September 28, 2009

World Communion Sunday, one of the six churchwide Special Sundays of The United Methodist Church, is Oct. 4. World Communion Sunday provides scholarships for U.S. racial- and ethnic-minority students and international students, on both undergraduate and graduate levels.

World Communion Sunday’s history dates to 1940 when the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America established Worldwide Communion Sunday as a global, interdenominational event. Prompted by the impact of World War II, the Methodist Church received an offering on this Sunday for the Fellowship of Suffering and Service.

In 1971, The United Methodist Church changed the name of the observance to World Communion Sunday and redistributed the offering to support the Crusade Scholarship Program begun in 1944, the Ethnic Minority Scholarship Program and the Division of Chaplains & Related Ministries. In 1980, Chaplains and Related Ministries was moved to World Service funding, but the World Communion Sunday offering continued to assist racial- and ethnic-minority persons pursuing various avenues of ministry.

Scholarship programs

Today, World Communion Sunday supports scholarship programs of the United Methodist General Boards of Global Ministries (GBGM) and Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM).

The faces and stories of the women dealing with addiction that Laura Pressley met while volunteering on a first-aid squad have stayed with her as she pursues a master's degree in counseling and addiction ministry at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. She hopes to create an inner-city residential treatment program for women of color.

Because of United Methodists who have given on World Communion Sunday I am free to pursue the rest of my education without fear or anxiety.

"Being able to merge my passion for psychology and women's studies with my interest in addiction really clicked," Pressley says. "I know it's God's will for my life because I've never felt so much at peace with myself."

Pressley says that without scholarship help from funds raised on World Communion Sunday, she wouldn’t have been able to sign up for classes this year. "I'm up to my ears in school debt," Pressley says. "It's only because of United Methodists who have given on World Communion Sunday that I am free to pursue the rest of my education without fear or anxiety."

GBGM’s World Communion Scholarships receive half the offering. Formerly known as Crusade Scholarships, the money goes to international and U.S. racial- and ethnic-minority graduate students. At least one-half of the amount goes for ministries beyond the United States.

Worldwide mission

Jean-Michel Basquin studies at South Dakota State University with help of a Crusade scholarship. Equipped with a doctorate in rural sociology, his goal is to help the Methodist Church of his native Haiti “shape a better future for the country.” Basquin says he couldn’t be thankful enough for the scholarship. “That scholarship is exactly what the church needs to fulfill its global mission,” he says. “It empowers people so they can empower others.”

That scholarship is exactly what the church needs to fulfill its global mission.

GBHEM has two programs that benefit from the Special Sunday offering: Ethnic Scholarships for undergraduate students, and Ethnic In-Service Training Program for racial- and ethnic-minority persons seeking second careers in church-related vocations.

More than $3 million has been raised through the Special Sunday offering in the past three years. In 2008, $1,028,865 was given; in 2007, $1,205,022; and in 2006, $1,100,191.

Support materials

World Communion Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday in October. If a local church needs to celebrate it on a different date, that is acceptable.

About Special Sundays

Six times throughout the year, United Methodist congregations celebrate churchwide Special Sundays with offerings. Your support is critical to the survival of these important ministries and for sharing God's gifts around the world.

Churchwide Special Sundays with offerings enable United Methodists to offer refuge in times of disaster, promote peace and justice, provide scholarships and student loans, reach out to the community, teach skills to encourage self-sufficiency and share the love of Jesus Christ with God's people everywhere. Your support is critical to the survival of these important ministries and for sharing God's gifts around the world.

For more information about GBGM’s scholarship opportunities visit World Communion Scholarships.

More information about GBHEM’s programs can be found at Scholarships.