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.

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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 – After more than 15 months of bloodshed, displacement and destruction, the news of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is a long-awaited answer to the prayers and pleas of millions around the world. We give thanks for this time of respite from violence, fear and destruction in Gaza. We welcome the coming release of hostages and detainees by both parties. We urge both parties to implement fully the provisions of the ceasefire and ensure that it becomes permanent.

But for the Palestinian people, the path toward just and sustainable peace with full accountability is long. And just beginning.

The people of Gaza have experienced a suffering so deep that it will be felt for generations to come. 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.

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.

Through our partners in the region and the United Nations, we will continue to support our brothers and sisters in Gaza as they seek to rebuild their lives and communities. 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.

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

Read more from our partners:

ACT Alliance Statement on the Announcement of a Ceasefire agreement in Gaza – ACT Alliance

The Palestinian Christian Initiative – Kairos Palestine Statement on Gaza Ceasefire Agreement

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ATLANTA – Become a Global Mission Fellow (GMF) and join the movement of young adults who cross boundaries to better understand and respond to injustice.

The Global Mission Fellows program of The United Methodist Church places young adults, ages 20-30, in social justice ministries for two years of service. The program is excited to announce the launch of the application for the next cohort of fellows.

Since 1951, fellows have worked to address deep-rooted systems of injustice in a variety of areas, including food insecurity, migration/immigration, education and poverty. They gain a fresh perspective on systems preventing social change as they engage with current world issues.

“As we live in a world that is becoming increasingly polarized and the divide between socioeconomic classes, ideologies, race/ethnicity, and gender identities deepen, I believe God is pouring out God’s Spirit on all people so that ‘Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams.’” (Acts 2:17, CEB), says the Rev. Dr. Judy Chung, executive director for Missionary Service for Global Ministries. “With the Spirit of God working in and through young people, a movement of God’s mission that ushers in justice and peace can transform the world.” 

The Wesleyan value of personal and social holiness is at the core of the Global Mission Fellows program. The program is open to those from different denominational backgrounds, but participants are expected to represent The United Methodist Church and uphold its social principles during their time of service.

Fellows form meaningful relationships with their host community as they are mentored by organizations meeting immediate needs and working toward lasting transformation. They receive ongoing training in spiritual and professional development and the program provides ways for the cohort to stay connected across countries and placement sites. 

The application deadline for the international track is Jan. 15, 2025. The program is not accepting applications for service on the US-2 track this year. Placement matches will be assigned throughout the selection process, but early application is encouraged for the strongest match. The application for the international track can be found at https://umcmission.org/become-a-fellow-international-track/.

Those selected for the next Global Mission Fellow cohort will begin onboarding in Spring 2025 and start service in August 2025.

For more information regarding the program or application process, email missionaryinfo@umcmission.org.

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About the General Board of 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. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting www.umcmission.org or by following www.facebook.com/GlobalMinistries and Twitter.com/UMCmission.

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ATLANTA – Global Ministries awarded several grants through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) that are being mobilized this week to support organizations in Gaza on the ground, moving with and serving the displaced population.

A grant of more than $200,000 for United Palestinian Appeal (UPA), a nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C., is being used to provide 3,275 displaced households in Gaza with fresh vegetables to compliment dry food rations and increase food availability in camps for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and with host families. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, zucchini and lemons will be a great and welcome relief for families in the Rafah area.

UPA was founded in 1978 by a group of Palestinian-American business professionals to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and contribute to the long-term socio-economic and cultural development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, Gaza and the Palestinian diaspora. The organization has developed many connections with Palestinian medical facilities, vendors and social service agencies to procure the harvested produce from local farms, thereby aiding their income as well.

An earlier UMCOR grant to UPA in December 2023 to provide 14,000 displaced people with food parcels for those not being served by United Nations shelters, hospitals and schools, was successful in getting aid through Egypt.  

The Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) of the Middle East Council of Churches has also received an UMCOR grant of about $200,000 to support a humanitarian relief project as IDPs flee more bombardment, concentrated now in Rafah and South Gaza. Early in May, the closing of the Rafah crossing by Israeli authorities halted relief deliveries and even medical evacuations of critically injured patients.

In November 2023, soon after the Israeli response to the Hamas incursion and kidnappings unfolded, DSPR opened a clinic in Rafah to support the sick and injured entering that city.

“Our staff worked day and night under unsafe and very dangerous situations; most of them and their families were forcibly displaced from their homes in different locations like hundreds of thousands of others. Many fled for refuge to Rafah as the Israelis named it a ‘Safe Area,’” DSPR staff noted in a May 2024 update.

Since November, the DSPR team has continued its mission to serve people who are desperate for medical help and psychosocial support. But on May 6, the Israeli incursion into Rafah caused its temporary closing. “They keep chasing those tired families and targeting them by airstrikes and shelling in the new location they move to,” DSPR said. “We will resume the work in Rafah clinic when this threat has stopped.”

