4.8.6 Spirit Lake Ministry

Since July 2019, the Leadership Team of the Southeast Pierre Mission United Methodist Church has not only assumed the leadership role but has taken on the pastor duties. As no pastor available at that time. Also, there are limited finances. It has now been almost three years. After a meeting with the church members and attendees, it was decided to have a meeting with District Superintendent Bob Ruedebusch and discuss closing the church. At this meeting, on January 16, 2022, it was decided to close the church, with the date to be decided at the next leadership meeting. The church ceased worship on February 27, 2022. We had thirty in attendance. Many memories and great fellowship were shared. As Keith Heinly (a church and community center worker and missionary) shared. “We built the facility first as a community center for Southeast Pierre. The Southeast Pierre United Methodist Church moved from their old facility into the center and the church was a mission to the community. The Community Banquet (based on scripture) is still a place for worship and fellowship.” The Southeast Pierre Community Center plans to remain open. We are an agency of the Dakotas Conference. At this time, we are in the process of setting up a governing board of people in the communities of Pierre and Ft. Pierre who will take over the leadership of the center. The weekly banquet will continue, and hopefully other programs will start again. A review of community needs will help decide what will be the main priority. Since the pandemic started over two years ago, we have been serving the banquet as a takeout meal. An average of three hundred meals are served each week. We would like to open the center to in-house dining in June. The Community Center is a place where all are welcome and through the staff, we offer help or referrals to other agencies. We try to help with immediate needs. We do not offer financial help here. Submitted by Barb Lindbloom, SEPUMC Leadership Team; Acting Director of SEPCC

4.8.6 Spirit Lake Ministry

The Spirit Lake Ministry Center food pantry operates year-round for emergency needs. The food pantry meets the needs of more than three hundred people per month on and around the Spirit Lake Nation. The food pantry depends on the funds from the Spirit Lake Ministry Center, donations from churches and individuals, and food drive items. Recipients of the food pantry receive more than just physical assistance. They are given the opportunity for prayer and fellowship. This helps grow the faith community of The United Methodist Church and the Journey @ Spirit Lake congregation in our community. We depend on The Tribal Council, Tribal Social Services, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Dakota Prairie Community Action Organization, and local churches for referrals of persons in need. The Spirit Lake Ministry provided Shoebox Christmas gifts for 3,562 children in poverty and need in 2021. The continuing Pandemic affected efforts of many who were sporadically meeting in person and online. We were able to provide more shoeboxes this year as compared to last year, but we were still not at pre-pandemic levels. I feel this will continue to grow as the pandemic evolves to endemic levels. The shoebox gifts were distributed to eight reservations in the Dakotas Conference and the Red Lake Reservation in MN. The gifts provide the children with the story of Jesus’ birth, warm hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and fun toys. The gifts share the love of Jesus Christ and plant seeds of faith with the children who receive them. Shoebox Christmas gifts are donated by churches from around the country and within the Dakotas Conference.

The Community Children’s Fund provided emergency clothing and temporary housing for fifty-five children affected by life-changing events. The Community Children’s Fund is used to purchase winter coats, hats, gloves, blankets, clothing, toys, and other items lost in fires or any other major event that occurs in the child’s life. We take items from the food pantry when available, but on most occasions must purchase these types of items. The program depends on funds from the Spirit Lake Ministry Center, churches, and individuals to help defray the cost.

2021 continued to challenge the Ministry in outreach, in-person worship, and other programs. Radical change in the way the Ministry and other churches performed services and other important faith-based programs continued throughout this year. Our Volunteer in Mission program began again with far fewer volunteers from pre-pandemic totals. It was rewarding to see volunteer teams working in our community again. It was still a difficult year finding funding for supplies and material for our construction ministry. The Tribe, our partners in ministry, found it difficult to fund as many projects as in the past. The Casino and Resort had been shut down for many months, making funding for elder programs limited. Even though we had to operate in a different way, and to a much smaller extent, we were again able to spread the love of Jesus Christ with the children in our community. The basketball court came alive as children began to filter back to in person worship and programs while ensuring COVID-safe gatherings. The Christian Life Center began to show signs of life as the Ministry began to evolve from no teams to having about 25% of the volunteers from past years. We were able to begin to repair some of the roofs that had been leaking and new wheelchair ramps were constructed as volunteers began trickling back to our Volunteer in Mission site. Lifelong relationships were again formed as life stories were shared over a sandwich and bottles of water. The sounds of drum, song and jingle dresses erupted in Arthur Hall, and I was amazed at how much we missed building bridges between the two cultures. Team members again heard stories and the history of the Dakota peoples and their lives here on the Spirit Lake Nation. Our weekly culture night brings a sense of understanding to the volunteer teams and members of our community. The Journey @ Spirit Lake, our worshipping community, continues to grow with in person and virtual worship. We are seeing new faces and hearing from people who have never been to the Ministry but listen to our live-stream. Our summer JAM children’s outreach program was able to meet in person for several weeks during the summer and will continue to grow as we go forward. Our hearts were filled with joy as we again heard the laughter and witnessed the spiritual growth of the children in our community.