New Hope and Life

Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan receive food packages from the United Methodist Committee on Relief during a distribution in Tacloban, Philippines. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

By Rev. J. Denise Honeycutt
Deputy General Secretary, United Methodist Committe on Relief (UMCOR)

As an international humanitarian relief and development agency, “UMCOR works to strengthen and transform people and communities.” I love our vision statement. And the way we do it is by being with people in the midst of their suffering, in the midst of their crisis, in the midst of their finding themselves on the margins, for whatever reason. We seek to walk alongside those persons, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, because we know that what Jesus often did was to bring healing and hope. What we see in the very symbol of what it means to be Christian—the symbol of the cross—is that out of death and destruction, God brings life and new hope. And that’s what we seek—to partner with God in that new hope and life for people.