Even so, most of the DSPR staff moved to the central area of Gaza and started up a mobile clinic, an alternate plan they had already designed and were ready to activate.

The UMCOR grant will support the procurement and distribution of hygiene kits and cash transfers to IDP families for food, shelter, water, medicine or whatever family members need most. The Rafah clinic will also receive UMCOR support for its ongoing medical work, health awareness sessions with IDPs and psychosocial support, which is critical to maintain hope in a dire situation.

In January 2024, a $100,000 grant to the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) reached nearly 3,000 people with winter blankets, coats and winter clothes. This was crucial support for families living in makeshift tents, as a woman displaced in Rafah with her young son explains.

“I had no choices left, so I tried to seek refuge at my aunt’s house. Unfortunately, my aunt, already burdened with financial difficulties and many people living at her home, couldn’t accommodate us. The only option I had was to build a makeshift tent to shield my family from the outside conditions. I left my house when it was hot two months ago, we left wearing summer clothes. With what I make selling tea, I couldn’t afford to buy any new clothes. We finally were given the chance to buy (with the voucher) jackets and winter clothes to stay warm.”

Through eight months of conflict, the need in Gaza remains overwhelming. Available resources are scarce and the teams on the ground of these organizations are exhausted.

But they are also determined and unwavering in their love of neighbor.

“Remember the people of Gaza in your prayers,” notes Roland Fernandes, Global Ministries’ general secretary. “And remember those who serve alongside the people of Gaza, despite their exhaustion and the volatile conditions in which they serve. We, as United Methodists, have the honor and privilege of continuing to support their mission, extending God’s grace to those they encounter in their outreach.”

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

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

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ATLANTA – As Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion against the Gaza Strip approaches its fifth month, Palestinians across the region, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, experience the loss of their jobs and the inability to move across checkpoints, or buy or sell food. They face a constant threat of harm and harassment, not because they are anywhere near Gaza, but because they are the Palestinians within reach.

Amid the scenes of overwhelming death and destruction, by God’s grace, small miracles happen each day.

Amir*, a Palestinian youth, finds it nearly impossible to cross the Palestinian/Israeli line to get to his school in a safe way. Yet, his school, community and United Methodists giving through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) created a way for him to continue his education. Hope Secondary School opened a remote learning station in his neighborhood and provided him with an electronic tablet and a place where wi-fi still works.

In this way, Amir has been able to rely on the safety of his own community and continue his education – a small but important miracle for him and other students.

“As we support our partners across the Middle East, we continue with faith and hope to encourage one another at this time,” said Roland Fernandes, general secretary of Global Ministries and UMCOR. “In the face of so much loss – Muslim, Christian and Jewish lives, the 28,000 men, women and children lost in Gaza, our hearts are breaking. But we believe that God is with those who suffer, and we are a small part of a much larger effort to work for peace in the region.”

Gaza is bound by the Mediterranean Sea down its entire west coast and an Israeli fence more than 37-miles-long on its east side. All crossings but one into Israel have been closed by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023. There is a crossing into Cairo, Egypt, at Rafah to its south, which Israeli authorities close much of the time. Rafah is where hundreds of trucks wait in line for a chance to cross the border into Gaza to provide emergency aid. Food, water and medical supplies go unused until something happens to stop the bombardment and allow drivers to complete their mandate to deliver aid.

Just as nothing gets into Gaza, nothing and almost no one can get out. Even news is sparse because of communication blackouts, lack of electricity and fuel, and because more than 82 journalists reporting from inside Gaza have been killed.

David Wildman, Global Ministries’ United Nations and Middle East liaison, traveled to the region in December 2023 with a South African international solidarity delegation. They met with Palestinian Christian colleagues and human rights leaders across Palestine, Jordan and Egypt, as well as in Tel Aviv with the families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. “There is a trickle of aid getting through,” Wildman said. “There should be more than 500 trucks going into Gaza every day, but there are at most 120 allowed to pass from Cairo to Rafah, but the little aid that gets in cannot reach all the people safely.”

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNRWA) has had its shelters in Gaza bombed and reports 152 of its workers have been killed in the current crisis, more than in any other crisis in the world.

On January 26, in a case for genocide brought against Israel by the South African government, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague ordered Israel to stop its military actions that have caused so much death and destruction, allow complete, unhindered humanitarian access, prevent and punish ‘direct and public incitement to commit genocide,’ and preserve evidence of atrocities.

“We’re watching the world struggle with what to do to stop the genocide,” Wildman said. “There is a growing call around the world for an immediate cease-fire as a necessary first step. The only time since Oct. 7 that any hostages have been released was during the humanitarian pause in November, which saved lives. Palestinian prisoners were released, but since Oct. 7, more than 6300 Palestinians have been detained, often without charge. The message to us from families of hostages was: ‘release all for all’ – all hostages for all Palestinian prisoners.”

