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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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The Global Health and UMCOR response to the coronavirus pandemic continues: an ongoing, flexible plan is being developed for United Methodist church leaders, local health professionals and disaster management offices to strengthen the capacity of communities to respond with effective public health methods. The Philippines and DRC are the first partners in the prevention response.
Given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on revenue sources and cash flow, Global Ministries and UMCOR have placed temporary holds on most grant payments.
Across time zones, directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries made a virtual trip to Atlanta for their spring meeting.
The theology of “Missio dei” (“God’s mission”) and the practice of collaboration are central themes in a final program report of the executive who has led The United Methodist Church’s worldwide mission agency for 10 years.
A layman originally from India, Fernandes has been elected to serve as the next general secretary of Global Ministries by the agency’s directors.
Learn more about the mission and programs of The Jubilee Project in the Holston Conference.
NOMADS are mission volunteers who share the love of God through volunteer labor for United Methodist organizations, offering various types of relief from church repairs to disaster rebuilding.
Dr. Mark Zimmerman, a missionary doctor serving in Nepal, shares the story of one of his patients, a young woman who is still coping with the aftereffects of a 2015 earthquake that claimed most of her family.
Only about 34% of the homes in Hancock County, Tennessee, are connected to the municipal water system. Wells and mountain springs supply the rest. The United Methodist Jubilee Water Project seeks to ensure that mountain residents have access to clean, filtered water in their homes; some for the first time.
Growing out of UMCOR's commitment to support displaced populations, National Justice for Our Neighbors (NJFON) advocates for the rights of refugees and immigrants, like working to reunite a Rohingya family in Virginia.

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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