Christ Episcopal Church of Springfield, Missouri invites you to view the pictures of our recent trip to Haiti in January of 2010. Thank you for your prayers and support and love for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
Since this website was created on Saturday, January 9th, the Haitian world has dramatically changed by the overwhelming earthquake on January 12, 2010. These photos show the world of Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding countryside prior to the recent devastation. Our hope is that you can see the potential and joy in the faces of Haitians and in the local ministries of and for the Haitian people.
Please pray for the people of Haiti and for the relief efforts. Please donate to your favorite charities. You'll find some donation suggestions in the Bookmark section of this website.
God Bless You/Bon Dieu Bene Ou
In a powerful and prayerful witness, Bishop Duracin writes about the state of the church in Haiti and his call to faithfulness. You will be deeply moved by his words.
A Lenten Reflection on the Suffering and Hope of Haiti
by The Rt. Rev. Jean Zaché Duracin, Bishop of Haiti
January 12 was a terrible day for the Haitian people. The earthquake left not a soul untouched. There is not a single family that did not lose a close friend or member: Mothers, fathers, siblings, in some cases entire families disappeared.
As for resources, we have next to nothing. The wreckage is beyond imagination.
However, this situation delivers us into faith. I look at this as a baptism. We who are still alive have had the blessing of survival, but in many ways we have died to the ways of the past. We have the opportunity to rise up and start anew. In this moment of grief and mourning, life must continue.
During this Lenten season, it is important for us in Haiti to turn inward and rediscover all that is just within us. It is imperative that we be reborn in this moment. We will live without the physical trappings of the church because we still have the same spiritual guidance, the confessions, the conversations, the reflections.
We need faith. We must go forward with confidence and hope. The Haitian people are fighters. We will not give up. We must see within this situation the possibilities that exist. Jealousy, anger, hatred – this is not the time for these. We turn to Jesus Christ, who did not fall into temptation; though he was in hard situations, he overcame death in victory.
We await the resurrection of Christ as we explore what is found in this wreckage. Dear ones were lost, houses, clothes, possessions, memories – lives are reduced to nothing. The church lost precious belongings, and the physical foundation of the state is in ruins.
Yet, we Haitians are speaking to each other in new ways. We can look at each other with new eyes. We can create a society of respect and love so that we may truly live as children of God. This is how we can rebuild our country.
We have also seen how other people – other nations – love us. The people of this Episcopal Church have sent countless messages witnessing sympathy. Knowing we are not alone gives us confidence in new life. We receive comfort and consolation in our relationships.
My wife was injured in the earthquake and left to seek medical care. I cannot visit her. I miss her and wish she were here with me. It is difficult to be separated. But this separation has given me solitude and has enabled me to reflect in a new way about how to proceed in a life founded in God as a Christian.
It is natural to question, but we hold on in faith to God – God who is always good, the God of infinite compassion. That we were struck by this tragedy does not mean God is not with us. He is here. We must always remember that God lives in this world. There is pain, but there is also joy. He gives us assurance not of the life that ends, but the life that is eternal.
he earthquake did not diminish our worship, though it altered the places where it takes place. The church has not faltered and must now rise to a new role. Belief in Christ and love for our Lord carries us into a new phase of construction. We will raise new places to worship God.
We are looking forward to a celebration of Easter; familiarity of religious practices sustains us. We give glory to God. We sing within the church of the world. We celebrate life with the same spirit we were given it. In the middle of all the deaths, there is a God of love and of life, and we must shout Alleluia with the living.
From an interview with Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin of Haiti, conducted in French and translated by Cecily Hutton, assisting the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and Episcopal Relief & Development in relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. February 21 is designated as ERD Sunday.
Please check out the blog "Go Into the World", the blog of the missioner in Haiti, the Rev. Lauren Stanley. You'll find it in the Bookmarks sidebar on this site.
Rev. Stanley updates her blog regularly,concisely and passionately with information about the conditions in Haiti, the work of the church there and general information about the country. I highly recommend this site. She is passionate about God and her work on behalf of God's people. I think you'll feel informed, be enlighted and renewed in your faith and commitment to the work in Haiti.
God bless you and your ministries this day.
--Webmistress Penny Gordon-Chumbley
For those of you who have been to Haiti, some individual updates: Jimmy, our driver on the last trip, lost everything; Bienvenue, the superintendent of Pere Val’s 6 schools, also lost everything; 8 of the people who work with Carmel in the Nutrition Program, are also homeless. There are about 60 people sleeping at the St. Simeon property now. Through a minor miracle, the generator was repaired Friday, January 22nd, and now the well is pumping good clean water.
You may have read that the Haitian government is placing a large refugee tent city in Croix des Bouquet. But, as of yet, we don’t know exactly where, but probably near the Nutrition Center, because that is the only area with open land. So, Carmel could be getting lots of new cases for the Nutrition Program.
What do we need?
1. Prayer – for all the folks there, especially Pere Val and Carmel, as they deal with this huge tragedy. They need our prayers more than ever.
2. Money – to help us help them. Checks can be made payable to CHAP; PO Box 70132; Myrtle Beach 29572. Mark them earthquake relief; they will be a tax deduction for your 2009 income tax return, if you want to use it for 2009. Or tell folks they can give through Pay Pal on our web site, www.chaphaiti.org – click on the donate button.
3. Consider going on a mission trip, once we get the green light from Pere Val and Carmel. If you’re serious about it, consider getting your shots up to date, and making sure your passport is current.
