Navajo COVID Relief Project in Cortez
During the recent Mountain Sky UMW Conference Spiritual Life Retreat, Pastor Jean Schwien, Cortez United Methodist Church, Cortez, Colorado and Pastor Norman Mark, Native Grace Intertribal Fellowship, shared stories about their stewardship to the Navajo community in SE Utah. Pastor Jean, who has several years of experience in disaster relief, began the Navajo COVID Relief Project during the height of the pandemic. The project, supported by the Mountain Sky Conference, has collected and spent $100,000 on food, water, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, hay for goats, horses and cows, firewood and propane. Volunteers drive hundreds of miles to provide these supplies to more than 650 households.
During the presentation, a nurse with the Bureau of Indian Affairs talked about how many elderly tribal members were lost during the pandemic; one woman lost both her parents and all of her siblings.
Mountain View sent masks and canned goods to the Navajo Nation in 2020. But there is still a continuing need for masks. If you have masks to spare, we can mail another shipment to Pastor Jean for delivery.
If you would want to make a financial donation, the address is: First United Methodist Church of Cortez, P.O. Box 1016, Cortez, CO 81321; include Navajo COVID Relief Project on the memo line.