Moment for Mission
"Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common." – Acts 4:32, NRSV
Native American Ministries Sunday is one of United Methodism's six churchwide special Sundays with offerings. Next Sunday, we will celebrate the ministries of the Native American members among us. Native American Ministries Sunday is also a time to affirm our commitment to being of one heart and mind as one United Methodist body of Christ as we focus on and work in partnership with Native American ministries.
Our gifts on Native American Ministries Sunday support work with Native Americans in annual conferences and across our connection. Native American ministries are located in both rural and urban communities. Sixty percent of Native Americans live in urban settings. Our gifts on Native American Ministries Sunday support work happening now and making a long-term impact. Half of the gifts collected on this special Sunday provide seminary scholarships for Native Americans, training leaders to be in ministry with Native Americans many years into the future.
We celebrate Native American Ministries Sunday with a spirit of celebration and reconciliation. We celebrate the rich and vibrant contributions made by Native Americans to The United Methodist Church. We recognize the need for deeper and greater acts of reconciliation. On Native American Ministries Sunday, we celebrate our common faith, our common call and the work these ministries accomplish.
Offertory Prayer
Giver of all good gifts, we come before you today aware that all that we have is a gift from you. Let us give freely, allowing the blessings we have freely received from you to continue to bless others as we share in your work with our giving. Amen.
From Discipleship Ministries: Second Sunday of Easter – Gracious God, you are faithful and just! Through the resurrection of your Son Jesus, you have given great grace to us all. You call us to share the word of eternal life with others so that our joy may be complete. Light the way for us as we seek to live in fellowship with Christ. May these offerings reflect the grace of our risen Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen. (1 John 1:1-2:2)
Newsletter Nugget
On Sunday, April 15, The United Methodist Church will celebrate Native American Ministries Sunday. This is one of six churchwide special Sundays with offerings. The funds that are collected will benefit both urban and rural ministries within annual conferences and across the connection. Native Americans have a unique voice among us. The echoes of the past of displacement, genocide and discrimination still ring in their ears as the treatment of Native American people today often continues to be something less than just.
Celebrating Native American Ministries Sunday, we recognize that as the body of Christ, we are bound together with our Native American congregations and ministries, woven together by our common faith. Our offering on Native American Ministries Sunday is a collective action, recognizing that all gifts come from God and are to be used to do God's work. These gifts support ministries that provide opportunities to demonstrate the value and identity of Native Americans as people made in God's image.