Rebecca Lovelace
Past-President
CHAP
if you want to go ... please, wait
Dear Friends in Christ:
On behalf of the Bishop of Haiti, the Rt. Rev. Jean Zaché Duracin, first let me say Mesi anpil, thank you very much, for your love, your prayers, your support, your generosity and your kindness.
I know that many of you want to go to to help. Many of you already have planned mission trips and have long-standing relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ in . Please, Bishop Duracin has been very clear about this: Unless you are a certified first-responder, now is not the time to come. Please let the professionals do their job first as they help the Haitians through the immediate dangers and relief efforts.
Episcopal Relief & Development is working very hard, day and night, to get help where it needs to go. The agency is working closely with Bishop Duracin as well, who is directing efforts, along with the Executive Council of the Diocese of Haiti, and deciding where the most urgent needs are and how to meet them.
I believe the best course of action right now is to pray, to be generous in your financial assistance, and to begin praying about how you can respond in the future. If you are considering -- or had already scheduled -- a mission trip, please pray about who should go to help with the first stages of rebuilding: Those who are healthy, who have specific skills such as carpentry, construction, plumbing, electrical work. Consider learning more Haitian Creole -- 10 lessons are available for free at www.byki.com, and more lessons can be purchased.
The Diocese of Haiti will need your help for many years. This crisis is a marathon, not a short sprint, so we must be prepared to be in this for the long haul.
One immediate way that you can help: Please send all information to me at my email address. I am compiling it for Episcopal Relief & Development. I especially need to know about parishes in the immediately affected areas, their locations, their GPS coordinates and the latest updates you may have received. We have a lot of information floating around out there, but I don't get all of it, and there could be vital information that I miss.
In addition, please to keep an eye on my web site, www.gointotheworld.net. Help me to ensure the information I have is correct, and help me get more information to post.
Please know that Bishop Duracin is counting on everyone here to work together, to help the people and to be faithful. Together, we WILL help God's beloved children in .
Blessings and peace and many, many prayers,
The Rev. Lauren R. Stanley
TEC Appointed Missionary in
Assistant to Bishop Duracin,
Partnership Program and Development
Diocese of
US mobile: 703-678-3892
MGR JEAN ZACHE DURACIN BUREAU DIOCESAN
Evêque d’Haïti Pétion-ville
Tél. : 257-8116
23 January 2010
Mr. Robert W. Radtke
President
Episcopal Relief and Development
815
Dear Mr. Radtke:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to you from the tent city we have set up behind the rubble of College Ste. Pierre, our marvelous senior secondary school that is no more. As you know, we have gathered approximately 3,000 people here alone. Across the land, the Diocese of Haiti has set up at least 21 refugee camps, caring for more than 23,000 people.
In this letter, I wish to make clear to the Diocese of Haiti, to Episcopal Relief and Development and to all of our partners that Episcopal Relief and Development is the official agency of the Diocese of Haiti and that we are partners working hand-in-hand in ’s relief and recovery efforts.
I also am announcing in this letter that I am appointing The Rev. Lauren R. Stanley, Appointed Missionary of The Episcopal Church, to work directly with ERD on my behalf. I am asking all partners in The Episcopal Church to communicate directly with Rev. Stanley, so as to keep communications with the Diocese of Haiti open. Rev. Stanley is to communicate and work with ERD on my behalf.
In addition, I am asking that all of our partners in the Presbyterian Church USA work directly with ERD, with Rev. Stanley as the central communications person. PCUSA has worked with us for many years, and we are deeply grateful for their compassion and their commitment to the people of .
We in the Diocese of Haiti have a vision and a plan for this relief and recovery effort. We know the situation on the ground, we are directing emergency relief to those who need it most, and we already are making plans and moving forward to help our people. Since the earthquake struck, we have been and will continue to work closely with your two representatives here, Ms. Katie Mears and Ms. Kirsten Muth. I have complete confidence in you and your agency.
Finally, I wish to make it plain: I know that many of our partners wish to come to right now to help. Please tell them that unless they are certified professionals in relief and recovery, they must wait. We will need them in the months and years to come, but at this point, it is too dangerous and too much of a burden for our people to have mission teams here.
Please tell our partners, the people of The Episcopal Church, the people of the and indeed the people of the world that we in are immensely grateful for their prayers, their support and their generosity. This is a desperate time in ; we have lost so much. But we still have the most important asset, the people of God, and we are working continuously to take care of them.
I hope that this letter will help all of us work together to help God’s beloved people in . If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. If others have questions or concerns, please ask them to contact you or to work directly with Rev. Stanley.
Faithfully,
Mgr. Jean Zaché Duracin
Evêque d'Haïti
Dear Dr.Dunn
Thank you for the prayers .We still continue to leave outside of our house because we received many times during the day some earthquake. For our Parish we have some damages at St simeon's school four parts of the security fence wall are destroyed. St.marc church and the school have some severe crashes. Saint sacrament church at Fond Parisien also have some severe crashes. The Transfiguration's Church and school destroyed completely. We have 25 people in the Church and Lespwa timoun lost their home and everything. Now they leave in the street .we have also 8 members of St Simeon and Gorman died . Please now Fonkoze bank is opening since last Thursday. If your church could send some support to help those people who no have nothing to eat and to serve everyday. We know how your people is interested to do that. Please let us know when you will do that.
Thank you again for your help Pere val and Carmel.