna Conference? The Beloved Community is the idea that all people are cared for and are free from hunger, poverty and racism. It became popularized through Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The idea isn’t new, but it’s circulating because people are still suffering from hunger, poverty and racism and many believe we can build this community!
I’m the Volunteers in Mission Coordinator (VIM) for the conference and I was able to attend the United Methodist Appalachian Ministry Network Assembly (UMAMN) on behalf of the Conference Board of Global Ministries (CBGM). Wow, we do love our acronyms! UMAMN’s mission is to advocate for Appalachia within the structure of The United Methodist Church, working to identify and implement solutions that address the systemic causes of community and environmental issues in Appalachia through leadership development and collaboration with ministries and organizations that serve the region. UMAMN celebrated 50 years in ministry and their assembly theme was “Building the Beloved Community.”
UMAMN offers the Hunger & Poverty Grant Program, which awards several grants up to $2,500 per year. The goals of the program are to assist with and encourage the development of new ministries or the expansion of current ministries that are working to eradicate hunger and poverty in Appalachia and to help meet the emergency needs of ongoing ministries dealing with mounting client populations and decreasing or diminishing resources. The grant is funded through the Appalachia Hunger and Poverty General Advance Special. To donate, visit https://advance.umcmission.org/p-630-appalachian-ministry-network.aspx Like all ministries and organizations the Global Pandemic took it’s toll on UMAMN. However, they were able to offer emergency grants for direct food purchases for the ministries they’ve partnered with in the past during this time.
At the assembly, I attended workshops and heard presenters talk about their efforts to Build the Beloved Community. The House of the Carpenter in Wheeling, WV, hosted us for a day of workshops. We heard from their executive director, Rev. Dr. Michael Linger. He presented on the Impact of poverty and his experiences of leading the House of the Carpenter. He gifted us with the book, “The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and School Partnerships” by Jake McGlothin. You can borrow it from our conference resource library, Discovery Place.
We heard from Rev. Joy Wigal, Chair of Zanesville Thinktank on Poverty, about addiction services. Together with her congregation, she partnered with another church to begin an overnight shelter. We heard her passion and care for others and were trained on the use of naloxone. We learned what a Harm Reduction Advocate is and talked about different misconceptions of those addicted to substances and those who are unhoused. We also heard from Rev. Mike Feely, executive director of Mountain T.O.P., Rev. Dawn Martin, director of Program Ministries at Hinton Rural Life Center and Cynthia Lytle, director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement and Rev. Ashley Steele, executive director, both of Urban Mission Ministries, Inc. Closing out our presentations was William Isom II, director of Black in Appalachia.
Our very own bishop (well, one of them), Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, was the guest speaker Thursday evening. Bishop Moore Koikoi encouraged UMAMN and the people of Appalachia, saying they have just what they need to Build the Beloved Community. Being from Appalachia herself, Bishop Moore Koikoi pointed out the strong sense of community and caring for neighbor as well as a drive to confront the hypocrisy of systems.
Appalachia is made up of 423 counties across 13 states and spans 206,000 square miles, from southern New York to northern Mississippi. The region’s 26.1 million residents live in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and all of West Virginia. (arc.gov) All or a portion of 20 United Methodist conferences fall within Appalachia, and the region contains over 9,500 United Methodist churches. 52 out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania are Appalachian counties.
Angela Bates, UMAMN executive director and board chair, Rev. John Baney (from the Susquehanna Conference, serving an Appalachian community at the Renovo Area United Methodist Charge and my hometown) ask that you, your congregation or your Sunday school become a part of the 85 Builders for UMAMN. These 85 (or more!) will help UMAMN lay the foundation for future ministries and support existing ministries that serve the people of Appalachia. Please consider becoming a Builder by pledging to give $25 a month for 1 year. You can donate to the Appalachian Ministry Network Advance #982041 or send your donation to Angela Kirtdoll, Executive Coordinator, UMAMN Office, 301 North 5th Street, Steubenville, OH 43952.
