During Annual Conference 2013 in a partnership ministry of the NC Conference United Methodist Women, Church and Society, and the Mission Team, we will be collecting UMCOR Birthing Kits.

Every 90 seconds a woman somewhere in the world dies from complications during pregnancy or childbirth.  356,000 women die every year, most of the deaths occurring in the developing world. Annually 4 million infants die within a month of being born.  When a mother dies, it dramatically increases the risk of death for her baby.  Birthing kits provide the essential items to promote a safe, clean delivery and to encourage good after care.  Using a birthing kit can double a woman’s chance of surviving the birth.

All are invited and all can participate in this life-giving ministry – youth groups, Sunday school classes, small groups, UMW Circles, UMM groups, and individuals.  Please follow the instructions below and join us in the name of Christ, as through these small gifts, we share the love of Jesus and bring health and hope and joy into the spaces that would otherwise have only contained the tears of mourning and the sounds of death.

A collection point will be available where you can drop off your kits at Annual Conference 2013 in the Greenville Convention Center, 303 SW Greenville Blvd., Greenville, North Carolina on June 12-15, 2013.   Once you are on the Convention Center campus, look for the signs.

Following Annual Conference in the early fall, we will continue to need your hands and hearts in ministry.  We have set aside three other dates for sorting and shipping the birthing kits – September 21, 27, and 28th.  Please hold these dates open on your calendar.  We will soon have information on the location for the work of shipping and sorting.

Birthing Kit Instructions, Video, & Mary’s Advent are below: Read more »

Calls for Prayers, Peace, and Humanitarian Aid in Eastern Congo

United Methodist Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda (front left) testifies before a U.S. House foreign affairs subcommittee asking the U.S. government to help end conflict in eastern Congo. Seated with Ntambo are Mark Schneider (center) and Jason Stearns. UMNS photos by Jay Mallin

“This is a wake up cry we express at this moment…war atrocities are now hitting home in this part of our Episcopal area,” wrote Bishop Gabriel Unda Yemba, who leads the East Congo Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church.

Over the last two decades, there have been few places on earth that have experienced the level of violence and death as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.   Many of our fellow United Methodist brothers and sisters have suffered an ongoing nightmare of the carnage of war — burning, bombs, bullets, rape, and mutilation.  Please hold them all in prayer.  Pray that peace will prevail.  Pray that leaders will find wisdom and compassion.  Pray for the safety of all, especially the most vulnerable – the women, children, and elderly.  Pray for a change in the hearts and souls of those who would perpetrate such horror.  Pray for the intervention of God’s saving Spirit.  And pray that we will have the eyes to see and the will to act where and when we can.

One such way we can respond is through our United Methodist Committee on Relief and the Congo (DRC) Emergency as we work in partnership with the United Methodist Church in the Congo to provide aid, hope, and comfort for the victims if this ongoing war.  You can make a donation here.  

You can also make a donation through your local United Methodist church offering by simply noting on your offering envelop or check, Congo Emergency – Advance #198400.

Additionally, you can mail your gift to:
NC Conference, PO Box 60053, Charlotte, NC 28260.

Make check payable to:
NC Conference – Congo Emergency #198400

100% of your gift will go to our emergency work in the Congo.

For more information about our ministry in the Congo, please see United Methodists in DR Congo
Read a blog by Linda Bloom, United Methodist News staff writer – Goma once more needs reason to hope.

Young woman prepares a meal at the Brighter Future Children’s Rescue Center where young folks train for a future job and sustainability.

Frido Kinkolenge is a Global Ministry Missionary serving in Liberia.  Frido serves some of the most vulnerable children, youth, and young adults in the world.  When Frido began his work, a civil war was raging around the country.  Seeing that it was children who were doing much of the fighting, killing, and dying, he began an outreach ministry of life that eventually became a multi-faceted ministry of empowerment and training for life.  Frido, helped children escape the hell of war and death, by loving them and introducing them to a relationship with the Lord of Peace.  But then, as Frido noted, “The future of Liberia is now,” he began building a skills development ministry of education and empowerment.  If the children were to survive, it would not be on prayers alone.  Connected with those prayers had to be a real and tangible process of education and training.  They also needed skills and jobs so that they could sustain themselves.  Thus, was birthed the ministries of Brighter Future Children Rescue Center, My Daughter’s House, and Feed the Lambs.

Frido teaching the children.

Frido offers us a missionary newsletter and stories of life that will sure to inspire and bring you life.  Please join Frido in this amazing work.  You can support him as a missionary or provide funding for his work.  He can’t do it alone.  Be a partner, be life, be hope, be the hands and feet and voice and heart of Jesus.

Job Title:  Program Coordinator

Position Hours: This part-time (24 hours per week) administrative position offers the chance to work for an organization making a real impact among some of the most vulnerable children in the world, and has some flexibility as to when hours are worked.  The person filling this position is expected to attend staff meetings as necessary and other occasional meetings at the ZOE offices in Garner, NC.

