NOTE: This story is being updated as new information arrives from Gaza.

It was the first time in weeks that I could feed my children a warm, complete and nutritious meal that contains meat. They were so happy.

Farah*, participant in the UMCOR/IOCC project, Central Gaza

ATLANTA – The situation in the Palestinian territory of Gaza worsens each day. “Severe malnutrition is spreading among children faster than aid can reach them,” notes Edouard Beigbeder, Middle East and North Africa regional director of the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The World Health Organization (WHO) reported this week that 2.1 million people trapped in the Gaza war zone are facing another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation. “We are now witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition-related deaths,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, said in a July 23 media release.

Large humanitarian relief operations active in the Gaza strip include the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is operated by Israeli military forces in the south out of Rafah in partnership with the U.S. and the United Nations, which has been in Gaza providing basic necessities, education and health care services with Palestinian partners for many years.

A statement released earlier in the month from the ACT Alliance signed by a hundred faith-based humanitarian agencies states: “Experienced humanitarian actors remain ready to deliver life-saving assistance at scale. Yet more than 100 days since Israeli authorities reimposed a near-total blockade on aid and commercial goods, Gaza’s humanitarian conditions are collapsing faster than at any point in the past 20 months.”

Yet, small, faith-based humanitarian organizations have diligently and quietly provided humanitarian relief – food, water, shelter and health care – in whatever corner of Gaza they find themselves. These agencies have worked in Gaza previously and have contacts within Palestinian communities. As Palestinians are forced to move repeatedly to avoid bombardment and violence, the faith groups move with them.

Humanitarian groups working in Gaza continue to call for peace in the Middle East, and the opening of humanitarian corridors to move relief supplies into Gaza on a scale that would meet the overwhelming need. Even so, they work with what they have.

Currently, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) partners with International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) to bring much-needed food and water rations to Palestinian families in the refugee and displacement camps where they are living. IOCC supports ongoing work in Gaza by partnering with groups that are part of these displacement camps and the communities that host them.

In a camp where many displaced families have found shelter in Central Gaza, IOCC partners with a local youth organization. IOCC contracts with a local commercial kitchen to cook and package hot meals for the camp. This ensures that healthy, fresh food is distributed, minimizing contamination and spoilage. The youth organization met with people residing in the camps to find those most in need of food – women and children – so they could receive food with minimal complications. A food distribution coordinator and chefs were recruited to run the operation. More than 3,500 beneficiaries received daily meals for several months.

Aid that comes in the form of food boxes generally containing flour, legumes and cooking oil can be helpful to some, but displaced families often have no way to cook the food, no pots or utensils, and lack enough clean water to prepare a meal. By using a commercial kitchen close by, IOCC takes the food to families who come to an organized central, safe place in their camp to eat or to pick up food without confusion or fighting and with assurance there will be enough for today and tomorrow. This method also provides work and therefore income for workers in the host community.

Hana*, a 34-year-old mother of five, once lived a modest but stable life in Al Jadeed at Al-Nuseirat Camp with her husband and children. Their house was destroyed, and her husband was injured last year. With no stable source of income and limited aid, Hana’s greatest fear is not being able to feed her children.

“My children would go to sleep hungry, and I had no way to promise them a meal the next day. The war not only destroyed our home, but it also took away our dignity and ability to survive,”Hana said.

She recalls the moment she received the first meals for her children from the UMCOR/IOCC program: “It was the first time in a long time that I saw my children eat a full, warm, and nutritious meal. I was relieved because I knew they wouldn’t sleep hungry that night.”

The quotes from Hana and Farah above are from IOCC staff who invite the recipients to sit down and talk with them, asking for their help to evaluate the relief operation. This gives both voice and a measure of dignity to those they serve. Even in war time and uncertainty, evaluation and respect are key to successful humanitarian projects.

In addition to the meals provided each day, training sessions on health, nutrition and hygiene helped displaced families reassess their current situations and discover alternative ways to feed their families and keep them healthy once the UMCOR project drew to a close.

The program at the IDP camp at the beginning of the year was successful, so UMCOR has doubled its support for IOCC as it opens another relief site in another Central Gaza location. For this project, IOCC is partnering with a Palestinian women’s organization.

This camp hosts a large population of residents and tens of thousands of displaced families. IOCC is concentrating on shelters for the displaced and the women’s group is currently organizing the list of who should receive this aid – those with few resources left – and suppliers of fresh food and the cooking location are being contracted.

IOCC aid will reach 3,700 people in the shelter. Critical food aid, psychosocial support and trauma counseling are goals for this project. Activities for about 2,000 girls and boys are planned to provide relief, time for play and moments of joy for children who have experienced trauma and violence and witnessed the complete destruction of their homes and villages.

