General News and Announcements

The following letter was e-mailed to United Church pastoral charges on August 18, 2008:

Dear colleagues in ministry,

Warm greetings from the Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations (JGER) Unit of The United Church of Canada!

I am writing to inform you of a new mechanism we have established to strengthen the United Church’s capacity to respond to global emergencies, especially those that receive little or no media attention and that involve United Church global partners. The mechanism is called the Emergency Response Fund. The Executive of the General Council passed a motion to establish the fund in November 2006. (Motion: Allan Seal/Betty Kelly 2006-11-16-097 – That the Executive of the General Council approve the creation of the National and Global Emergency Response Fund. Carried.)

Why an Emergency Response Fund?

As you know, we are living in a time when disasters seem to be occurring with greater frequency and intensity. Millions of people are affected, homes and livelihoods are lost, and vital physical infrastructure is destroyed. Recent, very tragic and memorable disasters include the December 2004 tsunami in South Asia, the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Hurricane Katrina in the United States in 2005, and earlier this year, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma) and the earthquake in China. United Church members are typically very generous in donating funds to high-profile disasters, and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to those mentioned above. For that we are very grateful, as are United Church global partners whose work to alleviate the effects of the crises was greatly aided.

However, not all disasters receive media attention. Some occur outside the mainstream media spotlight and receive little if any coverage. Some of these unknown disasters occur in countries where United Church partners are based and are working to respond to the crisis. It is important for the United Church to have the financial means to respond to the needs of these partners as well.

How Will the Emergency Response Fund Be Replenished?

Each year the fund is replenished with funds from the Mission and Service Fund ($130,000 in 2008). In addition, the fund will be replenished with 15 percent of “emergency supragift” monies received. Supragifts are designated donations made by United Church members or others that are above and beyond the Mission and Service Fund. Eighty-five percent of supragifts received and intended for a particular disaster/relief will be deposited in the Emergency Response Fund and allocated directly to the disaster response named by the donor. Fifteen percent of the same supragift donation will be retained within the Emergency Response Fund to provide the United Church with a modest capacity to respond to crises that receive little or no media attention and that United Church members may be unaware of. One hundred percent of donations will be used to enable response to humanitarian crises.

Please visit the United Church website for further information on the Emergency Response program.

If you have any questions about the Emergency Response Fund, feel free to contact the United Church’s Program Coordinator for Emergency Response.

Thank you for your attention and blessings and best wishes for your ministry.

Yours in faith,

Omega Bula
Executive Minister
Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit