June 15, 2004
Central Texas: Floods Menace More Than 1,000 Families
Heavy rains over the weekend forced some families into emergency shelters
in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. UMCOR is sending a grant to the Central Texas Annual Conference to assist in immediate recovery efforts. Disaster workers estimate that more than 1,000 families or homes will need additional relief. The help your gift provides is priceless. Please donate to UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response.
Kentucky, Kansas: High Winds, Heavy Rains, Damage Crops and Houses
UMCOR is monitoring storm damage in Kansas and Kentucky. Over the weekend, high winds ripped roofs off houses in Kentucky and damaged crops in Kansas. Your prayers are important to survivors who face the task of rebuilding. Assistance in recovery efforts similar to these is possible because of generous gifts to UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Violence Threatens Fragile Peace Process
The Democratic Republic of Congo is rapidly becoming one of the world's biggest disasters, according to a Reuters report. Militants from many factions are challenging the authority of the fragile transitional government. Congolese civilians have been drawn into the conflict against their will. Some three million people--perhaps as many as five million--are out of reach of relief groups, including 4,500 children who don't have food. UMCOR joins many other international humanitarian groups in calling for an end to hostilities in this complex crisis. UMCOR operates programs assisting war-affected families in the country's Katanga province. In response to the current crisis, the relief agency is providing a grant to Action by Churches Together for emergency food assistance as well as exploring possible interventions in the Bukavu region. Please pray for peace in the DRC. And please give generously to UMCOR Advance #198400, Democratic Republic of Congo Emergency.
World Refugee Day: New Resource Available Online
World Refugee Day is June 20. UMCOR is offering a new bulletin insert. It contains stories of two refugee families whose successful resettlement in the United States is thanks to United Methodist congregations like yours. You can download and print as many copies as you need for distribution at a worship service, to a church school class, or as a sermon starter. There are also suggestions on how to get
involved and how to give to UMCOR's refugee ministries. You can help
fund refugee relief through Advance #982540, Global Refugee Response, or #901779, New Hope for Newcomers. Thank you for your generosity.
Dominican Republic/Haiti: Airlift Being Readied
The toll from floods and mudslides in remote regions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti is now over 3,000 dead or missing, most from the Haitian side of the border. Missionaries at the United Methodist guesthouse in Port-au-Prince report that many roads are still impassible. The guesthouse itself has been without reliable electricity for 12 weeks. UMCOR is preparing an emergency grant for an airlift of relief goods by partner Church World Service. Medicines, blankets, and dehydrated food will go to the most vulnerable survivors in the island nations. You can do your part with a gift to UMCOR Advance #410200, Dominican Republic/Haiti Flood Relief. Or send supplies-- school kits, layettes, health kits and flood clean-up materials-- to UMCOR Sager Brown, the United Methodist mission and warehouse facility, for shipment on to the stricken areas. Find additional information on kits by visiting UMCOR's emergency kits page.
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.