Regular sessions of Psychosocial First Aid (PFA) conducted by specialists will be offered to parents and other adults, giving them a safe space for learning, sharing their experiences and strengthening their resilience to the trauma they must survive.

Throughout this crisis, UMCOR finds hope in people working together for the common good and depends on the faithfulness of partners who know the populations they serve. Human dignity, kindness, just methods of distribution and reaching people where they shelter are hallmarks of UMCOR’s work and an expression of God’s love for all people in need.

*names have been changed

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

United Methodist Committee on Relief

Founded in 1940, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian relief and development agency of The United Methodist Church. A part of Global Ministries, UMCOR works in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States and its territories. Working in the areas of disaster response and recovery and migration, UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters that are interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own.

The post UMCOR and humanitarian partners feed thousands in Gaza appeared first on Global Ministries.

Cristian Schlick, a Global Ministries’ staff member serving as liaison for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean and as regional migration specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), speaks about migration and the Christian call to welcome the stranger in our midst.

The video references various ministries of Global Ministries and UMCOR that provide relief and recovery for refugees in many different forms and in many places around the world.

The Rev. Joel Hortiales, a missionary serving as director of Hispanic/Latino Ministry and Border Concerns in the California-Pacific Annual Conference, meets and prays with migrants and asylum seekers on both sides of the Mexican-U.S. border.

Children in Gaza have a rare chance to laugh and play as part of counseling and psychological services provided by an UMCOR partner, the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR).

Ukrainian refugee families in Romania and families displaced inside Ukraine receive welcome, supplies, food, water and shelter with support from UMCOR as they navigate new ways to survive a three-year war that has no end in sight.

Displaced mothers and children in South Sudan welcome a new place to find potable water and relief supplies made possible by UMCOR and its partner, Water Is Basic.

Churches in the U.S. find ways to welcome and support immigrants in their communities with Mustard Seed Migration Grants from UMCOR.

Discover more about UMCOR’s work to welcome refugees and other migrants and provide for their basic needs through global migration ministries and commemorate World Refugee Day with a gift to support.

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ATLANTA – Human Rights Watch reports that increasing violence has put the population of Haiti at grave risk. Gang violence, rising prices, falling income and below-normal rainfall that results in low agricultural production fuels the violence. Suffering is made worse when humanitarian aid can’t reach the communities that need it.

After the 2021 earthquake in Haiti, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) joined other humanitarian and faith-based organizations to increase relief efforts across the country. But today, only 10% of Port-au-Prince remains under government control, with criminal groups escalating attacks since late 2024. These groups have targeted key infrastructure, such as airports, seaports and roads, as well as state institutions, schools, health centers, media outlets, and residential and commercial areas.

“People no longer have a safe place to flee to,” an aid worker told Human Rights Watch. “Women who come here seeking help have not only lost loved ones, but have also been raped, displaced and left on the streets, starving and struggling to survive. We don’t know how much longer they can endure such suffering.”

In the face of these challenges, UMCOR has been working with Haitian partners that have capacity and ability to serve women, children and families. Providing health care and counseling for women, food and medical care for children and general food and shelter relief to families has become the focus for UMCOR’s grants in Haiti.

One way of getting health care and specifically, gynecological care for women, to the temporary places where they are sheltering is to meet them where they are using mobile clinics. Several partners have access to vehicles, staff and expertise to do this.

The Association for the Promotion of Haitian Family (Profamil) is a Haitian non-governmental organization dedicated to providing sexual and reproductive health services to women and adolescents. Places where displaced people shelter are typically schools, churches, and public spaces – none of which are designed for this purpose – yet they accommodate thousands of individuals.

“During our mobile clinics, we transport our equipment to these makeshift sites and set up our operations,” noted Profamil staff. “On one occasion, the room provided to us served as living quarters for 20 families. For the duration of the day, these families graciously moved their personal belongings to make space for us to establish our clinic in this room. We were able to provide medical consultations to over 100 women in a single day under these challenging conditions.”

REFKAD, an organization that brings together 30 women’s organizations in Haiti, received an UMCOR grant to organize community mobile clinics to assist women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence. It supplied medical staff, medicines, consultation and psychosocial support to women in shelters.

The Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine Foundation (CHFF), a Haitian nonprofit that helps underfunded schools and hospitals serving marginalized Haitian communities, supports health care, education, child protection and job creation services. CHFF hosted mobile clinics that visited K-9^th grade schools to provide health care for children and their families and school staff. CHFF also provided meals.

Négés Mawon, another Haitian nonprofit, received an UMCOR grant to improve the safehouse in Port au Prince that houses women, adolescents and children who are survivors of abuse. The grant was used to increase access to counseling and to make the residence more comfortable and functional for the residents.

