Joy in mission

Ben Lasley, a US-2 in Philadelphia, describes how a community garden on a small city lot brings joy and a bountiful harvest to a population that needs both.

Hope amid stunning devastation

Just after the blast, as neighbors congregate, still dazed by what they experienced. PHOTO: EMMA DALBY, NORWEGIAN CHURCH AID

With the help of three grants from UMCOR, the people of Beirut, Lebanon, are attempting to rebuild their lives and livelihoods after the port blast that destroyed much of their city.

UMC institutions serve communities with love

Gum Moon Residence, Red Bird Mission and Henderson Settlement – U.S. Mission Institutions – received UMCOR COVID-19 grants to extend their missions to keep people fed, housed and connected during the pandemic.

Mental health brings peace of mind in Afghanistan

For more than 40 years, Global Ministries and UMCOR have supported health and development work through a partner agency. One project focuses on children with mental challenges as Afghanistan lacks services and awareness for mental health.

Working together for health in Zimbabwe

Led by coordinator Hannah Mafunda, the UMC health board makes the most of its resources by collaborating with other religious communities to fight diseases like coronavirus and Ebola.

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