An Occasional Word: UMC generosity meets needs around the world
09-01-2010Dear Friends:
The color picture on the front page of the Democrat-Gazette was powerful—a Pakistani man, up to his armpits in water, raising his arms in a prayer for help. We are there as a church, just as we are in Haiti, in Chile, in Indonesia, on the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast, in Cote D’Ivoire, in the Congo and dozens more places around the world. Our response to human need through UMCOR, and through our ongoing shared mission giving through apportionments, provides a powerful response to human need.
Tragically, there are those who try to take advantage of our generosity. After every natural disaster, I receive emails requesting aid from legitimate sounding organizations. But they are not legitimate. I received a number of requests from alleged church groups in Pakistan asking for help from the floods that are so devastating. Your church (or you individually!) may have received the same kinds of requests.
You and I need to be aware that in areas where we have no organized United Methodist Church, funds are given for disaster response to partner organizations that are transparent and accountable and have a track record of effectiveness.
In Pakistan, for instance, we work through Church World Service, The Church of Pakistan (Diocese of Peshawar), the ACT Alliance (a world-wide ecumenical organization), Muslim Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, and GlobalMedic. These are all trusted partners.
The first responsibility of every United Methodist church is to support in full the shared mission giving (apportionments) that provides the foundation for the rest of our outreach and mission. Through The Advance and through UMCOR, we respond to specific needs. Conference projects like the Congo water wells or the Russia Initiative (Moscow Theological Seminary) stand in need of our strong support.
Of course, local churches may support missionaries like our own Shanna Harrison in Chile through the General Board of Global Ministries. Arkansas Rice Depot and Camp Aldersgate are important local mission opportunities.
The key is for the mission project to be clear, transparent, accountable, and clearly in the spirit of Christ. If it is a United Methodist sponsored or endorsed project, it satisfies these requirements. Of course, each local church will have local mission projects as well. That is as it should be, but it is important to remember that together we are able to do far more than any one church can do by itself.
In this vein, I once had the question asked, “What have we gotten out of the apportionments?” Interesting, but it is the wrong question because it is based on a wrong assumption.
Our shared mission giving is not about us and what we get. It is all about what we provide for others and promote in mission and ministry for the Kingdom of God. It is not about what we get back. It is about what we make possible at home and around the world for the sake of Christ.
A wonderful new resource has been made available to your church by the Annual Conference and the Arkansas United Methodist Foundation: Sharing Together in Christ’s Name. It includes Bible studies for children, youth and adults, and worship resources that can help every congregation understand our shared United Methodist ministry. I trust each congregation will make good use of this excellent resource.
As opportunities arise, United Methodist people are among the most generous on earth. We have raised over $40 million for the disaster response work in Haiti. Enormous amounts of money were raised in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on our Gulf Coast. The responsible use of those funds is carefully noted. There is accountability.
Because we are the church, and have a wonderful “in house” delivery system, our overhead is extremely low. You can feel confident that your gift given through the United Methodist Church is going to the right place.
We respond to the prayer of the Pakistani man in the picture because it is the right thing to do. We do all this in the spirit of Christ who so generously gave himself for us.
Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity.
Faithfully,
Charles Crutchfield
