| Offering focuses on the poor BY LARRY HYGH JR.
UMCONNECTION STAFF Providing social services and steering youth in the right direction are just two ways Peace With Justice Sunday offerings benefit communties. Peace With Justice Sunday is one of the six Special Sundays with offerings celebrated in local churches throughout the United Methodist Church. Celebrated this year on May 26, it is always observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost. One of the ministries being supported by a Baltimore-Washington Conference Peace With Justice grant is the Social Help Center in Washington County. The center is the social service arm of the Washington County Council of Churches, an ecumenical group. We are one of the last resorts and when we have to say no there is nowhere else to turn, said Betty Willson, volunteer coordinator and member of John Wesley UMC in Hagerstown. According to Willson, about 30 churches support the work of the social help center housed at a Lutheran church. People come to us knowing that the church stands for help for the poor, Willson said. A lot of people come to us not feeling good about having to ask for help. We help folks pay bills for necessities like rent, security deposits, utilities and phones. The social help center uses a voucher system that pays money directly to the vendor. It doesnt issue checks or give cash to clients. The center works cooperatively with the department of social services and the community action council. According to Willson, this time of year the center assists many people experiencing utility shut-offs. We see a lot of folks without electricity, she said. I saw a man Saturday that needed about $400 to get his electricity turned on and he doesnt qualify for (governmental) help. The conference grant has helped pay his rent and utility bills. The center also tries to help the clients develop long-term solutions to their needs. Another conference Peace With Justice grant was awarded to Union Street UMC in Westminster. According to Phyllis Hammond-Black, youth director and young adult ministry coordinator for the church, the grant is for a youth-oriented career and leadership workshop. We want to keep a spiritual aspect to the workshop, that through prayer everything is possible, said Hammond-Black. The workshop will feature role models from many types of careers. Peace with Justice Sunday began with the 1980 General Conference. | 
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