This experience not only took me to a new country but forever laid that country and its peace process and struggle for peace on my heart and will now forever be a part of my call in this world.

Maggie Taylor, Mountain Sky Conference

ATLANTA – The Young Adult Pilgrimage of Peace (YAPP), June 23-28, took place in South Korea this year, hosted by the Korean Methodist Church (KMC) in collaboration with The United Methodist Church through the General Board of Global Ministries and the World Methodist Council (WMC). This kind of pilgrimage, journeyed by many in ecumenical circles, helps Christians understand their role in strengthening peacebuilding efforts on the Korean Peninsula and globally.

This Methodist-sponsored itinerary included visits to Kwangju, 5.18 Memorial Park, Daejeon Gollyeonggol, Paju DMZ, and the Yanghwajin Missionary Cemetery as witness to the devastation caused by warfare and political tensions that have persisted for 75 years between North and South on the Korean Peninsula.

The delegation included nine UMC seminarians and three young adult Methodist delegates and 13 members of the WMC Young Adult Committee, one young adult from the Korean American UMC, and 10 young adults from the KMC.

Many who take this journey are surprised to learn that the Korean War has not technically ended, as the armistice signed in 1953 was not a permanent peace treaty between North and South Korea, China and the United Nations. The armistice left the country divided at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South.

The sites visited by the pilgrims were not easy to take in and understand. On June 25, which marked the 75th anniversary of the Korean War’s outbreak, the pilgrims visited Gollyeonggol Peace Park in Daejeon, the site of one of the largest civilian massacres at the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.

“The quiet hills seemed to sing a buried truth and silenced grief,” wrote Adrian Mendoza in a reflection. Mendoza participated as a seminarian from Drew Theological School in New Jersey. He is from the Philippines and spent two years in Zambia as a Global Mission Fellow, Global Ministries’ young adult missionary program.

“I listened not only to the people living and surviving from the constant attempts to bury and erase them and the (hi)story that they carry, but to the land itself,” Mendoza continued. “The trees, the soil, and the wind seemed to carry memories of violence long buried…When the daughter of a victim spoke to us, I had an epiphany that we were not just there to hear her story. We were called to carry it, so that her unburied hope of the full truth being unearthed would one day come, even if not in her lifetime.”

Seongjin Hong, a participant from United Theological Seminary in Ohio from South Korea, mentioned Gwangju Memorial Park, a memorial to those who gave their lives during the Gwangju Democratization Movement of May 1980: “While standing there, we engaged in a group discussion about the true meaning of peace. One key realization was that peace is not passive – it often requires struggle and even sacrifice to overcome injustice. This site reminded us that peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is an active commitment to justice, truth and dignity for all people.”

Global Ministries recently intensified its focus on peace with justice ministries and has committed support for additional pilgrimages into places where people struggle with oppression, civil conflict and the effects of unresolved wars. In May 2025, Global Ministries, with the Methodist Church in Britain, the World Council of Churches, and the Methodist Liaison Office in Jerusalem and the WCC Jerusalem Liaison Office, offered pilgrim participants a unique opportunity to engage deeply with the sacred heritage of the Holy Land while gaining insight into the challenges faced by its people, particularly the Palestinian Christian community.

Roland Fernandes, Global Ministries’ general secretary, expressed his gratefulness and support for this method of ecumenical peacebuilding: “The Young Adult Pilgrimage of Peace (YAPP) reminds us that this legacy isn’t just history; it’s a call to the future. As the Methodist family, we commit to walking together on this path of reconciliation, raising our voices for peace in Korea, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and for justice wherever hope is needed around the world. And with each future YAPP pilgrimage, we will continue to grow this movement, inviting more young people to join in, to listen, to learn, and to lead with courage and compassion.”

Katie Paul, a young adult participant from the Oklahoma Conference is a witness to the transformative power of this kind of experience: “This pilgrimage changed me. It taught me that peace begins not just in policy or protest – but in presence. It begins when we show up, listen deeply and allow ourselves to be transformed by the stories of others.”

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

Young Adult Pilgrimage of Peace
YAPP continues to invite young people to walk with communities facing oppression and injustice, listening deeply and being transformed by their stories of resilience, hope, and faith. Global Ministries will host another YAPP pilgrimage in 2026, giving participants the opportunity to witness, learn, and reaffirm a shared commitment to peace with justice.

