Sisters and Brothers of the Great Plains Conference:

As many of you have heard in news reports, a powerful 6.3 aftershock struck Turkey’s Hatay province, near the Syrian border, on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. This was an aftershock to the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake from Feb. 6 that killed more than 46,000 in Turkey and Syria.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has reported nearly 80 aftershocks have been reported, with Monday’s being the second largest since the original earthquake. UMCOR goes on to report that 4.1 million people are dependent on UMCOR and other sources of humanitarian aid, and the need is immediate.

In the short time I have been here in the Great Plains Annual Conference, I have witnessed the generosity of the people. You do so much already in the local church and community and are always willing to go another mile. I thank you for that.
 
I am asking that we go another mile to help with the relief efforts in Turkey and Syria. UMCOR has established an account that will be used for that relief work. Those of you familiar with UMCOR will recognize that we have what is known as Advance number to identify where the funds you donate will go.

The Advance number for this crisis is 982450. You can donate in a couple ways:
Online  or mail a check to the Great Plains Conference at P.O. Box 4187, Topeka, KS 66604. Please make the check payable to the Great Plains Annual Conference, and please write the following information on the memo line: IDR Turkey/Syria, Advance #982450.

I am asking that you and your local church keep the people of Turkey and Syria in your prayers and respond to those prayers by giving to that UMCOR Advance number. We are grateful to have one of the best disaster response teams, led by Rev. Hollie Tapley, in our own annual conference. She will keep us informed of the relief efforts.

Thank you in advance for your prayerful support.

Bishop David Wilson
Great Plains Conference

(The link to the original letter is here).