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North America

U.S. churches nationwide are using Direct Pay funding for solar conversion, but the program is about to drastically change.

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Joining as one in spirit despite being physically separated due to the pandemic, seven GMFs on the US-2 track were blessed for ministry during a virtual service on August 26.
Among the recipients of the UMCOR Rapid Response COVID-19 grants are some of the United Methodist National Mission Institutions with long histories of service in their communities. Gum Moon Residence, Red Bird Mission and Henderson Settlement extended their missions to keep people fed, housed and connected.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to leave vulnerable communities hungry, Intown Collaborative Ministries in Atlanta, GA is using funds from UMCOR to ensure their food pantry is able to safely meet an increased need for food.
Sheltering in Love grant campaign receives nearly $2 million in donations; expedited grant awards given to nonprofits in 43 countries and 43 states.
As a federal moratorium that protected an estimated 12 million people from eviction expires, two United Methodist agencies, Restore Hope Ministries in Oklahoma and Good Neighbor Settlement House in Texas, have used UMCOR COVID-19 grants to keep people from being evicted and assist them when they have nowhere else to go but the streets.
In March 2020, UMCOR partnered with Highland Park UMC in Dallas, Texas, to hold a three-day intensive, providing in-depth understanding of the foundations, principles and processes of disaster case management.
This spring, UMCOR and its partners concluded their work in response to the 2017 hurricane’s destruction in Texas and built community in more ways than one.
Shirley Townsend-Jones, a Church and Community Worker missionary in South Carolina, works with a rural African American cooperative ministry. Her ministry pulls together people from nine churches to face challenges, transform their communities, and celebrate the small victories of each day.
The first Methodist short-term, young adult missionary program began in 1948, sending young adults to serve 3-year assignments in Asian countries devastated during World War II. Today, Global Mission Fellows come from many different countries and serve in placements around the world.
Global Ministries welcomes the decision of a U.S. federal judge to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline, pending a thorough study of the environmental impact of the 1,172-mile ribbon of oil opposed by Native Americans, notably among the Sioux.

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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