This post continues the Mission Table’s “Year of Partnership” highlighting the new and strategic ministries of the Minneapolis Area Synod. All Nations Indian Church is one of the strategic ministries and worships in Minneapolis.


By Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy (right)
All Nations Indian Church, Minneapolis

It was a typical morning at All Nations Indian Church. Volunteers were out front helping us beautify the landscaping by planting, trimming, and bringing life to the grounds around our building. In the middle of this joy and hard work, one of the pastors was outside picking up used needles on the ground when word came that someone was overdosing behind the church in the parking lot. Some of us rushed to help, others kept the landscaping moving forward, and still others gathered at the Spirit Fire to pray. That’s daily life here. You learn to expect the unexpected.

Living in the heart of the Native community means we carry the weight of the opioid and fentanyl crisis, houselessness, and the generational trauma that has touched so many lives. But alongside all of that, I also see resilience, laughter, generosity, and healing every single day. Our Spirit Fire never goes out. People come to sit by it, to pray, to cry, to laugh, or simply to be.

Community at the Table

Twice a month, we host a potluck and community meeting at the church. It’s not just a meal; it’s a gathering of neighbors, Native Community leaders, Native and non-Native organizations, and multijurisdictional representatives who sit around tables together to ask: How can we face the challenges before us? How can we begin to heal?

These conversations are helping us build a culturally specific response to trauma. We know our community can’t heal through one-size-fits-all approaches. It has to come from lifting up our Indigenous ways, honoring language and story, and recognizing that trauma is carried across generations. Sharing food, listening, and learning together is part of how that work begins.

Meeting People Where They Are

We’re also finding ways to walk alongside our unhoused relatives through what we call our Community Helpers program. Folks who are unhoused often help us care for the church and grounds, and it’s become about so much more than work.

We get to hear people’s stories. We laugh together, share food, and listen. Sometimes what people need most is simply to be seen and welcomed as part of a community. Through this ministry, we’ve learned that offering dignity and belonging is just as important as offering shelter or aid. For us, it’s about meeting people right where they are in their journey, no matter what that looks like.

Mental Health Ministry: A Sacred Call

One of the most urgent needs we see is mental health care. Too many of our relatives carry heavy trauma without safe places to turn. That’s why our Mental Health Ministry has become such an important part of who we are.

We’re blessed to have an in-house Native American counselor walking with us. That matters deeply, not only because culturally grounded care is essential, but because mental health services are often simply unaffordable. By offering free sessions, talking circles, and connections to other practitioners, we’re making healing possible for people who might otherwise go without it.

We’re also working to build a culturally specific response to trauma through this ministry. Healing isn’t only individual, it’s generational, communal, and spiritual. We honor Indigenous practices and wisdom, knowing that Creator meets us in all of it.

Leadership in Family and Faith

Another unique part of our ministry is our pastoral leadership. My mother, Rev. Joan Conroy, is our Senior Pastor, and I serve as Associate Pastor, we are both Oglala Lakota Sioux. Leading together as both pastors and family means we navigate this journey not just as colleagues in ministry, but as kin. That’s become one of our strengths as a community, it’s a reminder that ministry itself is about family, in every sense of the word.

And if you really want to see that sense of family alive, come join us for Elder Bingo. You’ll hear more jokes and laughter than numbers being called. It’s its own kind of ministry, one rooted in joy, humor, and community.

A New Way of Mission Ministry

We believe God is calling us into a new way of thinking about mission. For too long, “mission” has meant one church giving while another receives. At All Nations, we are inviting our partners into something much deeper, a relationship of mutual care where we give and receive together.

It means seeing one another as kin, not projects. It means asking: How do we show up for each other? How do we share not just our resources, but our hearts, our time, our prayers?

Things Happening This Fall

This fall, we’re leaning into that call. We’re inviting our partners into book studies and conversations about colonization and healing. We’re continuing our Community Healing events that welcome anyone — our Native community, our neighbors, and anyone who comes to find support and care.

And thanks to the generosity of the Lilly Grant, we’re also blessed to be walking alongside our friends at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and San Pablo Lutheran Church for the next five years. Together, we’re learning what it means to lay culturally specific foundations for each of our ministries that are rooted in relationship, healing, and shared mission.

In November, we’ll gather with our partner congregations for a Wopila, a traditional celebration of thanksgiving. It’s our way of giving back, of honoring the generosity we’ve received, and of reminding ourselves that gratitude is its own gift.

Building from the Ground Up

All Nations is, in many ways, building from the ground up again. Every week, we welcome visitors from congregations across the area who want to learn, pray, and walk alongside us. Their presence is a reminder that we are not alone, and that our story is tied to the wider church.

We are also an ecumenical congregation, living into the roots of both the United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. That partnership has been part of our identity for more than 30 years, and it continues to shape how we live out our call: to be a community where traditions come together for the sake of healing.

We are surrounded every day by the prayers, hands, and hearts of our community. We are guided by Creator God, who calls us to love our neighbors in bold and courageous ways. And we are strengthened by the belief that together, we can create something life-giving and lasting.

As pastors we are grateful and hopeful, and we invite you to walk with us.