ATLANTA – In the opening worship service of Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry’s joint board of directors meeting in Atlanta, April 10-12, the 50+ year-old United Methodist hymn “Many gifts, one spirit” set the tone for the conversations to come.

Many gifts, one Spirit, one love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise.
One Giver, one Lord, one Word, known in many ways, hallowing our days.
For the Giver and the Gifts, praise, praise, praise!

The words affirmed that The United Methodist Church values difference as blessing and celebrates diversity as a reflection of God’s image within the global church. A powerful and intentional reminder in light of new U.S. policies that are denying people of their basic rights and dignity and causing reverberations of suffering around the world.

In his report to the boards of directors, General Secretary Roland Fernandes said, “The church cannot completely fill in for U.S. governmental support lost, but we can, indeed we must, do all that we can.” He affirmed the urgent need and Biblical mandate for the church to respond with compassion and be a source of solidarity with increasingly vulnerable communities worldwide: “We have a moral imperative to stand firm on the side of the gospel message, which calls us to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry and tend to the sick.”

The more than 50 Global Ministries, UMCOR, and Higher Education and Ministry board members discussed ways to expand support in education, migration, health, humanitarian aid and peace. Fernandes identified these as specific areas of focus for the agencies based on their mandates and the impact of current U.S. policies. The meeting facilitated rich presentations on these topics by leaders of partner organizations, institutions and church leaders. The resulting conversations energized the boards to deepen their engagement and ask how the church might be uniquely positioned to meet this moment.

Dr. G. Sujin Pak, dean of Boston University’s School of Theology, presented on the impact of new policies on education; Rick Santos of Church World Service (CWS) and Alba Jaramillo and Melissa Bowe of Immigration Law and Justice Network (ILJN) shared the impact of policy changes within foreign aid and immigration; the Rev. Dr. Kevin Murriel, senior pastor of Cascade UMC in Atlanta, urged the boards to not grow weary in working for justice and inclusion for all of God’s children in an era where “exclusion is gaining traction.”  

Both boards approved strategic grants and funding initiatives that will help agency partners “stand in the gap,” ensuring that their vital work with marginalized people and groups can continue. Some actions include a $1 million UMCOR grant to both CWS and ILJN, as well as $1.4 million to partners in Ukraine in support of migrant and refugee work. Higher Education and Ministry awarded the 13 United Methodist theological schools in the U.S. one-time subsidies of $400,000 each in Methodist Education Fund (MEF) supplemental support.

“Global Ministries is expanding and extending the compassion and hope of God right at a time when funding is being cut for disaster relief, health programs, food assistance, legal rights for immigrants and refugees, and Global Ministries is just leaning further into what it has always done,” said Dr. Elizabeth Corrie, chair of the Mission Programs Committee for the Global Ministries board of directors. “We need to step more into the gap and continue to offer the vital services that are needed by people around the world, whether it is for global health programs, the way we are able to attend to people after disasters, and the way we are able to educate and equip people in their own local communities to engage in the mission of God.”

Sara Logeman is the senior manager of content and marketing for Global Ministries and UMCOR and Higher Education and Ministry.

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ATLANTA – Lisa arrived at Old Mutare Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe almost a month before her delivery date. She lives more than 37 miles from the hospital, the closest to her home. She came to stay at the Waiting Mothers’ Shelter to be sure she could give birth in a medical facility. The shelter was just refurbished last year with the help of some outside supporters. The labor and delivery units were expanded and new equipment installed using grants from Global Ministries.

In many medical facilities across Africa, patients’ families are expected to provide all or some food during their stay. Fortunately, Old Mutare established a large garden last year to grow nutritious food for patients. “The vegetables we now eat are grown in this garden. I do not have to ask my relatives to bring me vegetables from back home,” said Lisa.

The garden was possible because the water system had also been reconstructed, with new storage tanks. The Zimbabwe Episcopal Area Health Board has been working on improvements to Old Mutare Mission Hospital over time, as well as to two other United Methodist hospitals, Mutambara and Nyadire, several smaller clinics.

Every year, the Global Health unit of Global Ministries awards grants to health boards and other United Methodist partners to support improvements in health care and administration. In addition, some episcopal areas receive grants for Mother, Newborn and Child Health; prevention and treatment of communicable and noncommunicable diseases; and for major infrastructure and facility improvements increase health care for everyone using the services.

Global Health partners with health teams from 14 sub-Saharan countries, encompassing nine United Methodist episcopal areas. The UMC supports hundreds of health facilities – hospitals in some cases and many small, remote clinics. Currently, about 190 health facilities are working on grant projects.

