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Global Ministries

Addressing the boards of Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry in a joint online meeting, General Secretary Roland Fernandes outlined the agencies’ progress on faith-based responses to suffering caused by ongoing global instability and humanitarian crises, and he announced This Moment Matters, a campaign to address global needs in key areas of focus.

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Abundant Health, The United Methodist Church’s global health initiative, has achieved and exceeded its 2020 goal by reaching 1,075,732 million children with lifesaving interventions.
An agriculture initiative for Africa launched by Global Ministries two years ago has been renamed in memory of the late Bishop John K. Yambasu of Sierra Leone.
During a time of pandemic as well as organizational uncertainty for the denomination, General Secretary Roland Fernandes and staff share an update on innovative ministries in mission.
Roland Fernandes will be formally installed as General Secretary of Global Ministries on Thursday, Nov. 12 during the livestreamed opening worship service of the board of directors annual Fall meeting.
Two grants totaling $20,000 will allow four United Methodist churches in struggling Louisville neighborhoods to provide food, education assistance and psychological counseling to at-risk children.
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.
Volunteer teams from the Baltimore-Washington Conference have worked alongside the Eurasia UMC for more than a dozen years, building a long-term relationship and embodying mutuality in mission.
A year-long Imagine No Malaria program provided bed nets, prophylaxis and treatment in rural communities, reaching 21,075 people in its first six months and saving 2,038 lives.
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.
In its first year, ReNew UMC in California tripled its membership. This multicultural congregation partially supported by the Korean Ministry Plan focuses on fresh ideas to reach more people.

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Have questions? Send us an inquiry and we’ll get back to you promptly. Please direct all media inquiries to Susan Clark, chief communications officer for Global Ministries and UMCOR.

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Susan Clark, Chief Communications Officer
media@umcmission.org
800-862-4246

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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