The official date set to celebrate Human Relations Day is January 14, 2024. We encourage churches to celebrate on a date that is most convenient for your congregation. Resources to celebrate and promote this this Special Sunday can be found here.
Official date: January 14, 2024
You can support this Special Sunday
by giving online at UMC.org/SSGive,
through your local United Methodist
Church or mail a check to:
GCFA. P.O. Box 340029, Nashville, TN 37203
Please include Human Relations Day
in the note section of your check.
WHAT IS HUMAN RELATIONS DAY?
Human Relations Day is a denomination wide Special Sunday set aside to celebrate and raise awareness to further the development of better human relations by involving congregations in community and youth outreach. A special offering taken the Sunday before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Gifts received for the offering build King’s vision of “the beloved community” through programs such as Community Developers and United Methodist Voluntary Services and Youth Offender Rehabilitation Programs. Churches are encouraged to donate through their local churches or give online.
Last year, your generosity delivered over $300,000 towards these ministries that will be funded through the Human Relations Day Sunday offering:
- Fifty-seven percent of the funds received support community developer's program that strive to build, maintain, promote and strengthen racial-ethnic minority congregations through local UMC congregations. Community developers engage depending on a community’s needs. Learn more about the program here.
- Thirty-three percent of the funds received support The United Methodist Voluntary Services (UMVS) that serves as a resource to congregations, volunteer-based groups, and programs that challenge unjust political, social, and economic systems which threaten the livelihoods of people. Learn more about the grants offered here.
- Ten percent of the funds received support rehabilitation programs. These programs work to strengthen youth empowerment programs that provide positive avenues for youth participation in their communities through the churches, mentoring programs, and boys/girls clubs. Learn more about the grants offered here.
For more than half a century, United Methodists have observed this churchwide special Sunday in recognition of the message Jesus demonstrated during his life: all of God’s children are important.
One of the wonderful aspects of The United Methodist Church is that we can do so much more together than we ever could do on our own. Our gifts are part of building “the beloved community.”
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