About ZOE Ministry:
Moving beyond traditional relief ministry, ZOE provides a comprehensive approach to transforming the lives of African children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, war, disease, famine and other causes. The results are striking: within three years, the children and youth who participate in ZOE’s Orphan Empowerment Program are self-sufficient, never needing to depend on charity again. Read more »

Every 45 seconds, a child in Africa dies of malaria. Millions of lives, needlessly lost each year. A continent. Entire nations…slipping away. Slipping through life’s precious net. Unless you hear the buzzing inside you.  Just Imagine …

It’s time we all join hands with Africa | On a personal mission to heal | Imagine no malaria | Then make it real. | Over a million lives, we’re gonna save | But only if you get involved today. | The bednets have been cast | But people can’t slip through | Listen to the buzz inside of you.  Be part of the Dream … be part of the Solution … be part of the work of Jesus! 

10-Fold!

Items to be collected at Annual Conference 2011 – follow this link!

The people of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church have a long history with the people of Liberia.  It was in 1833 that Rev. Melville Cox, a NC Conference clergy member, landed in Africa as the first United Methodist missionary to Africa and began to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.    At Annual Conference 2011, you will have the opportunity to join with our many United Methodists family of North Carolina who have gone before us as we collect and ship desperately needed health, education, and empowering items to Liberia.   Bring your items and look for the Love for Liberia signs.    Here is a listing of items being collected.

ZOE Ministry has a handful of slots open on two upcoming mission trips to Rwanda:

The trips will cost approximately $3,200 and will introduce missioners to ZOE’s remarkable orphan empowerment project.  This project equips orphans to live self-reliant, faith-filled lives within three years, thus breaking the cycles of poverty and dependency.

___________________________________________________________________________________

10-Fold April – Healthcare Initiatives in Africa

”My work with Health and Welfare has taught me not to underestimate the resilience of women and men however adverse their condition may be.” —Dr. Cherian Thomas, Director of Health Ministries for UMCOR.

Help spread the word to your districts and congregations that the next 10-Fold online event on April 10th will focus on United Methodist Church healthcare initiatives in Africa.

Main Woman's Ward at Ganta United Methodist Hosital

In many parts of the world, getting to healthcare when it is needed is not always possible. This is a challenge that The United Methodist Church has stepped in to meet. In Africa, UMC missionaries are working with communities to build hospitals and train volunteers to spread information about good health. Being proactive is the best way to prevent the need for hospital care.

UMCOR programs, sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries and supported by dollars raised through The Advance, are helping to make healthcare attainable, accessible, and sustainable in the US and around the world.

Here are the details you can use in church announcements:

On Sunday, April 10th, throughout the day, Dr. Cherian Thomas, Director of Health Ministries for UMCOR, and missionaries stationed in Africa will provide an inside look at the work being done to promote good health in communities that don’t have easy access to medical care. There will be a live update at 12:00 p.m. ET, with an opportunity to ask questions. You can also chat throughout the day with others who are interested in these projects.

To participate in this online event, go to www.10-fold.org/live.

Don’t forget, while visiting 10-Fold.org, with one simple click of the mouse it is Read more »

From Rev. James Labala in Liberia – Ivory Coast Refugee Crisis:

My dear friends and partners:

As some of you may know by now, there is fighting going on in the Ivory Coast. Gompa District has common boundary with the Ivory Coast. Right now more than 100,000 refugees have crossed over into Liberia. Our supervising pastor in the Gborplay area reported to us during our district planning retreat that the entire area is overcrowded with refugees. The burdens are so much on our local members and the communities. We decided that all of our local churches in Gompa District take a special offering on the first Sunday in April to help provide some relief for our brothers and sisters in the Gborplay Area.

As our partners in ministry, we invite you to pray along with us as we initiate this effort to provide some support for our brothers and sisters in the name of Christ. As the body of Christ, we are called to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and welcome the strangers…

Thanks so much for your support.

Blessings,
James Z. Labala
District Superintendent
Gompa District, Liberia

You can join in partnership with our Brothers and Sisters in Liberia by making an on-line donation or through the Advance Giving Ministry.   Please don’t wait.  The need is now.  100% of your gift will go to ministry in Liberia.

You are invited to participate in Love for Liberia – Change the World Day!

The Love for Liberia focus for January – June 2011 is the Ganta United Methodist Mission Hospital/community health ministry and the mission station schools.  You are invited to participate in supporting these critical ministries through the collection of critical items needed by Ganta medical providers and patients, and school teachers and students.

Please see the Quarterly Focus for Love for Liberia.  This page will provide a full list of ministry opportunities – hands and hearts, collection, mission trip opportunity, and prayer requests.

We are collecting:

• Collect School Kits for Students- Click here for items and instructions (Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)
• Collect a health kit for patients served by Ganta Hospital and the Community Health Ministry(Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)
• Collect a birthing kit for mothers being served by Ganta Hospital and the Community Health Ministry (Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)
• Medical Supply Kits (Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)
• Collect Story Books for Children and Age-Appropriate Bibles (Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)
• Teacher resources and Equipping Classrooms (Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)
• Donate High School Physics, Chemistry, Zoology books and dictionaries for library. (Collection to be carried to MERCI Center on May 14 – Volunteers needed at MERCI.)

There is also an upcoming opportunity for joining a medical and educational mission team to Liberia.

• Join a teaching/medical mission Team

You are also invited to participate at MERCI on May 14 for the shipment day.
Your District Mission Secretary will soon have more information to your regarding collection points and volunteer opportunities. Stay-tuned to the Love for Liberia First Quarter Page for more information!