Media Contact:
Susan Clark, Director of Communications
sclark@umcmission.org

November 7, 2022 | ATLANTA

Global Ministries, the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church, with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), invites churches and individuals to give love, joy, hope and peace through a denomination-wide year-end giving campaign.

Between November 7 and December 31, Global Ministries will share stories and reflections on the many ways that lives are impacted and transformed through financial gifts to Global Ministries and UMCOR – support that provides hope and healing to people all around the world.

Global Ministries connects the church in mission through four mission priorities: evangelism and church revitalization, missionaries, global health and humanitarian relief and recovery.

100% of gifts to Global Ministries and UMCOR go to share the love of God with those in need. Mission-funding gifts through the year-end campaign can be made at umcmission.org/givelove. 

For additional information, contact donationhelp@umcmission.org.  

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About Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church

Global Ministries is the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church. Founded in 1819, Global Ministries today supports more than 200 missionaries in over 60 countries, including the United States. It has personnel, projects and partners in 115 countries. Founded in 1940, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian relief agency of The United Methodist Church and is a part of Global Ministries. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting umcmission.org or by following facebook.com/GlobalMinistries and twitter.com/UMCmission.

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For release: IMMEDIATE

Media Contacts:

Mary Lou Greenwood Boice, Director of Communications and the Advance

mboice@umcmission.org

Global Ministries, the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church, with UMCOR, invites members to give love, joy, hope and peace through a denomination-wide year-end giving campaign. Between November 1 and December 31, Global Ministries will share stories of the ways lives have been impacted and transformed through financial gifts.

Global Ministries connects the church in mission through the work of evangelism and church revitalization, missionaries, global health, and humanitarian relief and recovery. Every contribution makes a difference in this important work.

Beginning November 1, mission-funding gifts through the year-end campaign can be made at umcmission.org/givelove.

For additional information, contact donationhelp@umcmission.org.

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Global Ministries is the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church. Founded in 1819, Global Ministries today supports more than 200 missionaries in over 60 countries, including the United States. It has personnel, projects and partners in 115 countries. Founded in 1940, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian relief agency of The United Methodist Church and is a part of Global Ministries. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting umcmission.org or by following facebook.com/globalministries and twitter.com/umcmission.

The post Give love, joy, hope and peace in year-end campaign appeared first on Global Ministries.

Did you know that in addition to the 250 commissioned United Methodist missionaries in service throughout the world, there are another 250 serving within their own home countries or regions who work to advance evangelism and church revitalization?

Nationals in Mission are supported through Global Ministries to develop and support local leadership with particular attention to innovative or specialized ministries. They serve in a variety of ways including implementing church evangelism programs, training volunteer evangelists and actively participating in the ministry of bringing others into communion with Christ.

Nationals in Mission have been integral to the development of over 1,000 new congregations worldwide in the last 10 years.

Want to share the love of Christ in ways that are culturally sensitive and effective?

Please give, today, to Evangelism and Church Revitalization and give the world what it needs most!

Beginning November 1, mission-funding gifts to the Advance through the year-end campaign can be made at umcmission.org/givelove.

For additional information, contact donationhelp@umcmission.org.

Campaign Press Release

About Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church

Global Ministries is the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church. Founded in 1819, Global Ministries today supports more than 300 missionaries in over 70 countries, including the United States. It has personnel, projects, and partners in 115 countries. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting www.umcmission.org or by following www.facebook.com/globalministries and twitter.com/umcmission.

The post Give love, joy, hope and peace in year-end campaign appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Stacy Jones

The people of Beirut, Lebanon, are attempting to rebuild their lives and livelihoods after the port blast that destroyed much of their city this summer. 

The economic, political and civic crises that had beset Lebanon in recent years were tragically amplified on August 4, 2020, when a hangar at the Port of Beirut ignited, detonating an estimated 2,700 tons of stored ammonium nitrate. 

The Beirut blast killed at least 180 people, injured 6,500 and left some 300,000 people homeless. More than 70% of city’s buildings were impacted by the explosion, with estimates of up to $15 billion in damages. In densely populated Beirut, some 100,000 people lived within a mile radius of the blast. Shock waves tore through buildings and windows, making shrapnel of flying glass and debris. 

The United Nations began mobilizing assistance to Lebanon soon after the blast, calling on international relief organizations for help. To date, UMCOR has provided several grants to existing and new partners in the region to aid in the process of relief and long-term recovery. 

