Connected in Christ

 

It was our joy to share the abundant gifts of the United Methodist connection with those who are suffering in four annual conferences as a result of flooding in the wake of Hurricane Irene -- New England, New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Susquehanna.  
 
Each of these annual conferences have been partners in our recovery efforts here in Mississippi.  Through Advance gifts to the United Methodist Committee on Relief for Mississippi, through volunteers and presence and prayers, they have been loving friends to us.
 
After assessment of our resources through theconnection and our needs forward, it seems good to share a gift with these four conferences.  All have responded with joyful thanks to you, the people of The Mississippi Conference.
 
This witness from the New York Conference speaks for our United Methodist friends in the northeast in response to you all.
 

Dear Bishop Ward,

 

I am the superintendent of the Catskill Hudson District, the region of the NY Annual Conference most-hard hit by Hurricane Irene.  I just heard this afternoon about the generous gift of $50,000 that was sent to us from your conference and I want to send my heart-felt thanks.  Some of our towns thathave been most severely damaged by the floodwaters were already quite poor and depressed, and the challenge of re-building the church buildings, along with many of the homes in the villages, is most daunting.  To receive such a gift from our fellow Methodists is a wonderful encouragement.  The money will be a big help, but the encouragement and sense of being connected to other Christians is even more precious.
Please convey my gratitude to my fellow United Methodists in Mississippi.

 

Yours in Christ,
Rev. James Moore