UMCOR

As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Committee on Relief – UMCOR – assists United Methodists and churches to become involved globally in direct ministry to persons in need. UMCOR comes alongside those who suffer from natural or human-caused disasters – famine, hurricane, war, flood, fire or other events—to alleviate suffering and serve as a source of help and hope for the vulnerable. UMCOR provides relief, response and long-term recovery grants when events overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on their own. UMCOR also provides technical support and training for partners to address emerging and ongoing issues related to disaster relief, recovery, and long-term health and development.

Current UMCOR Responses

Ukraine
Response
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U.S. Hurricane Response Learn More Donate
Latest International Disaster Response Learn More Donate
Latest U.S. Disaster Response Learn More Donate

Explore UMCOR

relief packages being distributed in a flooded area in DRC
Flood relief in Mitwaba, North Katanga, DRC. Partnered with the Disasataer Management office of the North Katanga Conference, an UMCOR solidarity grant provided relief for 990 people affected by the flood consisted or flour, beans, cooking oil, salt, pots, buckets, spoons with great joy and much appreciation to UMCOR. PHOTO: NORTH KATANGA DISASTER MANAGEMENT OFFICE
International Disaster Response

When a natural or human-caused disaster strikes outside of the U.S., UMCOR serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance.

pastor visiting with LA resident after Ida
The Rev. Danny Gleason (left) visits with Eugene Mogabgab at his home in Thibodaux, La., while a United Methodist volunteer team strips moldy building materials from a bedroom. The homes’s roof was damaged by Hurricane Ida in August 2021 and Mogabgab had been living in the home while rainwater leaked in for several months. Gleason is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Thibodaux. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
U.S. Disaster Response

UMCOR supports local efforts to accomplish immediate relief and long-term recovery while providing for volunteers to offer compassionate ministries in the aftermath of disasters.

children playing in makeshift camp
Children play at a makeshift camp in the Plaza de la República in Reynosa, Mexico. About 2,000 migrants, many from Central America, have taken up residence in the plaza, just yards away from the McAllen – Hidalgo International Bridge into the U.S.
Migration and Refugees

UMCOR’s global migration program helps refugees and migrants as well as the churches and ecumenical networks that assist them.

Volunteers at UMCOR Sager Brown pray the “Pallet Prayer” before loading a pallet of relief supplies ready for a disaster-affected community in the United States.
Relief Supplies

Relief supplies provide care for the most vulnerable following a disaster or during times of crisis. (U.S. only)

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Supply Network

UMCOR Sager Brown collaborates with affiliate warehouses within the United Methodist Relief Supply Network to distribute relief supplies. (U.S. only)

How we work

Originally founded in 1940 in response to displaced and vulnerable populations in the wake of World War II, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a ministry of The United Methodist Church through the General Board of Global Ministries. Our goal is to assist the most vulnerable people affected by crisis or chronic need without regard to their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. We believe all people have God-given worth and dignity.

Support our work

  • Pray: Our work is undergirded by the power of prayer – both in the hours after a disaster strikes and through recovery.
  • Make supply kits: Assemble relief supply kits to help keep UMCOR’s Relief Supplies Network ready to deliver goods in the hands of survivors (U.S. only)
  • Volunteer:  U.S. volunteer efforts are arranged through annual conferences; reach out to your conference disaster relief coordinator to learn more. 
  • Give:  To provide support where it is most needed, give to Advance #999895. To specifically support UMCOR’s international disaster response efforts, you can give to Advance 982450. To specifically support UMCOR’s U.S. disaster response efforts, you can give to Advance 901670.

To give by phone, call 1-888-252-6174 (credit card gifts accepted). To give by mail, make your check payable to Advance GCFA, write the name of the missionary or project and the Advance number on the memo line of the check and send it to:

Global Ministries/UMCOR
GPO
P.O. Box 9068
New York, NY 10087-9068

For questions about giving, please email donationhelp@umcmission.org.

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News and Stories View All
How UMCOR partners with U.S. annual conferences opens a new window

Hear from conference disaster response coordinators on what their partnership with UMCOR means to them.

A ministry of prayer and presence in the Middle East

As human attempts to stop the war in Gaza continue, Palestinians ask Christians to pray, believing that God will find a way forward even when the path is not clear.

Mexican Methodists respond to climate crisis opens a new window

UMCOR’s grant to the Methodist Church of Mexico is assisting communities in Acapulco devastated by October 2023’s Hurricane Otis.