The Middle Eastern Council of Churches received an UMCOR grant to provide immediate assistance in the form of water, sanitation, and hygiene items (WASH) and food to affected communities.

“They are a fixture for relief in the community and have plans to coordinate with other organizations in the area to support the immediate needs of disaster-affected people,” said Katie Hills Uzoka, program manager for UMCOR’s International Disaster Response unit. “MECC has the resources and connections to effectively manage both large- and small-scale projects.” 

UMCOR worked with two additional grantee organizations for the first time – both of which came highly recommended. The Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue received a grant to provide two months’ worth of food assistance for 75 households totaling 375 people, as well as psychosocial support for vulnerable children and adults affected by the explosion. This includes direct individual support for 16 children and two workshops for 40 children and adults. 

“I lost everything in one second—11 years of my life. My house, my husband, my clinic, my work, my cars—everything! God just saved my two children. They are all I have right now, thank God,” said Bernadette, a Beirut resident being helped by the Forum. 

The third organization to receive a grant, the Joint Christian Committee’s Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees, used the funds to provide essential nonfood items for 15 households including bedding, cooking supplies and nylon sheeting for temporary privacy and protection from the elements.

“This is the time to help a country that has hosted Palestinian refugees for so many years, and we intend to do whatever we can to show our gratitude to Lebanon with help from friends and partners like UMCOR,” said Sylvia Haddad, JCC executive director.

In early October, UMCOR also approved a grant to ACT Alliance, a coalition of 135 churches and faith-based organizations, to provide ongoing support to Beirut survivors through the relief phase and into recovery.

“This could be a long-term recovery. The people of Beirut are not only dealing with immediate impacts on their homes, livelihoods and survival but the longer-term effect of the trauma of dealing with this event on top of the existing history of war and trauma in Lebanon,” said Hills Uzoka. “There’s no end to the need there in the foreseeable future.”

 With your donation, you can help bring hope to the people of Beirut, Lebanon, who will be affected by this disaster for years to come. Give to UMCOR International Disaster Response and Recovery, Advance #982450.

Stacy Jones is a freelance writer and editor in the Atlanta area.

The post Hope amid stunning devastation appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Christie R. House

Patience Zakari, a young mother in rural Nigeria, was afraid to take her children to a clinic when they were sick with fever. She feared the cost of treatment, given her limited budget, which made it difficult to pay for essentials like food and school fees. She preferred, instead, to go to a local chemist to buy cheaper malaria drugs, but they didn’t always work.

When her infant twins became ill, she feared they would not survive. She found a clinic operated by the Nigerian United Methodist Church that was screening for and treating malaria at no cost to patients. “I, my twins, and my other children received treatment and are well again. Now I no longer fear going to the clinic,” Zakari said.

In Nigeria, United Methodist health facilities in rural areas are working to improve their outreach into the communities they serve. The Nigeria Rural Health Program, operated by the Nigeria United Methodist Health Board, oversees 16 rural health clinics in four annual conferences within the Nigeria Episcopal Area. It also supports Jalingo Hospital, constructed in 2017, thanks to an Imagine No Malaria (INM) Hospital Revitalization grant.

A grant from Global Ministries’ Global Health unit supports the operations required to manage the health board’s country office. This integrated and comprehensive approach to the health needs in Nigeria increases access and improves the quality of services delivered.

A year-long Imagine No Malaria program provided long-lasting insecticide bed nets, prophylaxis to prevent malaria, and medications and supplies for diagnosis and treatment. Education to encourage behavioral changes to prevent malaria were included in this outreach to community members.

Women who come for prenatal visits receive medication that will protect them and their babies from contracting malaria. They can also be tested for HIV and if they test positive, start antiretroviral medications. With proper treatment, HIV-positive mothers have a good chance of delivering HIV-free newborns.

Marta Sunday, who lives near the United Methodist Taka Wurkum facility, found the malaria treatment she needed after she’d tried others: “I was sick for weeks. Even though I was receiving treatment from another health facility. At Taka Wurkum, within two days, the medication the doctor gave me changed everything, and I am feeling good. My baby is calm and healthy since she was treated in this facility.”

In its first six months, the INM project directly impacted the lives of 21,075 people, including children, pregnant women, and others. More than 2,038 people who might have died of malaria were saved. The project made quality malaria medications available in hard-to-reach communities. And, the number of patients that visited the health facilities where the INM project were offered tripled to 23,991.

