Stories

UMCOR assisted several Methodist-related partners in the relief phase of the Dorian Hurricane response in the Bahamas. This year, UMCOR continues to support those partners working on shelter and case management, and a new partner moves forward to help the islands provide fresh water for 70,000 people.

Dr. David Scott examines what we can learn from missionaries amid the coronavirus restrictions. Missionaries have long experience in putting love into action in unfamiliar settings. In this third and final reflection, he considers how focusing on concrete acts of service helps to cultivate a sense of compassion that keeps us connected to the world around us.

Last Lenten season, we participated in the Immigration Immersion program on the southern border.

Doug taught three history classes spring semester 2019, the Early and Medieval Church, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment to Today. Kulli taught systematic theology. This year, we have an amazing group of students who are highly engaged and ask a lot of good (and sometimes difficult!) questions.

Last Lenten season, we participated in the Immigration Immersion program on the southern border. We began by visiting the huge border patrol campus to learn their perspective on border security and how they address it.

Holy Week becomes a time for fellowship and play for grade-schoolers in Liberia. Every year for the past several years, the Rev. Jacob Nathan has organized and led a camp for grade school children. Last year, we had Easter Camp on the campus of the Zacchaeus Garjay United Methodist School (UMS) in Gboko Town, Grand Bassa County, Liberia.

We celebrate because a church in California helped to provide hives to several farmers last year, and the expectant boost in honey production has increased income levels and improved standards of living. Beekeeping is becoming a farming activity of choice in Ghana and in Africa.

Two days of discussions centered on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding formalizes the transition of Cameroon and Senegal to the leadership of the Cote d’Ivoire Episcopal Area, outlining the partnership of Global Ministries and Côte d’Ivoire as they expand the mission field for the gospel in these new areas.

Ardell Graner, a missionary serving in the Dominican Republic, offers a practical exercise that helped a group of pastors focus on families and individuals affected by domestic violence in their communities.

Missionary Ellyn Dubberly teaches at a Methodist school in El Salvador, where the school and the students who study there continue to grow.

James and Grace Cho, missionaries with the Mongolia United Methodist Mission, offer an update on plans for how the 20-year-old mission initiative will transition from a mission to a self-governing faith community.

A Lenten devotion on how the coronavirus crisis is illuminating deeply rooted injustices