The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) Haiti District has been a major emergency food distributor for several years now through ongoing and shifting disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, severe flooding, and now political and social unrest. MCCA Haiti, also knows as EMH, or the Methodist Church of Haiti, has an agreement with UMCOR to buy and distribute food throughout the 13 circuits (or districts) of the church across Haiti. These ongoing rations of rice, beans and cooking oil help to supplement many families’ food needs.

Other support for food programs includes Project St. Anne’s, which distributes similar food packets to families in Camp Perrin, in the western part of Haiti. In Dondon, south of Cap-Haitien, Organization for the Development Integral of Dondon (ODID), a grant helped to support cash assistance or food, medical supplies and school needs.

The Community Coalition of Haiti (CCH) has been working in Grand Sud and Port au Prince regions to provide emergency response and urgent activities to bring immediate relief to those most affected by the current crisis. Flexible cash grants provide help to vulnerable families in households that have doubled or even tripled in size because of people fleeing violence. In addition, educational institutions and parents seeking a way to help students in places where schools have been forced to close will receive resources and support to continue educational activities outside the classroom. Since Haiti is often struck by natural disasters, the coalition will also continue to work with communities on disaster response readiness, given that the government currently has no capacity to respond.

The humanitarian need in Haiti is so severe that UMCOR continues to explore new partnerships and granting possibilities, especially with Haitian nonprofits. Consultations with Global Ministries’ Global Health unit ensure that programs involving health care are reviewed and any guidance relayed to the partner.

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

UMCOR DISASTER RESPONSE

United Methodist Committee on Relief Disaster Response and Recovery serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance for disasters that strike both inside and outside of the United States.

Make a gift to help UMCOR provide for the basic needs of people and communities outside the U.S. affected by natural or humanmade disasters.

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“It was a chaotic time. Nobody knew what was happening! The war started, people were dying, and our main purpose was our family’s safety,” recounts Pavlo Osypenko of Life Spring UMC in Kyiv.

Pavlo and his friends—Slava Zinchuk, Evgen Boshov, Serge Shvets, and Maksym Pryhodko—moved their young families to the Slovakian border on the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. A Baptist church in Ternopil provided shelter, food and a place to sleep on their first night. Thankfully, along the journey, they encountered numerous acts of kindness.

Once the five men neared the Slovakian border and ensured their families’ safety in Slovakia, they were welcomed in Kam’yanytsya, Ukraine, by pastors Vasily and Alla Vuksta through the United Methodist connection. With their life savings in backpacks, the displaced men decided to establish a shelter for others. They began by visiting a local administrator in Onokivtsi, where they were given keys to a school. By the night of Mar. 6, they were sheltering 12 displaced people, which increased to 120 by the fifth night.

The community generously provided pillows, mattresses, blankets and food. Support poured in from United Methodists and other Christian friends worldwide, enabling the purchase of beds, sleeping bags, washing machines and more food. About 600 people passed through that school before it had to resume classes.

In May, they rented a former printing house on the edge of Uzhgorod, transforming it into a shelter with space for 60 guests, later expanding to accommodate at least 100. The total number of internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltered has reached over 1,500. Some stayed for a night, some for more than 3 years.

District Superintendent the Rev. Oleg Starodubets and his wife, the Rev. Yulia Starodubets, of the Ukraine Annual Conference, regularly visited the shelter and provided significant help, both spiritually and physically. They also partnered with UMCOR to provide a van to transport people and supplies and began regularly supporting the shelter financially. Bishop Christian Alsted of the Nordic-Baltic Episcopal Area and UMCOR staff members, Katie Hills and the Rev. Jack Amick, also visited the shelter, sparking discussions on establishing a permanent property for the UMC’s mission and ministry.

UMCOR confirmed a significant grant to build or purchase property and, through local connections, negotiated the procurement of the “Under the Castle” (UTC) hotel, restaurant and event venue near Kam’yanytsya. The purchase was finalized in March 2024. While the UMC still uses the former printing house, the new UTC shelter hosts 40 IDPs and provides space for United Methodist conferences, training and community outreach. The long-term vision for UTC is to transform it into a rehabilitation center for war-related trauma.

Under the Castle recently reopened its first-floor restaurant and began renting out its large hall for private events as ways to support the shelter’s residents on the second floor. Today, the residents are mostly women, children and the elderly, with many having stayed for years because of the war’s ongoing devastation.

Pavlo, now residing in the Netherlands with his family, reflects on his experience: “I want this story to be told, it was the most important part of my life – for God’s glory and power. I witnessed many amazing testimonies during this two and a half years.” See a video Pavlo created sharing the story here. Watch an interview of Pavlo Osypenko here.

