Feb. 24, 2005
By Elliott Wright* NEW
YORK (UMNS) — A total of $15 million has been contributed to the United
Methodist Committee on Relief for post-tsunami recovery work in the
Indian Ocean region. “We
are extremely pleased, but we are not surprised,” said Roland
Fernandes, treasurer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries,
which is UMCOR’s parent organization. “United Methodists are known for
their generosity in times of great human distress.”
On
Dec. 26, massive tidal waves, set off by an underwater earthquake,
devastated large land areas around the Indian Ocean. The nations of Sri
Lanka and Indonesia were hit hardest. Contributions began arriving at
UMCOR the next day and have not stopped.
The $15 million
figure, as of Feb. 23, includes donations from all sources—credit cards,
checks sent directly to the agency and money channeled through annual
(regional) conferences of the denomination. Fernandes
said the tabulation of tsunami gifts is slowed by the necessity of
keeping that money separate from funds contributed to UMCOR’s many other
projects. Contributions
for tsunami relief and rehabilitation can be made in a variety of ways.
Gifts may be placed in the offering plate of any United Methodist
church or sent to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY
10115. Designate the contribution for “Advance #274305, South Asia
Emergency.” For credit-card donations, call (800) 554-8583 or go to
MethodistRelief.org, which uses a secure server. *Wright is the public information officer for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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