NEWS FROM UMCOR DEPOT SALT LAKE CITY; HAITI VOLUNTEER INFO FROM FROM INTERIM HEAD OF GLOBAL MINISTRIES

NEWS FROM BRIAN DIGGS - UMCOR DEPOT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Dear Friends,

I am writing on behalf of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s UMCOR West Office and Depot which has been in operation since June 1, of 2009. We are a ministry that gathers, assembles, and sends disaster relief kits all round the world to the most vulnerable of populations. Along with UMCOR Sager Brown, UMCOR West is the second disaster relief depot. Except for Alaska and Hawaii, every western state has sent a work teams to UMCOR West to participate in our important ministry. You can find out more about our mission by going to UMCOR.org.

This last week has been particularly difficult for all of the UMCOR staff as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. As you may know, the Rev. Sam Dixon who was the head of UMCOR, along with the Rev. Clinton Rabb, head of mission volunteers, were killed in the earthquake. Your prayers for the UMCOR staff, the families of Rev. Dixon and Rev. Rabb, and for the people of Haiti are coveted during this grieving process.

On a more positive note, the people of Utah have responded powerfully to the call to help the people of Haiti. We have been working with hundreds of volunteers to assemble and send aid to the people of Haiti. Our first shipment of around 23,000 health kits will be sent from our warehouse in a few days!

As a result of this tremendous volunteer response, we are now running critically low on our disaster relief materials and we call on you to help. If you would like to help restock our warehouse in preparation for more supplies being sent to Haiti and other destinations you can:

Give financially through the Advance (gbgm-umc.org/Advance/ ) which is a powerful giving program in United Methodist Church. One hundred percent of the money donated goes toward the project you pick. Each mission project is assigned a number. The Advance number for both UMCOR West and UMCOR Sager Brown – our two UMCOR Depots – is #901440.

Consider putting together disaster relief kits at your home church. All of the information to assemble kits can be found at www.umcor.org. If you choose to make kits at your home church we ask that you please focus on two kits, the Health Kit and Layette Kit. They can be sent to UMCOR West, 1479S 700W, Salt Lake City, UT, 84104. .

Thank you so much for your support and faithfulness! It is the work of United Methodists like you that makes a difference in the lives of people around the globe.

Sincerely,

Rev. Brian Diggs, Director UMCOR West Office and Depot

REQUEST FROM BISHOP JOEL MARTINEZ REGARDING HAITI VOLUNTEERS

This is a follow-up to an earlier memo in which I said that the time was not right for sending volunteer teams, or even individual volunteers, into Haiti for post-earthquake service.

I am here repeating that request with renewed emphasis.
We know that the church seeks to respond to the great crisis in Haiti. We are in touch with many persons and groups wanting to reach out in tangible ways to provide relief for suffering people there. We have already received an outpouring of inquiries and offers for volunteers to provide a variety of services.

While we are encouraged by this spirit of support, we strongly advise that teams and others not set out for Haiti at this time. There will be great need for short-term and long-term volunteer mission groups in due course—for
medical care, rebuilding, and responses to many other needs. However, the current state of Haiti is not conducive to the safety and welfare of the volunteers; security is a major concern; infrastructures are shattered. There is little access to water, power, fuel, and even roads.

An UMCOR Team is on the ground, coordinating with relief partners on appropriate courses of action. As you know, the United Nations (representing government) and the Red Cross go into to massive disaster areas first. This is long-established international protocol. Church-related and other relief organizations follow. Objectives of our initial team include the assessment and organization
for the reception of volunteers.

In collaboration with jurisdictional coordinators of UMVIM, we are making a registry of potential individual volunteers and teams. The time for volunteers will come and their assistance will be
crucial.

In the meantime, the best way for congregations and individuals to respond to the Haiti crisis is by supporting the work of UMCOR. Not only are funds needed but also health kits. Please direct persons to http://umcorhaiti.org/.