The post Pilgrims feel the pain of division on the Korean Peninsula appeared first on Global Ministries.

PANAMA CITY — “It is a large Methodist family that is gathered here today, with many members, each with our own personality,” said Roland Fernandes, general secretary for the general boards of Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry, addressing the 86 participants assembled for a mission consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean, held July 21-23 in Panama.

Bishops, pastors and laity from across the Methodist connection in Latin America, the Caribbean and several other countries discussed the future of mission collaboration and connectional relationships with Global Ministries, Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church (UMC), the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean (CIEMAL), the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA), and other individual churches and mission partners. The full assembly of participants represented 40 partners across the region, including seven regional partners and seven pan-Methodist partners.  

“Just as a good family makes room for all and allows each one to share his or her gifts with the others, so Methodism in the Americas has room for each of us to contribute our own gifts to the mission of God,” said Fernandes.

Recognizing the diversity that has always characterized Methodism in the region, participants considered what they could do together, all offering what they can for the sake of God’s mission in Latin America and the Caribbean and beyond.

Pre-consultation conversations focused on eight themes: mission; youth and young adults; gender-based violence and child protection; education; climate justice and health; poverty and migration; financial accountability; and peacebuilding. These discussions laid the groundwork for continued dialogue at the consultation, where attendees explored ways to support faith formation among young people, promote justice, enhance regional communication and strengthen intergenerational leadership, among other topics.

“We needed and believed it was very important to be able to meet as a region and be able to identify strategies, identify important things for the development of the mission in our country and in Latin America,” said Bishop Pedro Araúz Valdéz of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Panama (IEMPA).

There was broad agreement that the strength of Methodist churches could be enhanced by fostering a regional presence and a connected infrastructure through dialogue and ecumenical cooperation. This could provide an opportunity to rethink the roles of regional organizations, such as CIEMAL and the Council of Bishops of CIEMAL.

The desire to better listen to and build relationships with partners has been a hallmark of Fernandes’ leadership since he became general secretary of Global Ministries in 2020 and Higher Education and Ministry in 2024. The agencies organized major mission consultations in Africa and the United States in 2023. “Having a consultation with mission partners in Latin America and the Caribbean seemed the next essential part of this process,” he said, as he expressed the agencies’ desire to learn from those in attendance. 

This consultation was the most expansive meeting of Methodist mission partners in the region in recent decades. Acknowledging that partnerships are shaped by the past, Fernandes recalled two key themes from a similar 2007 Panama meeting: 1) redefining and deepening connectionality to strengthen relationships and support the church’s mission and 2) fostering open communication.

Coming together as Methodists throughout the Americas fits with work that the Council of Bishops of the UMC has been doing through its Ecumenical Office to strengthen and renew relationships with the church’s autonomous affiliated sister churches. This work also aligns with a desire by CIEMAL to strengthen and renew relationships in the region following disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bishop Tracy Smith Malone, president of the UMC Council of Bishops, spoke of a new era emerging for the church. “God is calling us to grow and form disciples of Jesus Christ, to develop Christlike leaders, to stand in solidarity with the poor.” She spoke of Jesus’ call to bring good news of hope and salvation to a world yearning for God’s grace, mercy, love, compassion, justice and peace and to live humbly with the oppressed and marginalized.

Daily worship brought prayer, reflection and familiar hymns played with joyful Caribbean rhythms. Participants paused in reverence to honor those who had gone before them, lighting candles in memory of lives whose enduring light continues to illuminate the path forward.

Inspired by Luke 10:1, in which Jesus “…sent them on ahead in pairs to every city and place he was about to go,” participants discussed common challenges for their individual contexts and opportunities for greater collaboration among their respective churches.

“The task and mission of the church is to go beyond the four walls, to go where the need is, to seek out the man who is living, the woman who is experiencing moments of difficulty,” said Bishop Jorge Merino Riffo of the Methodist Church of Chile. “I believe that this is the task and the mission that the church in Latin America, the Methodist Church, must continue to fulfill, transforming itself into a space of hope amidst despair.”

Bishop Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez of the Upper New York and Susquehanna conferences of the UMC said, “This has been a time of building and strengthening relationships, learning together about our missional realities and beginning to dream together our next fateful steps.”

