Called by God to welcome refugees and migrants

World Refugee Day reminds us of our personal, scriptural and theological roots to affirm and welcome refugees seeking safety today.

Cristian Schlick, a Global Ministries’ staff member serving as liaison for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean and as regional migration specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), speaks about migration and the Christian call to welcome the stranger in our midst.

The video references various ministries of Global Ministries and UMCOR that provide relief and recovery for refugees in many different forms and in many places around the world.

The Rev. Joel Hortiales, a missionary serving as director of Hispanic/Latino Ministry and Border Concerns in the California-Pacific Annual Conference, meets and prays with migrants and asylum seekers on both sides of the Mexican-U.S. border.

Children in Gaza have a rare chance to laugh and play as part of counseling and psychological services provided by an UMCOR partner, the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR).

Ukrainian refugee families in Romania and families displaced inside Ukraine receive welcome, supplies, food, water and shelter with support from UMCOR as they navigate new ways to survive a three-year war that has no end in sight.

Displaced mothers and children in South Sudan welcome a new place to find potable water and relief supplies made possible by UMCOR and its partner, Water Is Basic.

Churches in the U.S. find ways to welcome and support immigrants in their communities with Mustard Seed Migration Grants from UMCOR.

Discover more about UMCOR’s work to welcome refugees and other migrants and provide for their basic needs through global migration ministries and commemorate World Refugee Day with a gift to support.

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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