Working through partners that oversee the work of United Methodist health facilities in Africa, Global Ministries has helped to improve health services in many African countries. Health partners track the progress in their facilities, gathering information on their patients and services, the kinds of health problems they encounter, length of treatment, medical supplies and medicines. With reliable data, Global Health reports reaching, on average, more than a million beneficiaries each year. Last year, 48 grants were awarded among the health boards with 24 additional grants to other partners for a total of $5,291,657.

Reconstructing maternity and delivery wards and building new mothers’ shelters improve the conditions in which babies are born. But it takes much more to keep a baby thriving once he or she leaves the hospital.

United Methodist health teams have created community outreach programs that spread health information on the importance of prenatal care, giving birth in medical facilities, returning to the doctor for check-ups, vaccinations, and how to prevent malaria and other diseases and provide food with better nutritional value.

Some health facilities have staff that visit communities and set up clinics for health checks. Others train volunteers to give out important health information in their communities.

When major grants are released for reconstruction or building new facilities, water infrastructure is often included in the building plans. Clean water goes a long way in preventing disease. Most facilities open new wells and other clean water sources to the surrounding community.

Transportation is another factor for remote health clinics and hospitals to consider. Few rural residents have cars, and some communities lack roads altogether. Stocking facilities with supplies and medications is a constant challenge in some remote areas, especially in rainy seasons. Reliable vehicles are sometimes part of the plan in a health administration budget so conference staff can get to the facilities to assess operations.

The first UMC health boards were developed by UMCOR when Imagine No Malaria collected significant funding for malaria awareness, net distribution and treatment. The campaign needed organized and efficient ways to distribute supplies, information and medicines, that included follow-up by UMC health facilities. The creation of health boards worked so well to coordinate responses that the Global Health unit was developed to extend the work and further explore ways to improve health outcomes.

Today, United Methodist health boards and other partners have expanded their mission as professional health administrators. Even with the uncertainty of government aid, especially from the U.S., the mission of church-related health facilities, which draw support from larger religious and nonprofit networks, continues. They often serve in remote places among the people who need them the most. Family members the world over love and cherish their children, and in God’s eyes, every baby is a gift and a promise for abundant life.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

Global Health
Through United Methodist conferences and health boards, Global Ministries works to strengthen whole networks of health responses, from revitalization of facilities and staff training to building better water sources, developing sanitation facilities and promoting nutrition. Global Health concentrates on preventing, testing and treating those affected by preventable diseases, such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, and COVID-19, and supporting the most vulnerable populations, including mothers, newborns and children.

Support the work of global health.

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MCDOWELL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA. – “I live on land owned by my family since the 1800s, maybe longer. I never wanted to move anywhere else. I grew up surrounded by family. This is the place I want to be until I pass away – and then be buried.”

Diane Farmer never used to think about the water, which had always been plentiful and clean, flowing from her family’s well in Leckie, W.Va. When she married in 1974, she and her husband built a house on the family property and a generation later, one of their children did the same. She didn’t imagine then what it would be like to grow old in McDowell County today, without clean water.

“We buy gallons of bottled water to drink, to do dishes…we do not even give our animals our well water,” she explained.

Farmer is a member of Boyd’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Leckie. Her pastor, the Rev. Brad Davis, cares for this and four other churches in the Welch Charge. He arrived two years ago and was appalled to discover what some of the members and their communities struggled through every day.

McDowell County has produced a bounty of fuel for West Virginia’s energy business over many decades, coal and natural gas, predominantly, as well as steel production. In 2019, strip-mining companies started production in the area, one just up the road from the Farmers.

“Our water started getting rust colored. It has only gotten worse since then,” Farmer confirmed. “We use the water to clean, to take showers, not really even to wash our clothes. We have to pay attention to what color clothing we buy because we know our water will ruin it.”

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

Pastor Davis, and a colleague pastor, Caitlin Ware, felt a clear directive from God to do something.

The small communities have made plans and proposed solutions to build clean water systems. But Anawalt’s already-approved public system upgrade project needs full funding ($7 million) and includes a plan to connect the affected wells in Leckie to the system. Gary has a municipal water system in need of technical and infrastructure upgrades, which has not been a state priority for years.

Residents have spent far too much money on filters and filter systems that break down under the pressure of the rust and black sludge that enters their wells and public water systems. They made many trips to spring water sites to collect water for themselves, family members and neighbors, only to discover that the spring water also had contaminants. In addition, Central Appalachia has some of the highest cancer rates in the country.