Bishop Lizzette Gabriel Montalvo of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico praised the active listening throughout the consultation, suggesting it must now be followed by concrete actions. “This is not just another meeting. This is a blessed moment that can be fruitful. I trust that in the near future we can return through connectionality as witnesses of God’s mission in all our contexts,” she said.

In closing remarks, Fernandes noted that listening and learning are key aspects of mutuality in mission. He offered thanks for the active dialogue and ideas exchanged throughout the consultation and committed to facilitating the next meeting follow-up, including soliciting feedback on the gathering and issuing a full report documenting key takeaways to serve as a blueprint for prioritization. “We have been called to this,” he said, referencing the disciples’ joyous return in Luke 10:17.

Fernandes thanked the event facilitators, staff organizers and hosts — Bishop Valdéz of IEMPA and Bishop Antonio Miguel Trottman Migar of the Panama/Costa Rica District of MCCA, as well as the support of Bishop Montalvo, president of the Council of Bishops of CIEMAL, Bishop Juan de Dios Peña as the president of the Executive Committee of CIEMAL, and Bishop Malone, president of the Council of Bishops of the UMC and all other distinguished bishops and church leaders in attendance and joining online. (Legal restrictions and visa challenges forced participants from Venezuela and Haiti to virtually attend the consultation and concurrent MCCA women’s meeting.)

During closing worship, an agape meal included the sharing of sweet milk and bread in the tradition of the early church. And as worship concluded, participants joined hands in friendship, celebrating the presence of God felt throughout the gathering, a presence that will continue to guide next steps.

Susan Clark is the chief communications officer for Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry.

The post Methodist leaders convene to strengthen mission in Latin America and the Caribbean appeared first on Global Ministries.

ATLANTA — In a world increasingly defined by crisis – political instability, economic injustice, climate change and mass displacement – 42 young adults see a different future: one guided by faith, service and deep commitment to community. On July 18 in Accra, Ghana, Global Ministries commissioned the 2025-2027 cohort of Global Mission Fellows (GMFs) to serve in 23 countries around the world for two years.

While these young adults range in age, background and vocation, a common thread in their stories is clear – a calling to put faith into action and embody change through community.

“As we see an increase of greed in our world, we also see the powerful work of community coming together,” said Hannah Hanson, director of Young Adult Mission Service for Global Ministries. “This cohort is committed to community in an uncertain world. They are creatives, and health practitioners, and environmentalists, and migrant advocates. I am inspired by all their gifts, and most importantly, by the way they are rooted in faith and seek to follow the path God has set for them and the communities they are being sent to.”

For many fellows in this cohort, a call to community is not new. It’s been growing for years, shaped by personal experiences, academic study and spiritual formation.

For Jonathan Odia Mwaba, a fellow from the Democratic Republic of Congo who will serve in the West Angola Conference in the area of agriculture, the calling emerged from seeing his own community’s struggles. “I witnessed the struggles of smallholder farmers like food insecurity, environmental degradation and limited access to resources. These experiences shaped my understanding of the interplay between social justice, environmental stewardship and community resilience.”

Mwaba grew up in The United Methodist Church and earned a degree in agriculture and natural resources management. “I have been influenced by the call to love our neighbors and care for creation,” said Mwaba. “Fundamentally, my goal as a fellow is to create long-lasting change by integrating agricultural knowledge with social and environmental justice. I believe together and through shared learning, new ideas can be developed and created that are beneficial both to people and the planet.”

Seul “Stella” Lee, a native of South Korea who will serve in Germany, senses that the call to serve God in another country and different culture is a turning point in her life. “I have come to a deep realization that the joy overflowing within me is a gift from God and that I must share that gift with the world. Missionary work is not simply about spreading the gospel, but also about putting God’s love into practice,” she said. Equipped with training from the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, Lee will work at Bethanien Diakonissen Stiftung (Bethanien Deaconess Foundation) to support vulnerable groups who receive very little to no governmental assistance, like people with mental illness and the elderly.

