United Methodist Committee on Relief
The global humanitarian relief and development organization of The United Methodist Church.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The United Methodist Committee on Relief, commonly known as UMCOR, is the humanitarian relief and development organization associated with The United Methodist Church. It is a nonprofit organization operating under the auspices of the church’s General Board of Global Ministries and works with congregations, local partners, other faith-based organizations, and community institutions to respond to acute humanitarian needs and support longer-term recovery and development. UMCOR originated during the Second World War, when the 1940 General Conference of the Methodist Church in the United States authorized the creation of a relief agency in response to the widespread suffering caused by the conflict. Initially called the Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief, or MCOR, the organization was conceived as a temporary mechanism for assessing severe humanitarian needs around the world and connecting those needs with financial support from local Methodist churches. From its beginning, it emphasized cooperation with relief efforts conducted by other Christian denominations and partner organizations. The organization became a permanent agency in 1972, when the General Conference adopted the name United Methodist Committee on Relief and placed it under the church’s General Board of Global Ministries. As its work expanded, UMCOR organized its activities into more defined relief areas intended to improve coordination and distribution of assistance. Its work has included disaster response, hunger and poverty programs, refugee and immigrant support, global health initiatives, sustainable agriculture, and transitional development. UMCOR’s humanitarian response model combines immediate emergency assistance with longer-term recovery. It maintains relief supplies and supports trained disaster-response specialists who can be deployed after natural disasters, armed conflict, political upheaval, ecological crises, and other emergencies. Its work has addressed disasters in the United States and abroad, including hurricanes, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, earthquakes, famine, political instability, and volcanic events. The organization also supports pastoral and psychosocial care for children and communities affected by disasters. A distinctive part of UMCOR’s operating model is its network of church-based giving and volunteer participation. Administrative expenses are supported through the annual UMCOR Sunday offering collected by United Methodist congregations, allowing designated gifts for particular emergencies or programs to be directed toward relief activities. Churches and volunteers also assemble standardized relief kits, including bedding, cleaning supplies, personal health supplies, newborn-care supplies, school materials, and sewing materials. These kits are processed through UMCOR supply depots and distributed to communities facing emergencies or persistent material hardship. UMCOR’s present program framework is commonly described through three broad areas: humanitarian relief and disaster response, sustainable development, and global health, carried out in collaboration with Global Ministries. Within these areas, its traditional relief priorities include hunger, health, refugees, emergencies, and relief supplies. The organization therefore functions both as an emergency-response network and as a channel for longer-term community development. Its mission remains closely aligned with its original purpose: providing immediate relief to people facing acute need and responding to suffering caused by natural, ecological, political, and civil disasters.
History
UMCOR was established in the context of the Second World War. The conflict created extensive displacement, hunger, poverty, disease, and destruction, prompting Methodist leaders in the United States to create a coordinated mechanism for responding to humanitarian need beyond the capacity of individual congregations. In 1940, the General Conference of the Methodist Church authorized the Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief, commonly abbreviated as MCOR. It was initially intended to be temporary. Its early role was to assess critical needs around the world and communicate those needs to local Methodist churches, which could then provide financial assistance. From the outset, the agency encouraged ecumenical cooperation rather than treating Methodist relief as an isolated effort. Although created in response to wartime suffering, the organization’s mandate soon encompassed a broad range of humanitarian crises. Its work addressed refugees, hunger, poverty, and disaster conditions in different regions. The basic model combined church-based fundraising with partnerships capable of delivering aid in affected communities. This structure allowed the organization to connect a denominational network in the United States with international relief and development work. At the 1972 General Conference, the agency was renamed the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The conference also made it a permanent entity under the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. This change formalized UMCOR’s place within the denomination and provided a continuing institutional framework for its programs. As the organization expanded, it sought to streamline its activities by grouping relief work into defined priority areas. These areas included hunger, health, refugees, emergencies, and relief supplies. Later descriptions of its work have also emphasized three broad program domains: humanitarian relief and disaster response, sustainable development, and global health, with the latter carried out in collaboration with Global Ministries. Disaster response became one of UMCOR’s most visible functions. The organization has supported both immediate relief and long-term recovery following hurricanes in the United States, the December 26, 2004, tsunami in South Asia, earthquakes in Turkey and Pakistan, political upheaval in Kosovo, famines in Southern and Eastern Africa, and a volcanic event in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its response system includes stored relief materials and trained disaster-response specialists who can be mobilized for emergency assignments. UMCOR has also supported pastoral care for children affected by disasters, reflecting an approach that addresses emotional and spiritual needs alongside food, shelter, health, and reconstruction. The organization’s material-relief work developed into a standardized kit system. Volunteers and congregations assemble bedding, cleaning, health, layette, school, and sewing kits. These supplies are collected, processed, stored, and sent to communities experiencing emergencies or chronic hardship. UMCOR has operated the Sager Brown depot in Baldwin, Louisiana, and Depot West in Salt Lake City, Utah. Operations at Sager Brown are described as scheduled to close at the end of 2026. UMCOR’s funding and participation model remains closely connected to United Methodist congregations. Its administrative expenses are supported by an annual UMCOR Sunday offering, while designated contributions can support specific emergency responses or programs. This arrangement enables churches to contribute money, supplies, volunteer labor, and local advocacy. The organization’s mission has changed little from its original purpose: providing immediate relief for acute human need and responding to suffering caused by natural, ecological, political, and civil disasters. Today, UMCOR operates as a global humanitarian organization combining emergency response with sustainable development, health work, hunger relief, refugee assistance, and community-based recovery.
