NWUM: Empowering City People to Find Wholeness
Expanding the vision of its Rainier Avenue Free Methodist Church founders, Northwest Urban Ministries (NWUM) has been relaunched in south-central Seattle in partnership with numerous churches, service organizations, individuals and families, aiming to be the church and grow the church in the city.

Anna Schoenhals directs this holistic community ministry affiliated with the Free Methodist Church through the Pacific Northwest Conference and supported by more than 10 Western Area Free Methodist churches, Warm Beach Camp, Seattle Pacific and George Fox universities. Non-Free-Methodist churches and service organizations are also part of NWUM. For example, Operation Nightwatch, a service to Seattle's homeless, has provided space for the ministry, and will continue to do so even now that NWUM has its own location - "Hope Central" - in a building across the street.

Since the relaunch, 70 children and their families have been impacted by NWUM's summer and school-year programs. Eight children accepted Christ and several learned to read during the summer alone. These kids and their families were introduced to a grace relationship with Jesus, and all of the children left the summer's Under Construction Day Camp able to articulate that God loves them and has a purposeful "blueprint" for their lives.
The after-school program serves elementary school students and is staffed in part by community members including noted local 18-year-old African-American poetess, Tia-Naché Fields (see sidebar). Parents are offered English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes and other adult enrichment opportunities, and are encouraged to volunteer in the children's programs. With the stated goal of "empowering city people to find wholeness for their lives and communities," NWUM builds relationships and tailors its ministry to the needs and assets of the families it serves. These "partnerships" are most important to the direction and success of this urban outreach.
College-age interns and volunteers are also key to NWUM's activities, serving alongside adults as tutors and counselors and participating on work teams. Stephanie Van Dyken, NWUM Program Associate and recent Seattle Pacific University graduate, says, "Working with NWUM has supplemented and fleshed out my studies." The summer program in 2000 "changed, empowered and inspired" Van Dyken to "continue to be faithful to God's kingdom work." She adds, "I'm so glad to have joined an organization where God is present, children are loved and all people are encouraged."

"NWUM is committed to the three key principles of justice as outlined by the Christian Community Development Association (www.ccda.org), of which NWUM is a member: reconciliation, redistribution and relocation," says Schoenhals. "A Christ-centered relationship is necessary for each of these - for the transformation of lives, communities and systems. At Northwest Urban Ministries, each child, family member, volunteer, intern and supporter is a partner in this work."

Schoenhals, a Seattle native, is a ministerial candidate in the Pacific Northwest Conference and a graduate of Greenville College. "God grabbed me in the cornfields and called me back to the skyscrapers," she says. Schoenhals continues to be thrilled by what God is doing through this movement and hopes that at some point an urban church will grow in this south-central Seattle location to include Anglos, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and others who are just now finding love and hope through Northwest Urban Ministries

NWUM's Poetess Tia Nache Fields
Tia-Naché Fields graduated this June from Franklin High School in Seattle, WA. A leader among her peers and a role model for others in her community, Fields lives with her parents, Connie and James; her brother, Joshua; and her grandmother, Tranklean. In addition to her position as a leadership intern with NWUM, Fields has contributed significantly to Seattle-area children during three years as an academic mentor with Emerald City Outreach Ministries. She composes "spoken word" (dynamic poetry) and performs throughout Seattle. Fields will attend the University of Washington, preparing to further give back to her community as a youth counselor or outreach worker. She is an active member of Power House Church of God in Christ.

To hear Tia-Nache read the full poem and another one of her works, visit our Listen page.

You say I pray to a white Jesus?
And Michelangelo painted those pictures to deceive us?
Images of golden blond hair and blue eyes
so the chocolate melanin of my skin I would hate and despise.
And the Savior of the world had to be a white man
because I was dark and my
culture was that of a heathen.
And then you say blacks were the first to walk the earth
so that meant we existed before and after the birth - BC and AD.
So that meant we knew about the Savior before slavery.