Among the members of the visiting delegation was also Bishop Ivan Abrahams of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and the general secretary of the World Methodist Council. “We decided that Christmas can only have meaning for us if we heed the call from our siblings in Palestine, and we go and stand in solidarity with them. We felt strongly that we needed to break the silence, that we could not be complicit, that it was our moral implication and a biblical imperative to go and stand by those who suffer from such injustice.”

UMCOR, like other humanitarian agencies, has found it difficult to get relief into Gaza. A long-time Global Ministries’ partner, the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) of the Near East Council of Churches, has staff in Gaza that have been working with what they have, but they, like 90% of all Palestinians in Gaza, have been displaced. UMCOR affirms the ACT appeal for Gaza relief that will support the work of DSPR, but how soon the aid can reach Gaza is a real challenge. An emergency grant to provide 14,000 people with emergency food rations made it to the DSPR in Gaza early in the conflict.

In efforts to support Palestinians in places like the West Bank and the Northern Galilee section of Israel, where most Palestinian citizens of Israel live, UMCOR supports partners that serve marginal and vulnerable Palestinian communities. Though many of these have specific areas of service to specific populations, they now find their communities need emergency help. Two grants to Hope Secondary School  have helped Palestinian children and families affected by the repercussions of the war in Gaza.

A grant to Princess Basma Centre in Jerusalem served an urgent need for the development of a telemedicine program for Palestinian children with disabilities whose families confronted closed check-points when they tried to take their children to their medical appointments at the center. Another grant is in the works for the Four Homes of Mercy for Disabled Children.

A grant to the Al Quds Foundation provided counseling to children and youth in the Shufat Refugee Camp. This Palestinian camp, like others in the West Bank, has received multiple incursions by Israeli soldiers, sometimes in the middle of the night, during raids that end with young men being removed and jailed.

The Rev. Jane Eesley, a Global Ministries missionary, serves as the advocacy coordinator with the Methodist Liaison Office in Jerusalem. “The United Methodist Church chose not to start another church but to support what is here through Greek Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches,” she explained. “We trust in the body of Christ that is already here and in the indigenous Palestinian Christians. They are grateful for the ways we conduct a ‘servant ministry’ alongside them. A lot of people turn away and flee from suffering. It is important to be here among those who suffer.”

The Methodist Liaison Office offers a way for United Methodists to hear directly from Palestinians in the Holy Land through a weekly online gathering every Wed. at 1 p.m. EST. Register by sending an email request to office@MLOJerusalem.org and the office manager will send the link to join the hour-long meeting.

Another way to support Palestinians in the region is to continue to give through the Advance, as the projects in the Middle East are still operating. Though Gaza is the territory under bombardment, Palestinians in the West Bank and other places have experienced repercussions. The UMCOR International Disaster Response is another way to give.

Finally, Palestinian Christians have reached out to Christians across the world to call for an immediate cease-fire and to trust in God and pray for them. “They believe God will find a way we can’t even see,” noted Eesley. “Tell others about Palestinian Christians. There is great anxiety among them that before too long, there will be no more Palestinian Christians to witness in the place where Jesus was born.”

*Name changed to protect identity.

The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, UMC, in New York City, recorded a service of prayer and worship for the Middle East on January 30, 2024: A Spiritual Call and Response for Palestine. David Wildman talks about his trip to Palestine starting at minute 38.

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

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ATLANTA – When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey in the early hours of Feb. 6, 2023, it precipitated the loss of tens of thousands of lives. At least 78 aftershocks were reported, and only nine hours later, a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck.

One of the places that was hit twice was Elbistan. After the devastation of both quakes, more than two thirds of the Turkish city disappeared under rubble.  

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) quickly coordinated with longtime on-the-ground partner International Blue Crescent (IBC) to offer immediate aid. A community center was established in what remained of Elbistan and used as a distribution hub for essential items like tents, heaters, blankets, warm clothes, ready to eat meals and first aid kits. UMCOR funded a mobile health center to treat those who were both physically and psychologically in need of care.

The earthquakes heavily impacted neighboring Syria as well, where the 15 million people who depend on humanitarian assistance were already battling hardships like severe winter weather and cholera outbreaks. More than a thousand aftershocks were reported, and the collapse of structurally unsound buildings was ongoing. In partnership with International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), UMCOR helped fund a community center in Nazas to support hundreds of families with hygiene kits and food and continues to coordinate rental assistance for those still without homes.

After the initial shock of the earthquakes faded, very real dangers remained. Many displaced people had no choice but to continue living in tents. And in the absence of electricity, open flames or kerosene lanterns were used for a light source. In partnership with IBC, UMCOR provided 3,960 solar lanterns so that families in Turkey could still have light, but safely. The lanterns also charged cell phones so that survivors could remain connected and in communication with loved ones.

Rebuilding after a disaster is a long and ongoing process, not only for the physical infrastructure that supports a community’s existence, but for the emotional wellbeing that allows a community to thrive. To help Syrian families cope with the distress of living through a disaster and create safe spaces for growth and resiliency, IOCC is offering mental health and psychosocial support sessions for both adults and children.

Sara Logeman is the senior manager of content and marketing 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.

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

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