March’s Mission of the Month is One Great Hour of Sharing

The March mission is One Great Hour of Sharing, in which we join with Christians in seven other denominations to support relief services wherever and whenever disaster strikes in the U.S.A. and abroad, and also to provide long-term, sustainable development assistance, refugee resettlement, and social services. Tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes ravaged communities worldwide, leaving behind devastation and extreme stress. Drought, violence and COVID wreaked havoc in communities, often leaving people without food and resources for themselves and their family.  The UCC responds to disasters such as these through our One Great Hour of Sharing offering.   Programs and grants help communities launch long-term recovery following such disasters.

A portion of our OGHS offering also goes to refugee relief and resettlement across the world. As an example of our gifts at work, several UCC churches are actively hosting or supporting refugee families, often in coordination with churches of other denominations.  Countless other churches have collected supplies and funds toward this effort. We are making efforts to contact the proper arm of the UCC to investigate whether there is any type of grant available for which to apply now that some in our church are already in the midst of supporting a refugee family.  Tool kits and online training sessions are available through the UCC for churches supporting refugee families, all because of offerings to One Great Hour of Sharing. 

OGHS will continue to help other poor communities find and develop new sources of food and clean water, and improve health standards. Efforts to empower women and families to become more self-sufficient are also supported through this mission. See the United Church of Christ website: https://www.ucc.org/giving/ways-to-give/our-churchs-wider-mission/one-great-hour-of-sharing/  for more information on this and other ways OGHS helps those in need.