More Food For Thought

 From everywhere to everywhere, United Methodist missionaries come from  many nations and backgrounds and witness and serve in dramatically  different locales and cultures. They serve in more than 70 countries  around the world in a range of activities and professions including  pastors, educators, congregational and leadership developers,  agriculturalists, health coordinators, and doctors. 

 United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) responds to disasters in  the United States and around the world by working with communities and  local partners. When a disaster overwhelms a community’s ability to  recover on its own, UMCOR provides essential relief supplies and  supports long-term rebuilding efforts. While UMCOR is not a  first-response organization, it stands ready to accompany communities in  need over the long haul of their recovery until a “new normal” is  established after a crisis. “Early in and last out” is a guiding  principle of UMCOR. 

Example: Late on December 10, 2021 an EF4 tornado hit Mayfield, Ky and surrounding area destroying everything in it's path. UMCOR responded on Dec. 11th providing food and shelter to victims.

 Global Ministries works to share the good news of God’s love by planting  new churches and helping existing ones to grow. New or renewed mission  initiatives in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America have planted over  1,000 new faith communities. Programs like the annual School of  Congregational Development, implemented in partnership with Discipleship  Ministries, offers training for new congregations and established  churches that seek to create new places for new people. Additional  programs support racial/ethnic churches with initiatives that are geared  specifically for their unique needs. 

 Global Ministries’ vision of abundant health for all focuses on efforts  to promote physical, emotional and spiritual well-being through programs  in the United States and overseas. Global Health programs focus on  assisting economically vulnerable communities to protect children and  disadvantaged adults from preventable causes of death and disease. To do  this, Global Ministries partners with thousands of communities and  health workers through community-based health programs and provides  support to more than 300 United Methodist hospitals and clinics. Global  Ministries is also the lead agency for the UMC’s Abundant Health Initiative so it strives to prioritize programs that meet the needs of the marginalized. 

 Lack of access to healthy and nutritious food is a major factor in  starvation and malnutrition around the world. UMCOR works with partners  to improve farming and agricultural methods using eco-friendly  practices, increase crop diversity and yields, expand market access,  improve food-storage facilities, and boost nutrition in vulnerable  households and communities. UMCOR’s food security grants give special  consideration to holistic programs that focus on subsistence and  small-scale farmers, particularly women, keeping in line with  international standards to eliminate global hunger. 

 Water, sanitation and hygiene, known together as WASH, are essential for  good health and well-being. Some 783 million people around the world do  not have reliable access to clean drinking water, and even more people  lack access to water for agriculture and household tasks to meet their  everyday needs. Around the world, 2.4 billion people lack adequate  sanitation facilities. Global Ministries supports WASH programs  worldwide, providing direct help through UMCOR and supporting the work  of partners. Programs provide education and increase access to improved  water sources. Every U.S. dollar spent on water, sanitation, and hygiene  generates U.S. $4.30 in increased productivity and decreased health  care costs. 

 Education is a foundational piece of Methodist mission and has continued  to be a way to improve individual lives, foster religious  transformation, and be of service to the world. Global Ministries helps  to facilitate the education and training of mission partners whose  subsequent work will have the most direct and positive impact on the  communities from which they come. 

 Every day, thousands of people leave and flee their homes in search of a  better life for their families. Recognizing that migration is a complex  issue, UMCOR works with partners to examine the causes of migration and  to ensure the four rights of migrants: right to stay, right to safe  passage, right to welcoming and belonging, and right to return. Global  Ministries is committed to providing support for refugees, migrants and  asylum seekers from all over the globe with our partners Church World  Service and National Justice for Our Neighbors, along with our  collaboration with other domestic and international humanitarian  agencies. 

  In recognition and celebration of the increasing diversity of the world,  Global Ministries administers four of The United Methodist Church’s six  ethnic/language ministry plans, also known as the U.S. “national  plans.” These four ministries serve Asian American, Hispanic/Latino,  Korean and Pacific Islander communities in the United States. The  national plans strive for unity within diversity. They aim to expand the  ministry of The United Methodist Church in a way that does not  compromise the ethnic and cultural context of each of the communities  they serve. 

The Leadership Development and Scholarship office administers  scholarship funding to students worldwide through two scholarship  programs:

1. The World Communion program (formerly known as the Crusade  Scholarship) offers scholarships to United Methodist and other  Methodists church members seeking to obtain a master’s or doctoral  degree and then serve the church and community in some form after their  studies.

2. The Leadership Development Grants offer funding to students  seeking a post-secondary, master’s, doctoral, professional or leadership  development program. These grants support the preparation of students  who will work to further the mission of Christ in the world.

 Global Ministries is engaged in a variety of programs to nurture and  sustain community organizations. Through financial assistance, volunteer  skills, economic development, advocacy and material resources, Global  Ministries creates new initiatives to support the lives of women,  children, youth, families and older adults.  

 Recognizing that climate change and environmental degradation increase  disaster risk, the UMCOR Creation Care program looks inward at the work  of UMCOR and Global Ministries and outward at the ministries of The  United Methodist Church to equip the church to address modes of living  and working that contribute to climate change and environmental  degradation. These include wasteful consumption, deforestation, poor  water management and agricultural practices that diminish the land. The  EarthKeepers program equips United Methodist laity and clergy to develop  or deepen environmental initiatives in their communities.