Email 
Print 
In Today's Hotline:
- KENYA: Recovery Continues
- US: Souper Bowl of Caring
- SOUTHERN AFRICA: SHADE Offers Hope
- UMCOR: One Great Hour of Sharing
UMCOR continues to work with Church World Service and The Methodist Church in Kenya in providing assistance to thousands of people affected by the post-election violence which still continues. UMCOR is helping through the distribution of food and supplies that will benefit about 3,000 people.
Various church compounds, police stations, and schools have become safe havens to more than 300,000 Kenyans who have become internally displaced. Several homes have been completely destroyed and hundreds of people have died. The most affected areas are Nairobi, Rift Valley, Nyanza, Western and Coast provinces.
Please continue to pray for those in need as tensions in Kenya grow turbulent. Your gifts to International Disaster Response-Kenya, Advance #982450 can help bring more food, water and other necessities to the places where people need it most.
Souperbowl Sunday is Feb. 3. Join UMCOR's partner Souper Bowl of Caring as our youths and young adults take leadership in fighting against hunger. It's not too late to participate. Collect cash donations through your local church offerings or collect soup cans for a local shelter or food pantry. Your involvement can make a lasting difference in the lives of others.
Register today at www.souperbowl.org. Each participating church can give 100% of their donation to the charity of their choice. United Methodist Churches are encouraged to give a portion of the collected offerings to a local charity and to UMCOR's World Hunger/Poverty Program through Advance #982920.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: SHADE Offers Hope
In Zambia, Theirry Leclaire is running a soup kitchen where approximately 80 people from the community, including orphans and the elderly are fed regularly. In Swaziland, classes are held on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. In Malawi, women are empowered to earn a living by learning knitting and soap making skills.
These are just a few of the examples of the UMCOR-supported projects in operation through SHADE (Sojourner: Help, Advocacy, Development, Education). A ministry of Woodstock Methodist Church of Southern Africa, SHADE is embracing and empowering thousands of people displaced by war, economics, and HIV/AIDS.
Through a network of 28 satellite groups in 20 African countries, SHADE provides work opportunities through life skills training, literacy skills development, sewing and food preparation classes. The ministry also offers nutrition and HIV/AIDS awareness education, as well as emergency relief to several vulnerable children including orphans. Please support ministries like SHADE that offer a place of relief, growth and hope for many people. Give to SHADE, UMCOR Advance #180001.
UMCOR: One Great Hour of Sharing
One Great Hour of Sharing Sunday is March 2. OGHS makes all of the other UMCOR programs possible because it funds the cost of doing business for UMCOR. Any gifts that are over and above UMCOR's administrative costs go to where they are most needed. Often they support underfunded programs.
It's not too late to order your OGHS envelopes, posters, refrigerator magnets and offering boxes. Call 1-888-346-3862 to order and visit UMCOR's OGHS website for more information. Check out this year's worship resources to help you prepare and celebrate this Special Sunday.
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. You can also give online at givetomission.org. 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.
United Methodist Committee on Relief
General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church
Room 330, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115
Voice Phone: 1-212-870-3816; FAX: 1-212-870-3624
Email: umcor@gbgm-umc.org
Web: http://www.umcor.org
UMCOR. Be There. Be Hope.
UMCOR's mission is to alleviate human suffering-whether caused by war, conflict, or natural disaster-with open minds and hearts to all people.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