For Bolivian fellow Anssery Ivia Mamani Cala, who will serve with the Evangelical United Methodist Church of Ecuador, education is a core piece of her calling. “I strongly believe in the power of education as a transformative tool,” she said. “Not only for children but also for communities as a whole. Global Mission Fellows offers me the ideal platform to put into practice what I’ve learned as an early childhood educator and what I’m passionate about: working for a more just and inclusive world.”

Cala’s vision of transformation is not a one-way path. Like many fellows, she sees mission not as something done to or for a community, but something done among and with it. “I firmly believe that working for the well-being of others not only enriches the lives of those who directly benefit, but also profoundly transforms us as human beings. I’ve always felt an inner call to return to the essential, to that which gives meaning to existence: service to others.”

The commissioning service was both a celebration of calling and a sending into service. “The Christian church has a wonderful tradition of sending people into mission service,” said the Rev. Dr. Judy Y. Chung, executive director of Missionary Service for Global Ministries. “In the act of commissioning, these persons are being dedicated to service for a season of their lives. The United Methodist Church and our partner churches support these persons as they go forth into the world on behalf of the church.”

Presiding Bishop of The Methodist Church Ghana, the Most. Rev. Prof. Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, delivered the sermon and led the act of commissioning. He was joined by four more bishops and Global Ministries representatives who laid hands on the fellows. After they were commissioned, the new fellows were vested with the anchor cross by the outgoing class of GMFs who have journeyed with them as candidates.

“My prayer,” said Hanson, “is that they will listen well and form deep relationships as they seek God’s justice to break through in our world. And my prayer for the church is that we will learn with them and from them.”

As the fellows go forth from Accra, they are sent by The United Methodist Church with both a blessing and a charge: to extend love and care in uncertain times, to build community in unlikely places and to trust that God is already present in the work they are called to do.

Watch a recording of the commissioning service on the Global Mission Fellows Facebook page.
 
Sara Logeman is the senior manager of Content and Marketing for Global Ministries.

The post Young adults called to community in an uncertain world appeared first on Global Ministries.

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.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — On June 30, 2025, a centennial celebration was held at Lee Sam Bong Hall at Ewha Womans University to honor the 100th anniversary of Methodist mission work in Korea.

The commemoration highlighted the century-long legacy of three foundational legal bodies that significantly shaped Methodist mission in Korea. In 1924, the American Methodist Korean Women’s Mission Foundation was established to support women-led mission initiatives. This was followed by the founding of the Foundation of Southern Methodist Church in Korea in 1925, which expanded the institutional and property base of mission work. In 1926, the Foundation of Methodist World Mission-Korea was formed to unify and strengthen the growing infrastructure of Methodist mission. These three organizations were instrumental in establishing more than 400 churches, schools, hospitals and social service centers across Korea, and later played a pivotal role in the formation of the Korean Methodist Church in 1930.

Methodist mission in Korea began in 1883 with the first donations toward missionary efforts, which led to the arrival of the first missionaries in 1885. Over the past 140 years, more than 700 missionaries have served in Korea, contributing to spiritual, educational and social development across the country.

Distinguished international guests attended the celebration, including Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, executive secretary of the UMC Council of Bishops; Jana Jones, president of United Women in Faith; and Sally Vonner, general secretary/CEO of United Women in Faith. Their presence symbolized the enduring partnership between the Korean Methodist Church and The United Methodist Church community.

This historic event celebrated the legacy of past mission efforts and reaffirmed a shared commitment to future ministry and collaboration.

The Rev. Paul Kong is the Asia Pacific Region Representative for Global Ministries.  

The post Celebrating 100 Years of Methodist Mission in Korea appeared first on Global Ministries.

ATLANTA – April 27 was a great day of celebration for United Methodists in the Central African Republic (CAR). Many gathered for the inaugural worship service in their new church building, a United Methodist temple in Bangui. Church members watched in wonder as choirs, men’s groups, women’s groups, youth groups and church leaders lined up to walk through the temple doors and enter the sanctuary. The pastor, the Rev. Aquilas Soronaka, and Deacon Cynthia Soronaka took their places behind the altar, which was decked out in proper vestments. Nothing could dampen the joy that flowed out of the open windows of the new temple that day.

A week later, Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, showed a few minutes of the video of the CAR opening worship in its May 4 service.

