by Melissa Lauber
UNConnection Staff When the tsunami struck in southern Asia Dec. 26, it left more than 280,000 dead and seven nations devastated. Around the world, people reached out to help. Since 1940, Methodists have responded to natural and man-made disasters by contributing to the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the denomination?s not-for-profit humanitarian agency. At Melville Chapel in Elkridge, the congregation raised $7,155 with an Italian feast fundraiser, special pleas during the worship service, and a gift from its pastor, the Rev. Les Metcalf, who contributed more than $1,000 from honorariums he had received from performing funerals. The 130-member congregation has a heart for mission, Metcalf said. Each Sunday, 10 percent of the money put in the collection plate is moved immediately into a fund for mission. The church also supports an international medical mission, a local food pantry and clothes closet, a community garden and the education of three students in Africa. The church sent the money it collected for tsunami relief to the United Methodist Committee on Relief. UMCOR was among the first to get to the ravaged areas, and it will be among the last to leave, Metcalf said. UMCOR allows a small congregation in Maryland to reach out in Christ?s name around the world to save the lives of people in dire need. Melville Chapel was not alone in its support of UMCOR?s work. In the month following the tsunami, The United Methodist Church raised more than $6 million for relief work in Indonesia and other tsunami-devastated areas. The money will pay for, among other things, aid for the hundreds of thousands of homeless survivors. International relief officials estimate that a quarter of those in dire need are children. One hundred percent of the donations made to UMCOR go directly to the disaster victims. Not many charitable organizations can boast of that record. That is because, each year on the fourth Sunday of Lent, The United Methodist Church raises money to ?keep the lights on at UMCOR? with a special offering: One Great Hour of Sharing. ?The One Great Hour of Sharing offering on March 6 is absolutely essential to UMCOR,? said the Rev. Paul Dirdak, the agency?s chief executive officer. ?UMCOR receives no World Service funds or any other apportionments. United Methodists? gifts to this special offering not only keep UMCOR?s lights on and UMCOR?s delivery system in place at home and around the world ? they also enable us to respond immediately to disasters.? The theme of this year?s special offering is ?Be There,? echoing UMCOR?s response to the world?s neediest victims of all kinds of catastrophe. ?A gift to One Great Hour of Sharing enables you to be the hands and the heart of the church wherever people are suffering,? Dirdak said. The General Board of Global Ministries provides a number of resources for churches to use with this offering, including bulletin leaflets and offering envelopes; mini-posters; a ?be there bank,? for children; a DVD with vignettes and photos about UMCOR to use in worship or educational settings; a worship gbwc_superusere and more. For more information about these resources or the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, call (888) 346-3862 or go online to gbgmumc.org/umcor/oghs.stm. | 
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