UMCOR marks 70th anniversary, receives generous offering from South Georgia
Hope. Relief. Assistance.
For 70 years, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has been responding to people in need, standing with them through natural and human-made disasters, and supporting their hopes for development, security, growth, and healing.
In 1940, Bishop Herbert Welch issued a challenge to establish a “voice of conscience among Methodists to act in the relief of human suffering without distinction of race, color, or creed.”
South Georgia United Methodists have long supported UMCOR. In recognition of the ongoing challenge of spreading hope to God’s most vulnerable people through UMCOR, South Georgia United Methodists gave $43,187.93 in a single special offering received during the opening worship service of the 2010 Annual Conference Session.
Churches were asked to collect a special offering prior to Annual Conference and bring the money with them to Tifton. The money will be sent to UMCOR, undesignated, so that it can be used to provide immediate assistance and urgently needed resources while other financial gifts and supplies are gathered.
“My heart is happy when I see the generosity of our people,” said Bishop James R. King, Jr., episcopal leader of the South Georgia Conference. “The United Methodist Committee on Relief is a shining example of our connection at work. What a joy it is to give an offering to support the work of UMCOR.
“We are the hands and feet of Christ, and through UMCOR we can reach out all over the world to offer hope and help alleviate human suffering with open hearts to all people,” King said.
In addition to the Annual Conference special offering, as of May 1, the people of the South Georgia Conference have given $494,398.72 to UMCOR for relief and recovery in Haiti.
While the needs for recovery are immense and ongoing, the response of The United Methodist Church has been swift and profound. The church’s outreach begins with United Methodists in each annual conference.
In a thank you letter to Bishop King from The General Board of Global Ministries, Bishop Huie writes, “The gifts given by the South Georgia Conference have enabled UMCOR to be on the ground in Haiti and other places of need. Each United Methodist in the South Georgia Conference is a vital part of the work of Global Ministries, UMCOR, and The Advance. The church’s mission work is made possible by individual support at the conference level.”
“Thank you, South Georgia, for opening your hearts and giving more than a half a million dollars to UMCOR in the last few months,” said Bishop King. “This is one more way we are partnering together to grow a more Christlike world.”
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