You have given money for UMCOR to provide clean water. You have given blankets for Church World Service distribution.  You made and ate soup to benefit Haiti Hot Lunch. And now you have participated in an effort that is sending 829 health kits to Haiti.

Thank you, Central! On Blanket Sunday you contributed $850. That means that 170 blankets will be purchased by Church World Service for use in Haiti for warmth and shelter.  This is especially helpful during the rainy season as people try to keep warm and dry in tent cities.

The special UMCOR offering for the Haiti Emergency has topped $5,000. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is using those funds to turn muddy rivers into clean drinking water through purification powder. Click here to learn more about that effort, a partnership with GlobalMedic.

There were 14 tasty soups to sample on Feb. 21 at the Soup Buffet. Over $600 was raised for Haiti Hot Lunch. This program, run by the Methodist Church of Haiti, is often the only food an entire family will have to eat each day. Thank you to Paula Doig, Kay Fairfield, Leah Ellis and Holly Stewart for organizing this event; great mother-daughter leadership!

We appreciate all that Cheryl Youngquist, Harry and Lori Arthur did to organize the Haiti Health Kit project for Muskegon Methodist Ministries. Thirty-one tubs filled with 829 health kits will be trucked to Grand Rapids for shipment by Ron Kaiser and Vicki Gale. To date United Methodists have contributed nearly half a million health kits to the victims of the January earthquake. We’re part of something BIG! There were 12 churches that donated the supplies. Six churches plus scouts from North Muskegon helped with the assembly.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There are many ways to respond to Christ’s statement. Thank you for all you are doing out of love for God’s people.

Photo: United Methodist News Service/Mike DuBose