The UMCOR Hotline
January 31, 2006
In Today's Hotline:
US: International Outreach in New Orleans
Sudan: Hope for Survival
Worldwide: Volunteer Engineer Needed
US: Souper Bowl Sunday
US: INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH IN NEW ORLEANS
An international United Methodist Volunteers in Mission team just returned from providing hurricane relief in New Orleans. The 26-member team consisted of six people from the Methodist Church of Mexico and 20 from the First United Methodist Church McAllen, TX. For many years UMVIM teams have been going to the Methodist Church of Mexico, and now the churches there sent a team to provide assistance in the US. This is a milestone in the long-standing relationship between the two Methodist organizations. The team used their bilingual skills to serve in a suburb of New Orleans where many of the community’s members are from Central and South America. Susan Hellums, team member and Border Area Mission Coordinator for FUMC McAllen writes, “What a blessing it is to share ALL our gifts, as ONE, in mission with God!” Your gifts to UMCOR Advance #982523, Hurricanes 2005, support the recovery efforts for last year’s devastating hurricanes. From Jan. 26 to Feb. 9, during the first anniversary of the UMCOR Sudan’s program, UMCOR is presenting a series of six stories about the work that United Methodists are funding in Sudan. Two stories will be featured each week. You’ll meet Jane Ohuma, head of mission; Saba, a woman who remembers life before the war; Angelina, one of the women farming at Julha. You’ll see an innovation in camp hospitality and the bounty of the harvest. Two stories and a photo gallery are available now on the UMCOR Non-Governmental Organization’s homepage, the UMCOR unit that houses our field operations. UMCOR is helping displaced people in Sudan to find their way home and to return to peaceful farming or work. You can get involved in these ministries through giving to UMCOR Advance #184385, Sudan Emergency. WORLDWIDE: VOLUNTEER ENGINEER NEEDED A professional engineer is needed to organize a group of civil/structural engineers and architects to share their expertise with UMCOR’s field office operations. Their expertise will provide professional support and conceptual back-up for structural project designs and remedial works. This assistance will aid reconstruction and rehabilitation work that takes place through UMCOR’s 13 field offices. For more information about this volunteer opportunity, visit the field office volunteer page on the UMCOR Non-Governmental Organization (UMCOR NGO) website. This Sunday is Souper Bowl Sunday. Before you sit down to watch the big game, give a gift that will help end hunger. It’s not too late to get involved in this year’s Souper Bowl of Caring on Super Bowl Sunday. Young people are encouraged to raise support on Feb. 5 on behalf of those who face hunger every day of the year. Churches and youth groups are encouraged to donate a portion of the proceeds to a local charity and another portion to UMCOR Advance #982920, World Hunger/Poverty to share the bounty with the wider world. Visit the UMCOR Souper Bowl of Caring website for more information. 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.
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