The success of this project has boosted staff confidence in the facilities and the level of community trust as well. This trust has gone a long way to increase health, hope and well-being in remote areas. 

Give to Abundant Health, Advance #3021770  to support the life-saving work of United Methodist health ministries around the world.

Christie R. House is a consulting editor and writer with Global Ministries.

The post Accessible health care spreads hope in Nigeria appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Christie R. House

As health coordinator for the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area Health Board, Hannah Mafunda manages multiple projects to meet the health needs of Zimbabweans seeking care from United Methodist health facilities. The board oversees the health work of two annual conferences, three hospitals and 12 rural health centers. Mafunda’s work often requires coordination with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care, Global Ministries’ Global Health unit and other international health partners.

But Mafunda doesn’t walk alone in her ministry. She’s accompanied by faith-based friends who form a coalition across religious communities to make the most of Zimbabwe’s health resources.

The United Methodist Church is a member of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, composed of 26 Protestant denominations and 10 affiliate members. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches is one of four main church bodies that form an umbrella of faith-based organizations called the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD). 

Among ZHOCD churches, The United Methodist Church and the Catholic Bishops Conference have the largest networks of mission and church-based health facilities. Churches in Zimbabwe provide 65% of health care services in rural areas and 35% nationally.

Currently, ZHOCD members are engaged in a two-year action plan for HIV and AIDS in partnership with UNAIDS, the Zimbabwe National AIDS Council and the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care. They seek to improve coordination and reporting mechanisms among their faith-based health facilities, hold awareness campaigns and teach prevention and treatment options. These same interfaith networks are invaluable in facing the challenges of COVID-19.

ZHOCD’s health coordinators recently met to discuss strategies, share best practices and identify gaps in COVID-19 interventions in health facilities and community engagement. At one of the meetings, Mafunda and her Catholic colleague shared notes on what their health services needed. This allowed them to draw up a list of equipment needs based on the capacities of their combined facilities.

Among United Methodist colleagues, Mafunda also walks with friends. The UMC Health Board promotes health and community development work within United Methodist Church structures. Its members include medical, business and legal personnel as well as community leaders and church members.

“The primary task of the board is to ensure provision of holistic, affordable and accessible health care services through the various programs to the communities,” Mafunda explained.

Mafunda also recognizes the invaluable assistance of a U.S. coalition of United Methodist churches called the Nyadire Connection. In the past eight years, these church partners in the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference have funded the upgrading of three rural health centers within the Zimbabwe West Annual Conference and are currently working on a fourth, contributing a total of over $1.2 million.

“The ministry embraces a holistic vision of healing,” Mafunda said. “It goes beyond providing high-quality medical care to caring for people in mind, body and spirit and promoting the well-being of communities.”

Give to Abundant Health, Advance #3021770, to assist health boards with vital health work in their countries.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries.

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By Christie R. House

ReNew congregation in South Pasadena, a new church plant in the California-Pacific Conference, celebrated its one-year anniversary in January this year. The church has been partially funded through the Korean Ministry Plan, one of six national ethnic ministry plans of The United Methodist Church.

“Our diverse church represents South Pasadena residents,” said the Rev. Sam Park, ReNew’s pastor. “Our fastest growing segment in the congregation is Asian Americans.”

The Rev. Paul (Hak-soon) Chang, executive director of the Korean Ministry Plan, said support for ReNew aligned with KMP’s Next Generation Ministries, which encompasses three strategic initiatives – children’s, youth and college ministries.

Since General Conference established the KMP in 2000, the number of Korean-American clergy ordained in The United Methodist Church has increased by more than 1000. Many of those, like Park, serve cross-cultural, cross-racial appointments. About 25% to 30% of Korean clergy in the UMC are women serving cross-cultural, English-language appointments. “We contribute to the whole United Methodist Church,” noted Chang.

A three-story mansion on ReNew’s site was built in the early 1900s by hotel magnate Albert Clay Billicke and his wife, Gladys Huff Billicke. In 1915, the couple took a fateful trip on the RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed by a German submarine off the southern coast of Ireland. Billicke did not survive the blast, but Gladys escaped in a life boat. In 1960, Billicke heirs willed the property to the Methodist Church.

