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October 31, 2003: Even as cooler, moister weather moved in on Thursday, the glow of flames on dry southern California hillsides highlighted the destruction of entire neighborhoods and forced shutdowns of transportation and power in the area. UMCOR sped an emergency grant to the California-Pacific Annual Conference and dispatched a disaster consultant to assist with pastoral care of persons affected. You can help with your prayers and generous contributions to UMCOR Advance for Domestic Disaster Response #901670. Please designate your gift for "California Wildfires."
Farmland may still be filled with standing water in northwest Washington state, but relief workers are beginning the long task of clearing up the millions of dollars in damage caused by the Skagit River, which flooded last week and swept away houses and possessions. By giving to Domestic Disaster Response Advance #901670 and designating your gift for "Washington Floods," you can join United Methodists from the LaConner BayView UMC, who are contributing to relief efforts in the isolated rural area near the British Columbia border. The congregation reports that about 50 families were completely flooded out.
Cleanup efforts continue in many areas of the Eastern Seaboard and in south Texas, plagued by the aftermath of hurricane and flood. You can help in two kinds of "hands-on" ministries! One, if you can participate directly in cleanup efforts, call the UMCOR Volunteer Hotline, 1-800-918-3100. If your church group would like to donate flood buckets-- supplies volunteers use to clean flood-damaged sites-- you can find the specifications online at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm#flood. UMCOR is also grateful for generous donations to Hurricanes 2003, Advance #982438 that will extend your heart and hands to those who need help the most in all these devastated areas.
Ethiopians in the Horn of Africa struggle with the daily chores of getting enough food and water to supply their families. September rainfall in key farming areas was close to normal, but a recent survey by the country's health ministry found alarmingly high malnutrition rates in some areas. To assist with assuring food security and meet the most basic human needs, please give generously to Africa Famine Advance #101250. Thank you for your donations.
UMCOR staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo are participating in a program to rebuild basic transportation destroyed by years of war. Much of the country remains cut off from vital supplies but, using a ferry made from an outboard motor and three boats held together by steel beams, workers can deliver medical supplies to remote, inaccessible regions. Your generosity is important in recovery efforts in the DRC. Please give to UMCOR Advance #982353, Global Peacebuilding and Reconciliation.
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.
Photo: UMCOR staff cross the Luvua River in the Democratic Republic of Congo using a ferry made from an outboard motor and three boats held together by steel beams. Much of the country remains cut off from vital supplies. UMCOR is implementing a program to bring medical supplies by boat to remote, inaccessible regions. Credit: UMCOR/DR Congo 2003.
