from Week of Compassion
From the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Disciples have worked together to meet the growing needs of this crisis.
This is the first time that a crisis has called for such a coordinated response from our General and Regional Ministries. While our financial ministries provide resources for congregations to navigate difficult times, other ministries offer spiritual and emotional care. Many have offered tech support and curriculum for online worship and faith development; others have provided support for relief efforts; and the OGMP landing page has an online space for important updates. In these and so many other ways, our leaders have been collaborating behind the scenes, working tirelessly to make sure that the Church has what it needs to thrive.
In this season of Pentecost, we celebrate the many gifts of the Church– stronger when gathered together in One Spirit of Love.
As our ministries coordinate to equip the Church for this season, Week of Compassion is working as part of this coordinated domestic response, while also supporting global partners in adapting ongoing work to meet new challenges. That work is more important now than ever. As the United States makes plans to begin lifting some restrictions, this illness is just beginning to spread in some communities around the world– including refugee camps, where social distancing is not possible. To ensure that critical work continues in these vulnerable places, the Week of Compassion Board of Stewards voted during their virtual meeting on May 27 to allocate up to $1.5 million in unrestricted funds for COVID-19 response. These funds will primarily support programs addressing food security and disease prevention through WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene). Visit Week of Compassion’s website to learn more about this global response.
Through Week of Compassion and other vital ministries that we share in together, our Church can reach even farther, and be present in even more places, during this time of great need. We are grateful to share in this work together with congregations, with our General Minister and President, and with the wider body of Christ at work in the world.