Although the lack of clean water is a problem that affects other counties and other states that cross parts of Appalachia, the pastors began to investigate what other groups were doing and decided to concentrate their efforts on the three municipalities in this area where they had direct connections into the communities through their churches.

Rev. Ware, who first arrived in the southern coalfields to complete a graduate school requirement, says they started by developing an educational immersion experience called “From Below,” funded by the United Methodist Foundation of West Virginia. She currently pastors the Blackwater Charge, three United Methodist churches in Tucker County, W. Va., which borders Maryland.

“We took a group of nearly 40 people along the path the miners took to Blair Mountain during the West Virginia Mine Wars, visited historical sites, and met with community members actively working for the benefit of McDowell County. From Below morphed into a movement advocating for clean water, land access and economic development in the southern coalfields,” Ware explains, “From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice.” They partnered with the West Virginia Faith Collective to strengthen their advocacy and further amplify neglected and forgotten voices in McDowell County.

“We believe the solution to this problem involves funding public water infrastructure projects, organizing local people to ensure those projects are carried out, and providing residents with clean water until those projects are completed,” Ware said.

Rev. Davis confirmed that since March 2024, their team of volunteers has provided residents of the three towns with thousands of cases of water, a stop-gap measure until permanent system solutions are begun. It’s a colossal feat, and it also represents a mountain of plastic. The Welch Charge contacted the WV Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. This is out of the ordinary for most disaster response offices, but McCune described the water crisis as a long-term, slow-moving disaster whose severity only increases the longer residents must wait.

McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.”

“We can now provide the water in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way,” said Davis.

The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it.

Deliveries from the tanker began on Mar. 17, despite a more common disaster that has preoccupied the disaster response teams; southern West Virginia was hit by a severe storm on Feb. 15 that caused major flooding. Even Davis’s home was affected, and Ware joined a team to provide early response.

Global Ministries advocates safe drinking water and basic sanitation and hygiene facilities for all people as a basic human right and is committed to improving health and wellbeing in underserved and marginalized communities in the U.S. and around the world.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR. Quotes from the pastors and lay people were sourced from an interview by Natallia Rudiak for “Reimagine Appalachia.” The full interview can be watched here. For more information about From Below and the West Virginia Faith Collective, click here.

Celebrate World Water Day with a gift to Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) projects, Advance # 3020600 to keep this precious, life-saving resource flowing.

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ATLANTA – A family from Venezuela has just arrived in the city of Danlí in the south of Honduras and presented themselves to Honduran authorities. They have come a long way – through Colombia, into Central America through Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. But now, their 8-year-old son, who is with them, lies with his head on his father’s shoulder. He is unresponsive.

Fortunately, the United Methodist Mission in Honduras (UMMH) opened a clinic in Danlí two and half years ago and today, the Honduran migration officers notify the clinic when they encounter sick or injured migrants passing through. The clinic team arrived quickly to assess the boy’s health and agreed that he needed immediate medical attention…in a hospital. He was near death from severe dehydration, and the team convinced his parents to follow the advice. The specialized care saved his life.

In 2024, the Rev. Daniel Contreras, a new missionary assigned to UMMH, became the interim country director and he has confirmed that the small clinic served 10,000 patients last year. “The United Methodist Church in Honduras is committed to ministry with the poor and marginalized. Our health work started with a project for the elderly in Danlí, which then developed a fruitful partnership with the authorities. Sadly, the need for a clinic for migrants is greater now than it was before,” Contreras noted.

Others who are referred to the clinic, either by immigration officers or by word-of-mouth, receive direct care from the professional staff at the clinic. They see many cases of less severe dehydration, which they can treat, people with chronic diseases who have run short on their medications, malnutrition, respiratory problems, diarrhea, cold and flu, skin diseases, gastrointestinal infections, foot and leg injuries and wound infections. In most cases, migrants recover and continue their journeys, whatever their destinations may be.

The Government of Honduras promotes universal health coverage but lacks sufficient funding to cover its own citizens, much less the transient population. The city of Danlí has seen as many as 1,500 immigrants passing through each day. Migrants’ need for free, accessible primary health care is great and so the government has found ways to partner with the church’s ministry, such as providing consulting rooms and an ambulance.

The clinic is open eight hours a day, five days a week, and they see an average of 67 patients daily. The volume of patients has continued to increase, but there is uncertainty about whether the flow of migrants to the North will continue as a new U.S. Administration changes policy and procedures for immigrants at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Although the Methodist Church in Honduras is small, it has found ways to contribute important resources to local communities through its mission and ministry. Health care for passing migrants was a needed resource that church members and leaders in Danlí believed they could provide. With a series of grants (currently working on a phase 3 grant) from Global Ministries through Global Health and United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and partnership with immigration officials, the primary health care clinic they envisioned has become a reality. In addition, the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, has a close relationship with the UMMH. Its support in 2024, the congregation’s third annual grant, helped to meet the clinic’s increased demand for services.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

UMCOR and Global Migration

Learn more about migration ministry and programming through Global Ministries and UMCOR.