“That gives new meaning to the phrase ‘Make a joyful noise onto the Lord,’” the Rev. Dr. Kevin Murriel proclaimed to his congregation. Cascade UMC, a predominantly Black congregation, is one of the partners that made the building of the UMC temple possible. About a year ago, the congregation collected and dedicated its Lenten offering of more than $150,000 to the building of the facility in Bangui (see earlier story). An additional grant from Cascade helped to furnish the church and purchase musical instruments to enhance the church’s joyful noise. 

“This has been an overwhelming blessing in the life of that church,” Murriel continued, “a church that is growing exponentially, and Pastor Aquilas has told me they have already celebrated a first baptism and a first wedding in that church.”

CAR leadership was able to purchase land for the building with the help of a Global Ministries’ grant, another partner in their work as a Global Ministries’ mission initiative. The new temple has a 500-seat capacity, and a section of the building also houses the CAR UMC national offices, so the church has created a central home.

A separate Global Health grant will support the building of the first UMC health facility in the CAR, which will also include a borehole well to ensure clean, potable water. The health facility, the church and the surrounding community will be able to draw water at this well.

Frido Kinkolenge, Global Ministries’ staff and Africa area liaison, noted: “They are not only going to fetch the water from the well, but it is going to be an opportunity to drink from a spiritual well. The United Methodist Church is bringing not only a place to worship, but a place to quench thirst that is both physical and spiritual.”

Last year, Kinkolenge led a Youth Leadership Development course in Bagui, providing relevant resources, creative ideas and training for this new generation of Central African Methodists.

In July, staff members from various units of Global Ministries and a few members of Cascade United Methodist Church will travel to Bangui to participate in the dedication ceremony of the new UMC Temple. While Cascade members have an opportunity to deepen their relationships with CAR members there, Global Ministries will offer more training, and a Global Health team will meet with leaders to review the plans for the facility and the church’s overall health program.

Faith has sustained the church through some challenging years, and today, hope is growing and blossoming as God creates a new faith community in the Central African Republic.

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

The post A new church home for Central Africans appeared first on Global Ministries.

Life is undeniably tough for migrant workers in Taiwan, where we work as Global Missionaries with migrant workers, especially with people from the Philippines, where we come from as well. Families back home often make the painful decision to let their loved ones leave in search of decent work and the hope of a better, more abundant life. This pursuit often comes at a high cost: creating absentee parents, spouses and children. To sustain daily needs and chase a brighter future, many are forced into long-term separations, not just for months, but for years.

We encounter both men and women who have left families to work overseas. Our ministry, called TAHANAN, meaning “Home,” is a place of comfort and a supportive community. They find us through fellow workers and by other means. One woman was new to working abroad and had difficulty adjusting to life as a Filipino Migrant Worker. Although our place is primarily a provider of social or emotional services, our ministry offers something just as essential – what we call “spiritual upliftment.” We believe in helping migrant workers rediscover their God-given identity and integrity.

As this woman stayed with us, we discerned she had challenges within her marriage. Her husband, left behind in the Philippines, had become increasingly controlling. Fearing that his wife might fall in love with someone else, he forbade her from making friends or joining community gatherings. He instructed her to go straight to her dormitory after work, with no social interaction. Each time she needed to go out, he demanded she ask his permission.

To make matters worse, her husband maintained the illusion that she was living comfortably abroad. He had no idea of the harsh reality she faced with loneliness, exhaustion and the emotional weight of her situation. She struggled to work and even sleep, feeling suffocated and emotionally strangled. She longed to return home, to escape this burden and the growing homesickness, but she was trapped by debts and the ongoing needs of her children in the Philippines. She knew she must stay for several more years, not just to pay off loans, but to support her family’s basic needs. Many are caught in this kind of trap.

Migrant workers often anticipate that separation may negatively affect their families. According to FilipinoTimes.net, “Families of the majority of those who go abroad for work are affected. Family breakdown is one of the social costs of migration. There are those who, according to their spouses, no longer provide financial support.” This reality is evident in our mission, where we have heard the regrets, longings and emotional struggles of many migrant workers who come to us for help.

TAHANAN exists to address these challenges. We offer a home and a sense of family, giving migrants a safe space where they can belong, even temporarily. Through intensive spiritual and emotional counseling, seminars and community support, we help migrant workers navigate the pressures and struggles they face, especially in matters concerning their families.

