Volunteers

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.
Local Church
Members of Black River Falls United Methodist and community guests enjoy  “Dinner Church” on March 18 at the rural Wisconsin church. The weekly ministry, which is celebrating its second anniversary, has become a place where strangers become friends and a small congregation reimagines its mission. Photo by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim, UM News.

Around the table, a church finds new life in rural Wisconsin

A small-town United Methodist church in rural Wisconsin embraces community outreach by serving meals, building relationships and redefining what it means to be church.
Social Concerns
Ola Williams sorts through donated produce at the Willow Community Food Pantry in Willow, Alaska. Williams serves as director of the pantry, a ministry of Willow United Methodist Church. 2023 file photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Mission agency, churches work to fill gaps

The United Methodist Church’s mission agency is stepping up with grants to help fill food pantry shelves. Churches also are striving to support those going without pay during the shutdown.
Social Concerns
Volunteers bag apples at Neighbors Pantry at Anaheim United Methodist Church, about two miles from Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Like food pantries across the U.S., the United Methodist ministry has seen demand rise this year and is bracing for more with the suspension of SNAP benefits. Screengrab courtesy of the California-Pacific Conference via Vimeo by UM News.

Food ministries sound alarm on rising needs

Even before the federal shutdown, United Methodist ministries across the U.S. faced surging demands. With the suspension of federal food assistance, church pantries plan to step up. But they will need help.

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