Dear HUM friends,
Explosive population growth, climatic changes, shrinking natural resources, health epidemics of massive proportions, drug-resistant viruses and bacteria, earthquakes in China, cyclones in Myanmar, tornadoes in the Midwest!
These are headline stories in just the past few weeks. It's enough to make us feel helpless, hopeless, without direction. We see victims of natural disasters, human exploitation and abuse, war and violence at every turn.
Yet, even in similarly dangerous and threatening times, the Psalmist was able to write, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1)
Was life easier or safer in most other times of history or in almost any other part of the world than it is here today? We study and remember countless stories of real-life individual and massive tragedy.
"In the midst of life, we are in death; from whom can we seek help?"
"Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth." (Ps 124:8)
The United Methodist Church continues to be a world leader in providing help and relief in times of major crisis. A recent United Methodist News Service (UMNS) reports:
A United Methodist-supported relief team has been assessing the needs of earthquake survivors in several Chinese villages and distributing emergency supplies.
On May 21, the Amity Foundation team distributed 6.8 tons of oil and 1700 quilts in the villages of Penghua and Wolong. According to a report from She Hongyu, Amity's overseas liaison, other materials such as waterprooof cloths and rice were being purchased.
"Villagers were quite surprised at the speedy action as the need assessment was only done yesterday in these two villages," She wrote. "Villagers took active part in the distribution by helping unloading the goods and putting up the Amity banner."
We are a church in mission to the world. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a powerful witness for Christ in all parts of the world where disasters strike.
Your apportionments and special mission giving work together with those of hundreds of thousands of UMC congregations to do work that no single church can ever do alone. It is difficult to see the healing and hope we provide when we give money, through the church, that goes outside our communities, but the unseen hand of the Great Healer is upon those we touch and is felt very deeply.
To paraphrase one author, God "never promised us a rose garden." But he did promise to be in the garden, to nourish the roses, to provide the sunlight, to scatter the rain, to provide a place for the roots to grow deep.
God is with the faithful in good times and bad.
Pray and work for all God's creation!
Pastor Ron
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Howland United Methodist Church