WHAT IS HUMAN RELATIONS DAY?
Human Relations Day is a denomination wide Special Sunday designed to celebrate and raise
awareness to further the development of better human relations by involving congregations in
community and youth outreach. A special offering taken the Sunday before Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.’s birthday. Gifts received for the offering build King’s vision of “the beloved community”
through programs such as Community Developers and United Methodist Voluntary Services and Youth
Offender Rehabilitation Programs. Churches are encouraged to donate through their local churches or
give online.
Fifty-seven percent of the funds received support community developer programs that strive to
build, maintain, promote and strengthen racial-ethnic minority congregations through local UMC
congregations. Community developers engage depending on a community’s needs.
Thirty-three percent of the funds received support The United Methodist Voluntary Services (UMVS)
that serves as a resource to congregations, volunteer-based groups, and programs that challenge
unjust political, social, and economic systems which threaten the livelihoods of people.
Ten percent of the funds received support rehabilitation programs. These programs work to
strengthen youth empowerment programs that provide positive avenues for youth participation in
their communities through the churches, mentoring programs, and boys/girls clubs.
For more than half a century, United Methodists have observed this churchwide special Sunday in
recognition of the message Jesus demonstrated during his life: all of God’s children are important.
One of the wonderful aspects of The United Methodist Church is that we can do so much more
together than we ever could do on our own. Our gifts are part of building “the beloved community.”