Outline Of Episcopal Indian Ministry Available
Episcopal News Service. September 26, 1985 [85195]
NEW YORK (DPS, Sept. 26) -- What significance does the year 1606 have for Episcopal ministry to Native Americans? Well, in a way, that's the year it all started -- when King James I granted the Jamestown Charter and specified that the Virginia settlers preach the Gospel to the surrounding Indian populace.
That fact serves as a kick-off point for "The Native American in the Mission and Ministry of the Episcopal Church", a brochure recently produced by the Native American Ministries Office in the National Mission in Church and Society unit at the Episcopal Church Center. The piece traces the history of the Episcopal Church's ministry with Native Americans and gives an overview of the present state of that ministry.
From its beginnings at Jamestown and among the Iroquois in what is now New York state, the Episcopal Church mission to the Indians moved west: in the 1800's, when the federal government parceled out Indian tribes to the various Christian denominations, the peoples of the Great Lakes and Plains regions went mostly to the Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches. Today, the largest number of Episcopal Indians -- 10,000 -- live in the Diocese of South Dakota, but there are congregations in the Dioceses of Central New York, Central Gulf Coast, Southwestern Virginia, Western New York, Western North Carolina, Fond du Lac, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Oklahoma, Rio Grande, Alaska, Oregon, California, Los Angeles, all eight dioceses of Province VI and the Navajoland Area Mission, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Since its establishment by the Executive Council in 1969, the National Committee on Indian Work has served as "the liaison, advocate and program agency for American Indians and Alaska Natives in relation to the Episcopal Church." Its purposes include development of both lay and clerical leadership among Native American people, promotion of ministry among them and promotion of cross-cultural communication.
The brochure, which is available free upon request, is current through this summer in its description of ongoing work, and will be updated on a regular basis, as printed stocks are depleted. For information, contact the Native American Ministries Office, 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017.