The first Methodist congregation to move to the site built a sanctuary in the mansion and called it home until 2014. Plans for ReNew developed after the former church closed and the California-Pacific Conference considered options for the 8-acre property. Though the land is valuable, the mansion will take $2-3 million to restore, a considerable burden for a new congregation. But the land could be developed to serve the community and produce income for the church.

Park’s current focus is to build up the congregation. In addition to Sunday worship, ReNew hosts small group gatherings on Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, allowing the congregation’s members to develop deeper relationships. A fathers’ ministry meets virtually once a week from 10-11 p.m., after children are in bed.

Park hopes to reach families whose children are involved in sports on Sunday mornings by adding a Thursday night service. Across the country, 25 million children and their families are involved in weekend sports.

Without the grant from the California-Pacific Conference and additional support from the Korean Ministry Plan, ReNew would have found it difficult to get off the ground. Now, with a good foundation, the church has raised $180,000 for this year’s budget, $30,000 more than projected. With a long-term plan for the property and for congregational growth, Park sees a bright future for ReNew.

To support church growth and revitalization, make a gift to Evangelization and Church Revitalization, Advance #400400.

Christie R. House is a writer and editor consultant with Global Ministries.

The post ReNew congregation celebrates one-year anniversary appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Christie R. House

NOVEMBER 2020

Seven ministry partners across Brazil received United Methodist Committee on Relief COVID-19 Sheltering in Love grants to extend their caring outreach deeper into their communities. In a coordinated effort, through the Life and Mission ministry of the national Methodist Church in Brazil, congregations have accompanied vulnerable people through the pandemic. 

The Rev. Joana D’Arc Meireles, the national secretary for the Life and Mission ministry, described the climate in Brazil as “terrifying.” “We have hunger and unemployment and many sick people right now, and not everyone has access to good health care,” she said.

With assistance from the UMCOR COVID-19 Fund, more people are finding help in chaotic and uncertain times.

In Piauí, Northeast Brazil, Teresina Methodist Church has worked to reach an underserved community in a place called Jerusalem. The ministry focuses on ways to improve the lives of children by strengthening families. 

An UMCOR grant helped the Teresina Methodists provide hygiene kits, COVID-19 prevention guidelines and basic food baskets. The church registered 40 families for the COVID-19 outreach, which they named “Project New Jerusalem Against COVID.” 

Another project grant for Northeast Brazil, in Paraíba, serves a hidden community through the João Pessoa Methodist Church.

The congregation put together hygiene kits in partnership with a Brazilian LGBT association to serve sex workers in the area. “We have been trying to help these women to keep their dignity, their health and hygiene in these times,” Meireles noted.

Also in Paraíba, a grant for a project in Campina Grande supported health professionals and their families as they took risks to contain the virus.

In Piracicaba, São Paulo, an UMCOR grant helped to save lives at Betel Social Assistance Association, a Methodist-founded nursing home, by providing COVID-19 testing and strict adherence to new guidelines.

In the region of Barra do Ceará on the outskirts of Fortaleza, a family-to-family project matched five families, whose adult members were employed, with two other families each, who have lost their jobs. So together, the five families accompanied 10 other families.

In Rio Grande do Sul, Methodists accompany Haitian immigrants as they adapt to life in Brazil. The Methodist Church appointed Duplan Daniel as a missionary pastor with the Haitian community in Canoas.

Daniel used a portion of their UMCOR grant to invest in livelihood work. “We bought sewing machines to teach a group of young men and women to make masks. This helps them and their families, but they also sell masks. These new skills are an investment in the future, after the pandemic moves on.”

In Porto Alegre, Congregation Wesley conducts an ongoing resettlement ministry. Recent years have seen an influx of migrants from Venezuela. Since 2018, Congregation Wesley has resettled about 150 people.

The UMCOR grant helped 15 families, about 60 people, with rent assistance so they could stay in their homes during quarantine.

To reach more people with life-saving ministries, give to Abundant Health, Advance #3021770.

Christie R. House is a consulting writer and editor with Global Ministries.

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By Christie R. House

Yabes Manokaran, from Tamilnadu, India, and Eric Agron, from the Philippines, served as Global Mission Fellows in Tijuana, Mexico, until July 2020. As migration ministry advocates in the Northwest Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico, they heard a lifetime of stories from migrants who sought relief, waited for justice and faced deportation.