The Rev. Dr. Fred Vanderwerf is a United Methodist pastor in the Minnesota Annual Conference and serves as the partnership coordinator for In Mission Together – Ukraine for Global Ministries.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief International Disaster Response program (UMCOR IDR) serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance for disasters that strike outside the United States. Response includes food, water, hygiene and other essential nonfood supplies and shelter support for displaced people fleeing disasters.

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ATLANTA – A family from Venezuela has just arrived in the city of Danlí in the south of Honduras and presented themselves to Honduran authorities. They have come a long way – through Colombia, into Central America through Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. But now, their 8-year-old son, who is with them, lies with his head on his father’s shoulder. He is unresponsive.

Fortunately, the United Methodist Mission in Honduras (UMMH) opened a clinic in Danlí two and half years ago and today, the Honduran migration officers notify the clinic when they encounter sick or injured migrants passing through. The clinic team arrived quickly to assess the boy’s health and agreed that he needed immediate medical attention…in a hospital. He was near death from severe dehydration, and the team convinced his parents to follow the advice. The specialized care saved his life.

In 2024, the Rev. Daniel Contreras, a new missionary assigned to UMMH, became the interim country director and he has confirmed that the small clinic served 10,000 patients last year. “The United Methodist Church in Honduras is committed to ministry with the poor and marginalized. Our health work started with a project for the elderly in Danlí, which then developed a fruitful partnership with the authorities. Sadly, the need for a clinic for migrants is greater now than it was before,” Contreras noted.

Others who are referred to the clinic, either by immigration officers or by word-of-mouth, receive direct care from the professional staff at the clinic. They see many cases of less severe dehydration, which they can treat, people with chronic diseases who have run short on their medications, malnutrition, respiratory problems, diarrhea, cold and flu, skin diseases, gastrointestinal infections, foot and leg injuries and wound infections. In most cases, migrants recover and continue their journeys, whatever their destinations may be.

The Government of Honduras promotes universal health coverage but lacks sufficient funding to cover its own citizens, much less the transient population. The city of Danlí has seen as many as 1,500 immigrants passing through each day. Migrants’ need for free, accessible primary health care is great and so the government has found ways to partner with the church’s ministry, such as providing consulting rooms and an ambulance.

The clinic is open eight hours a day, five days a week, and they see an average of 67 patients daily. The volume of patients has continued to increase, but there is uncertainty about whether the flow of migrants to the North will continue as a new U.S. Administration changes policy and procedures for immigrants at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Although the Methodist Church in Honduras is small, it has found ways to contribute important resources to local communities through its mission and ministry. Health care for passing migrants was a needed resource that church members and leaders in Danlí believed they could provide. With a series of grants (currently working on a phase 3 grant) from Global Ministries through Global Health and United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and partnership with immigration officials, the primary health care clinic they envisioned has become a reality. In addition, the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, has a close relationship with the UMMH. Its support in 2024, the congregation’s third annual grant, helped to meet the clinic’s increased demand for services.

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

UMCOR and Global Migration

Learn more about migration ministry and programming through Global Ministries and UMCOR.

Global Health
Through United Methodist conferences and health boards, Global Ministries works to strengthen whole networks of health responses, from revitalization of facilities and staff training to building better water sources, developing sanitation facilities and promoting nutrition. Global Health concentrates on eradicating preventable diseases, such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, and COVID-19, and supporting the most vulnerable populations, including mothers, newborns and children.

Support the work of global health.

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ATLANTA – The ceasefire in Gaza announced by the Israeli Government on January 17 has brought a pause in fighting and a measure of relief for a population that has endured constant terror in the face of daily bombardment and countless displacements. While welcoming this cessation of fighting, humanitarian relief agencies do their best to reach communities that, according to the United Nations, are on the brink of starvation. The original agreement was for a six-week ceasefire, which would extend to the end of February.

In a recent statement released by Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), General Secretary Roland Fernandes gave thanks for a time of respite from violence, fear, and destruction and welcomed the release of hostages and detainees by both parties. He also acknowledged the long and hard road to recovery for Gazans and all Palestinians who have been affected by many forms of aggression.

“The people of Gaza have experienced a suffering so deep that it will be felt for generations to come,” Fernandes said. “Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, families and whole communities displaced, and almost all infrastructure including homes, hospitals and schools destroyed. We mourn alongside the people of Gaza for the suffering and loss imposed on them. For what has been unjustly taken from them,” General Secretary Fernandes continued.

UMCOR started work with partners in Gaza in October 2023, shortly after the conflict between Hamas and Israel broke out. The United Palestinian Appeal worked quickly to deliver medicine and medical supplies to support hospitals, activate mobile clinics for populations displaced by fighting, and distribute food, hygiene kits and water to families living in shelters. UMCOR has continued to award grants through the early months of 2025.