I will be glad to receive your questions arising from this memo, and I pledge to keep you informed on our relief operations in Haiti.

Volunteers Needed to Serve in Cuba; New UMCOR Depot in Salt Lake City; & UMCOR/UMVIM Gathering in Mexico City

Photos: Rev. Willie Berman at UMCOR/UMVIM Gathering in Mexico City (top) & Rev. Brian Diggs new head of UMCOR Depot in Salt Lake City, UT (bottom).

CALLED TO SERVE IN CUBA? UMVIM TRIP: SPEND YOUR 4TH OF JULY HELPING OTHERS!

Team of 12 from all over the USA will work on the Methodist Seminary in Havana, Cuba. 3 spaces remain! Trip is scheduled for July 2-13, 2009. Cost is approximately $2100 plus cost of trip to Miami. Deadline for Visa Application and deposit of $300 is due April 15. For additional information, contact Rev. Vicki Walker at vwalker@hydeparkumc.org or (813) 253-5388 and your UMVIM Conference Coordinator.

UMCOR NOW ALSO LOCATED IN THE WESTERN JURISDICTION

Most United Methodists have heard of Sager Brown. Sager Brown is the UMCOR depot in Baldwin, LA. Whenever you and/or your church puts together health kits, layette kits, school kits, Flood Bucket/Clean-Up kits, etc. they get sent to Sager Brown. This is where they are held until they are shipped out all over the country and the world as needed.

Now, UMCOR has a new depot in the Western Jurisdiction located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is headed by Rev. Brian Diggs (pictured above, second photo from the top) and will serve in expanding UMCOR's kit ministry.

Want to go and volunteer? The Western Jurisdiction Office is ready to put volunteers to work painting and cleaning as they prepare the 25,000 square foot warehouse for business. Those interested in volunteering can contact Rev. Diggs by phone or email. Phone: 801-973-7250Phone/Fax: 801-973-7290Email: WestDepot@UMCOR.org

Latin American, Caribbean and US Churches Explore New Ways of Being in Mission Together
by UMCOR

More than 100 Methodist leaders from Latin America, Caribbean and the United States gathered in Mexico City, March 24-27, to strengthen relationships through sending and receiving volunteers and when responding to local disasters. The four-day gathering, brought together by Global Ministries' Mission Contexts and Relationships, was marked by honest dialog across borders and cultures to strengthen understanding and partnership when engaging in mission together.

"We need to extend our hands to each other," said Rev. Juan de Dios Peña, from El Salvador regarding the need for Latin American and Caribbean countries to be senders as well as receivers of volunteer missionaries. Rev. De Dios acknowledged the economic challenges faced by many Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean (CIEMAL) and Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) churches and also gave examples of how these have been overcome in his own and other countries in the region..
Sharing of models for volunteer sending and disaster response within the United States was part of the consultation that was led by United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Ways to adapt these models for the various cultural contexts were invited.

"United we can achieve much more," said Bishop Moisés Valderrama Gómez of Mexico, and president of CIEMAL. "We can do what God wants to do through our hands not just as volunteers working in Latin America, but all of us as part of the same church."
The idea for the consultation was born out of a pre-General Conference meeting in Panama when the need to develop volunteer coordinators and leaders within Latin American was raised.
Bishop Valderrama was one of the driving forces behind the consultation, "This is not the result of one individual," said Bishop Valderama of the consultation. "God is calling all of us together."
The meeting brought together volunteer coordinators and bishops from the entire region to explore new ways of doing mission. "This is especially important because Latin America suffers many disasters," said Joyce Torres Placa, general secretary of CIEMAL regarding the disaster response training that was led by UMCOR and Mission Volunteers and resourced by Mission Contexts and Relationships.

In addition to the goal of building the capacity of Latin American and Caribbean churches to respond to disaster was providing assistance for them to send as well as receive volunteer teams, "This event is bringing us together and I trust our future work together will produce good fruits-to not only receive volunteers, but to send them as well," commented Bishop Valderrama.