July 3, 2003: Can you imagine what it would be like to have thousands of war-displaced people coming to your church in search of sanctuary and refuge from the fighting in the streets? What would you do for them? How would you show God's compassion to these vulnerable neighbors? This is the context for ministry for our brothers and sisters in The United Methodist Church in Liberia. With almost no financial resources of their own, they are sharing what they have and praying together for peace. You can be in solidarity with them by donating to the Liberia Emergency Advance #150300. Your gifts will purchase rice, rehydration salts, medicine, and other life-saving materials.
Recovery from storms and floods continues in various parts of the United States. UMCOR has sent flood buckets from its Sager Brown depot and a $10,000 emergency grant in response to the devastating floods that hit Myakka City in the Sarasota District of the Florida Conference. Emergency response personnel in Louisana and Mississippi have been monitoring the flooding caused by heavy rains on the southern coast. Recovery operations there are being handled locally at this time. Please give to Spring Storms 2003, Advance #901680.
Fires in Arizona are being monitored by disaster response personnel of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference. Because fires are still burning, it is too early for a request for specific assistance to be made.
It has been almost a year since The United Methodist Church began its church-wide appeal for aid to Southern Africa in response to widespread shortage of grain harvest. The World Food Programme reports that the major humanitarian crisis that was feared has now been averted. However, erratic weather patterns, deteriorating economies and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS continue to pose the threat of hunger to 6.5 million people. Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, and Zambia continue to be at risk. Contributions to Southern Africa Famine Advance #101250 will be needed through the next year.
As United States celebrates Independence Day, we are reminded of the high cost and delicate balance that are the foundation of true liberty. Through our programs of refuge, development, health and hunger response, UMCOR partners with international neighbors to help establish basic self-sufficiency and freedom from want, two building blocks of that foundation. We are grateful to all who stand with us by contributing to this important work.
UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.
And, please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in poverty because of these and other natural and human-made disasters, and for the workers who minister to them.