Recent suggestions by the current U.S. administration have cast doubt on the fate of Palestinians for whom the Gaza Strip is home, but the humanitarian mission is the same, no matter what happens – to bring relief to those who suffer and to provide the basic necessities that sustain life.

UMCOR support for relief work in Gaza includes large grants that further the work of partners who can implement large scale distribution of food, water, personal hygiene and other non-food items. Grants also support health care and health facilities that have managed to remain open inside Gaza. Smaller grants of equal importance support organizations that can mount small-scale projects to reach specific vulnerable populations with targeted relief.

Contributions to large-scale relief efforts since October 2023 have provided, whenever possible, food rations, fresh food, water, nonfood items such as shelter supplies, hygiene supplies and medical care. Some have also helped with counseling and information sessions about health, wellbeing and avoiding live munitions.

Partners implementing this work include the United Palestinian Appeal (UPA), ACT Alliance for the ACT Palestinian Forum, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), the International Orthodox Christian Charities, and the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR).

The Princess Basma Centre in Jerusalem, a long-time Advance giving partner of United Methodists that serves disabled children, received several smaller grants. One made it possible for them to develop online learning for their constituency, who, although they are in Jerusalem, met with harassment upon trying to transport their children to the center.

A second grant supported a new program to reach children in Gaza injured by the violence there. With its expertise serving children with limb injuries and other disabling conditions, Princess Basma opened a pediatric satellite, Princess Basma Rehabilitation unit, at Al Ahli Hospital, a sister institution with the Anglican Episcopal Church, Diocese of Jerusalem, in Gaza City.

Late in 2024 Israel began cross-border bombardment in Lebanon, and UMCOR worked with several partners there who were serving communities displaced by the violence, both in Lebanon and Jordan. These partners included UPA, DSPR and ACT Alliance.

Palestinians in other parts of Israel-Palestine outside Gaza have also been targets of violence and harassment. As noted by Fernandes, “In East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Palestinians continue to face mounting violence, fear, ongoing detentions and displacement. We urge an immediate end to all violence and displacement.”

In addition to Princess Basma Centre, other long-time ecumenical partners are receiving grants to continue serving their Palestinian communities. UMCOR has provided support for specific projects at Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center in Bethlehem, Four Homes of Mercy in Jerusalem, Hope School in Beit Jala, the Shepherd Society in Bethlehem and the Arab Orthodox Benevolent Society in Beit Jala, which gave medical support to people who could no longer afford their medications or who needed surgery.

Beit Jala, in the West Bank, has had its borders closed because of its close proximity to Jerusalem. Violence breaks out at these check-points and a father of a student was shot while trying to cross to pick up his child. Hope Secondary School has remained closed since then, but a grant from UMCOR helped the school purchase tablets for students whose families could not afford them and laptops for teachers to teach remotely. With that, 100% of the student body was able to continue learning remotely.

As the conflict continues, many Palestinian families have lost their livelihoods and can no longer pay tuition fees, so a second UMCOR grant has helped families to make payments and keep their children in school.

“Through our partners in the region and the United Nations, we will continue to support our brothers and sisters in Gaza and other Palestinian communities as they seek to rebuild their lives,” General Secretary Fernandes affirmed. “And in our commitment to justice, freedom and peace for all of God’s children, we will continue to pray and act for accountability, reconciliation and a lasting stability throughout the Middle East.”

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

UMCOR work with refugees and people displaced by war

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

Founded in 1940 to care for refugees and displaced communities of WW II, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian relief and development agency of The United Methodist Church. A part of Global Ministries, UMCOR works in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States and its territories. Working in the areas of disaster response and recovery and migration, UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters that are interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting www.umcmission.org or follow us on social media.

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ATLANTA – Central to many faith traditions is the call to welcome the stranger and care for those in need. From a theological and faith perspective, the Trump administration’s immigration policies raise troubling ethical concerns that challenge core religious values of compassion, love and welcome.

Sweeping measures, framed as deporting illegal migrant criminals, are effectively criminalizing and terrorizing ALL migrant communities in the U.S., regardless of legal status.

Border security policies that set aside humanitarian considerations fail to recognize the plight of individuals fleeing violence and persecution. Such actions undermine our moral obligation to offer refuge and support to those seeking safety and a better life.

Economically, immigrants contribute to our communities and serve vital roles in various industries, driving growth and innovation. Many have been in this country for years. They are most often seen as gifts to our communities, not threats. By forcibly removing them and restricting entry for others, we diminish the richness and diversity they bring, which is counter to the belief that all people are created in the image of God and deserve dignity and opportunity.

Global Ministries condemns these actions, which disregard the fundamental dignity and rights of migrants, many of whom are families in need of our concern and care.

