LINDA UNGER
United Methodist Committee on Relief
Following days of civil unrest in Baltimore, United Methodist churches there are seeking to be present to still-unfolding needs in the communities. An emergency grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) will help them be a resource for dialogue, peace, and healing.
UMCOR relief/supply kits are offering basic necessities to Baltimore residents touched by the unrest in the city. ~Facebook photo
“What we want to do as a church here is to be present, to be that hope and that light, because there are some dark places in the community,” said Rev. Joan Carter-Rimbach, who heads United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) for the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Carter-Rimbach said the UMCOR grant will help Baltimore churches keep their doors open, so “people can come in and not only get some immediate assistance with physical needs but for spiritual and emotional needs as well.”
After the death of Freddie Gray, 25, in police custody, days of peaceful demonstrations turned briefly but intensely violent last Monday. United Methodist churches joined other houses of worship in keeping their doors open for all in need, and clergy joined demonstrators in peaceful protest.
When classes were cancelled on Tuesday, United Methodist churches remained open to feed and care for school children who depended on school lunches.
On Friday, the state attorney of Baltimore, Marilyn J. Mosby, said Gray’s death had been ruled a homicide, news reports indicated.
Ready to partner
“UMCOR is looking forward to partnering with the Baltimore-Washington Conference to address issues arising from—and underlying—the civil protests, providing especially for children and young people,” said Greg Forrester, UMCOR executive in charge of U.S. Disaster Response.
“We will partner in any way we can as the churches respond to the needs of their communities,” he said.
Besides the emergency grant, UMCOR also already has facilitated the shipment of relief-supply kits to Baltimore churches. A total of 1,000 health kits, 500 layette kits, and 500 school kits were on their way Thursday afternoon and will be distributed from three Baltimore churches.
“People are unemployed because of the recent destruction or their incomes have been reduced due to the curfew,” which went into effect on April 28, Forrester said. “The relief-supply kits provide some very basic things they need, so they can use their limited resources for other things.”
Always prepared
Even before the event, Forrester noted, mission leaders of the Baltimore-Washington Conference had taken advantage of a recent training in emotional and spiritual care and community outreach that UMCOR offered at the jurisdictional level.
“They were prepared,” he said. “And now they’re finding new ways to apply what they learned in the current circumstances.”
One such creative application might well be the promotion of opportunities for dialogue, which Carter-Rimbach foresaw on various levels—within the communities, with the city government, and with law enforcement.
“That has to happen,” she said. “The church is a wonderful place to bring different groups together. It is a safe place, and so it’s a great opportunity for the church, and the [UMCOR] grant will certainly be able to help us do that,” she added, as she also asked for continued prayers for the people of Baltimore.
“We’re excited to be part of a church that is indeed a connectional church,” she said. “We’re excited to receive this grant and to utilize it, because it’s not just the Baltimore-Washington Conference who is responding in this time of need but it is our whole church through this grant.”
Your gift to UMCOR U.S. Disaster Response, Advance #901670, allows UMCOR to support the church’s presence in times of civil unrest or natural disasters.
Last Updated on February 2, 2024