UMCOR News & Stories

The United Methodist Committee on Relief will enter its ninth decade led by Lara S. Martin who brings a strong background in international disaster response, public health and child welfare.

On the 10th anniversary of their death, Thomas Kemper remembers the life, ministry and mission of two Global Ministries staff members who died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Through small grants, the Encounter with Christ fund has nurtured Methodist mission and relationships in 26 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mertarvik, Alaska, the relocation site for Newtok, a Yu’pik village that lost much of its land to rising sea levels and eroding coastline, receives its first residents in newly built houses, complete with UMCOR-funded PASS sanitation units in each home.

The community of Tamac in the Philippines partners with UMCOR through the Baguio Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office to shore up needed water sources after typhoons and a landslide destroy homes and fields.

Residents of Grand Bahama Island and Abaco are receiving relief in the form of shelter, meals and hygiene items. Some are also taking great joy in being a part of the volunteer effort, serving their neighbors in the midst of their own tragedies.

The month of September marks two years since Hurricane Maria brought widespread destruction to Puerto Rico. The recovery has progressed steadily, thanks largely to the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, and with the help of UMCOR training and funding and more than 200 Volunteer in Mission teams.

Although it didn’t receive much national attention, the spring floods of the Arkansas River wiped out property and devastated some communities. UMCOR and the Arkansas Conference Disaster Response Team have just rolled out a new phase to help with recovery.

Throughout Hurricane Dorian’s movements, UMCOR coordinated with Conference Disaster Response Coordinators from United Methodist conferences along the Southeastern U.S. coast, monitoring their needs and likely responses.

As Hurricane Dorian continued to threaten the U.S. east coast, United Methodists were connecting with Methodists in the Bahamas to start relief efforts.

UMCOR helps a school in Mozambique receive new sanitation and water facilities, while its students gain life lessons in community organizing, project coordination and human dignity for all.

An UMCOR partnership with Dream Warriors, a collective of Indigenous North American artists, reaches Native American youth with hope and compassion in the face of rising suicide rates across the country.