Global Health
Through United Methodist conferences and health boards, Global Ministries works to strengthen whole networks of health responses, from revitalization of facilities and staff training to building better water sources, developing sanitation facilities and promoting nutrition. Global Health concentrates on eradicating preventable diseases, such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, and COVID-19, and supporting the most vulnerable populations, including mothers, newborns and children.

Support the work of global health.

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ATLANTA – The ceasefire in Gaza announced by the Israeli Government on January 17 has brought a pause in fighting and a measure of relief for a population that has endured constant terror in the face of daily bombardment and countless displacements. While welcoming this cessation of fighting, humanitarian relief agencies do their best to reach communities that, according to the United Nations, are on the brink of starvation. The original agreement was for a six-week ceasefire, which would extend to the end of February.

In a recent statement released by Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), General Secretary Roland Fernandes gave thanks for a time of respite from violence, fear, and destruction and welcomed the release of hostages and detainees by both parties. He also acknowledged the long and hard road to recovery for Gazans and all Palestinians who have been affected by many forms of aggression.

“The people of Gaza have experienced a suffering so deep that it will be felt for generations to come,” Fernandes said. “Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, families and whole communities displaced, and almost all infrastructure including homes, hospitals and schools destroyed. We mourn alongside the people of Gaza for the suffering and loss imposed on them. For what has been unjustly taken from them,” General Secretary Fernandes continued.

UMCOR started work with partners in Gaza in October 2023, shortly after the conflict between Hamas and Israel broke out. The United Palestinian Appeal worked quickly to deliver medicine and medical supplies to support hospitals, activate mobile clinics for populations displaced by fighting, and distribute food, hygiene kits and water to families living in shelters. UMCOR has continued to award grants through the early months of 2025.

Recent suggestions by the current U.S. administration have cast doubt on the fate of Palestinians for whom the Gaza Strip is home, but the humanitarian mission is the same, no matter what happens – to bring relief to those who suffer and to provide the basic necessities that sustain life.

UMCOR support for relief work in Gaza includes large grants that further the work of partners who can implement large scale distribution of food, water, personal hygiene and other non-food items. Grants also support health care and health facilities that have managed to remain open inside Gaza. Smaller grants of equal importance support organizations that can mount small-scale projects to reach specific vulnerable populations with targeted relief.

Contributions to large-scale relief efforts since October 2023 have provided, whenever possible, food rations, fresh food, water, nonfood items such as shelter supplies, hygiene supplies and medical care. Some have also helped with counseling and information sessions about health, wellbeing and avoiding live munitions.

Partners implementing this work include the United Palestinian Appeal (UPA), ACT Alliance for the ACT Palestinian Forum, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), the International Orthodox Christian Charities, and the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR).

The Princess Basma Centre in Jerusalem, a long-time Advance giving partner of United Methodists that serves disabled children, received several smaller grants. One made it possible for them to develop online learning for their constituency, who, although they are in Jerusalem, met with harassment upon trying to transport their children to the center.

A second grant supported a new program to reach children in Gaza injured by the violence there. With its expertise serving children with limb injuries and other disabling conditions, Princess Basma opened a pediatric satellite, Princess Basma Rehabilitation unit, at Al Ahli Hospital, a sister institution with the Anglican Episcopal Church, Diocese of Jerusalem, in Gaza City.

Late in 2024 Israel began cross-border bombardment in Lebanon, and UMCOR worked with several partners there who were serving communities displaced by the violence, both in Lebanon and Jordan. These partners included UPA, DSPR and ACT Alliance.

Palestinians in other parts of Israel-Palestine outside Gaza have also been targets of violence and harassment. As noted by Fernandes, “In East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Palestinians continue to face mounting violence, fear, ongoing detentions and displacement. We urge an immediate end to all violence and displacement.”

In addition to Princess Basma Centre, other long-time ecumenical partners are receiving grants to continue serving their Palestinian communities. UMCOR has provided support for specific projects at Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center in Bethlehem, Four Homes of Mercy in Jerusalem, Hope School in Beit Jala, the Shepherd Society in Bethlehem and the Arab Orthodox Benevolent Society in Beit Jala, which gave medical support to people who could no longer afford their medications or who needed surgery.

