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(Craig, 2017) Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church in the United States

MISSIONARY CONFERENCES of the United Methodist Church in the United States

MISSION U TRAINING EVENT West Ohio Conference


Session TwoChapters 5 and 6 Appalachia Red Bird and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conferences


Opening Worship


Amos 5:12-13 (NIV)!12 For I know how many are your offenses   and how great your sins.

!There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes  and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. 13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,   for the times are evil.


Reflection Questions

!The prophet, Amos, reminds the people of Israel that by their silence, they are complicit in the injustices perpetrated against the innocent ones.

!Write in your journals, instances where the church kept silent when injustice was being perpetuated against the indigenous people and/or the people in the Appalachian region.


Choctaw Spiritual Prayer(adapted)) O Great Spirit Father who sits on high beyond the heavens, grant me the vision to see beyond tomorrow’s horizon, yet still accept my daily trials that must and will be faced to survive. Let the trails that bore my ancestors’ blood and tears, and the chains that bound their freedom, serve as reminders to all of our hate and savagery against one another, and ensure its trust that we as a people choose never to repeat such ignorance. Guide my feet down the passage of forgiveness of those who have severed my tribal ties, and help me to bind them once more. May your spirit continue to heal and instill within me the meaning of this spiritual prayer, and trust that I use it to serve you well. Amen.


Appalachia

! As we have concluded our study of Alaska, we can see their commonalities with Appalachia:

! Abundant wildlife for fur trading ! Gold drove immigrants to Alaska ! Oil dominated the culture of most of Appalachia.


Appalachia ! The downturn in coal usage has led to:

! Dwindling populations ! Effects of isolation

! The Red Bird and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conferences share a common history ! Both live in dire poverty due largely to the exploitation of their lands by

privileged groups ! Both conferences are located within the boundaries of other conferences

with predominately European American membership ! They share episcopal leaders while trying to function as independent entities ! Native Americans once inhabited the area where the Red Bird Missionary

Conference is currently located.


Appalachia-The Larger Context

Date Activity/Comment

Late 1800s Workers from Scotland, Russia, Wales, Italy and other countries flocked to Appalachia to work the mines

1870s Impacts of poverty White pioneers claimed the land with its forests Industrialists paid small sums to purchase acreage tricking the mountain dwellers to pay property taxes Companies built entire towns to bring in the miners, bankers, managers and retailers to fill them, literally owning the whole town

Early as 1910 85% of the Cumberland Plateau was owned by non residents (including much of) Eastern Kentucky Eastern Tennessee Portions of northern Alabama Portions of northwest Georgia


Appalachia-The Larger ContextDate Activity/Comment

1929-39 Great Depression brought the good wages and benefits from the coal industry to an endWorld War II revived the need for coal but the price was lower and wages were lessMechanization used large machinery to deforest and raze entire mountains (mountaintop removal) Recent focus on clean, renewable energy further creates stress for this region

2017 It remains to be seen if and how America will create new jobs and industries to provide economic opportunities for regions like Appalachia


Abbreviated Regional History-Focusing on area called Red Bird-Eastern Kentucky

Date Activity/Comment1754-63

Cumberland Trail in Kentucky, long used by Native Americans was shut down

1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War Also, designated land from the Appalachian mountains to the Mississippi River as Indian Territory However, the colonies retrieved this desirable area

1769 Daniel Boone and his group traveled through the Cumberland Gap, later killing animals and leaving them behind

This desirable area saw many people of European descent who put down roots in the valleys and hills-becoming known as “hillbillies.”

Today Traditional Appalachian culture has been preserved mostly by families and churches such as traditional arts and crafts, music, foods, and customs.

(Craig, 2017) Missionary Conferences of the United Methodist Church in the United States

War on Poverty Programs! Kentucky became the poster child for President Johnson’s War on

Poverty declared in 1964 ! More then 200 pieces of legislation were enacted to help the more

than 37 million impoverished Americans ! This included programs such as:

!Medicare and Medicaid !Head Start

President Johnson also expanded funding for K-12 education Passed the Voting Rights Legislation Started the National Endowment for the Arts


War on Poverty! Despite these efforts ! Poverty in Kentucky diminished only slightly ! Today the people of Appalachia are living with high rates of poverty ! They can receive government assistance trough programs such as:

! Disability payments ! TANF-income maintenance ! Child welfare ! Food stamps ! Medicare and Medicaid ! Job training


