Thanks to a Reflective Leadership Grant, Amy Brown has greater clarity on Christ’s calling and a daring vision for the future possibilities of service to Detroit’s unhoused population.

GLENN M. WAGNER
Michigan Conference Communications

Amy Brown, executive director of Noah at Central, recently received a $15,000 Reflective Leadership Grant from Duke Divinity School. The grant gives Brown resources to have some set-aside time away from her important leadership position at this faith-related nonprofit ministry for study and travel designed to benefit her service and leadership with new perspectives and creative ideas.

Brown has already used some of her grant funding from Duke, a university founded by Methodists and Quakers in Durham, North Carolina, for a helpful seminar with other grant recipients. She plans to travel further to learn from other ministries like Noah at Central around the country that face similar opportunities and challenges.

An Alabama native, Brown came to Detroit and Central United Methodist Church twenty years ago after graduating from college as a Global Mission Fellow in the United Methodist US-2 program. US-2s receive a modest stipend and are appointed to serve for two years in social justice ministries designed to address the root causes of injustice. They must be willing to live and work with others and desire to advocate for change.

Brown’s US-2 assignment was at Noah at Central, formerly the Noah Project at Detroit: Central UMC. She discovered purpose in serving the ministry and the people of Detroit. She has been positively shaped by the city’s vibrancy, diversity, and friendships. She has a commitment and passion for the challenging work of ministry with the people of Detroit who experience homelessness.

Brown agrees with writer and social justice advocate Rev. Jim Wallis, who notes that the church is really being the church when we share the love of Jesus with the least among us.

Amy has since received her master’s degree in social work from Wayne State University. She was named executive director of Noah at Central in 2012.

Brown leads a ministry that currently employs a staff of 14 people engaged in connecting with those experiencing homelessness and navigating the housing process in downtown Detroit. Some of those services are offered inside the large, iconic United Methodist church building next to Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Brown also serves the greater connectional ministry of The United Methodist Church as secretary of the United Methodist Union of Greater Detroit, the missionary organization of the Greater Detroit District.

Central UMC was established in 1810 as the first Methodist Society in Michigan. It has long been known as a witness for peace and justice. Rev. Paul Perez currently leads the congregation.

Noah at Central serves sack lunches to 150 to 200 unhoused people four days a week. The local government estimates that Detroit has a homeless population of 1,300 people. However, Brown believes this number, determined by a census taken one day each winter by tabulating people present in Detroit’s homeless shelters, could be much higher.

Noah at Central hosts a mobile shower bus and a mobile medical clinic. Staff members leave the building to interact with the unhoused on the streets, build relationships of trust, and connect people with services that can lead them toward permanent and supportive housing. Noah at Central also offers one-on-one social services and volunteer nurses. It is also one of the Community Access locations in the city where individuals experiencing homelessness can find in-person assistance to access shelter.

Noah at Central is an EngageMI Ministry Partner of the Michigan Conference (CCMM#3028), and churches throughout the state financially support them. The nonprofit is also funded by grants, funding from the City of Detroit, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance, and individual contributions. Churches also send volunteers to assist staff with ministry responsibilities. Click here to learn how to support Noah at Central in various ways.

Brown has great dreams for Noah at Central. She recognizes that the church that hosts her ministry has a large building in the perfect location but, like many urban congregations, is dealing with economic and demographic changes in the neighborhood. The church currently has unused physical space that could be repurposed with a major remodel to provide much-needed facilities to assist Noah at Central’s ongoing work. The church currently has no shower facilities, and Brown also dreams of the day when Central UMC and Noah at Central can offer affordable and permanent housing on-site.

Noah at Central has already connected with a development firm in Chicago that has experience working with nonprofits developing affordable housing. They have received an initial grant as seed money for a much larger project that will need additional financial support to succeed. Donations can be made directly to Noah at Central online via this secure giving web page.

When people in Detroit who currently live on the city streets have their lives transformed by the compassionate efforts of Noah at Central’s staff, volunteers, and contributors, Brown knows that the church is serving as Christ intends. “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40, NRSVUE). The vantage point afforded Amy Brown by her Reflective Leadership Grant has already given her a clear reminder of Christ’s calling and a daring vision of future possibilities for service.