Melanie’s Story

Posted on March 16th, 2010

Summer 1967, North Minneapolis

Mothers hurried their children into houses from games in the front yard.

As the summer sun beat down on the blacktop, the heat rose in the atmosphere; physically and otherwise. First, threats and heavy words were hurled, followed by stones and bottles with flaming rags. Everywhere, the sounds of screaming and smashing glass filled the air. Businesses were trampled and looted. The community became a mini war zone centered at Penn & Plymouth. Sirens descended upon the scene, but they were too late. The riots were out of control.

Since the early twentieth century, citizens of North Minneapolis, mostly Jewish and African Americans, had been marginalized and steeply discriminated against. Whether from restrictive land grant agreements prior to WWII or racist practices in distributing federal housing loans after it, anger and frustration had been building between and amongst these two ethnic groups. They felt trapped, repressed and they resented it.

The rioting and destruction only helped a community struggling with identity, poverty, and oppression turn against itself. The streets weren’t safe. Kids with classes on the North Side had to hurry or leave school early, fearing a knifi ng or beating on a simple walk home. A similar climate remained for years after.

Already on their way out, the riots hastened the departure of many Jewish residents and business owners. The departure of so many area residents in such a short period of time, along with their businesses, only served to heighten the already formidable economic woes of the community. The area fell apart.

A Calling

Throughout the turmoil of North Minneapolis in the late sixties, a determined mother made the weekly commute to church, children in tow, with the hopes of raising them right. As spirited gospel music and shouts of praise came to a fever pitch, the Lord met a 4-year-old girl in the predominantly African American congregation of the First Church of God In Christ. Though her young mind did not fully comprehend the full scope of the encounter, God had very special plans for her.

By the time Melanie was a fi ery teenager, she knew that her life’s purpose was to serve God through full-time ministry. As she completed high school, she could still feel that call, and still felt the impact of the area’s history during visits with her family.

Initially, Melanie felt called to be a Spanish Speaking Missionary to Latin America, enrolling at North Central University and Christ For The Nations Institute. During her training, she had the opportunity to evangelize on the streets of Minneapolis, but it was a outreach trip to the French Quarter in New Orleans that stands out in her mind. “It broke my heart for urban America,” she remembers.

While doors were not opening for her to move to Latin America she found herself following the Holy Spirit’s prompting to lead teams and equip the Body of Christ for evangelism in the Twin Cities. For the next several years, Melanie worked with at-risk and counter-culture youth in the city, but she remembers a cousin asking her when she was going to minister to “her people.” “I told him ‘I have to obey the Lord, and go where he sends me,’” she recalls. She did.

A Reconciliation

Fast forward to 2007. Melanie and her husband John had long been serving God in the Twin Cities, and were heavily involved with statewide prayer initiatives. While attending a conference with a focus on prayer for North Minneapolis, she remembers the congregation acknowledging that it was the 40-year anniversary of the North Minneapolis riots.

Messianic Rabbi Ed and Rebbetzen Alberta Rothman were in attendance and were called to the front of the conference to receive and lead out prayer for healing on behalf of the adversely aff ected Jewish population. Melanie could feel a tug at her heartstrings. During the prayer with the Rabbis, an overwhelming sense came over her that something more needed to be done. Prayer was good and necessary, but a deeper conviction to repent on behalf of the African American community brought Melanie to action. “I felt like God was showing me what I was supposed to do.”

Through experiences and blessings throughout her life, Melanie knew to listen and follow through when she was lead by the Holy Spirit to do something. In faith, she stepped forward.

“As I came and knelt before the Rothmans, generational repentance flooded me. We had been friends prior to this, but something happened as we stood in the gap for the past sins of our ethnic groups.” A weeping embrace opened the floodgates of reconciliation between the two groups. In an instant I recalled multiple dreams that the Lord had given to me about North Minneapolis over the previous years. One of them even involved the receiving of a ‘Macedonian call!’ I understood that they were God’s way of calling me to serve the community. It was an amazing encounter!” “Within weeks the Lord started to unveil to me His strategy of service,” she says. “There was an awakening that took place within me!”

