| Victims of domestic violence need ministry, too BY MELISSA LAUBERUMCONNECTION STAFF Domestic violence affects nearly one-third of the women in the United States, national statistics indicate. But despite the potential for ministry, this is one arena in which the religious community is conspicuously absent. This was the conclusion reached by the approximately 30 people who attended an information-gathering session on the church and domestic violence June 7 at Locust UMC in Columbia. The churchs absence in some ways perpetuates this violence, said Associate Council Director Sandra Ferguson. That cannot be allowed to continue. We dont have to be lone rangers on this issue, but we do need to be part of the solution. The informal group conversation was designed to lay the groundwork for that participation.  Led by Sumayya Coleman, a national consultant on domestic violence issues, participants broke into small groups to discuss their perceptions of violence against women and children, and the churchs response to it.
The insights these discussions garnered were recorded and will be the basis of a new conference ministry, the Peace at Home Project. The project, which focuses on communities of color and the black church, will formally begin with a conference on domestic violence Nov. 1 at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia. Coleman began working on this project when she served as a consultant with the General Board of Global Ministries to raise awareness about domestic violence. As part of her work, 3,000 surveys were sent to black United Methodist churches to learn how churches were addressing violence and what churches needed to be effective. However, before this information could be dealt with, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred, and the whole world changed, Coleman said. The project was put on hold. However, when Coleman moved to Laurel last year, she realized that the largest return rate for the survey was from churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. She joined forces with the conference Committee on Drugs and Violence and is working with the conference to bring life to the Peace at Home Project. Initially, the work will involve identifying the needs and barriers of black United Methodist churches interested in addressing domestic violence and child abuse; providing information and resources for them; building a coalition among ecumenical and secular programs interested in addressing domestic violence and child abuse in communities of color; and proposing a national strategic planning model to address domestic violence and child abuse for United Methodist conferences. The spirited discussion at the June event indicated the importance of this new ministry, Ferguson said. Participants shared their personal experiences and philosophies on anger and violence in the home. One woman from A.P. Shaw UMC in Washington, D.C., spoke about her saga of being an abused wife, being thrown against walls and finally summoning the courage to move out of her marriage. Today she counsels other abused women. Others shared their views on spanking their children, on the awkwardness of relating to abusers in their congregations, on the culture of victimization and on how to begin to break the silence that has kept the church on the sidelines of addressing domestic violence. We have the power to do something about this issue, said one participant. Its important that as children of God we work in our communities to bring healing. | 
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