Sacred Native American lands will be returned to Wyandotte Nation

Seeking to return sacred lands they have held in trust for 176 years, leaders of The United Methodist Church and the Wyandotte Nation will hold a ceremony this September during which lands held by the agency will be formally returned to the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma.

Improved mobility, a gift that transforms lives

To reach people in remote places with devices that increase mobility and independent living, Global Health partners with a prosthetics workshop in Bo, Sierra Leone, and a Personal Energy Transportation workshop in Kitwe, Zambia.

UMCOR Campaigns

Six Years, No Solution: A 500-Gallon Tank Carries Hope to West Virginia’s Forgotten

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.

To ease the burden of residents who have to purchase many gallons of drinking water weekly, the Welch Charge contacted the West Virginia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. 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.” 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. Meanwhile, residents, including church members, continue to advocate state and local officials for a permanent solution to their aging, compromised water infrastructure. Full Story