Beit Jala, in the West Bank, has had its borders closed because of its close proximity to Jerusalem. Violence breaks out at these check-points and a father of a student was shot while trying to cross to pick up his child. Hope Secondary School has remained closed since then, but a grant from UMCOR helped the school purchase tablets for students whose families could not afford them and laptops for teachers to teach remotely. With that, 100% of the student body was able to continue learning remotely.

As the conflict continues, many Palestinian families have lost their livelihoods and can no longer pay tuition fees, so a second UMCOR grant has helped families to make payments and keep their children in school.

“Through our partners in the region and the United Nations, we will continue to support our brothers and sisters in Gaza and other Palestinian communities as they seek to rebuild their lives,” General Secretary Fernandes affirmed. “And in our commitment to justice, freedom and peace for all of God’s children, we will continue to pray and act for accountability, reconciliation and a lasting stability throughout the Middle East.”

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

UMCOR work with refugees and people displaced by war

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

Founded in 1940 to care for refugees and displaced communities of WW II, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian relief and development agency of The United Methodist Church. A part of Global Ministries, UMCOR works in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States and its territories. Working in the areas of disaster response and recovery and migration, UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters that are interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting www.umcmission.org or follow us on social media.

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ATLANTA – Eighteen global missionaries and five young adult Global Mission Fellows (GMFs) were commissioned – blessed and sent forth into mission service – on January 26 at Wanyange Central United Methodist Church in Jinga, Uganda. Together, they will serve across 15 countries, including Argentina, Cambodia, Switzerland and…Uganda. Their types of mission service range from pastor and professor to agriculturalist and doctor.

The worship service centered upon the theme of being called to mission, with scripture readings from Isaiah 6:1-8 and Matthew 28:18-20. Isaiah’s response, “Here am I, Lord. Send me,” served as a reminder of the importance of recommitting oneself to join in God’s mission.

Bishop Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Episcopal Area delivered a sermon entitled “Living Out the Gospel, Transforming the World.” He reminded the congregation that God’s call upon our lives has the potential to change the world. “Missionary service is not a personal choice; it is a divine summons. Our missionaries and GMFs are not simply following a desire from within themselves. But they are answering a clear call from God to go and make disciples.”

After they were commissioned by Bishop Wandabula with the words “I commission you to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the world,” each candidate was presented with an anchor cross. The newly commissioned missionaries recited Wesley’s Covenant Prayer together, pledging their trust in God and service to the global church.

“Every time we worship in these commissioning services around the world, we are reminded what a great connection we have as The United Methodist Church,” said Global Ministries General Secretary Roland Fernandes. “And though we are different in so many ways, we are one in Jesus.” Fernandes also remarked on the renewed and strengthened relationship between Global Ministries and the East Africa Episcopal Area and shared his great hopes for the future of The United Methodist Church in the region.

As the service concluded, the congregation joined in a final blessing, offering encouragement and prayer over the group as they go forth to serve. Newly commissioned missionary Alejandro Alfaro-Santiz, who will serve in Argentina with his whole family, said he is excited to “…share God’s love through our actions and prayers and service in our daily lives.”

Sara Logeman is the senior manager of content and marketing for Global Ministries.

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Global Missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places. Explore and support the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

Global Mission Fellows (GMFs) are young adults, ages 20–30, who are committed to serve in social justice ministries for two years. They enter new communities, understanding their challenges and assets through relationships and with the long-term goal to overcome systemic oppression. Fellows partner with community organizations to address a variety of issues, including migration/immigration, education, public health and poverty. Learn more about applying to become a GMF and support current fellows.

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“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Mark 10:17b and 21

MADRID – As a global missionary with Global Ministries, I had the privilege of preaching at the Spanish Evangelical Church (IEE) in Madrid this fall. For decades, the Evangelical Protestant Church has been a marginalized voice, striving to remain steadfast in its mission to offer hope and comfort in a society that has often viewed it with suspicion or disdain.

Despite cultural and political pressures, it has sought to be a beacon of light for those most in need, including migrants and those displaced by the forces of capitalism and gentrification. Its commitment to social justice and caring for the marginalized reflects a gospel interpretation that challenges the power structures and inequalities permeating the country. My sermon was guided by the lectionary in Cycle B, focusing on passages from the Gospel of Mark. This provided an opportunity to reflect on the call for justice, compassion, and the radical hospitality that Christ embodies.

In our time together, we spoke of the urgent need to open the doors of this country, Spain, as a truly welcoming home for all, advocating for the end of violence and discrimination. We encouraged the congregation to embody the love and mercy of God in a world increasingly torn by hatred, division and the harmful rhetoric that fuels them. This world is not unlike the one baby Jesus experienced, as his family forcibly fled their country as refugees to escape the threat of death to the child. 