Melanie has taken the momentum from that very moment and run with it. “What the Lord showed me in the summer of 2007 was to develop a program that serves every generation; children to senior citizens. It will impart to them wholeness in spirit, soul, and body, give them life skills, freedom, hope and dignity, and equip them with Kingdom dynamics. This will empower them to fulfi ll God’s purpose for them as individuals and as a community in every area of their life. People are longing to see their hearts’ desires become a reality, and in the words of Ed Silvoso, “It’s God’s Time for North Minneapolis!”

Melanie’s ministry, M.A.R.C.H. (Mobilizing And Releasing Caring Hearts, Inc.), is a non-profi t organization dedicated to the transformation of lives and communities. Her vision for reaching North Minneapolis focuses on three primary initiatives that anyone can get involved with: Global Day of Prayer, Community Renewal Greater Twin Cities and Kingdom Community.

Some ways you and/your subgroup can get involved:

Global Day of Prayer (GDOP)

Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) is more than an event. It’s a movement. GDOP began in Africa 10 years ago and last year 220 nations participated! The movement is realized in North Minneapolis through prayer meetings, citywide gatherings, prayer walks, outreach and service projects. Some of you might be asking yourself, “What is a prayer walk?” Prayer walking is a time of connecting with neighborhoods, knocking on doors, and offering prayer to residents. In North Minneapolis, the movement has undeniably changed lives. Last year, crime dropped dramatically in the neighborhoods in which we held prayer walks. It was unbelievable to see how God answered our prayers.

Ten Days of Constant Prayer: May 13th through 22nd

Beginning on Ascension Day, May 13, millions of Christians around the world will find ways to pray, night and day, throughout the ten days leading to Pentecost. Ways you can participate include: Attend a prayer meeting/room or Host a prayer meeting/room.

One Day Citywide Prayer Gathering: May 23rd, 5-8 PM

On the afternoon of Pentecost, we will gather at Roy Wilkins Auditorium at the River-Centre in St Paul. We will worship God openly in Christ’s name and pray for healing and blessings for our city, our nation and the nations of the world. Last year, 220 nations participated for the first time ever! Ways you can participate include: Volunteer, Attend

Ninety Days of Blessing: May 24th – August 21st

We will be answers to our own prayers, becoming servants who bring practical, transformational blessings to the Twin Cities. Ways you can participate include: Service Projects, Prayer Walks/Meetings and Outreach Opportunities.

Find out more at www.globaldayofprayermn.com

Community Renewal Greater Twin Cities

Community Renewal Greater Twin Cities is in partnership with Community Renewal International (CRI) and replicates CRI’s systematic strategy that grows and sustains safe and caring communities with concrete, measurable results. This faith-based organization is very inclusive and welcoming to everyone in the community that seeks to disciple individuals. Its three initiatives include:

1. The “We Care” Team: This team brings together everyone in the city based on a common capacity to care for each other.

2. Haven Houses: Volunteers are trained to reach out to their neighbors, restoring the relational foundation on the blocks where they live.

3. Friendship House: Volunteers and key partners use a house with a large “community room” in low-income and high-crime areas to help care for the resident children, youth, and adults.

Some ways you and/or your subgroup can get involved:

Join the “We Care” Team/Invite a friend to a Community Renewal event | Provide refreshments for an event | Mentor a student | Arrange for a speaking engagement | Provide general administrative support | Volunteer as a tutor at a Friendship House | Teach a special skill to children, youth, or adults | Participate on a planning team for an event | Teach a life skills class | Provide financial support | Become a Haven House leader

Find out more at: www.wecaretwincities.com

Kingdom Community

Kingdom Community is a sister ministry of Community Renewal Greater Twin Cities that focuses on long-term discipleship. It is a transgenerational ministry that empowers and strengthens the community by equipping believers. Each element of the Kingdom Community builds upon the previous one. All ages hear the gospel message, receive personal prayer, gain life skills and have opportunities to minister.

Volunteers are needed to teach in the areas of the Bible, house maintenance & car repair, sewing, cooking, dietary and other life skills, and the arts. Volunteers are also needed to mentor, pray & intercede on behalf of the people of North Minneapolis.

If you are interested in partnering with Melanie in this initiative, please contact her at wecaretwincities@aol.com