As we approach UMCOR Sunday, March 27, 2022, it is important to look back 82 years.
Your gifts on UMCOR Sunday helps support the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere.
It was in 1940 that The Methodist Committee on Overseas Relief (MCOR) was founded by Bishop Herbert Welch. MCOR was born to respond to the needs of displaced and vulnerable populations in the wake of World War II.
In his address at the General Conference that year, Bishop Welch stated that MCOR would serve as a “voice of conscience among Methodists to act in the relief of human suffering without distinction of race, color, or creed.” The agency promoted ecumenical partnerships to ensure rapid and responsible meeting of needs from the outset.
The organization’s name was changed to The United Methodist Committee on Relief by action of the 1972 General Conference. What has not changed is that original mandate to be with all people who suffer, offering shelter, food, clean water, and hope. And relationship-building remains a core value.
When the biggest battle in Europe since World War II broke out in Ukraine on February 24, the top executive of the Board of Global Ministries/UMCOR Roland Fernandes spoke out with the humanitarian spirit of Bishop Welch.
“We join many Christian leaders and organizations worldwide in deploring the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Fernandes said. “We ardently pray for a redirection of military action toward diplomatic measures to resolve grievances,” he said.
Fernandes added that the United Methodist Committee on Relief, in communication with partners in the region, is coordinating the humanitarian response in Ukraine. GBGM correspondent Elliott Wright reported on initial efforts to meet the needs those in Ukraine as well as the millions of refugees fleeing the besieged country.
It is because of UMCOR Sunday that The Advance, the designated giving arm of the General Board of Global Ministries and The United Methodist Church, can tell donors that 100% of their gift will go to the UMCOR project they choose to help. Whether that UMCOR Project is in Ukraine, Uruguay, or Utah, UMCOR Sunday receipts have covered the GBGM-related administrative costs of that ministry.
Charity Navigator gives UMCOR a 4-Star rating. “Give with exceptional confidence.” Your sustaining gifts on UMCOR Sunday lay the foundation for The United Methodist Committee on Relief to share God’s love with communities everywhere, just as it has for the past eight decades.
excerpt from a story by Kay DeMoss, Conference Communicator, Michigan Conference
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, UMCOR Sunday calls United Methodists to share the goodness of life with those who hurt. Your gifts to UMCOR Sunday lay the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere. The special offering underwrites UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” This helps UMCOR to keep the promise that 100 percent of any gift to a specific UMCOR project will go toward that project, not administrative costs.
When you give generously on UMCOR Sunday, you make a difference in the lives of people who hurt. Give now.
