Native Outreach growing in numbers

Visiting a new church can be a bit intimidating for people. Visiting a new church completely outside your own culture can be downright rough.

That's what some Alaska Natives face. Since March, however, things have been different, because of the Native Outreach, a church-type organization meeting every Sunday at the Palmer Church of the Nazarene.

"Some Natives may not feel at home in a white church, and before, they had no place to go," said Arlene Jones, wife of the Native Gathering founder, Richard Jones. "If they don't feel comfortable, they have a place to go now."

Richard Jones helped found the outreach, with Gary Burlison Sr.

The two had become friends nearly 40 years ago, but in the course of time, they had not seen each other often as Jones moved away.

Burlison had been going to Anchorage to pray with Natives at the Alaska Native Medical Center, and noticed there was nothing for Natives in the Valley.

Jones and Burlison, who went to the Palmer Church of the Nazarene, asked the church if they could meet there on Sunday evenings. Burlison died weeks before the group started meeting regularly last March, so Jones and his wife took over the organizational process. Since then, the congregation has grown.

"We have had about 80 different people since we started. On one potluck night, we had 45 people," Arlene Jones said. "It's nice to see people coming regularly who never went to church before."

There are a few differences in the Native church, as compared to more traditional church services.

Rather than listening to a sermon every Sunday, the Native services are more participatory.

"We sing songs, and everybody tells about their spiritual experience," Arlene Jones said. "We have a social time when we talk, sing and play. We don't have a regular preacher or anything."

Richard Jones is Yupik, originally from Mountain Village.

He was raised in a Jesuit orphanage, and has worked as a high school teacher and at the Native hospital.

Through his varied background, Jones is trying to bring together the Native culture and more traditional church services.

The Native Outreach is one step in that process.

"We welcome everyone, not just Natives. We want them to come and share and enjoy the fellowship," Arlene Jones said. "We are not just a Native group."

The group meets every Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Palmer Church of the Nazarene.

After the service, a social time is held, with refreshments for the congregation.