“For you have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm...” Isaiah 25:4
 
Fixing a Hole Where the Rain Gets in
at the United Methodist Economic Ministry
Daniel Dolan, President UMEM Board of Directors
 
 
What a Christmas it’s been so far!  The United Methodist Economic Ministry stepped up to serve more than one hundred families with a Christmas food box and provided 130 boxes of toys, winter clothing, and gifts for families shopping for gifts at the ministry’s annual pop-up Christmas Shop during this holiday season. Our dedicated staff and volunteers were the hands and feet of Christ that carried out the work to serve those in need in the surrounding communities.
 
Their work is made harder by the current condition of the building that they work in.  Fixing those structural problems that negatively impact mission operations is a goal for the coming new year.
 
The rusting roof over the Salem Thrift Shop is one such problem.  The Beatles tune Fixing a Hole comes to mind, for many of a certain generation, on rainy days at the ministry building in Salem Maine. Staff members scramble to move shop stock out of the way to place buckets on the floor to catch the rain from the numerous holes in the roof.
 
In December, the UMEM launched the Stronger Together capital campaign to address the capital improvements needed to improve the working environment and conditions at the ministry.  Missionally, the top priority of the campaign is to replace the leaking roof over the thrift shop in Salem--a new roof is needed now! The estimated cost of replacing the roof over the thrift shop and paying off the balance on an existing loan for the new roof over ministry’s food pantry and offices is $26,000.
 
The Bible verse selected for this campaign by the Ministry’s Board of Directors (Isaiah 25:4) was chosen because we believe it best reflects the many ways that the ministry provides a stronghold and shelter for the poor in rural Maine, and our needs to strengthen that shelter.  Simply put, our shelter from the storm needs a new roof to allow the work of the ministry to continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve.  The roof and the other projects to be completed during our Stronger Together capital campaign will provide the essential facilities through which UMEM’s mission is accomplished.
 
Your gift today will make us all Stronger Together in Christ’s ministry and allow UMEM to provide our communities with shelter from the storms of life for many tomorrows to come.  To learn more about the Stronger Together campaign, or to make a donation to support the campaign, please visit our website: www.umeconomicministry.com/