Additionally, the divisive rhetoric often accompanying these policies is antithetical to the teachings of love and unity found in many faiths, leading to increased intolerance and hatred of migrants in the U.S. We must advocate for a more compassionate and inclusive approach to immigration that reflects the gospel, values all lives as sacred and promotes justice and peace.

Instead of fostering division, we should focus on building bridges and advocating for comprehensive immigration reform that embodies compassion, justice, and the inherent worth of every person.

In Deuteronomy 10:18-19, we are reminded of God’s love for the foreigner, who is given food and clothing, and we are called to do the same: “And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”

God calls us to welcome the stranger. We must commit to build a future where compassion and justice prevail regardless of passport status.

We reaffirm our call on individuals, pastors and local churches to take immediate action:

• Pray: Uphold the protection and well-being of migrants in your prayers, and seeking bold leadership from communities and policymakers.
• Volunteer: Connect with local organizations such as Church World Service or the Immigration Law and Justice Network to assist nearby affiliates.
• Support Projects: Apply for Mustard Seed Migration Grants of $2,000 to aid migrants in your community. Learn more and apply here.
• Learn: Join this Feb. 10 webinar organized by Church and Society and others to learn about the UM response to immigration justice.  Learn more and register here.
• Advocate: Contact elected officials to express your support for migrant rights and sign up for Church World Service Action Alerts  for advocacy opportunities.
• Donate: Contribute to the Global Migration Advance (#3022144) to support programs that aids migrants and refugees. Give here.

Roland Fernandes is the general secretary of Global Ministries, UMCOR, and Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Learn more about migration ministry and programming through Global Ministries and UMCOR.

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ATLANTA – Shortly after Hurricane Helene inundated communities in Western North Carolina with 12 inches to nearly three feet of rain in just a few days late in September, Spruce Pine United Methodist Church in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, became a hub for disaster relief. It wasn’t their plan, but God needed a way to send help to this community, and this congregation provided that way. Though the church had neither electricity nor water, it was spared severe water damage, and on the third day after the storm, members of the congregation joined their pastor, Rev. Holly Cobb McKim, at the church, assessing their own situation and turning to help others.

Lilla Marigza, a freelance reporter with United Methodist News Service, notes that for weeks following Hurricane Helene, every square foot of Spruce Pine UMC was in service to the community. It offered a food pantry, water, a clothing closet and baby supplies. The Western North Carolina Disaster Response office asked if the church would be willing to host Early Response Teams (ERTs) already making plans to travel to the region to serve. Within days, the United Methodist Committee on Relief sent the conference a grant to help with relief efforts.

The church set up dormitories in children’s ministry rooms and constructed a temporary shower facility outside for what turned out to be literally hundreds of UMCOR-trained ERTs coming from conferences across the country. They visited for a week at a time to serve the people in this area of Western North Carolina who have seen tremendous devastation, loss of property and natural habitat and worst of all, loss of family members.

McKim noted: “I’ve been United Methodist all my life. How many times have we taken up special offerings for UMCOR? And we’ve sent money, and this is the first time it’s been right here in my own backyard! That’s actually a very humbling experience. Learning how to receive everything that everyone has given us has been extremely humbling and gives me hope in humanity.”

Specific areas of the Holston Conference in East Tennessee and Virginia were also affected by Helene, mostly through flooding. A dam gave way outside Greenville, Tennessee, causing massive flooding, power outages and road closures.

On Friday Sep. 27, Trinity UMC in Greenville had no power or water, but the church was in good shape. Pastor Sara Varnell said she didn’t know what to do, but members of her congregation called and were certain they should do something. She connected with another UMC and asked a lot of questions.

“Our church started saying ‘yes’ on Saturday morning,” Varnell said. “We didn’t know how to do this, but God did. This is God and a whole community and all the churches and people working together.”

People from the wider UMC connection started showing up with water, food, diapers – and people from the community soon learned where they could find these things they desperately needed. Before long the church was a major hub. UMCOR sent clean-up supplies, volunteers from church within and outside the conference showed up with supplies and stayed to help organize and distribute them.

Spruce Pine and Trinity churches were two paths God found to reach people after Helene struck. This scenario was repeated in other communities and churches, in other states affected by Helene’s broad reach. Today, as the relief operations wind down, United Methodist disaster coordinators in the affected conferences are planning recovery strategies for weary communities.

As 2025 unfolds, three hard-hit United Methodist conferences are working with UMCOR to assess recovery needs and set-up long-term disaster management programs. Western North Carolina Conference, South Carolina Conference and Holston Conference are each receiving grants averaging $100,000-$200,000 to begin this assessment, which includes fact and resource gathering to discover where needs are already being met by government and nonprofit agencies and which communities have not received what they need. Finding these gaps in services and resources is an UMCOR objectives.