Today, across the globe, we are witnessing a dangerous rise in hate speech and divisive ideologies that seek to marginalize and oppress. From social media to political platforms, inflammatory language has become commonplace, even in the words of medium-quality comedians, contributing to an atmosphere of fear and hostility that threatens the communities. In this climate, the message of the Gospel is more relevant than ever: we are called to be agents of peace, to seek equity and to stand in solidarity with the oppressed. And, because of the political situations unfolding in powerful nations after elections, the Christian community founded on the Gospel of Jesus is called to resist.

Inspired by the sermons and theology of John and Charles Wesley and Latin American theology, I challenged myself and the congregation to not only proclaim love for our neighbor but to demonstrate it through concrete actions (orthopraxis). We were reminded that faith is not passive; it calls us to actively resist injustice, advocate for the voiceless, and be living witnesses of Christ’s teachings. In times of hatred, white supremacy, racism and corruption, our response as Christians must be one of courageous love, rooted in the conviction that peace and equity are not just ideals, but divine mandates.

Please join your hearts with our Spanish members and pray with me, as a whole Christian family:

Dear God: May we continue to rise to this call to resist injustice and advocate for the voiceless as living witnesses to Christ’s teaching. Beyond Christmastide and into the New Year, may we recommit ourselves to be vessels of God’s peace in a world that so desperately needs it. Amen.

Pedro Zavala, from Mexico City, Mexico, is an academic officer associate and a professor with the United Evangelical Theological Seminary in Madrid, Spain. He served as a professor and an academic dean at Seminario Metodista “Dr. Gonzalo Báez Camargo” as former GBGM National in Mission (NIM), and private educational institutions (ITESM, UCSJ, CTM). He and his spouse, Cecilia López Bátiz, are the parents of a young son, Xavier.

Global Missionaries
Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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ATLANTA – 140 missionaries and staff gathered for a Town Hall Zoom meeting on Nov. 13, 2024, to talk with General Secretary Roland Fernandes and to celebrate milestone years of service for some missionaries and retirement for others. By the end of 2024, six missionaries at the gathering will be retiring from service in five different countries.

Fernandes affirmed Global Ministries’ rich history in sending missionaries over more than 200 years, and that they are all part of this legacy. “I want to remind all that this is not work that you do for Global Ministries or for The United Methodist Church, but work you do for God, and God has called each of you at this time in the place that you are. We live in hope knowing that God is with us and that we have the love of God amid all that is happening.”

The Rev. Dr. Judy Chung, executive director of Missionary Service, congratulated the group of retiring missionaries and gave each a chance to speak. They come from seven different countries and retire from assignments in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central Africa, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Liberia. 

The Rev. Dr. Ediberto Lopez Rodriguez, from Puerto Rico, served for 23 years as a missionary professor in New Testament studies with the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico. He said: “I am very grateful for these decades of service to the Lord in the ministry of Global Ministries. My joy comes to fruition when I see my current pastor explaining Scripture every Sunday with competency, and I see his effectiveness as a pastor. He is one of probably 2000 students I taught. If I had the chance to have another life like this, I would come back to my teaching place, to my theological education work for Global Ministries or to whatever place the Lord may send me.”

Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena, who are married, retire after 36 years for McCurdy and 28 years for Mairena. Originally Nan started her missionary service in San Juan de Limay, Nicaragua, with her first husband, Phil Mitchell. They were sent by the Baltimore-Washington Conference in 1985. “Phil and I discovered that our most worthwhile work was accompanying people who were grieving and suffering,” McCurdy said. “Almost every family had lost someone at that time.” After becoming Global Ministries’ missionaries in 1988, Mitchell died from a pulmonary embolism in 1991, leaving Nan, and their two girls, ages 13 months and 3 years. When given the choice of staying in Nicaragua or returning to the U.S., McCurdy chose to stay.

“I explained that I was grieving in a country where nearly everyone was grieving, so God had placed me where I needed to be,” she said. She continued work for two years with a foundation for war victims.

McCurdy and Mairena met in Nicaragua and were married in 1995. They served together through four more missionary assignments, the last being with Give Ye Them To Eat (GYTTE) in Puebla, Mexico.

Miguel Mairena grew up on an island in Big Lake, Nicaragua, and had no access to start primary school until he was 20-years-old. He values education very much. “Beginning in 1996, every time Nan and I were in the U.S., I would go to Wesley Seminary for one or two semesters. I graduated in 2007, later in Nicaragua.” He studied law on weekends in Nicaragua and now has a master’s in criminal law as well.

