Human Relations Day

1. Human Relations Day A Churchwide Special Sunday Of The United Methodist Church “I’ve been locked up 31 years. I never had a church, but now this is my church. … Before Pastor Diane came, I stayed locked in my room the whole time. There was nothing to come out for, but now there is..” —BESSIE DODD member, Grace Place United Methodist Church, Memphis, Tenn.

2. Your gift changes lives. God created each of us in God’s image, and we all have potential to do great things. We celebrate that potential—and the opportunities to work together—on Human Relations Day. Your Human Relations Day offering strengthens outreach to communities in the United States and Puerto Rico and encourages social justice and work with at-risk youth. Your gifts help to build community across all races and peoples.

3. Changed lives “Jesus calls us to share the gospel through diverse ministries, pastors and laity. He calls us to model for the world that all God’s people are part of the beloved community. We must value the distinctive diversity that makes up the body of Christ. We must create and build ministries that are culturally congruent with God’s children. Hear these words from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘All life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied to a single garment of destiny.” -Bishop Violet L. Fisher

4. Community Developer Program With particular mission in mind, local congregations request a community developer. Working together, the community developer and church members create effective responses to specific community needs. The result is that congregations—from California to New York and many places in between—make systemic changes that allow them to provide a wide range of services in their communities. Fifty-seven percent of the offering goes toward the Community Developers program, related to the General Board of Global Ministries. These persons work in racial- and ethnic-minority communities in the United States and Puerto Rico.

5. United Methodist Voluntary Services Program UMVS ministries do many things: • Provide a United Methodist relationship with local, voluntary community organizations; • Support opportunities for persons to volunteer with local community groups that engage in advocacy and organizing for change in social systems; • Offer opportunities for persons to train in community organizing and organizational development; and • Support community organizations that involve communities in their struggles to eliminate conditions that affect the health and safety of individuals and families.

6. Youth Offender Rehabilitation Program Some of the major risk factors that increase the chances of young people committing crimes include a troubled home life; poor attainment at school, truancy and school exclusion; drug or alcohol misuse and mental illness; deprivation such as poor housing or homelessness; and peer group pressure. The philosophy of the Youth Offender Rehabilitation Program is to work with at-risk youth to prevent problems and to help youth who already have been arrested for a crime to redirect their lives on a more positive path. It gives teenagers a chance to succeed.

7. Changed lives “My name is Debbie*. I have been an active member of Redemption Church for about 18 months. I appreciate the fact that Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries and Redemption Church are here for us. “I serve on several committees and the advisory council. I help serve Communion and am an acolyte, a member of United Methodist Women and a choir member. Redemption Church is an opportunity for me, as well as other inmates, to interact with society again.” *not her real name

8. Changed lives “Redemption Church: Freedom from Bondage for Young Nonviolent Offenders” is an example. Penn Avenue Redemption Church, Oklahoma City, Okla., and St. Luke Redemption Church, Tulsa, Okla., cooperate in a two-pronged effort of criminal justice and mercy ministries. This ongoing restorative-justice ministry seeks to deepen advocacy, victim/offender reconciliation and reunification of families. Another goal is to heighten public policy challenges to the prison-industrial complex through several community-based efforts: Exodus House, Redemption Church and Redemption Kids. Some consider it “a model program for criminal justice ministries.”

9. Changed lives “I guess you can say I’m a role model—something I never thought would happen! JustUs Youth enhanced my leadership ability and spiritual growth. My spirituality has been tested often; however, I don’t react the same as I did before. I must maintain a standard as a JustUs Youth member, and I have a responsibility to the younger members. I now understand my failures are a part of a master plan designed especially for me. Failure is not the finale; it’s the opening act!” -Nicole Luebron, JustUs Youth, New Orleans, LA

10. Your gift reaches across the United States. Because of your gifts on Human Relations Day, caring ministries continue in communities across the United States. Your Human Relations Day offering enriches ministries related to: Child care Children’s after-school and summer initiatives Domestic hunger and poverty Economic development Education, including tutoring Emergency services Employment Gang intervention HIV/AIDS and other health issues Homelessness and housing Older adults Parenting Prison ministry Restorative justice Substance abuse and rehabilitation Youth, especially at-risk teens Technological empowerment

11. Changed lives “It doesn’t matter where we work, what we do, how many degrees we have or where we grew up. What matters is having the willingness to serve God in the most unusual places. My passion for this work lives because I understand I cannot call myself a Christian if I live blinded by the [situations] that surround me.” -Delia Ramirez, Chicago

12. Changed lives “We have focused on different issues such as affordable housing, advocacy, youth development, Hurricane Katrina relief and global justice. I believe we have been a leaven for social consciousness in the local community and for the broader Asian-American community. We observe Human Relations Day to highlight our own community developer program and to lift up ministries in other parts of the country. Our offering is a small way of expressing hope for justice and equality for all of God's people.” - The Rev. Michael Yoshii, Buena Vista United Methodist Church, Alameda, Calif.

13. How you can help You can “adopt” Human Relations Day as your annual project. There are two ways to contribute: Write a check to your local church and identify it as “Human Relations Day offering.” Place it in the offering plate or give it to your church treasurer. Go to www.umcgiving.org and click on “Donate” at the top of the page. Your church or conference can receive credit for your contribution.

14. Learn more! For stories, worship graphics and other worship helps, visit http://www.umcgiving.org/pastors/resources To order resources, go to www.umcgiving.org/ss

15. Human Relations Day celebration dates United Methodists celebrate Human Relations Day—one of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings— on the Sunday before the birthday observance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. If the designated date conflicts with your local church calendar, you can select an alternate date for your congregation’s observance of Human Relations Day. Here are the dates for 2015-16: Jan. 18, 2015 Jan. 17, 2016

16. How the offering is distributed Fifty-seven percent of the offering goes toward the Community Developers program, related to the General Board of Global Ministries. These persons work in racial- and ethnic-minority communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. Another Global Ministries-affiliated effort benefiting from the Human Relations Day offering is the United Methodist Voluntary Services Program—UMVS, for short—which gets 33 percent of the offering. Essential to this program are grassroots organizations that work through youth and young adult volunteers to challenge oppression and injustice. Also benefiting from the Human Relations Day offering is the Youth Offender Rehabilitation Program. Related to the General Board of Church and Society, it receives 10 percent of the offering.