Jim Cox, who recently began work as UMCOR’s new executive director, met a number of ERTs in the Asheville, North Carolina, area as they arrived to help Western North Carolina Conference mud-out and clean-up in surrounding communities.

“UMCOR has been in partnership with the conference here since day one,” he noted. “Western North Carolina Conference has done great work early on. We’re now looking at long-term recovery. We plan to partner together with the conference for several years.”

Long-term recovery grants from UMCOR help to cover expenses for disaster case management, construction management, volunteer management, material resource management, financial management and administration, depending on what the assessment determines. Recovery grants tend to be substantial and are usually implemented in time periods of six months to two years or longer after initial assessments are completed.

South Carolina sustained major damage from winds and tornadoes created by Helene. Jessica Brody, South Carolina Advocate editor, noted that nearly the entire western half of South Carolina—comprising 29 counties in total—was approved for individual and public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

United Methodists in the conference have donated supplies, sent ERTs out and quickly arranged ERT trainings for UMCOR ERT certification.

Florida was also hit hard, particularly in the panhandle region, and received a series of relief grants, but it has already set up major recovery hubs in response to previous hurricanes and received an additional grant early in 2024.

“When disaster strikes, like the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, many ask, ‘Where is UMCOR?’ The simple answer is: We are UMCOR,” wrote Aimee Yeager, director of Communications for Western North Carolina Conference. “United Methodist disaster response is embodied through the work of our local churches, teams, and volunteers.”

The role of the UMCOR is to help fund disaster response efforts, train volunteers and provide the expertise and resources that empower annual conferences across the nation to respond to disasters. UMCOR’s real strength, however, is found in the hands and feet of local church members who bring help directly to their communities.

“So, where is UMCOR? Right here,” Yeager continued. “We are UMCOR – each of us is a part of this essential ministry of love and relief. We have been here. We are still here. We will remain. Thanks be to God.”

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR. With thanks to the communicators of Western North Carolina, South Carolina and Holston conferences for their story coverage used here: Aimee Yeager, Annette Spence, Jessica Brodie and UM News reporters, Lilla Marigza and Mike DuBose.

Learn more about Disaster Response in the U.S.

United Methodist Committee on Relief U.S. Disaster Response and Recovery serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance for disasters that strike within the United States.

Make a gift to help UMCOR provide for the basic needs of people and communities devastated by both natural and humanmade disasters.

GIVE: https://umcmission.org/advance-project/901670/

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ATLANTA – Supporting migrants and refugees is fundamental to the work of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Since its founding in 1940 during World War II, UMCOR has consistently stood alongside displaced people across the globe, assisting those impacted by war, civil unrest and manmade and natural disasters.

As the United States faces potential large-scale immigration policy changes, including the likely mass deportation of thousands of migrants, Global Ministries and UMCOR will prioritize protecting migrants’ rights, reaffirming a longstanding commitment to core humanitarian principles. We will intensify efforts to amplify the voices of migrants and create pathways for integration. Through comprehensive programs spanning global advocacy, church engagement, legal support and practical assistance, Global Ministries and UMCOR will continue to provide hope and support to those most vulnerable in their journey to safety and opportunity.

There are several ways that individuals, pastors and local churches can get involved in ministry with migrants and refugees:

• Pray for the protection and well-being of migrants, for bold leadership and for positive action on the part of individuals, churches and communities.    
• Volunteer with local organizations in your community. Contact Church World Service, Immigration Law and Justice Network or similar organizations to see how you can assist the affiliate nearest you.
• Implement a Mustard Seed Migration Grant project to assist migrants in your own community. Applications for grants of $2,000 will be accepted up to December 13, 2024. Learn more and apply here.
• Contact your elected officials to let them know that you welcome migrants. You can sign up for Church World Service Action Alerts to learn how to become involved in advocacy efforts that support migrant rights.
• Donate to the Global Migration Advance (#3022144) to support programming that aids migrants and refugees. Give here.

Grounded in the teachings of Jesus Christ, Global Ministries and UMCOR alleviates human suffering without regard to race, religion or status. We believe that welcoming the stranger is essential to The United Methodist Church.

Roland Fernandes is the general secretary of Global Ministries and UMCOR.

Learn more about migration ministry and programming through Global Ministries and UMCOR.

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ATLANTA – Typhoon Gaemi, named Carina in the Philippines, took a direct path across Taiwan on July 24 and its outer band of winds struck the Philippines along the western coast of Manila. Unfortunately, it arrived just about the time a tropical depression formed, and a southwest monsoon hit the islands too, all of which caused massive flooding and landslides. On July 25, a tanker hauling about 370,000 gallons of oil hit the rough seas in the Bay of Manila and consequently sank. Within five days, two more vessels faltered and went aground or sank.

