Today, we celebrate
Human Relations Day, one of 6 Special Sundays in the United Methodist
Church. Your generosity today enables the UMC to nurture at-risk youth,
strengthen communities’ self-improvement efforts and advocate for those on the
margins.
Here’s but one of many stories of the impact of your giving
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As 85-year-old Emma Wooten’s home began to fall apart around
her, she turned to God for help. Her house was in dire need of repair. She had
tried to insulate her water-damaged walls with cereal boxes. Ceilings buckled
under a leaky roof. Electrical wiring was unsafe. She jotted down her prayers
and placed them in her Bible. She prayed over the list and asked God to
provide.
Thanks to Partners in Ministry (PIM), her prayers were
answered. A team from Canaan UMC in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, showed up at
her doorstep with the tools and time needed to repair her dilapidated home.
While God answered the octogenarian’s prayers, the PIM
mission team also benefited. “The team and our coordinators were extremely
blessed by Emma’s love, thankfulness and faith in God,” said the Rev. Anna
Troy, outreach coordinator for Partners in Ministry, a Human Relations Day
Sunday Grant recipient.
In addition to helping with home repairs for the elderly,
disabled and others in need, the ministry sows community gardens, provides
after-school programs for at-risk youth and serves as a resource center for
families in the Scotland, Robeson and Richmond areas of North Carolina.
“Within each of these ministries, education is a key
component,” said Troy, “so that the person (or persons) in the programs are
better equipped to work their way out of difficult situations.”
PIM’s after-school program focuses on STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum and offers instruction and
activities to enhance learning. As part of the group’s YES (Youth Empowered to
Succeed) program, at-risk high school students take part in work experiences
and classes to help prepare them for full-time jobs, secondary education or the
military after graduation, Troy said. “The assistance the children and youth
receive will equip them with necessary skills to improve their lives as well as
that of their families and communities,” she said.
In 2015-16, PIM mentored more than 300 children, fed over
4,000 families and provided urgent home repairs to more than 40 families.
In addition to meeting physical needs in the community, the
ministry also is molding spiritual needs. “Each person on staff sees their job
as a ministry....
With Christ’s light showing through each of them, those who
come through the doors are immediately engaged in conversation, receiving hope
and love in their time of need,” Troy said.
“We recognize that while we will not know the exact thoughts and changes
that happen within a person and their relationship with God, we are there to
help nurture that relationship so that others may see God through them, too.” Troy
says the resources that PIM received from Human Relations Day Sunday have
helped to sustain the ministry, allowing them to increase services to those in need.
“God’s vision is being fulfilled in the lives of those needs in the community.
We are here to connect with the people through being disciples of Jesus Christ in
spreading God’s work throughout our communities.”