Rev. Jonathan D. Mays, pastor of Greensky Hill UMC, stood with clergy in North Dakota.

SAM HODGES
United Methodist News Service

The Rev. Jonathan D. Mays drove for 16 hours from Michigan to North Dakota last week to respond to the October 25 call for clergy to come to the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. He made the trip in order to “stand on the side of the oppressed and to pray for God’s mercy.”

Mays is the pastor of Charlevoix: Greensky Hill Indian Mission UMC. He arrived in North Dakota on Nov. 2 and soon found himself between the Cannon Ball and Missouri Rivers in a circle with 528 clergy from every tradition. Mays reports, “We were reminded, that there is one global struggle against systems that oppress people … these struggles are ancient and did not start in 2016 in North Dakota.”

Mays was not the only United Methodist pastor at the Standing Rock Reservation.

The Rev. Richenda Fairhurst had a wedding and needed to be back in her pulpit on November 6.

But the United Methodist pastor decided to take two flights and an hour-long car ride to get from Washington State to North Dakota, so she can briefly join the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Mays, Fairhurst and hundreds of other clergy from a range of faith traditions participated in singing, prayers, and readings from sacred texts as they stood with Standing Rock.

“When the call went out … that they needed clergy to show support, that moral support, I was, ʽSign me up,” said Fairhurst, pastor of Camas United Methodist Church in Camas, Washington. “My heart broke open. I had to go.”

The Rev. Susan Mullin, a deacon and director of faith formation at Faith United Methodist Church in St. Anthony, Minnesota, was part of a Minnesota Conference group heading to the gathering in a 12-seat rented van.

Like Fairhurst, Mullin has been involved in pushing the church and others to act on climate change. So opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline provided a dual opportunity.

“It feels right to support (the Standing Rock Sioux) in the decision that they have made, and at the same time support a movement away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner, renewable energy,” she said.

Sacred land and water safety

The Dakotas Access Pipeline, a $3.8 billion project of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, is intended to bring crude oil from North Dakota to a shipping point in Illinois. Proponents say it will increase U.S. energy independence and provide jobs.

But leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux say the pipeline is routed across land sacred to the tribe and could threaten drinking water safety.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing permitting for the project, and President Obama has said the Corps is considering whether the pipeline could be re-routed.

The long protest by the Standing Rock Sioux began to attract media attention months ago and has drawn support from many other tribes, environmentalists, and a range of faith groups. Thousands have visited the main camp site near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, including Dakotas-Minnesota Area Bishop Bruce Ough and top agency leaders, such as the Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

The Rev. David Wilson, superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, has made three trips. He’s concerned by recent reports of clashes between protesters and authorities on private land where pipeline construction has continued.

“My prayer has been for the safety and well-being of all the people out there,” he said.

Wilson noted that the camp grew over his visits, and has been peaceful. He noted the many tribes represented and said no issue in the recent past “has solidified native people to this magnitude.”

The church’s response

Meanwhile, United Methodists have been engaged in the Standing Rock controversy in a number of ways, and the pace seems to be quickening.

• Bishops of the Western Jurisdiction sent a letter to President Obama on Oct. 28, expressing support for the Standing Rock Sioux “and all who bear peaceful witness to its opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.” The letter calls for a permanent halt to the project, and references the United Methodist Book of Resolutions, which affirms the rights of Native Americans to preserve culture, land, religious expression and sacred spaces.
• The Northern Illinois Conference chapter of Methodist Federation for Social Action released its own letter asking for much more vigorous United Methodist support of the protest. The letter also calls on United Methodist bishops to speak out against sports teams’ use of Native American names and caricatures. The letter references the Cleveland Indians, competing this week in the World Series.
• Church and Society is collecting signatures of United Methodists for a letter to Obama and the Corps of Engineers, in opposition to the pipeline.
• The Spirit Lake Ministry Center, a United Methodist Volunteer in Mission destination in Sheyenne, North Dakota, continues to help supply protesters staying at the camp with water, sleeping bags, blankets and pillows. “I’m on the computer right now, looking at their medical needs list,” said the Rev. Mike Flowers of the center. Flowers noted that donations through the Dakotas Conference have paid for many of the supplies.
• At Faith United Methodist Church in Williston, N.D., in the heart of the Bakken Oil Field, there’s been discussion of the pipeline, with some congregation members favoring it and others opposed. But harmony continues. “People have treated one another very Christ-like,” said the Rev. Ross Reinhiller, pastor.

Thinking ahead

As more than 500 clergy from varying faith traditions attended the Nov. 3 event, more than 1 million people expressed support for the Standing Rock Sioux protest via Facebook, National Public Radio reports.

The call for clergy to come was made Oct. 25 by the Rev. John Floberg, supervisor of Episcopal churches on the North Dakota side of Standing Rock. The reservation also includes part of South Dakota.

“Our duty as people of faith and clergy could not be clearer: to stand on the side of the oppressed and to pray for God’s mercy in these challenging times,” he said in an open letter.

That resonated with Fairhurst. Though her first visit to Standing Rock was short, she’s already thinking ahead.

“If I can be useful, I will be back,” she said.

Mays adds, “All faiths can stand together in love against oppressive systems. Standing Rock is on the front lines.”

Back in Michigan he committed to continued prayer for the earth, Standing Rock, Native people and all who need water. Mays shares wisdom voiced by Muslim American, Sahara Saalami at the Nov. 3 gathering: “Thank you all for the struggle for every human being, everyone made in God’s image … Remember that the best gift you can give humanity is human transformation.”

(Next week MIConnect will share more of Rev. Mays’ experience.)

~Kay DeMoss, Senior Editor, Michigan Area Communications, contributed to this report.

Last Updated on November 8, 2023