Red Bird Missionary Conference-Overview


Located in eastern Kentucky Part of Central Appalachia Part of all three predecessor denominations of the United Methodist Church

1921 Red Bird Mission Established by the Board of Mission of the Evangelical Church

1922 Educational endeavor established Later became Red Bird Mission of the Evangelical Church

1925 Board of mission of the Methodist Church established a mission which later became the Henderson Settlement


Red Bird Missionary Conference! Small area in the mountains of the Kentucky Annual Conference ! About the size of metropolitan Anchorage Alaska ! 23 churches ! Conference center ! 8 pastors and outreach workers ! Four National Mission Institutions ! Initially populated by people seeking land and natural resources ! Later they became isolated, impoverished, and increasingly

exploited by mining and logging interests


Red Bird Missionary Conference

! Small ! Limited resources ! Small membership ! Located in Appalachia ! Issues of poverty economic exploitation, health, and environmental

degradation from mining are major concerns


Red Bird Missionary Conference-Helping to meet the needsMinistries in

! Education

! Health and Wellness

! Community Outreach

! Economic Opportunities

! Community Housing Improvement

! Addressing needs of 28 congregations


Oklahoma Missionary Conference-Timeline

Date Activity /Comment

1754-63 French and Indian war resulted in the Treaty of Paris Many native peoples were pushed west of the Appalachian mountains

1768 White pioneers disregarded the treaty and pushed into the Indian Reserve

1789 Newly formed United States subsumed the land known as the Indian Reserve

1803 Louisiana Purchase1815-1845 Westward expansion continued, driven by the idea of Manifest

Destiny1850s Native peoples were squeezed from the Indian Reserve

Brutal wars, forced marches, broken treaties, genocide occurred



1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act This gave the president the power to remove Indians from their lands and give them lands west of the Mississippi

By 1837 46,000 Native Americans had been removed from their land east of the Mississippi This equated to 25 million acres of land for the white settlement and to slavery

This removal resulted in the “Trail of Tears,” a cruel example of theft and brutality Most members of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes were forced to walk or travel from the Southeast to Oklahoma This journey was approximately 1,200miles


Oklahoma Indian  Missionary Conference and Methodism! Several details are presented in the text regarding the constant

resettlement of the whites and the injustices perpetuated on the native people (pp72-75).

! Today members of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary conference assert us that:

! Native Americans brought Methodism to Oklahoma ! They faced deep bitterness towards Christianity as it was used also

as a means for “civilizing” the Native Americans ! Creek Indians forbade the adoption of Christian religious practices


The Oklahoma Indian  Methodist Conference

Date Activity/Comments1844 The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church created the

Indian Mission Conference in the episcopal area of Arkansas and MissouriFollowing the schism of the Methodist Episcopal Church over the issue of slavery, the Indian Mission Conference decided to join the Methodist Episcopal Church South, having ties also to Tennessee and Mississippi Methodism

1972 The United Methodist General Conference granted conference status to the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. There were two limitations --OIMC Clergy could only serve within that conference --Delegates received voice but not vote status

1976 The General Conference lifted these limitations


Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference

! Primarily follows Oklahoma’s geographic boundaries ! Oklahoma Annual Conference does also ! There are also some congregations in Kansas and Texas, some have

been in existence over 150 years ! 90 plus congregations and ministries ! In four regions ! Vital remnant of whole nations of people that once populated the

southeastern and central areas of the United States ! Those in the southeast-pushed west buy the Indian Removal Act ! Many were Methodists ! Many walked the Trail of Tears


Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference-Opportunities and Challenges

! Encompasses more congregations than the other two missionary conferences

! Resources are scarce among First Nations due to history of wars and other genocidal actions and policies

! Reservations, and schools reflect policies that are designed to stop the transfer of native language and culture


A Prayer for the Mountains Sunday, August 13th, 2006

O Divine Spirit, Spirit of wind and water, of mountain and majesty, of all creatures great and small: Hear our prayer of thanksgiving for the world that we take for granted, for your gracious gifts that we do not earn, for the daily blessings that we do not merit; Hear our prayer of confession as we acknowledge our self-absorption, our short-sightedness; our failure to care for all creation; Hear our prayer of supplication for the mountains, and those who love them; for the mountains, and those who live in them; for the mountains, and those who work to preserve and protect them; Bring us to that day when the rivers will clap their hands and the mountains will sing together for joy. 

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