When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34 (NIV)
Hospitality is a central tenet of the Judeo-Christian faith. In Old Testament stories, God offers protection to wanderers through God’s own people, who open their doors to share compassion, food, drink and shelter.
Jesus was well aware of and practiced in these stories of his faith, and he interpreted them in new ways, giving his disciples and followers further guidance about whom they should count as their neighbor, like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), and what they should do to welcome the strangers they meet (Matthew 25:35-46).
In 1940, the Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief (MCOR) was founded to mobilize Methodists to care for the growing number of refugees and displaced populations in Asia during World War II (MCOR would become the United Methodist Committee on Relief, or UMCOR, in 1968). After the war, the agency joined with other faith communities and global partners to provide humanitarian aid for Europe’s displaced and suffering war survivors.
The need to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and other displaced migrants has not abated since UMCOR’s founding. Today, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports 117.3 million people are forcibly displaced from their homes globally, more people than at any time since World War II.
“We are living in a time of unprecedented displacement, and the call to respond cannot wait,” said Roland Fernandes, general secretary of UMCOR, Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry. “Our ability to make a meaningful impact depends on strong partnerships – with local congregations, global agencies and ecumenical allies – working together to ensure that migrants are met with dignity, safety and hope.”
Support Increased for Migration Ministries in 2025
Most years, UMCOR, a unit of Global Ministries, has a budget for global migration grants of about $1 million that generally support agencies, church ministries and other nonprofits around the world that respond to different aspects of migrant care: receiving, caring for, resettling, training, sheltering, feeding, finding jobs for and reuniting migrants with family members.
But 2025 has not been like most years. In total, almost $6.3 million in 226 grants was dispersed this year. More than $3.2 million has been dedicated to providing bridge funding for partners that suddenly lost funding provided by the U.S. government, internationally from the defunding of USAID but also from the loss of U.S. Refugee Admission Program funding for refugee resettlement and from most programs previously funded by the Bureau of Population, Migration and Refugees under the U.S. State Department.
“We actively seek to engage with the United Nations and ecumenical bodies as, together, we strive to promote policies that care for the safety, dignity and voice of migrants,” notes the Rev. Jack Amick, director of UMCOR’s Global Migration unit. “We are also trying to be very intentional about being supportive and present when other entities of the UMC come together to work on migration issues.”
Your Donations Help
Your gifts on UMCOR Sunday helps support the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) so that they can provide lifesaving grants to people suffering from disasters around the world.
excerpt from a story by Christie R. House, senior writer/editor, General Board of Global Ministries
This story shows the impact of UMCOR Sunday—one of six United Methodist Special Sundays with offerings—to ensure that help and hope reach those in crisis. Your gifts cover the administrative costs of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), so that 100% of other donations can go directly to disaster response and humanitarian aid. Together, we make it possible for the Church to respond swiftly and faithfully when the world needs care most.
When you give generously on UMCOR Sunday, you sustain the ministry that enables the Church to bring God’s love and practical help to disaster-stricken communities.
