As part of the Comprehensive Plan for Older Adult Ministries, the United Methodist Committee on Older Adult Ministries awarded grant funding in 2006 and 2007 to various programs/ministries in local churches, districts, annual conferences, and UM-related institutions. One program that received funding in 2006 was Healing Place Ministries, a ministry of crime victims' advocacy for the elderly, in the Arkansas Conference. According to the Rev. Edna Morgan, program director, their work as crime victims' chaplains in the Arkansas Conference resulted in the following accomplishments:

• We provided advocacy services to 62 crime victims.


• We facilitated a monthly crime victims' advocacy support group.


• Our newsletter was distributed to 1600 United Methodists each week.


• We established collaborative relationships with 37 agencies and institutions in Jefferson and Pulaski counties.


• We recruited and taught 15 volunteers how to provide crime victims' advocacy support.


• We created a crime victims' library to assist us in training our volunteers and educating our community on victims' rights.


• We conducted over 50 victims' rights education seminars and community awareness presentations.


• We were evaluated nationally by the Department of Justice for our outstanding accomplishments and our unique way of modeling our program for elderly victims of crime.

In her evaluation of the program/ministry, the Rev. Morgan listed several learnings that came as a result of the ministry. A few are listed below:

• We saw God's healing taking place in the lives of broken people who are nurtured and cared for by a community of experts who are willing to share their expertise to bring about restoration.


• -We learned that developing the skills of active listening and learning how to maintain healthy boundaries as chaplains prepared us for our work with the victims of crime and equipped us with the skills needed to teach volunteers how to communicate effectively.


• -We experienced people willing to volunteer, when they see that the ministry is going to effect changes in the lives of victims, and when they receive the appropriate training to prepare them for the work.


• -We developed partnerships and collaborative relationships with various agencies that were willing to work with faith-based, nonprofit groups, as we worked together on social-justice issues that affect community life.


• We improved our managerial skills by learning how to manage a budget with numerous customers and expenses; by learning how to network to form partnerships; and by learning how to use QuickBooks to track expenditures.

To learn more about this ministry/program, please contact the Rev. Edna Morgan by e-mail at healingplacem@sbcglobal.net or First UnitedMethodist Church, Pine Bluff, AR, by phone at 870-535-0101.

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