When you tell me that this is the religion of a Caucasian
then I say that you have a cold misinterpretation.
Because to me this is not a religion at all,
but a relationship - a lifestyle.

Excerpted from an untitled poem.
© Tia-Naché Fields

Miraclettes Celebrate 10 Years of Sisterhood
The Miraclettes, nearly 30 girls in first through sixth grades, are celebrating 10 years of performing and growing together at the Anaheim Japanese Free Methodist Church. This fall, a separate group - for junior and senior high girls - will be added.

Grace Ishihara and her daughter, Lisa, created the Miraclettes with a vision for teaching young girls - through music, dance and guided spiritual growth - how to worship the Lord and share with others the gospel message and the gift of joy.

Monthly, the Miraclettes attend six practices and Praise Camp, a weekend overnighter where they rehearse, participate in Bible study, experience the bonds of sisterhood and spend time in prayer. Activities with the church's women's and seniors groups expose the young girls to "Titus 2" women and godly men.

Recent Miraclettes activities have included a service project and performance at the Keiro Nursing Home.
"We are so thankful for God's blessings on this ministry," say the Ishiharas. "He has brought many talented, dedicated parents and others to coach the Miraclettes' dance and vocal skills, make many of their costumes and help them learn to lift their voices, hearts, hands and feet in worship - giving our Lord their best."

Doug Newton Named Executive Director of FM Communications
I am honored and challenged by the bishops' request for me to lead the newly formed Free Methodist Communications in addition to my continuing responsibilities as senior editor of Light and Life Magazine.
In years past, Light and Life Communications has concentrated on the vital function of producing printed materials for informing and teaching the Free Methodist Church. Our new communications vision includes these previous tasks, but focuses heavily on re-creating "connections" between our churches.

We are convinced that the old motto is true: "We can do more together than we can separately." But today, local church life is so busy that our connection with one another is loose, even nonexistent. The emerging mission of Free Methodist Communications is to create new channels of communications and relationships, to articulate more clearly our denominational purpose in the world, and to inspire our people to serve the Lord and the world together.

To accomplish this mission, we are directing our attention toward creating Web-based communications for the Free Methodist Church. Internet technology offers the potential for greater sharing of ideas, needs and resources. Using the Internet's open and instant exchange, we can connect again. As we develop these new channels of communication, we will listen carefully to our churches and people, then respond with the help they need - from printed materials to prayer, from online resources to personal encouragement.

Good communication is at the heart of all healthy relationships. Free Methodist Communications is coming to the hearts of our Free Methodist churches.
Doug Newton

Michigan Congregation "Asks the Pastor"
In a departure from its traditional worship format, the Davison, MI, Free Methodist Church took a Sunday in November to participate in a 45-minute question-and-answer forum called "Ask the Pastor."

Over an eight-week period, the congregation had submitted questions on topics such as church doctrine, local church vision, Bible interpretation, prophecy and Christian lifestyle. The questions, solicited through bulletin inserts, were collected on the church's Web site and through e-mail, letters and boxes at the entrance to the church. The participating pastors perused the submissions, combining related ones and dividing the responsibility for each.
The pastors answering questions were Ward Sipes, former pastor and retired East Michigan Conference superintendent; William Barrett, pastor of seniors; Von Cavanaugh, calling pastor; David Flowers, youth pastor; and Bill Acton, senior pastor. On the day of the event they sat on stools on the platform while tackling challenging questions such as "What are the differences between Methodist and Free Methodist beliefs?" "How has the position on women in leadership changed since Old Testament times, and why?" and "Do you think God still does miracles today?" Gary Kelley moderated.

Time did not permit responses to all the questions. However, those that were discussed generated interest, positive comments and a call to "do it again" from the people attending. Acton, who was prompted by the Holy Spirit to suggest the idea, was pleased with the broad range of participants submitting questions and plans to schedule another forum in several months.