We also strive to connect with their families back home, assuring them that their loved ones are being cared for and encouraged to grow emotionally and spiritually. We hope churches and even the government will create and support more programs that care for the families of migrant workers, so that the sacrifices of these modern-day heroes are not wasted.

As missionaries, we witness these struggles firsthand. We are committed to walking alongside every migrant worker who comes our way because we believe each one is deeply valued by our Father in heaven. Scripture teaches us to go after the one lost sheep because we know that when separated from the flock, it becomes vulnerable to wolves and other wild animals.

TAHANAN helps migrant workers grow wholistically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally through the teachings and training we provide. In fact, there are many who return home transformed, bringing with them the values and principles they learned here, and starting anew with their families. They now pursue a truly abundant life, not just in finances, but in faith, character and purpose.

The migrant workers recognize TAHANAN as a ministry that advocates their well-being. They see it as a safe refuge, especially in times of abuse and oppression. We have built this reputation through our committed and active presence among them at TAHANAN and through community engagement.

The Rev. Richard Navarro and the Rev. Alma Jumuad Navarro are both elders in the East Mindanao Annual Conference. They have served in Taiwan as Global Missionaries since 2014. They have two children, Charis and Chadash.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places. Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

Support the ministries of missionaries working around the world, Advance # 00779Z.

The post Missionaries help migrant workers find home away from home appeared first on Global Ministries.

ATLANTA – In the opening worship service of Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry’s joint board of directors meeting in Atlanta, April 10-12, the 50+ year-old United Methodist hymn “Many gifts, one spirit” set the tone for the conversations to come.

Many gifts, one Spirit, one love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise.
One Giver, one Lord, one Word, known in many ways, hallowing our days.
For the Giver and the Gifts, praise, praise, praise!

The words affirmed that The United Methodist Church values difference as blessing and celebrates diversity as a reflection of God’s image within the global church. A powerful and intentional reminder in light of new U.S. policies that are denying people of their basic rights and dignity and causing reverberations of suffering around the world.

In his report to the boards of directors, General Secretary Roland Fernandes said, “The church cannot completely fill in for U.S. governmental support lost, but we can, indeed we must, do all that we can.” He affirmed the urgent need and Biblical mandate for the church to respond with compassion and be a source of solidarity with increasingly vulnerable communities worldwide: “We have a moral imperative to stand firm on the side of the gospel message, which calls us to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry and tend to the sick.”

The more than 50 Global Ministries, UMCOR, and Higher Education and Ministry board members discussed ways to expand support in education, migration, health, humanitarian aid and peace. Fernandes identified these as specific areas of focus for the agencies based on their mandates and the impact of current U.S. policies. The meeting facilitated rich presentations on these topics by leaders of partner organizations, institutions and church leaders. The resulting conversations energized the boards to deepen their engagement and ask how the church might be uniquely positioned to meet this moment.

Dr. G. Sujin Pak, dean of Boston University’s School of Theology, presented on the impact of new policies on education; Rick Santos of Church World Service (CWS) and Alba Jaramillo and Melissa Bowe of Immigration Law and Justice Network (ILJN) shared the impact of policy changes within foreign aid and immigration; the Rev. Dr. Kevin Murriel, senior pastor of Cascade UMC in Atlanta, urged the boards to not grow weary in working for justice and inclusion for all of God’s children in an era where “exclusion is gaining traction.”  

Both boards approved strategic grants and funding initiatives that will help agency partners “stand in the gap,” ensuring that their vital work with marginalized people and groups can continue. Some actions include a $1 million UMCOR grant to both CWS and ILJN, as well as $1.4 million to partners in Ukraine in support of migrant and refugee work. Higher Education and Ministry awarded the 13 United Methodist theological schools in the U.S. one-time subsidies of $400,000 each in Methodist Education Fund (MEF) supplemental support.

“Global Ministries is expanding and extending the compassion and hope of God right at a time when funding is being cut for disaster relief, health programs, food assistance, legal rights for immigrants and refugees, and Global Ministries is just leaning further into what it has always done,” said Dr. Elizabeth Corrie, chair of the Mission Programs Committee for the Global Ministries board of directors. “We need to step more into the gap and continue to offer the vital services that are needed by people around the world, whether it is for global health programs, the way we are able to attend to people after disasters, and the way we are able to educate and equip people in their own local communities to engage in the mission of God.”

