50 years of turning faith into action

For 50 years, United Methodist Volunteers in Mission has sent ordinary people into extraordinary situations — building schools and churches, providing medical care, strengthening communities and helping families rebuild after disasters.

What began as a grassroots movement in 1976 has helped send more than half a million volunteers into mission, connecting them with partners locally, nationally and around the world. UM News reporter Lilla Marigza looks back on a half-century of service.

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Learn more about opportunities for individuals to serve internationally through UMVIM or the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Current mission team openings include Cameroon, Guatemala, Liberia, Mexico, Peru and Senegal.

UMVIM is actively developing the next generation of mission leaders by providing training and travel incentives for people under 35 through an initiative called Train 100.

Retirees can join NOMADS Mission Volunteers, who travel in RVs for projects across the United States.

Marigza is a multimedia producer for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.

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Disaster Relief
Volunteers from the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Management Office in the East Congo Episcopal Area supervise the sorting and distribution of food in the courtyard of Amani Parish in Goma, Congo. The monthly assistance program provided aid to 300 vulnerable United Methodist households affected by armed conflict in North Kivu. Photo by Jolie Shabani Mulebinge, UM News.

Church supports families affected by war in Congo

United Methodist Committee on Relief distributes monthly food kits to 300 vulnerable families and a church orphanage in Goma.
Evangelism
The Rev. Roslyn Lee poses with a costumed Robert Festa, while the Rev. Won Tack Lee snaps a photo. Festa is a volunteer at the Restless Souls Haunted House, a ministry of West Hills United Methodist Church on Long Island, N.Y. Photo by Lilla Margiza, UM News.

Haunted ministry welcomes ‘Restless Souls’

Restless Souls Haunted House is serving up scares with a purpose: See how a collaborative effort by four New York United Methodist churches turns Halloween thrills into a ministry that brings the community together.
Faith Sharing
Happy Thanksgiving from United Methodist News. Psalm 118:24. Photo by Jill Wellington, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media graphics from UM News

Graphic for Thanksgiving available to download and share on social media.

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