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UMCOR appeals for U.S. disaster response funds
A UMNS Report
By Linda Green
A series of major storms has taxed the United Methodist Church's relief agency, virtually depleting its funds for responding to future disasters in the United States.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is launching a churchwide appeal Oct. 19 to replenish its funds. Agency leaders are urging local churches to take an offering on that date or soon after.
Storms during the past 16 months have left the agency with less than $100,000 for undesignated disaster response in the United States.
Since last year, UMCOR has provided $1.5 million to annual conferences, including Holston Conference (see links below), for relief and response work. Annual conferences are asking UMCOR for another $1.1 million to continue existing recovery programs in response to storms in the South and Midwest. Additional funds are needed to address the devastation caused by Hurricane Isabel, which struck the East Coast in September.
Based on previous appeals, UMCOR anticipates raising more than $2 million, though agency officials say the need in the annual conferences could exceed that.
Louisiana is one of many states where UMCOR provides ongoing recovery help. Hurricanes Isidore and Lilly struck the state within days of each other in October 2002, destroying farmland and homes.
"The United Methodist Committee on Relief is a way in which our faith is put into concrete action," said Louisiana Bishop William Hutchinson. "It is a way in which our beliefs are transmitted to the general public, and it is a way to help people recover from things not necessarily of their own making. UMCOR is a way for us to be responsible to God as we are called to be a servant and care for other people."
The agency is appealing to church members for money "because the vast majority of our donations are specifically designated for a particular Advance and we cannot use them (the money) for this purpose," said the Rev. Kristin Sachen, a UMCOR staff executive. The Advance is a churchwide program that raises money for a wide range of ministries and mission work.
The appeal money, Sachen said, would be used to fund programs developed by annual conference disaster response teams. UMCOR helps conferences assist the most vulnerable through long-term case management and volunteer building and repair teams.
UMCOR is funded through the proceeds from the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering, taken the fourth Sunday during Lent, and not by apportionments, she said. "Our capacity to respond to the forgotten disasters is determined by the availability of undesignated funds. We don't want any annual conference to be forgotten." The annual offering raises 27 cents per church member for UMCOR, she said.
United Methodists should respond to the appeal because "UMCOR is one of the longest-serving disaster recovery bodies that is on site," Hutchinson said. While other groups come in immediately and then leave, "UMCOR is there for the long term and does a tremendous amount of work over a long period of time. This is where the long-term effects of helping people in their lives takes place."
UMCOR, he added, "puts our faith in action and puts our concern for people and their lives on the front burner.”
Since May, severe weather systems have brought tornados, floods and hurricanes to numerous parts of the United States, leaving behind major damage and exposing the most vulnerable. The events brought death, injuries, damage and destruction to homes, businesses and crops.
Donations can be designated for "Churchwide Appeal for USA Domestic Disasters," UMCOR Advance No. 901670. Checks can be made to UMCOR and placed in church offering plates or sent to the agency at 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donors can call (800) 554-8583, and online donations can be made at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/.
Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer.
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For more on how Holston Conference has benefited from UMCOR funds, visit these archived articles:
Tazewell District hit by more flooding
–The Call, May 24, 2002
Oak Ridge office receives $28,800 for tornado rebuilding
–The Call, Dec. 6, 2002
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