Sara Logeman is the senior manager of content and marketing for Global Ministries and UMCOR and Higher Education and Ministry.

The post Boards affirm expanding and extending the love of God appeared first on Global Ministries.

ATLANTA – Lisa arrived at Old Mutare Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe almost a month before her delivery date. She lives more than 37 miles from the hospital, the closest to her home. She came to stay at the Waiting Mothers’ Shelter to be sure she could give birth in a medical facility. The shelter was just refurbished last year with the help of some outside supporters. The labor and delivery units were expanded and new equipment installed using grants from Global Ministries.

In many medical facilities across Africa, patients’ families are expected to provide all or some food during their stay. Fortunately, Old Mutare established a large garden last year to grow nutritious food for patients. “The vegetables we now eat are grown in this garden. I do not have to ask my relatives to bring me vegetables from back home,” said Lisa.

The garden was possible because the water system had also been reconstructed, with new storage tanks. The Zimbabwe Episcopal Area Health Board has been working on improvements to Old Mutare Mission Hospital over time, as well as to two other United Methodist hospitals, Mutambara and Nyadire, several smaller clinics.

Every year, the Global Health unit of Global Ministries awards grants to health boards and other United Methodist partners to support improvements in health care and administration. In addition, some episcopal areas receive grants for Mother, Newborn and Child Health; prevention and treatment of communicable and noncommunicable diseases; and for major infrastructure and facility improvements increase health care for everyone using the services.

Global Health partners with health teams from 14 sub-Saharan countries, encompassing nine United Methodist episcopal areas. The UMC supports hundreds of health facilities – hospitals in some cases and many small, remote clinics. Currently, about 190 health facilities are working on grant projects.

Working through partners that oversee the work of United Methodist health facilities in Africa, Global Ministries has helped to improve health services in many African countries. Health partners track the progress in their facilities, gathering information on their patients and services, the kinds of health problems they encounter, length of treatment, medical supplies and medicines. With reliable data, Global Health reports reaching, on average, more than a million beneficiaries each year. Last year, 48 grants were awarded among the health boards with 24 additional grants to other partners for a total of $5,291,657.

Reconstructing maternity and delivery wards and building new mothers’ shelters improve the conditions in which babies are born. But it takes much more to keep a baby thriving once he or she leaves the hospital.

United Methodist health teams have created community outreach programs that spread health information on the importance of prenatal care, giving birth in medical facilities, returning to the doctor for check-ups, vaccinations, and how to prevent malaria and other diseases and provide food with better nutritional value.

Some health facilities have staff that visit communities and set up clinics for health checks. Others train volunteers to give out important health information in their communities.

When major grants are released for reconstruction or building new facilities, water infrastructure is often included in the building plans. Clean water goes a long way in preventing disease. Most facilities open new wells and other clean water sources to the surrounding community.

Transportation is another factor for remote health clinics and hospitals to consider. Few rural residents have cars, and some communities lack roads altogether. Stocking facilities with supplies and medications is a constant challenge in some remote areas, especially in rainy seasons. Reliable vehicles are sometimes part of the plan in a health administration budget so conference staff can get to the facilities to assess operations.

The first UMC health boards were developed by UMCOR when Imagine No Malaria collected significant funding for malaria awareness, net distribution and treatment. The campaign needed organized and efficient ways to distribute supplies, information and medicines, that included follow-up by UMC health facilities. The creation of health boards worked so well to coordinate responses that the Global Health unit was developed to extend the work and further explore ways to improve health outcomes.

Today, United Methodist health boards and other partners have expanded their mission as professional health administrators. Even with the uncertainty of government aid, especially from the U.S., the mission of church-related health facilities, which draw support from larger religious and nonprofit networks, continues. They often serve in remote places among the people who need them the most. Family members the world over love and cherish their children, and in God’s eyes, every baby is a gift and a promise for abundant life.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with 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 preventing, testing and treating those affected by 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.

The post World Health Day – focusing on the smallest of all appeared first on Global Ministries.

MCDOWELL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA. – “I live on land owned by my family since the 1800s, maybe longer. I never wanted to move anywhere else. I grew up surrounded by family. This is the place I want to be until I pass away – and then be buried.”

