Tomorrow Cornerstone Church will take up a special offering for the people of Haiti at our three services. The staff leadership met this past Wednesday and talked about how we can most effectively help. While our hearts were tugged and we wanted to go immediately to Haiti, we realized it wasn't the right time. That time will come but for now the reality is cash donations are the best help.

The donations collected will go directly to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). From there they will be used as UMCOR determines best to help the people of Haiti. There are many relief agencies pouring time, resources and money in to Haiti but we landed on UMCOR because of their history of results and our connection with the United Methodist Church.

Established in 1940 by the General Conference of the Methodist Church, UMCOR works with and through partner agencies. Their focus is to coordinate with local groups who know the people and their needs. When the earthquake hit Haiti, there were already members of UMCOR in the country doing relief work unrelated to the current tragedy. 

Know that your donations will be used effectively and properly.

United Methodists have had a long-standing relationship with Haiti through the Methodist Church of Haiti. The strong ties between the Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) helped in facilitating the opening of the UMCOR Haiti field office in 2005. 100 percent of Advance gifts made will go to support relief and development efforts due to emergencies in Haiti. -from the UMCOR Web Site

We haven't figured out what our long term commitment to Haiti will be. I do know it will not be done without a lot of prayer, research and discussion. For now though our biggest impact will be felt through our prayers and our donations of cash.