Ministry with the Poor Team invites you to two training events

North Alabama is excited to host another group of young adults who will be serving in the Huntsville area starting May 31 through July 27, 2023 as part of the QuadW Summer Missional Internship. This summer paid missional internship for college-age young adults is designed to provide a deeply significant, potentially life-changing experience. Interns will work with local churches and agencies to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those in their community. The primary components of this internship are: (1) hands – on Missional Service, (2) Community Living, (3) Spiritual Disciplines, (4) Mentoring/coaching (5) Equipping sessions, and (6) Next Step Planning.

The Conference Ministry with the Poor Team is opening up two events that are part of the orientation process with the QuadW summer interns to North Alabama United Methodists of all ages, who want to take part. These trainings will help equip you and other leaders in your congregation to better be in ministry with people facing poverty in your community. The trainings include a two-hour training session by T. Marie King, entitled “Your World Is Not The World,” and a Poverty Simulation facilitated by Susan Hunt-Sims.
 

Your World is Not the World (June 1)

Your World is Not the World is a two (2) hour training that will guide your team in laying an individual and communal foundation of how to engage those you serve. Your team will be challenged to lean into uncomfortable and difficult conversations around shared history, utilize tools to become more self-reflective, explore individual biases, understand empathy, and identify pathways to equitable action. T. Marie is committed to promoting compassion, equity, and justice.

This event will be held on June 1, 2023, from 9 a.m to noon at The Vision, 187 Oscar Webster Road SE, Huntsville, AL 35803. Email marian.royston@umcna.org to register.

T. Marie King
T. Marie King is Director of Youth Pathways and Experiences with Jones Valley Teaching Farm in Birmingham, Alabama. T. Marie is also an advisor for the creation of equitable spaces. She’s an expert in facilitating difficult conversations and challenges audiences through her lectures to do the necessary self-work to become a part of active communal change.

T. Marie is a trained Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation facilitator through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and a trained Empathetic Facilitator through Create Forward. In December 2022, T. Marie co-produced and released her first full-length documentary to worldwide audiences on the unsung hero and civil rights icon the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. The documentary was premiered and released on Alabama Public Television but can also be viewed on PBS.org worldwide. T. Marie holds a B.A. in Urban and Global Economic Development and an M.A. in Leadership and Divinity.
 

Poverty Simulation (June 2)

The North Alabama Conference Ministry with the Poor Operational Team will host a Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS). The CAPS invites participants to walk a mile in the shoes of those facing poverty. The simulation allows participants to assume the role of a low-income family member living on a limited budget. The experience is divided into four 15-minute sessions, each representing one week in which you must provide for your family and maintain your home. As one participant commented, “This poverty simulation dramatically demonstrates how much time and energy many families have to give just to survive from day to day. It quickly dispels the myth “that people would do fine if they would only go out and get a job!”

The simulation will be held on Friday, June 2, 2023, from 10:15 am- 1:30 pm at Center Grove United Methodist Church. Center Grove is located at 185 Plummer Road, Huntsville, AL 35806. Please register by Sunday, May 28, 2023.

Susan Hunt-Sims
Susan Hunt Sims grew up in Birmingham in the North Alabama Conference. She moved to Oklahoma for almost 10 years to serve as a US-2 Missionary with the UMC, and as Outreach Coordinator for Church of the Servant UM. She moved to Montgomery in 2009 and served as the Director of Mission for the Alabama-West Florida Conference until 2020. She then served as Executive Director for Renascence, Inc., in Montgomery until July 2022. Susan was commissioned as a UMC Deaconess in March 2004 and is currently enjoying life with her husband, Rev. Dr. Robbins Sims (Arnold’s Chapel UMC) in McCalla, AL, and is anticipating future ministry opportunities. Susan will serve as the North Alabama Conference Ministry with the Poor Community Action Poverty Simulation Facilitator.

The North Alabama Ministry with the Poor team is always available to resource your ministry. For more information visit www.umcna.org/ministrywiththepoor.