Winter Talk XX goes north to Minnesota for spiritual growth and storytelling

From January 20-23, scores of people visited Buffalo, Minnesota, for the 20th annual "Winter Talk" gathering, sponsored by the Native American Ministries Office of the Episcopal Church. The group represented 21 tribes from 29 congregations, 11 dioceses, and two Anglican provinces. There were clergy and laity, elders, middle-aged people, young adults, and children (the youngest attendee was aged one year and one week). They came to learn, to discuss issues common to their communities, and to renew friendships and make new ones. But through it all, they came to tell stories.

The Winter Talk gatherings were held for many years in Oklahoma, but in recent years they have moved to other locations. The 2007 event was held in Jamestown, Virginia, and was a time of reflection on the coming of Europeans to North America and its effect on the peoples who were living in this land. This year's central Minnesota venue with its sub-zero temperatures was a bit of a shock to some, but it served, as one person put it, "to put the ‘winter' back in Winter Talk."

Bishop of Minnesota James Jelinek attended the opening dinner and program, bringing greetings to the participants. He spoke of the Diocese of Minnesota's 150-year-old commitment to Native American ministry, dating from the time of its first bishop, Henry Benjamin Whipple, who ordained the Rev. (John Johnson) Enmegahbowh, the first Native American Episcopal priest.

Two other bishops were at the gathering: Bishop Michael Smith of North Dakota, who celebrated the Winter Talk Eucharist; and Bishop Mark MacDonald, national indigenous bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada and assisting bishop of Navajoland, who convened one of the workshops.

A circle of stories
Everything at Winter Talk happens in a circle, and everything (and everyone) is part of a story. When participants answered to a registration roll call and confirmed their room numbers, they told of their lands and their people. When they brought objects from their homelands to "build the altar," they told the stories of these things and how they had touched their lives. The conveners told their own stories as they began their sessions. And every night ended with songs and stories, lasting as long as people wanted to tell them. The entire gathering -- workshops, business, and worship -- was marked by affection, laughter, and storytelling.

A significant and powerful part of Winter Talk is the Building of the Altar. On the first night, people place items on a long table, telling their stories as they do so. The altar eventually held sand from Puget Sound, water from Standing Rock, crosses and beadwork, moose hide, tobacco, sage, white corn, lava rock, birch bark, prayer books, pictures of family, and more. All through the gathering, people passed by the altar to see and touch what was there.

One story came from Carol Kramer, who grew up in Ponsford, Minnesota. When she and her husband Fritz, a priest, moved to Iowa 16 years ago, she was sad to leave her home. She held up a large round rock to place on the altar, saying that it had represented what she thought Iowa would be like, hard and rough. "But look," she went on. "This rock is a geode. When it is opened, there is great beauty." This is what happened to her in her new home.

Goals, empowerment, and communication
The aim of the conference was to build on Vision and Mission Statements from an October 2007 gathering of the Executive Council Committee on Indigenous Ministry: "To empower and nurture healthy leadership and assist the spiritual growth of our communities by fulfilling our Baptismal Covenant through our cultural traditions. With the Word, we talk, we listen, we act, to make strong out relationship with our Creator." Aspects of this statement were made into a wheel, and workshops were offered on each of its sections: Goals and Objectives; Empowerment; Communication; and Action. Each workshop was followed by group discussions of Gospel-Based Discipleship, using a scriptural passage relating to its topic.

The Rev. Susan Moss, a missioner in the Diocese of Minnesota, led a session on Goals and Objectives. A goal, she said, is something you want to accomplish, and objectives are the plan that lets you do it. If a person wants to educate, that goal means nothing unless lesson plans are made. Similarly, objectives are meaningless unless there is a goal to be achieved. "Objectives are those things we do to live out God's call," she said. "They are other words for mission and ministry." When they are followed, there are results, or "fruits of ministry." These are examined, letting people either move forward or decide what to do differently next time.

It was an easy transformation from goals and objectives to empowerment. Ken Butigan, executive director of the non-violence organization Pace e Bene, spoke of power over, power with, and power within. "Systems of violence and injustice put circles around themselves," he said. "The job of the power holder is to make us feel powerless." Non-violence, he added, is "love made visible." Butigan challenged participants to think of a time when they had created a win-win situation, making love visible. He asked them to express on paper images of those times, and then gather in a circle to tell the stories of the images. These papers were added to the altar.

The next day began with a short session from Susan Barksdale, a communications consultant for the Diocese of Minnesota. Communication, she said, could be considered as an objective to achieve a goal. It could be used to inform, to educate, and to tell a story (what some might call "reporting"). "I have heard it said that God made human beings so that He could get to hear stories," she said, and urged participants to be diligent in telling theirs to the world.

Calls to action
A large part of the afternoon was devoted to a conversation MacDonald. "How do we describe what God asks us to do?" he asked. "All it is, is the Word made flesh."

"Anything that has life and goodness attached to it has the Word in it," MacDonald continued. "The Bible and our elders tell us that."

He also spoke of the difference between power and authority. "Power comes from authority, not the other way around," he stated. "Authority is what gives birth to power." He asked who had authority over people's lives. "We must respect the police," he noted, "but do they have more authority than the elders? Does Bill Gates have more authority than our parents and grandparents? God's action in us is the Word made flesh. We act by living out that meaning. Great things happen all the time in all kinds of places without anyone knowing. It is in those moments of authority that true change happens, that true power comes."

These calls to empowerment and action were realized in discussions held with Janine Tinsley-Roe, national missioner for Native American Ministries, who was also present at the conference. There was a continuing conversation about the restructuring of the Episcopal Church Center and the moving of various ministries to different areas. Three of the four current ethnic ministries (Asian American, Black, and Hispanic/Latino) have been assigned to the new Evangelism and Congregational Life Center, while Native American/Indigenous Ministries are going to the new Advocacy Center. While the Winter Talk participants supported the Advocacy Center's purpose, they also noted that Evangelism and Congregational Life are also priorities for them, and asked for further communication and conversation on this matter.

Farewells
The last night of Winter Talk was one of deep sharing, as people removed their sacred objects from the altar in preparation for the morning's departures. There were more stories, and lots of laughter (and some tears). Some gave their objects to those who were special to them. Others brought small gifts for the entire assembly. Still others gave their gifts in the form of hymns sung in their own languages. Earlier in the day, MacDonald had said, "In most Episcopal churches, people have no idea of their history. [What we have] is something that no one else has."

"There's a lot we're going to start doing when we leave here," said the Rev. Robert Two Bulls, director of the Department of Indian Work for the Diocese of Minnesota and vicar of All Saints, Minneapolis. "We share the same stories. We have the same struggles. We can set some goals and have some vision. When we finish, we can look back and say, 'That wasn't so bad.' I think when I leave here I'll have a lot to chew on, and I think you will, too."

The Rev. Carol "Coke" Smith of Minnesota summed up Winter Talk: "Our ancestors have guided me to this place. They have gathered all of us to this place. For that I am grateful."

The Rev. Ann Scissons of Iowa agreed. "This is a good thing. We need to plan to come back again."