Currently we’re sickened by the ongoing reports of war in Ukraine. Innocent civilians, including children and pregnant women are dying. People are starving and dying for lack of water, shelter, or heat. We want to do something about it, but how?
Throughout the year we hear of floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes that devastate other people’s lives. Sometimes they’re on the other side of the globe, sometimes they’re in our country. But how can we help?
One of the advantages of being part of a connected church such as the United Methodist Church is that we can pool our resources together to reach any part of the globe and do things that we could never do as individuals.
UMCOR
One of the opportunities offered by the United Methodist Church is this thing called “UMCOR.” The name isn’t all that inspiring (“United Methodist Committee on Relief”) but the concept is beautiful and powerfully effective. When a disaster strikes, teams
organized by UMCOR are “on the ground” almost immediately. Food, building materials, water, transportation or whatever resources that are needed are funded by UMCOR. They go right to the scene of the disaster, roll up their sleeves, and help those who are in desperate need. Beyond providing material resources, UMCOR also serves as ambassadors of God’s love and mercy as they minister to people whose lives have been suddenly turned upside down.
The money that buys those resources comes from local United Methodists who give to UMCOR for that specific need. Here’s the cool part: there’s no overhead! When you donate to a relief effort, ALL (100%!!!) of your donation goes directly to help the people hit by that disaster. None of your donation goes towards paying staff members, or buying paper, or paying for office space. All of your donation goes right to where the help is needed.
UMCOR Sunday
How do they do that??? Yes, it does cost money to organize relief efforts. There are a few paid staff professionals. Office space is needed. Sometimes it’s even necessary to buy paper and make photo copies. But when a hurricane, or monsoon, or even a war strikes, none of your donation is used for that stuff.
The “overhead” is paid by a single offering that’s taken during Lent. Once a year, we provide funding for UMCOR’s operation with a special offering taken on “UMCOR Sunday” (long time Methodists might remember the previous name of “One Great Hour of Sharing”). On UMCOR Sunday, we will fund the operation of this special resource so that we can use it to help others throughout the year, whenever disaster strikes.
On Sunday March 27 we will hold a special offering to fund UMCOR. If you attend in person, special plates will be provided. If you give online, click any “Give” button that’s on this website. Designate your gift to the “UMCOR – BENEVOLANCE” fund.
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To see more about the work of UMCOR, click this button: UMCOR Disaster Relief
