Africa University opened in March 1992 as the first private, international university in Zimbabwe. Africa University is a United Methodist Church-related project and is being nurtured and funded by church members from all over the world.
CROP is a program of Church World Service, a ministry of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the relief, development and refugee assistance arm of 35 Protestant and Orthodox communities. St. Matthew’s sponsors the annual Bowie CROP Walk, which raises money for this program.
Heifer International works with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth. By giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, they are empowered to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope. With gifts of livestock and training, families can improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. In Fall 2010, St. Matthew’s children will participate in a “Read to Feed” fundraiser for Heifer International.
Missionaries witness and serve in dramatically different locales and cultures and engage in a range of professions and activities. Missionaries are a tangible connection between the church and mission. St. Matthew’s supports the following missionaries spiritually and financially.
Nan McCurdy – serving in Nicaragua since 1985.
Read the October 2010 Nicaragua Newsletter from Nan and Miguel.
Miguel Mairena, Nan’s husband, also serves in Nicaragua.
Suzanne Porter – serving in Liberia, read her blog
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. The people of The United Methodist Church, along with Sports Illustrated, NBA Cares, the United Nations Foundation and several other groups, are raising funds to purchase bed nets to end malaria.
Operation Classroom is a United Methodist mission assisting in Christian-based education and health care in Liberia and Sierra Leone, in partnership with those countries’ United Methodist annual conferences. St. Matthew’s in Bowie, Maryland is dedicated to provide support for the 1,200 students at St. Matthew’s United Methodist School in Logan Town, Liberia (grades K through 12)—an Operation Classroom project.
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a program mandated by the General Conference to minister “to persons in need through programs of relief, rehabilitation and service…in the spirit of Jesus Christ, to advance the dignity of persons without regard to religion, race, nationality or sex and to seek to enhance the quality of life in the human community.”
United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) assigns national and international work projects under the auspices of the United Methodist Church. St. Matthew’s participates annually in Juarez, Mexico in the building of low-income housing.
