Opinion pieces and announcements from Billie Fidlin, Director of Justice & Outreach Ministries.
During the most recent Sessions meeting (planning body for Annual Conference), members agreed that this year’s mission project would focus on support for churches engaged in asylum and border mission. In the coming weeks we will announce items that may be donated to one or two organizations who work in this same area.
We have the final accounting of donations turned in to our Conference Treasurer, Matt Kuss, for the 2023 Mission Projects. You'll remember we had three areas of focus this year: Ukraine Relief, RIP Medical Debt, and Disaster Relief for Turkey/Syria. Our grand...
Sometimes our teams and ministry groups need just a bit of help organizing and planning details to implement a project, event, or even long-term goals. Join me for an hour training on the organizational tool called a logic model. This planning map helps one to...
Safer Sanctuaries: Nurturing Trust within Faith Communities, released on May 1, 2023, from Discipleship Resources, an imprint of The Upper Room. This new and comprehensive resource continues the tradition of Safe Sanctuaries by building on the trusted policies and...
One of the most valuable publications our denomination has is the UM News Daily Digest. Content covers a wide range of news from a global perspective, and the online edition from Thursday, April 27th was no exception. This issue includes an update article on...
On April 16th, CBS Sunday Morning ran an excellent piece on RIP Medical Debt. As their intro narrative states: "At any time, one in five American households bears medical debt, the cause in a majority of U.S. bankruptcies. Since 2014, the charity RIP Medical Debt...
As I began to write this article, the phrase “war torn” came to mind. According to the Oxford Dictionary, war-torn is defined as: (of a place) racked or devastated by war. The Encyclopedia Britannica (yes… it's still around but online) states: very badly harmed or...
Desert Skies UMC shares their experience regarding RIP Medical Debt. Share this overview of Desert Skies' experience to date in your church news about the Annual Conference Mission Project.
The Desert Southwest Conference, in partnership with the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation, is taking applications for the Long Journey Scholarship. This scholarship program recognizes DACA / undocumented students who have demonstrated exceptional...
The Department of Homeland Security has opened applications for NGOs and other non-profits to apply for new funds ($350 million) in the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. Here is the link to...