To GYTTE, in Mexico, Mairena gave legal advice, theological advice, but most of all, his ability to fix anything and invent solutions to problems at the 40-acre farm and training center. With his help, they now have water all the time and solar-heated showers.

Grace Musuka began her assignment in 2012, working with United Methodist Women (now United Women in Faith) in Central Africa as a Regional Missionary. Her assignment has been to empower women as peace builders, healers, economic developers in their communities and as leaders in their churches.

“I witnessed women growing spiritually, economically and in their self-esteem,” she said. “I plan to keep growing in my legacy, and my sincere appreciation goes to United Women in Faith and Global Ministries for the chance they gave me to be part of this journey. I’m retired, but I’m not tired. I’ll continue in my work.”

A second Regional Missionary, Emma Cantor, focused her work on leadership and organizational development in Asia. Leadership training encouraged women to stand up for themselves and recognize their abilities. Cantor provided literacy education that combined spiritual growth and various social issues.

She noted: “Some of these young women have become scholars and some went on to careers, so they have developed their leadership and become good decision makers. The leadership in rural areas is about economic development that has given the hope for women and young people to become effective, passionate, compassionate – to help themselves and to help their communities.”

Dr. Emmanuel Mefor is a medical doctor from Nigeria. He and his wife, Florence Mefor, a nurse midwife, have served as medical missionaries in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Dr. Mefor will be retiring from his assignment as a general practitioner with Old Mutare Hospital in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Florence Mefor continues as a missionary with Old Mutare, so they will remain in Zimbabwe for a while longer. Dr. Mefor plans to continue work on a voluntary basis.

“My 24-year journey of missionary work was neither prepared for nor premeditated,” he noted. “We Christians are all called to work daily in the vineyard of our God. To the younger and will-be missionaries; remember that there will be obstacles along your way. Prayers, integrity and passion for what you do are paramount. Being passionate about what you do is the driving force that makes you tireless.”

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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We make connections with our people – and we see them, and we minister to their needs.

Preston Boyd, mission co-chair, Southfield-Hope UMC

SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN – “The clothing closet and food pantry ministry has been around for about 20 years, and so it is engrained in the culture of Hope (UMC),” Preston Boyd explained. He co-chairs the current version of the Closet of Hope Food Pantry with his wife, Ale Jean Boyd, and Michael Boggs. The Boyds joined the church just two years ago and Michael has been a member for four years, so this trio volunteered to guide the ministry even though they were relatively new to the church.

While the official signage and website says the closet is open one Saturday a month, its volunteer staff is ready and willing to work with clients whenever they need help. The closet is open for walk-ins two days a month and by special requests. Hope UMC’s pantry model focuses on individual appointments. People who need help call the church, they receive an appointment on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday; they come in and have a conversation with pantry volunteers. There are some restrictions as to how often you can receive a food box, but most of their clients are return customers, so they get to know these community members well, even if they are not church members.

“When Jean and I stepped in, the church was still in pandemic mode and the ministry had been shut down for two years,” Preston continued. “So, when we took over, we rebuilt it with a core group of volunteers. We didn’t have very many clients at first, a whopping 14 households served in the first month. We started doing outreach into the city of Southfield – we made municipal staff aware that we were back in operation. Word of mouth spread, and we’ve grown to about 100 households per month. Part of the core volunteer team was still there, and then, as we continued to grow, new people volunteered and Mike stepped up to be co-chair with us.”

“Since our reopening, we have distributed something like 86,000 lbs. of food, which reached about 4,500 people, or 500 different households. That speaks to the effort the Boyds and the team have put into this,” Michael Boggs noted. “The volunteers are revved up and wanting to be here, because they know they are contributing to the lives of the clients we serve.”

About 50% of the people who come in for food also need clothing, so they receive help with that too. The ministry received a Community Engagement grant from Global Ministries earlier in the year, which enhanced what they could offer to clients. It meant that some families who needed additional food in a month could receive that. It also allowed them to purchase and provide necessary hygiene items and winter clothing.

“That grant from Global Ministries allowed us to really delight and surprise some people with the extras,” Preston added. Community Engagement grants are made possible by the United Methodist Voluntary Services fund, derived from the UMC Human Relations Day offerings.

Jean Boyd mentioned that the pantry is small in comparison to others in the area, but it still meets certain standards. “We are considered to be a Gold Star Pantry for Gleaners – and that’s a big certification for a pantry of our size that is not a client-choice pantry. We are small enough that we can’t have families come in and pick their own food, but we do try to give them adequate canned food, meats, and when we can get it, fresh milk and produce.”

