Missions Moment (June 2026), by Karen Lambert

June is the month during which we collect the One Great Hour of Sharing love offering every year.  Do you know what this offering is used for?  It is a tangible way in which American Baptists provide for the human needs of our world, through a tri-fold approach:

• Emergency Relief – available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for urgent or acute needs brought about by disasters of natural or human origin.
• Development Projects – focused on meeting chronic human need by enabling individuals or groups to establish or maintain a more adequate quality of life.
• Ministries to Displaced Persons – focused on holistic ministry to immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants – those within the US and around the world who find themselves someplace other than what they have known to be home.

Some of the places One Great Hour of Sharing has been used to make a difference have been:

• In September, 2024, Hurricane Helene tore through the southeastern US, the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005, and in the aftermath, OGHS funds were used to provide relief to survivors

in the form of hot meals, water, groceries, cleaning and hygiene products, transportation assistance and clothing.

• Last month we learned about Larry & Becky Stanton’s ministry, how they help give firewood to poverty-stricken Serbians.  OGHS funds are used to help supply that wood, which is vital to heating the homes of the elderly Serbians throughout the windy and cold Serbian winters.

When you take a global view of our world, you see natural disasters occurring every week.  Add to that wars, civil wars, ethnic conflicts, and slower-moving disasters, and it is hard to imagine the suffering of those whose lives are forever changed.  However, with our extensive network of international and domestic partners, American Baptists can – and do – make a difference both when disasters strike and in the everyday needs of our world.  Join in giving a love offering for the world through One Great Hour of Sharing this month, and help Westover meet our goal of $1,000.

Thank you,

WCC Missions Team