For many years the word UMCOR conjured in the minds of many … earthquake, flood and fire. But today UMCOR is taking a broader view of “disaster.”
Risk reduction is now a focus. And the emphasis is away from “victims of disaster” and toward respect for the dignity and cultural context of those in crisis.

“From a faith-based perspective, Jesus changed the whole balance of power dynamics, ” says UMCOR’s chief executive the Rev. Dr. Denise Honeycutt. “Many of UMCOR’s partners are small, church-based United Methodist entities. They look at their disaster relief work as ‘giving something’ to those in need—the church being in a position of power to give relief to poor people,” she continues. But UMCOR now teaches a different perspective. “The people we aid are individuals who are entitled to dignity, protection, and the basic necessities of life. We, as the church, must provide these. We don’t approach the work from a place of superiority and power but from a place of humility. This changes the dynamics of power. It empowers not us but the people affected by the disaster,” Honeycutt concludes.

A small group of staff members from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has been moving across the globe over the last year with the intention of changing the ways in which the church thinks about and carries out its disaster response ministry. Gathering together regional groups of key faith leaders who have been involved in various kinds of responses over the years, UMCOR has designed a week-long Disaster Response and Disaster Risk Reduction workshop that reaches beyond the “how-tos” of response work to the deeper questions of why the church engages in this work and ways that well-meaning faith leaders can better meet international standards.

So far, regional training has taken place in Chile, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and, most recently, Germany. One more training session is planned—in the Caribbean early in 2016.

“When there’s a disaster somewhere in the world, UMCOR doesn’t just pick up and go to that place to respond,” explained Rev. Jack Amick, who leads the International Disaster Response (IDR) work. “Instead, we channel funds to qualified partners on the ground who know the affected people, their culture and environment, and who are well-versed in the core humanitarian standards of international disaster response.” Amick believes the training sessions have increased understanding toward doing good better.  “Ultimately,” he said, “we hope these regional trainings will so enable our church partners that their responses to emergencies can happen more quickly and still be of high quality.”

“UMCOR seeks to increase the global capacity of local entities to manage emergencies in ways that are consistent with best practices and that support and uphold the rights and dignity of impacted populations,” said UMCOR’s former IDR Manager, Francesco Paganini. “In many contexts, local organizations, like the church, are the ones that respond to needs. By increasing their ability to do it well, UMCOR not only ensures that survivors aren’t hurt by aid but also builds up local, sustainable, culturally appropriate ways of helping the most vulnerable.”

Read more in this feature article by Christie House, editor of New World Outlook.

Last Updated on December 29, 2022