STORIES
Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh // photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
Special Offering 2026 : A NEW WAY Hello Disciples! Week of Compassion is in our Special Offering season and we want to say THANK YOU.
Your gifts continue to serve the most vulnerable people across the world. Every day, we witness the growing impacts of climate-driven disasters across the United States and Canada. We see our neighbors navigating escalations in immigration enforcement and increased restrictions to refugee protections. We watch international conflicts disrupt national and community life. The needs are deep, the impacts are lasting, and in many places recovery will take years – often unfolding in ways we cannot yet imagine. And still, you show up. Mission Moment : Operation Cacti1/27/2026 Special Offering 2026 : A NEW WAY United States government policy changes in 2025 and ensuing law enforcement actions around immigrant and refugee populations have left communities across the country desperate for safety, and congregations across the Disciples church committed to compassionate response.
Special Offering 2026: A NEW WAY On October 29, 2021, Somerset and Dorchester counties experienced Maryland’s worst tidal flooding in 50 years — in many places, water levels were at or higher than Hurricane Sandy (2012). This kind of massive flooding creates immediate and long-term health threats to flood survivors and to their homes. Special Offering 2026 : A NEW WAY11/18/2025  When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:1-5)
Whether rebuilding after a flood, finding safety after conflict, or recovering from economic hardship, Week of Compassion is finding A NEW WAY – a way rooted in relationship, equity, and hope. Together, we are strengthening the church’s long-term capacity to respond and accompany, wherever people are displaced or in need.  Hello Disciples!
Week of Compassion is in our Special Offering season and we want to say THANK YOU. Your gifts to Week of Compassion continue to serve the most vulnerable people across the world. Every day, we witness weather-related disasters in the United States and Canada, an ongoing immigration and refugee crisis, and international conflicts that continue to disrupt nations and lives. The impacts are profound and long-lasting, and recovery will last for years to come. We are grateful for every one of you – those who take the long view, who know that God’s goodness is a constant presence and guide, and who understand that the work of compassion is work we do together. Global Interconnectedness2/13/2025 + Special Offering 2025 : Mission Moment (Middle East) Dear Friends, In 2023, I traveled to Juba, South Sudan – the world’s newest country, formed in 2011 after the decades long North-South conflict ended. South Sudan remains one of the world’s poorest nations, where access to clean water, food, and healthcare is scarce. As a young country, its infrastructure is fragile, and its people continue to bear the weight of poverty and instability.
I visited South Sudan to witness the work we support at a hospital providing life-changing surgeries for women suffering from obstetric fistula – a painful childbirth injury that often leads to isolation and rejection from their families and communities. These surgeries, performed in a clinic built by our ecumenical partners, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, restore dignity and hope. Each year, women travel hundreds of miles seeking this care, and because of the dedication of our partners, thousands receive the medical attention they desperately need. None of this would be possible without a network of collaboration. "Building More Than Houses" Nearly 20 years ago, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made an indelible mark on the city of New Orleans and her people. The storm shed light on the overwhelming vulnerabilities within structural systems that disproportionately affect marginalized persons, particularly Black and brown communities, and indigenous tribes and lands. In the decades since the catastrophic 2005 hurricane season, communities across southeast Louisiana remain disconnected from structures that could and should provide assistance and resources.
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