08190
March 11, 2008

Church at its best where ministry is a two-way street

By Reverend Buddy Monahan

As a racial ethnic person, and more specifically as a Native American, I know our early missionaries were unfortunate not to see the strong presence of God within our racial ethnic people and communities.

The Rev. Buddy Monahan.

God not only creates us but also gives us families and cultural identities to strengthen the foundations of our faith. Sure, we all need guidance from others to equip and better sustain our relationship with Jesus but ministry is a two-way street.  It is both a giving and receiving act of love and grace toward one another.

So as Chaplain of Menaul School, I not only minister among the community but the community also ministers to me.

I learn so much from the students, faculty, staff, parents, grandparents and alumni of this sacred place. God works through them showing me love, peace, generosity, enthusiasm, fun, laughter, heart, pain, struggles, and patience.  I get to be part of lives that include both success and failure. Seeing and hearing young people talk about their dreams for the future and keeping up with them as they struggle to attain them.

I get to be part of teams that practice hard and grow together through their wins and losses yet stay poised for whatever is thrown at them in the game of life. The Menaul experience celebrates its diversity of culture, thoughts, and spirituality on a daily basis.  Inclusiveness is not only practiced here, it is a way of life through the whole aspect of respect for all of God’s creations. To me this is the church at its best - without all the committee work.  My family and I are truly blessed to be part of Menaul School.

Anyone can argue that there are probably better schools, better facilities, better students, better teachers, better administration, better teams, and even a better location.  But when all those things are put together and it winds up at 301 Menaul Blvd., Albuquerque, New Mexico, then it equals only one Menaul School.

There is only one Menaul School and that is why I continue to be part of this sacred place.  Every part of this campus is important to the past, present and future inhabitants who want to know what it means to respect one another and know that no matter what happens. . . God is good! All the time!  All the time, God is good!

See God is here… at this Racial Ethnic School of the PCUSA!

Rev. Buddy Monahan is a full-blood member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Maricop Tribe. Ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA), Monahan has been Menual’s chaplain since 1997. Originally from Mt. Fork Presbyterian Church in Eagletown, OK, he is a graduate of University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and currently serves as the moderator of the Native American Consulting Committee at the national level. He has also served as preacher, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and youth leader at many national and regional conferences.