The Northwest Conference supports migrants with food, clothing, blankets and other resources to meet basic needs. In 2019, the United Methodist Committee on Relief provided a grant to the conference to outfit and staff an industrial-sized kitchen to provide food for asylum seekers held up in Tijuana. Named after the Bible verse, Comedor Juan 6:35 opened in April 2019. 

In addition to working at the Comedor, the Global Mission Fellows also attended El Faro Border Church, which has pastors, but no building.

“Every Sunday I am fortunate to experience a binational worship service and be part of a church like no other,” explained Agron in an interview from Dec. 2019. “El Faro Border Church gathers at Friendship Park, the historic meeting place on the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Until 1994, the park between San Diego and Tijuana was open, without a wall or fencing, but then the U.S. erected a thick steel fence and border security has continually increased. 

“At El Faro church, led by Pastor John Fanestil in the U.S. and Pastor Guillermo Navarrete in Mexico, we share communion with friends from both nations as a witness that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ,” Agron said.

“This church is open to all,” he continued. “It has no walls, no doors and no ceiling. It doesn’t matter what religion you possess or do not possess. People come here to be closer to God and to motivate the separated families. We cannot allow a border wall to separate us from our loved ones.”

In working day to day with migrants, the Global Mission Fellows learned about their many hardships. 

“I have seen hundreds of children and families, some living in tents in open-air encampments in Tijuana. They have fled violence on foot. They wait for their numbers to be called for a chance at asylum,” Manokaran explained. 

Agron said: “The abundance of stories from migrants, about how they’ve fled from different kinds of abuse, persecution and violence really affects you. Some flee drug-related, or political-related or religious-related violence. They have to flee. They leave comfortable homes to cross a desert under a scorching sun.”

His thoughts turned back to El Faro Church. “It has been a long vision, a long prayer of this church to have a border that has no wall, a border that is not divided, a border that unites people in love, in friendship, in communion.”

Meet the needs of migrants across the world by making a gift to UMCOR Global Migration, Advance #3022144.

Christie R. House is a consulting writer and editor for Global Ministries.

The post United in Love: Walls, borders and open tables appeared first on Global Ministries.

November 2020 | ATLANTA

For years, our family just called her “the Fruit Lady.” When Migdalia Chavez arrives at our door bringing a small supply of tropical treats, like dragon fruit, avocados or limes, you can be sure it is at the most inconvenient time: supper just laid on the table, someone just out of the shower, the start of a good movie or as an interruption to winding down at the end of a long work day. 

Over the years, Migdalia has suffered serious illnesses requiring expensive surgeries and medicines, personal tragedy with the deaths of her son to suicide, her daughter to cancer and a grandchild to complications from malnutrition. She is always living at the limits of her financial resources. We have given her offerings of money, in-kind gifts, “loans” for financial goals like a piñata business or expanding fruit sales. None of our efforts have had any impact on her economic capacity but doing nothing does not feel like an option either. 

During the 20 years we have known Migdalia and tried in different ways to help her, we have experienced the spectrum of emotions from empathy to frustration to outright grief, when one night she appeared in such a sickly state, we thought for sure she would never arrive at our door again. I cried my eyes out in sadness and despair that there was no “fix” for her multiple and seemingly unending problems. Miraculously, she survived that crisis too, and she continues to thrive as an ambulatory fruit vendor, with some of her produce coming from her own garden. When the pandemic started, we encouraged Migdalia to stay home and equipped her with masks. One night, Migdalia appeared at the door wearing a mask and her own brand of head cap – a plastic bag. We did not know whether to laugh or cry. That day I had served as courier for a donation of 2000 masks and was gifted two head turbans by the seamstress. It was clear these head protectors were meant for Migdalia. The next visit Migdalia was sporting the turban and looking well. 

The lesson we have learned through our relationship with Migdalia is that opportunities to serve are not always convenient or easy, yet, if we are open, Christ comes to our door in the most unlikely of ways. Indeed, Migdalia’s visits are no longer confused with being an interruption, but as an opportunity to exchange a witness, an encouraging word, on occasion a material offering, and most of all, love. We have learned from Migdalia that “Love is patient, love is kind.” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Jesus never promised that we could solve every problem, but that Love is always there to sustain us as we journey together. 

I learned this past week that Migdalia and I are the same age. We have vastly different life journeys, yet God allowed them to cross, and love has fostered as a small contribution to God’s Realm on Earth. 

Dr. Belinda Forbes is a dentist and global missionary from the United States serving in Nicaragua.

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