A Moment for Mission
“Let the Lord give strength to his people! Let the Lord bless his people with peace!” — Psalm 29:11, CEB
Each year, on the First Sunday after Pentecost, United Methodists contribute to a churchwide Peace with Justice Sunday offering. The money is awarded to programs that advocate for God’s shalom. Half of the money collected stays within the annual conference for area ministries.
In the Baltimore-Washington Conference, one 2019 recipient was the Community Anti-Violence Project (CAP) at Hughes Memorial United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C.
“Makiyah Wilson was 10 when she was murdered in July 2018,” said the Rev. Paul Johnson. “She was outside, playing in a courtyard located approximately 1,000 feet from our church.”
To help address that violence, Hughes UMC joined with the Howard University School of Law to begin an after-school program to help at-risk children and youth who live in the community surrounding the church.
CAP encourages the children to dream big dreams and to achieve their dreams by preparing them physically, mentally, emotionally and intellectually.
Other recipients included a food ministry, a summer arts camp, outreach to immigrants and a women’s vocational project.
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, Peace with Justice Sunday enables The United Methodist Church to have a voice in advocating for peace and justice through a broad spectrum of global programs. The special offering benefits peace with justice ministries in the annual conference and through the General Board of Church and Society.
Please give generously to change lives today. Thank you.
Offertory Prayer
Loving God, give strength to your people everywhere. Bless your people with peace. And remind us to share your many blessings with your children. In your name, we pray. Amen.
From Discipleship Ministries: Trinity Sunday — Holy God, above us, among us, within us: we rejoice this day that while you might have chosen to be unknown to us, you have revealed yourself in many ways. Each encounter with you calls us to return blessings with worship, compassion, and service. So, when we give this day, we do so in gratitude for all your parental care for us through your creation. When we give this day, we give because, in love, you gave us Christ, that through him we might find eternal life. When we give this day, your Spirit leads your church to reach out in compassion, mercy, and grace to all your children everywhere. In gratitude, we celebrate you, three and yet one. Amen. (John 3:1-17)
Newsletter Nugget
Many of the women in La Gloria, near the town of Ahuahapan in El Salvador, have lost their husbands to gang violence and addiction. Few women have the means for educational and economic advancement, and those who have children live under the constant threat of gang violence on their families.
In response, the Empowerment and Discipleship Project at Emory Grove United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg is working with the Salvadoran women to purchase equipment for a commercial kitchen at La Gloria. The women will gain training and employment opportunities.
The pastor of the church at La Gloria is a single mother who developed the church from the ground up. Her ministry has proven a godsend to other single moms.
Peace with Justice gifts from the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference provide funds for the project, giving the women a second chance to succeed and to support their families.
Please give generously on Peace with Justice Sunday, May 30. Thank you.
Adapted from “Baltimore-Washington Churches Receive Grants to Create Shalom,” Melissa Lauber, Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, May 15, 2020. Used by permission.
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