Young, who Martin describes as “a great bridger of people” in her own right, began attending the church three years ago and recalls being one of a handful of people in attendance, “mostly elder women.” But she, like the others who attended, and the leadership of the annual conference, would not let go of the region’s only United Methodist Native American worshipping body. Great Spirit member Kerrie Young remembers those days well. Erin Martin described as “struggling, feisty,” and, perhaps, most importantly, “in love.” While the congregation had always been small, in the years leading up to Buck’s arrival, the number in attendance had been steadily declining - to the point where the church could no longer sustain an appointed pastor, even on a part-time level. It was a group that Columbia District superintendent Rev. Reverend Allen Buck was appointed to Wilshire as a new start pastor in July 2017 and came to a congregation that hosted an existing Native American fellowship and a small white congregation. While Great Spirit has a new name, it’s still located in the Wilshire neighborhood of northeast Portland. This is what the people now called Great Spirit United Methodist Church, formerly Wilshire Native American Fellowship located at Wilshire United Methodist Church, have discovered and formalized in a naming ceremony during Sunday morning worship on October 7, 2018. When a name no longer fits the identity of a church, it may just have to change.
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