Diane Farmer never used to think about the water, which had always been plentiful and clean, flowing from her family’s well in Leckie, W.Va. When she married in 1974, she and her husband built a house on the family property and a generation later, one of their children did the same. She didn’t imagine then what it would be like to grow old in McDowell County today, without clean water.

“We buy gallons of bottled water to drink, to do dishes…we do not even give our animals our well water,” she explained.

Farmer is a member of Boyd’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Leckie. Her pastor, the Rev. Brad Davis, cares for this and four other churches in the Welch Charge. He arrived two years ago and was appalled to discover what some of the members and their communities struggled through every day.

McDowell County has produced a bounty of fuel for West Virginia’s energy business over many decades, coal and natural gas, predominantly, as well as steel production. In 2019, strip-mining companies started production in the area, one just up the road from the Farmers.

“Our water started getting rust colored. It has only gotten worse since then,” Farmer confirmed. “We use the water to clean, to take showers, not really even to wash our clothes. We have to pay attention to what color clothing we buy because we know our water will ruin it.”

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

Pastor Davis, and a colleague pastor, Caitlin Ware, felt a clear directive from God to do something.

The small communities have made plans and proposed solutions to build clean water systems. But Anawalt’s already-approved public system upgrade project needs full funding ($7 million) and includes a plan to connect the affected wells in Leckie to the system. Gary has a municipal water system in need of technical and infrastructure upgrades, which has not been a state priority for years.

Residents have spent far too much money on filters and filter systems that break down under the pressure of the rust and black sludge that enters their wells and public water systems. They made many trips to spring water sites to collect water for themselves, family members and neighbors, only to discover that the spring water also had contaminants. In addition, Central Appalachia has some of the highest cancer rates in the country.

Although the lack of clean water is a problem that affects other counties and other states that cross parts of Appalachia, the pastors began to investigate what other groups were doing and decided to concentrate their efforts on the three municipalities in this area where they had direct connections into the communities through their churches.

Rev. Ware, who first arrived in the southern coalfields to complete a graduate school requirement, says they started by developing an educational immersion experience called “From Below,” funded by the United Methodist Foundation of West Virginia. She currently pastors the Blackwater Charge, three United Methodist churches in Tucker County, W. Va., which borders Maryland.

“We took a group of nearly 40 people along the path the miners took to Blair Mountain during the West Virginia Mine Wars, visited historical sites, and met with community members actively working for the benefit of McDowell County. From Below morphed into a movement advocating for clean water, land access and economic development in the southern coalfields,” Ware explains, “From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice.” They partnered with the West Virginia Faith Collective to strengthen their advocacy and further amplify neglected and forgotten voices in McDowell County.

“We believe the solution to this problem involves funding public water infrastructure projects, organizing local people to ensure those projects are carried out, and providing residents with clean water until those projects are completed,” Ware said.

Rev. Davis confirmed that since March 2024, their team of volunteers has provided residents of the three towns with thousands of cases of water, a stop-gap measure until permanent system solutions are begun. It’s a colossal feat, and it also represents a mountain of plastic. The Welch Charge contacted the WV Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. This is out of the ordinary for most disaster response offices, but McCune described the water crisis as a long-term, slow-moving disaster whose severity only increases the longer residents must wait.

McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.”

“We can now provide the water in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way,” said Davis.

The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it.

Deliveries from the tanker began on Mar. 17, despite a more common disaster that has preoccupied the disaster response teams; southern West Virginia was hit by a severe storm on Feb. 15 that caused major flooding. Even Davis’s home was affected, and Ware joined a team to provide early response.

Global Ministries advocates safe drinking water and basic sanitation and hygiene facilities for all people as a basic human right and is committed to improving health and wellbeing in underserved and marginalized communities in the U.S. and around the world.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR. Quotes from the pastors and lay people were sourced from an interview by Natallia Rudiak for “Reimagine Appalachia.” The full interview can be watched here. For more information about From Below and the West Virginia Faith Collective, click here.

Celebrate World Water Day with a gift to Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) projects, Advance # 3020600 to keep this precious, life-saving resource flowing.

The post Easing the water crisis in West Virginia appeared first on Global Ministries.