Helping the Hurting by Zack Martin 11/27/24

HELPING THE HURTING

How close are you to being financially ruined? How many safety nets could you fall through before you hit rock bottom and you’re in a cheap motel or sleeping in your car?

My office phone rings everyday with folks who are there. Most people I talk with in crisis had one emergency that snowballed into several more emergencies. Usually, they’re living paycheck to paycheck and a medical bill hit or a car emergency happened. An unfortunate series of events occurred, and they are calling the local churches in the community trying to survive one more month. The stories are heart breaking.

We care deeply about those who are poor and those who suffer. Jesus makes it clear we must help, and we do help with rent or utilities when we can. Sometimes the problems are overwhelming and we are not able to help in the way people want it.

Every church has some sort of Good Samaritan fund or Benevolence Fund that is collected to help people in need. I’ve often wished we had a one-stop-shop for benevolence so those folks could have more comprehensive help for their situation. Many communities have a Cooperative Ministry organization which spends time with individuals in crisis to help them in a deeper way  – more than just
a check or some gas money.

Madison has not had a well-organized effort in many years-  until now!

Our church, along with several others are banding together to create a new charity called Morgan Cares Center. The Morgan Cares Center seeks to share the love of Christ to those living in Morgan County by assisting people in need with immediate financial assistance for housing and living expenses. They will also provide assistance finding permanent housing and employment within the community. Morgan Cares Center will lessen the time burden on any one church for in-depth counseling. The center will provide help for people in crisis in Morgan County like writing resumes, job applications, budgeting, applying for health insurance, counseling and other basic living resources. This group is new and has done a lot of organizational work leading up to the official opening in January 2025.

I’m excited that Madison First UMC is a founding partner in this important work. Please consider giving to this exciting new organization as our December Mission emphasis. Along with monetary support, we also need volunteers to help on Mondays and Thursdays 9:00 am-noon. If you are interested in volunteering contact Cindy Tingle at cltingle@bellsouth.net or Laree Zant at llzant@yahoo.com.

Peace,
zack@madisonfumc.com