Peace with Justice

The Conference Board of Church and Society or equivalent structure shall also name a Conference 1 Peace with Justice Coordinator who will be responsible for administering the conference Peace

2 with Justice Special Sunday Offering receipts and for coordinating peace with justice ministries. 3 (2016 Book of Discipline ¶629.2) 4 5

Each year, the Social Holiness Team considers applications for financial support of new and 6 emerging justice ministries considering the UM Social Principles as guidance for their work. In

2022, we received 3 applications. We were able to support each of the following ministries:

• Skaneateles UMC, The Skaneateles Storks Diaper Bank received $2,000 to help them 10 serve families in rural Onondaga and Cayuga county areas. The church seeks to promote 11 reconciliation, transformation, and the restoration of relationships as well as address the 12 root causes of poverty and promote self-development of communities. 13

• First UMC of Rome, NY, Five Loaves and Saturday’s Bounty Ministries received $2,000 to help them expand their feeding ministry, providing meals to homeless and home-bound folks in their community. The program seeks to address food injustice and increase access to quality food for those with fewer resources.

• Faithful Citizen, Inc., In from the Cold: A Tale of Two Cities received $2,000 to produce a 18 documentary, focusing on issues of homelessness in Syracuse and Troy, NY. Watch for a news article from the Conference announcing the completion of this 26-minute film to be used in the local churches and other settings.

If you have questions about any of these ministries, I would be happy to share more information or put you in touch with those in charge.

These grants are made possible by your continued support of the Peace with Justice Sunday offering - one of the six Special Sunday Offerings listed in ¶824 of the UMBOD. It is my hope that as we move into the future - be it as United Methodists or otherwise - each one of us will continue to support - with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness - the justice and social action ministries begun in the Upper NY area.

Looking forward, I hope to help renew our efforts around issues of gun violence and gambling as well as provide opportunities to share and discuss the United Methodist Social Principles. I am excited to attend the first in-person Peace with Justice Coordinators’ Gathering since before

COVID in September and to work with Bishop Héctor and the Cabinet to bring a message of God’s to the Upper New York Conference.

Respectfully,