Christmas miracles do come true!

We are thrilled to announce that we not only reached, but surpassed our Christmas Miracle Offering goal for a total of $34,472! Every single donation, big or small, represents the power of making a difference.

And wait, there's more! An anonymous donor has pledged to generously match our contributions up to $30,000. That means your contributions to the Mama Lynn Center will total $64,472!

Through this offering, we will help the Mama Lynn Center expand its capacity for service in a very concrete way—by completing the center’s new building, which offers the expanded safe space they need for the women’s medical care, trauma recovery, spiritual support, trade skills training, using sewing machines, learning business skills, and whatever they need to rise again and have a life.

Words of gratefulness have begun coming in. Ketoka, Treasurer of East Congo Episcopal Area, wrote: "Thank you, thank you from our people whom you have helped. May God richly bless all of you." Judith, Communications Coordinator of the East Congo Episcopal Area, wrote: "Joy and exceedingly great happiness. Thank you all!"

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Christmas Miracle Offering 2023
Joining hands in generous support of the Mama Lynn Center, East Congo

This year's Christmas Miracle Offering will support the Mama Lynn Center for Congolese women.

Our speaker today is Randy White, who has traveled to the Congo twice, the first time with Bill Lovell. Randy has preached there and has met women who were victims of sexual violence. He and his wife Gayle continue to support the ministries in the Congo.

Randy was born and raised on a farm in Gibson County and served United Methodist churches in the legacy Memphis Annual Conference for 41 years. He served the Martin First United Methodist Church from 2009 until his retirement in 2021. Since 2013, the Martin congregation has given over $94,000 for the building and repair of 28 churches in the East Congo Annual Conference. Those church buildings are now the gathering places for over 7,000 United Methodist Christians each Sunday.

Randy can see faces of people in the Congo and knows that women need a place for healing from the trauma they have suffered. He knows that completion of the Mama Lynn Center’s construction will expand the ministry there and comes to Belmont UMC to encourage everyone to be as generous as they can for the sake of our sisters in that beautiful land.

This Christmas when someone says, "I don't need anything," let your gift to them be your contribution to the Mama Lynn Center. Beautiful cards are available for you to sign and give to them so they will know that their gift will change the life of someone forever. You can give online by clicking here or text "BELMONT CHRISTMAS" to 73256 to give using your mobile device.  Standard text message and data rates may apply.

From the December 10 newsletter

This year's Christmas Miracle Offering will support the Mama Lynn Center. Each woman at the center has a sad story, but hope takes over and changes develop.

Two young women told similar stories. From the first: “My husband ran off and died, leaving me with three small children. I don’t know how to read, write, cook, or sew. Someone told me to come to the Mama Lynn Center. Here I am learning to read, write, add and subtract, sew, cook, and make soap so I can help my children and me.” Another woman from Wembo Nyama said, “My first husband ran off. My second husband married me for his second wife, and he beat me. I have four living children, two others died. I left my village and my polygamous husband and came here to Kindu where someone told me about the Mama Lynn Center. I came with my children to try and get my life together.” Both of these women were joyful, having graduated from the Mama Lynn Center, confident in themselves and eager to use the skills they had learned to make a difference in their life.

This Christmas when someone says, "I don't need anything," let your gift to them be your contribution to the Mama Lynn Center. Beautiful cards are available for you to sign and give to them so they will know that their gift will change the life of someone forever. You can give online by clicking here or text "BELMONT CHRISTMAS" to 73256 to give using your mobile device.  Standard text message and data rates may apply.

From the December 3 newsletter

This year's Christmas Miracle Offering will support the Mama Lynn Center. Each woman at the center has a sad story, but hope takes over and changes develop.

Two young women told similar stories. From the first: “My husband ran off and died, leaving me with three small children. I don’t know how to read, write, cook, or sew. Someone told me to come to the Mama Lynn Center. Here I am learning to read, write, add and subtract, sew, cook, and make soap so I can help my children and me.” Another woman from Wembo Nyama said, “My first husband ran off. My second husband married me for his second wife, and he beat me. I have four living children, two others died. I left my village and my polygamous husband and came here to Kindu where someone told me about the Mama Lynn Center. I came with my children to try and get my life together.” Both of these women were joyful, having graduated from the Mama Lynn Center, confident in themselves and eager to use the skills they had learned to make a difference in their life.

From the November 26 newsletter:

The focus of our Christmas Miracle Offering in Advent will be the Mama Lynn Center in East Congo, so-called “rape capitol of the world.” This United Methodist sanctuary for sexual violence survivors in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which got started in 2018 (with Nashville leadership) and is still developing, is proving to be an actual “balm in Gilead,” an embodied presence of hope and healing absolutely unique to that beautiful but grief-stricken area.

Through this year's Christmas Miracle Offering, we at Belmont UMC have an opportunity to help the Mama Lynn Center expand its capacity for service in a very concrete way—by completing the center’s new building, which offers the expanded safe space they need for the women’s medical care, trauma recovery, spiritual support, training in trade skills, use of the sewing machines, learning business skills, and whatever they need to rise again and have a life.

You can give online by clicking here or text "BELMONT CHRISTMAS" to 73256 to give using your mobile device.  Standard text message and data rates may apply.