disaster response

Heavy rains accompanied by balls of ice destroyed the roof of Kuziva Stephen Makunike’s home during the Oct. 5 storm that swept through Masvingo town in southeastern Zimbabwe. Estimates were yet to be made, but church members believe property damaged will need thousands of dollars to repair and rebuild. Photo by Pastor Samuel Maunga, UM News.

Zimbabwe hailstorm destroys churches, homes

United Methodists in Masvingo town are counting their losses after a severe hailstorm smashed church properties and members’ homes.

Mission and Ministry

A member of a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Disaster Response Team from Virginia works to clear a flood-damaged home in Western North Carolina during the days following Hurricane Helene in 2024. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

50 years of turning faith into action

From disaster zones to mission fields around the world, United Methodist Volunteers in Mission marks a half-century of making a difference.

Disaster Relief

Moïse Mwango Numbalanga (center in white shirt), coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Management Office in the Bukavu District, walks through the field of ruins in the Irambo neighborhood in Bukavu, Congo, to speak with United Methodist disaster survivors. More than 70 households from Ibanda United Methodist Church lost everything in the overnight fire. Photo courtesy of the Disaster Management Office of the East Congo Episcopal Area.

United Methodists lose homes in Congo fire

In a region already hit by insecurity and an Ebola outbreak, The United Methodist Church is scrambling to shelter those left homeless and assessing other needs.

Faith Stories

Remembering 9/11 at John Street church

A longtime member and church trustee looks back on visiting the United Methodist church in Lower Manhattan on the day of the Sept. 11 attacks and how United Methodists responded.

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