All around the Bay of Manila fishing villages and even inland towns have been affected by the triple calamity.

The Manila Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office (MEA DMO) supported by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), activated its disaster response protocol and assessed the triple disasters as a category 3 event (out of 5). Local churches gave direct aid by distributing food and water. The Manila Episcopal Area sent out a “call to action” and churches took a special offering, which included food offerings.

A committee was created to streamline UMC relief and recovery operations. At that point, the MEA DMO requested two UMCOR solidarity grants, one for storm and flood relief and the other to provide relief to fishing villages affected by the three oil spills, augmenting what the local churches were already doing.

The committee, headed by the Rev. Joseph Estadilla, district superintendent and dean of the cabinet for the Manila Episcopal Area, worked to maximize and ensure a coordinated response for local churches and annual conferences.

D.S. Estadilla and other team members visited affected areas to assess the damage, gather information about what the local municipalities were providing, and discern which families and communities were most at risk because they were not receiving municipal aid. They concentrated UMC relief in those areas.

D.S. Estadilla, who oversees the Bulacan Annual Conference, is also from Bulacan. “I’m from an island near Manila, Binuangan Obando, and I was able to go home to my barangay (town) and gather some information from the fisher folk there. They shared with me that because of oil contamination, the government banned all fishing, and they were not able to work. This would continue for about a month. They were having trouble with their daily needs, especially food, because most of the people depend on catches from the sea and Manila Bay. We provided some food packs from donations of United Methodist members.”

Other coastal areas such as Cavite along the bay were also affected. Rev. Glofie Baluntong, the executive director of the Philippine Central Conference Board of Church and Society, was involved in a coalition for emergency response and information sharing with communities in Bataan and also across the bay in Cavite.

“People found oil remnants on the fish and crabs they brought in,” she explained. “This is proof of the oil spill, and we could see black oil in the sand on the beaches. The effect of this in barangay Amaya, where the MEA DMO has a relief operation, is oil on the beaches and in the rivers. It has penetrated the water in household wells. Because of this, they observed that the birds do not come; there is no fish they can eat. They even reported some pets had died from eating contaminated fish.”

Apart from the fishing, they lost houses in the coastal villages. They contend that reclamation, or development projects, such as the new Bulacan Airport and adjacent hotels now underway, have caused negative long-term effects. “They layer fillers of stone and sand in the sea to build upon and then they dredge soil, silt, sand and rocks from different areas to fill in the construction,” Rev. Baluntong explained.

D.S. Estadilla described some of the resulting complications of the reclamation projects in Bulacan. “In my area, churches and their communities in port communities were under water. All of these were on the coastal area of Manila Bay. High tide and the typhoon joined together. The flooding was grave, unlike I’ve seen in other years.

“In one barangay, Meysulao, Calumpit, Bulacan, the flooding reached up to the neck of the average person. Small boats had to be used to transport goods and people, and it affected everyone. Even in mid-October, I spoke with a pastor there and he said there is still water on the roads after three months. The slow downstream flow of water to the Manila Bay is being blocked by reclamation projects.”

In a “next step” along its journey, the MEA DMO was officially inducted into the Disaster Risk Reduction Network of the Philippines (DRRNet Phils) in September. This organization is dedicated to disaster risk reduction and building resilient communities across the Philippines. It works on many of the hazards the DMO encounters on a broader scale together with its members.

“Joining the DRRNet Philippines is truly an answered prayer and a dream come true for us in the Disaster Management Office,” said Josephine (“Phine”) Cedillo, coordinator of the MEA DMO. “Now that our program is recognized and connected with the DRRnet, we are better equipped to support those most in need. DRRNet is also a member of the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Council. Joining allows us to enhance our impact on disaster preparedness and community resilience.”

The DRRNet offers the MEA DMO a chance to form collaborative partnerships with like-minded non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, academic institutions and government agencies. The DMO also gains access to training, workshops and seminars to enhance its skills and knowledge.

UMCOR International Disaster Response has supported MEA’s Disaster Management Office operationally since 2017. The DMO has implemented many successful relief projects. Katie Hills, director of UMCOR Disaster Response, says the MEA DMO has responded to countless typhoons, fires in informal settler communities, earthquakes, and COVID economic impacts since 2017. “It’s notable they always keep creation care central to their programming. They were inducted into DRR net thanks to a track record of high quality humanitarian programming.”

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

International Disaster Response

United Methodist Committee on Relief International Disaster Response and Recovery (UMCOR IDR) serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance for disasters that strike outside of the United States.

Central Conference Disaster Management Offices in the Philippines and in Africa are supported by and connected with UMCOR through International Disaster Response. Make a gift to help UMCOR provide for the basic needs of people and communities devastated by both natural and humanmade disasters. For the latest news on responses, click here.

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