 Jared Roper, Danita Paige and Nayisha Taylor (l. to r.) sang a song of praise during the January 1999 youth event, "I Can Be Heard -- Represent!". The teens came together in San Antonio, Texas from United Methodist community centers, which are funded by "Human Relations Day". Photo: John Coleman. |
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A vacant hotel that was once a hospital for railroad workers, a hotel for African American travelers and was slated to become a parking lot will become affordable housing for senior citizens, thanks in part to community developer Latanya Cunningham at Asbury North United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio. Through the Community Developers Program, racial and ethnic congregations use the problem-solvers in their own neighborhoods to raise awareness, take action and heal the ills of their communities -- ills such as the lack of affordable housing. The United Methodist churchwide offering, "Human Relations Day," which falls on the Sunday before the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, provides the funding for the Community Developers Program of the General Board of Global Ministries. More than 30 community developers, like Ms. Cunningham, work in troubled neighborhoods across the United States and in Puerto Rico, focusing on the community's needs based on their experiences and the guidance of a group half made up of community members and the other half of church members. This "Human Relations Day," Ms. Cunningham, the only community developer in the Columbus area, will speak at Redeemer United Methodist Church, a suburban church. "I'm going to an all-white church to let them know about the ministry going on here. To let them know how important Human Relations Sunday is. It is not only black churches that benefit from this day but the indigenous churches too," said Ms. Cunningham. Ms. Cunningham, became aware that seniors in the Asbury North community were on waiting lists for affordable housing. She founded the Christian Community Development Corp., a non-profit organization that bought the old Hotel St. Clair, a four-story brick building which may soon qualify as a national historical site. None of the twenty-two apartments in the renovated building, scheduled to open this year, will lease for more than $400 to low income residents 62 years old and older. The renovation will spur economic growth in this struggling neighborhood. In Alameda, California, community developer Cynthia Okayama Dopke is also concerned with advocating for affordable housing. In the wake of the closing of the United States Naval Base, the city has announced plans to tear down the existing 590 units of Navy housing and replace them with an upscale development. With the Buena Vista United Methodist Church and ecumenical partners, Ms. Dopke is working to stop the demolition of the housing and preserve it for those with the greatest need families and individuals with middle and low incomes. Another on-going program at the Buena Vista UMC is supporting counselors in the local high schools to talk with teens about drugs and alcohol. One goal of this program is to empower, educate and counsel youth on substance abuse in the Asian community, a group generally not inclined to talk about the issue, according to The Reverend Michael Yoshii, pastor of Buena Vista UMC. Through the Community Developers Program, Buena Vista UMC, a 100-year old United Methodist Church and the first mission for Japanese immigrants, is finding new ways to be in mission in their community. Counseling youth about substance abuse and creating affordable housing are just a couple of the ways that the Community Developers Program, with the support of the General Board of Global Ministries has effected change for more than 30 years in African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American United Methodist churches in urban and rural neighborhoods. Ruth M. Lawson, executive secretary, Community Ministries/Development, Community and Institutional Ministries, invites congregations of all racial and ethnic identity to participate in the Community Developers Program, a program of community empowerment. To learn more about the General Board of Global Ministries Community Developers Program, call (212) 870-3821 or e-mail rlawson@gbgm-umc.org January 13, 2000 See also: The Community Developers
program, GBGM Staff Briefing |