- 2026
Sager Brown Depot operations scheduled to shutter
[1]Operations at the Sager Brown relief-supply depot in Baldwin, Louisiana, are described as scheduled to close at the end of the year.
- 2010
Haiti earthquake response and loss of UMCOR personnel
[1]UMCOR personnel were killed in the collapse of the Hotel Montana during Haiti’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake, while the delegation was developing plans to improve medical services.
- 2004
Response to Indian Ocean tsunami
[1]UMCOR supported relief efforts following the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunami in South Asia.
- 1972
Agency becomes permanent and adopts the UMCOR name
[1]The General Conference renamed the organization United Methodist Committee on Relief and established it as a permanent entity under the General Board of Global Ministries.
- 1940
Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief established
[1]The Methodist Church’s General Conference authorized a temporary relief agency in response to the widespread humanitarian consequences of the Second World War.
Products and positioning
A church-affiliated, globally oriented humanitarian organization combining emergency relief, disaster recovery, community development, health initiatives, and volunteer-led material assistance. UMCOR positions its work around rapid response to acute suffering while maintaining longer-term partnerships intended to strengthen affected communities.
Humanitarian relief
Disaster Response
UMCOR’s disaster-response work covers immediate humanitarian assistance and longer-term recovery after natural, ecological, political, and civil disasters. The program uses trained disaster-response specialists, stored relief materials, church networks, and local partners. Its documented responses have included hurricanes, earthquakes, famine, political upheaval, tsunamis, and volcanic emergencies in the United States and other countries.
Emergency supplies
Relief-supply kits
UMCOR coordinates standardized kits assembled by congregations and volunteers for distribution after disasters and in communities facing material hardship. The kit categories include bedding, cleaning supplies, personal health supplies, layette supplies for post-childbirth needs, school materials, and sewing supplies. The kits are processed through UMCOR supply depots before being sent to relief operations.
Community development
Sustainable Development
UMCOR supports development-oriented work intended to address the conditions that make communities vulnerable to hunger, poverty, and recurring crises. The documented scope includes sustainable agriculture and transitional development, generally delivered through partnerships with local organizations and in coordination with the United Methodist global mission structure.
Health services and development
Global Health
The Global Health area addresses health-related needs through UMCOR’s collaboration with United Methodist Global Ministries. Its work forms part of the organization’s broader development and humanitarian portfolio, including support for communities affected by emergencies and efforts to improve health services.
Marketing campaigns
- UMCOR Sunday
United States
An annual offering collected by United Methodist congregations to fund UMCOR’s administrative expenses and sustain its humanitarian and development infrastructure. The offering gives local churches a recurring mechanism for supporting the organization’s global relief work.
Outcome. Provides a denomination-wide funding channel for UMCOR’s operations and relief capacity.
Brand decisions
2026
Schedule closure of Sager Brown supply depot operationsStrategyBackground
UMCOR’s relief-supply network includes the Sager Brown depot in Baldwin, Louisiana, and Depot West in Salt Lake City, Utah. The available reference material states that operations at Sager Brown are scheduled to shutter at the end of 2026.
Action taken
Schedule the closure of operations at the Sager Brown depot while identifying Depot West as another UMCOR supply-depot location.
1972
Make UMCOR a permanent church relief agencyStrategyBackground
The original Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief had been created as a temporary response to wartime humanitarian need. Continued global crises and the growth of its relief activities created a case for a permanent institutional structure.
Action taken
The General Conference renamed the agency UMCOR and placed it under the General Board of Global Ministries.
Aftermath
UMCOR became an enduring part of the United Methodist humanitarian system and subsequently organized its work into defined relief and development areas.
Sources2 sources
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