Filling an intersection

By Nick Tangen

Kelly Sherman-Conroy, whose Lakota name is Mato Wašté Wiƞyan (Good Bear Woman), stepped into a new hybrid role at Nativity Lutheran Church, St. Anthony, Minnesota, in 2018. In this new position, she has focused on the intersection between children and family ministry and social justice.

“I think ministry is always changing and evolving,” said Sherman-Conroy. “Part of that is stepping more outside of our church, and some of that means going deeper and getting to know who your community really is.”

Sherman-Conroy has worked in Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) ministry for 20 years. She is also active in the ministry of the ELCA and in the work of social justice in her community. She had a central role on the ELCA’s Authentic Diversity Taskforce, sits on the board of the American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association, and is currently a doctoral student at Luther Seminary. Her experience as both a minister to children and youth, and her experience working in the world of social justice offered Nativity Lutheran Church a unique opportunity to imagine a new role in the life of the church.

“Because it is such a new idea, and because there isn’t a model job description, a congregation may need some time to figure out what this ministry is.”

“Kelly has an ability to approach things with kids, and also to approach things with older youth and adults,” said Pastor Ben Schori, associate pastor at Nativity Lutheran. “And her heart and her authenticity come across very clearly. These social justice issues that we are exploring mean a great deal to her, that’s clear.”

“Nativity’s mission has really been about going into the world with Christ,” said Heather Anderson, event coordinator and youth minister at Nativity. “Kelly, because she’s a person of color and identifies so closely her Christian faith with her Lakota faith, has brought an intersection that we haven’t had before. I think what was so beautiful when she started this role was the opportunity to take our service projects with youth to that next level, to that change-maker spot that we want our kids to get to.”

 

IN 2018, NATIVITY Lutheran Church applied for a Ministry Imagination Grant from the Minneapolis Area Synod in order to bolster the work of this new position, now titled the Minister of Social Justice and Advocacy for Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. Sherman-Conroy and Pastor Schori knew that a new and unique position like this one requires investment to ensure that it takes root and is able accomplish some of its initial goals.

“Because it is such a new idea, and because there isn’t a model job description, a congregation may need some time to figure out what this ministry is,” said Pastor Schori.

The synod grant has helped to cover the cost of programming, event planning, and honoraria for speakers and presenters who cover topics like racial justice, LGBTQIA rights, and a host of other social justice topics. Each month the Children’s Ministry focuses on a different advocacy area, with education and direct service opportunities related to the topic. Sherman-Conroy has also curated a social justice library, which includes children and youth books focused on issues related to racial, economic, and LGBTQIA justice.

 

IN JANUARY OF 2019, Sherman-Conroy organized a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, hosted by Nativity, intended to engage not only the congregation’s children, but the surrounding St. Anthony community.

“I brought in Joe Davis and some other local artists, mostly from the ELCA, and we sat down with some people within St. Anthony Village and talked about what we wanted to see for this event,” said Sherman Conroy. “What does this day really mean? Not just a message or the interpretation of someone who isn’t Black, but from the Black community, what does this mean to you? And how do we teach our children?”

“As a person of color, being the only one on staff, and one of the few in our church, for me that’s been important this year because it’s a lot of work always being the one leading; it starts to get heavy.”

After discussing and planning, the organizing team decided to hold a march in St. Anthony, led by the youth and children. More than 600 people gathered at Nativity Lutheran and marched to the St. Anthony City Hall calling for healing and justice in a community still reeling from the murder of Philando Castille by a St. Anthony police officer. The march and event created space for children and youth to explore their own pain around racial injustice and to learn about the positive impact of social action.

“We had an amazing event, all led by the kids,” said Sherman-Conroy. “We told some stories, did a service project together with H-Cubed (an arts-focused non-profit in North Minneapolis), and then led a march. The best part was watching the children make these posters and this big banner, and then march to City Hall. It allowed the youth to read their poems, and recite their pain, and have their voices heard.”

Congregational leaders at Nativity believe that events like the MLK Day march stick with young people and help to engage children and their parents around issues of social justice.

“We know that the most influential people in a child’s life, who will inform who that child will be, are all at home. It is mom; it is dad; it is grandparents, aunties, and uncles,” said Anderson. “If I want to have an impact with our kids, it needs to start at home. So, having a social justice minister who focuses on children, youth, and families is crucial because we need to have them practicing so many of these elements in the home.”

 

WHILE SHERMAN-CONROY’S primary ministry focus is children and families, she is also encouraged to bring some learning, expertise, and healthy challenge to her colleagues at Nativity Lutheran around issues of social justice. “The Ministry Imagination Grant has also allowed (Kelly) to bring and share resources for staff development,” said Pastor Schori. “She’s really able to help the rest of the staff along their own journey of aspiring to be allies, and aspiring to create a community, through modeling and sharing our own journey that centers advocacy and social justice.”

“Where our Children, Youth, and Family staff is at this moment, being able to move beyond just conversations, particularly around racial justice, I don’t know that we could have done that without this grant,” said Sherman-Conroy. “The grant has helped to position our CYF leaders to be advocates and leaders in the congregation around these issues.”

“Sherman-Conroy and leaders at Nativity Lutheran Church hope that this unique position could serve as an example and model for other congregations.”

Being able to share some of the work among her colleagues has been a real help for Sherman-Conroy and has also helped to ensure that this focus on social justice is integrated throughout the congregation and her CYF team.

“As a person of color, being the only one on staff, and one of the few in our church, for me that’s been important this year because it’s a lot of work always being the one leading; it starts to get heavy,” she said. “But this grant helped our staff to learn, to buy books, to attend workshops, and to engage in other learning opportunities. That has helped me, as a person of color, feel like I’m not doing this alone.”

Sherman-Conroy and leaders at Nativity Lutheran Church hope that this unique position could serve as an example and model for other congregations, and the plan is to write up a report about the first year that can be shared with the Minneapolis Area Synod.

With help from a Ministry Imagination Grant, Nativity Lutheran Church is creating and experimenting with a new and innovative ministry, sharing a vision of a community where all experience life-giving Christian community, and the opportunity to live in just and healthy neighborhoods.

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If you are interested in seeing more about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march, please watch this five-minute video.