Going another step with their clients, they provide recipes for fresh produce because: “You never know what you are going to get from Gleaners, and sometimes they send produce that people have never eaten or don’t know how to cook.”

Both Preston and Jean are retired and were former pastors of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Prior to those careers, Preston worked for Ford and Daimler, and Jean worked for an insurance company. As they get to know their clients, they pray for them…and sometimes they pray with them. One of their client families lost a child who was attacked by a pit bull. The child’s grandmother at a scheduled food distribution asked for prayer, and they took the family to the Hope Chapel. “That was one of the hardest prayers I’ve ever prayed,” said Preston.” And at the end of it, all I could do was embrace them, and assure them God was still there with them.”

Another time, a gentleman with family problems said, “my family is driving me crazy, can you come pray with me…” and they did. “I love when people get surprised by God,”. Preston noted. “He came back a few weeks later, and he says, ‘pastor, that worked!’ Well, that’s why we pray.”

Both the Hope Church congregation and the community it serves are predominantly African American, but people of other races and immigrants of other nationalities have come for help at the pantry, and all are received.

Preston described an elderly Russian lady who, at first, sat by herself at the pantry intake area. “I remember when she first came into the pantry, I made sure I knew her name. I called her and the minute I pronounced her name correctly, her face lit up. She’s not that little shy lady who sits at the back anymore. She now feels at home in this church.

“We try to make sure that we see the clients and that they see the love of Christ in what we do and that they walk away with a good experience. That shows in the surveys we do. The clients say that our pantry cares and that they appreciate the love and care we show them.”

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

Human Relations Day is an opportunity to stand with other United Methodist churches to build the beloved community envisioned by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This denominationwide Special Sunday is designed to strengthen human relationships and community outreach. By participating in the Human Relations Day offering, United Methodists embrace the power of relationships, the strength of community and the good news that all of God’s children are of sacred value.

Gifts made on Human Relations Day, Jan. 19, 2024, support the Community Developers Program as well as community advocacy through the United Methodist Voluntary Services administered through Global Ministries.

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – I enjoy the times I go with the staff to visit our mission sites. We know that in those special times that we bring good news, in the same way, we also receive good news. Though at times God leads us to meet people who have sad stories, the meeting often becomes the beginning of a good relationship. 

Caring for women has been a part of my ministry because women are very dear to my heart. As a missionary woman who serves as a treasurer and mission coordinator, I believe that women have this inner strength to handle any situation in life. They just need opportunities.  

We started the Women’s Livelihood Savings Cooperative program in one province in Dec. 2021 after the pandemic. With the help of our women’s coordinator, we organized two groups. At first, we sat down with them and listened to their stories and struggles.

One member told of her story when she gave birth to a special needs baby who was not accepted by her husband and his family, who said she was cursed; she and her baby were abandoned. She lost her job. It devastated her, to the point of almost committing suicide. But because she believed in Christ, she had faith that she could care for her child by herself. She opened an English school in her garage and taught children from the neighborhood. Now with the help of the Women’s Livelihood Savings Cooperative, she was able to improve her life not only financially, but emotionally, because she found good friends. In addition, her husband returned to her and his family accepted their grandchild. The Women’s Livelihood Savings Cooperative helped a lot of women financially and emotionally because they have livelihood groups that are empowering them to extend loans they can pay off with small interest rates, growing their savings and sustaining their families.

In the same province, we missed a meeting with a health director, so we decided to visit a couple who are retired pastors. One is managing a center on her property for women with mental health problems, with 14 women and one child. She told us each person’s story, and how she started with one. She described how God whispered to her when she passed by a woman who was pregnant, who, it turns out, had been raped and was not in her right mind. The pastor returned and took her in. After that, she invited more, old and young, abandoned by families and loved ones, abused and now blessed. We started helping her and every time we visit we bring something for the women. The latest gift we gave was a deep well, one of our projects. Now they have a good supply of water for drinking and bathing. We were also blessed. And I know that these women, in whatever their situation, feel the love and the hope that God promises.

Pray with me:

Thank you, God, for leading us to people and connecting us to them. And may we both be blessed because of this chance meeting…. just like Mary when she visits Elizabeth…something jumps inside of us because we know that God is blessing us with good news for them. May you bless more people through our unexpected visits, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Helen de Leon Camarce is the country coordinator and treasurer for the UMC Mission in Cambodia. Originally from the Philippines, she served as director of the Women’s Empowerment program in Cambodia and as a leader with the Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS) of the UMC in the Philippines.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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