UMC churches in the United States can aid migrants in their local communities with the help of a $2,000 grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief. 

June 1, 2022 | ATLANTA 
For release: IMMEDIATE 

Media Contacts: 

Dan Curran for Global Ministries/UMCOR
770-658-9586
dancurran@curranpr.com 

For the second year, churches across the United States are able to help refugees and migrants living in their local communities thanks to a grant program from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Open to United Methodist churches, the “Mustard Seed Migration Grants” continue the agency’s 80-year tradition of helping refugees, immigrants and migrants seeking to build a new life. 

The Mustard Seed Migration Grants, inspired by the well-known parable about growth, provide up to 50 congregations with as much as $2,000 in funding to support one-time, community-based service projects. Churches will have the opportunity to get to know and assist refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented persons and migrants of all types in their own cities and towns. 

“As Jesus described in his parable, small mustard seeds have the potential to grow into something pervasive that spreads throughout a field,” said Roland Fernandes, general secretary of Global Ministries and UMCOR. “Our hope is that, by learning more about migrants in local communities and addressing their needs through these Mustard Seed Migration Grants, the ‘seed’ of welcoming strangers will be planted in new ways in congregations around the country.” 

Emory Fellowship, a United Methodist church in Washington, D.C. received a grant in 2021 and says that their project to provide a local school with uniforms and supplies for migrant families was a huge success. “The congregation learned that our neighbors are people from all over the world, some who have gone through terror to make it to this country and make a better life for their families…the congregation learned it is not our place to judge the migrant situation; we must listen, build relationships, hear the stories, find the needs and do ministry with migrants in the community. We are called to be the church outside of the physical building.” 

“The Mustard Seed Migration Grant program can help local churches live into a new understanding of the kingdom of God as they actively engage in caring for the most vulnerable in their midst,” said the Rev. Jack Amick, director of global migration for UMCOR. 

Eligible applicants will be local United Methodist churches located in the United States. Because only 50 grants will be awarded, this is a competitive process, and not all applicants will receive grants. Completed applications are due by September 1, 2022. Grant recipients will receive an award notification within one month of submitting their application. 

For more information about the Mustard Seed Migration Grants or to complete an application, visit https://umcmission.org/migration/mustardseed. 

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About UMCOR and the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church 

Founded in 1940, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian relief and development agency of The United Methodist Church. A part of UM Global Ministries, UMCOR works in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States and its territories. The agency’s mission, grounded in the teachings of Jesus, is to alleviate human suffering with open hearts and minds to all people. Working in the areas of disaster response and recovery, sustainable development, and migration, UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters that are interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting www.umcmission.org or by following www.facebook.com/globalministries and twitter.com/umcmission.

Humanitarian Relief & Recovery Grants Press Release UMCOR