Providing Hope
By now we have all heard of the devestation wrought by the earthquake that hit the nation of Haiti on January 12th. Reports continue to come in, bringing news of almost unfathomable need. The United Methodist Church is already on the ground working to provide relief to those who need it the most. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is in place, along with other aid organizations, helping to assess damage, distribute supplies and organize volunteers.
And you have an opportunity to help.
Financial Donations
If you wish to make a financial donation, you can bring your donation to St. Luke or any other United Methodist church. Through the Advance, all monies received will go 100% to the work being done. Please mark any donations with the following information:
- Haiti Earthquake
- Advance #418325
If you have questions or need more information, please contact us here at the church.
To date, St. Luke has collected almost $13,000 for Haiti relief efforts!
Food Donations
St. Luke UMC has been designated as one of two collection locations for the Sanford District collection effort, covering Lee and Chatham counties. There is another location at Page Memorial UMC in Aberdeen, covering Moore and Montgomery Counties. We have a 18-wheeler trailer on-site to collect donations of food. Here are the items we are requesting:
- New, unopened bags of dried beans
- New, unopened bags of rice
- New, unopened cans of vegetables (any size with pull-top lids)
- New, unopened cans of fruit (any size with pull-top lids)
Multiple donations can be boxed with boxes weighing no more than 60 pounds. If possible, please box like items together ( i.e., all rice in one box, all beans in another box, etc.)
Donated items can be brought on Sunday, January 31st and Monday, February 1st through Thursday, February 4th from 9:00 am - 7:00 p.m.
Volunteering
The MERCI Center in Goldsboro, NC is a centralized collection depot for disaster relief and other mission work. As the amount of donations received continues to increase over the coming days and weeks they will be in need of volunteers to help with the massive task of sorting, organizing and packing supplies to be shipped to Haiti.
There are two scheduled opportunities to travel to MERCI and volunteer:
- Thursday, February 4th - There will be a group leaving from St. Luke UMC at 7:30 a.m. to travel to MERCI and work until 4:00 p.m. Volunteers will be back in Sanford by 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, February 6th - Each of the twelve districts in the North Carolina Conference have been assigned a particular day when the entire district is encouraged to be in service at MERCI. The Sanford District has been assigned Saturday, February 6th. Please make plans to travel to MERCI on that day to be in service with fellow churches from across the Sanford District.
You are also encouraged to contact the MERCI Center (888-440-9167 or merci@nccumc.org) to volunteer at any time.