Disaster in Haiti

Today, pray for Haiti.
Already the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, the recent earthquake has created devastation we cannot now even imagine. The diocese of Haiti is one of the largest dioceses (they're part of the American Episcopal Church), serving more than 100,000 members. A friend of mine worked at the Cathedral there some years ago, and they have already heard that the daughter of one of Haiti's deputies to General Convention was killed. Lisa Mbele-Mbong was a human rights worker for the UN and did not survive the collapse of the human-rights section of the building that housed the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

In addition to its 168 congregations, the diocese of Haiti's ministry includes 254 schools, medical clinics, and other development projects like micro-financing and reforestation programs. We have heard so far that the cathedral and the bishop's home have been destroyed-reports are still coming in at what other ministries have been damaged. The bishop and his family are safe, as is a Massachusetts member of the Episcopal Young Adult Service Corps who is teaching at the seminary there. Another young adult volunteer, Mallory Holding, is also fine, but the convent of the Sisters of Saint Margaret (who also have a convent in Boston) has been destroyed. Unconfirmed reports indicate the sisters are safe (there is a link to the Sisters' Haiti page below).

Our own Episcopal Relief and Development (er-d.org) is already contributing to the relief effort. Since the diocese of Haiti is so strong, they have been doing disaster preparedness work for some time. With the biggest earthquake in 200 years, though, this is not something you can really prepare for--and it certainly doesn't feel as though we here can do very much.

In his statement on the disaster, Bishop Shaw wrote,
Please know how much our prayers are needed. An unfathomable catastrophe like this in a place that has already known so much hardship really does have us questioning God at the deepest levels of our faith. Yet we must know that God is more present to suffering than any of us could ever possibly be, and that as we are willing to take on the suffering of others, whether through our prayer, our donations or our service, we join God in God's compassionate presence.
Give prayers, and, even if it's just a small amount, give money. On a gut level, I am inclined to ransack my cupboards for spare blankets, but at this point material goods are less needed than the freedom for relief organizations to buy the supplies they need. We'll have bulletin inserts from Episcopal Relief and Development on Sunday, or you can make out a check to Christ Church with "Haiti Donation" in the memo line and we can send them as a group.

Blessings,
Sara+

Episcopal Relief and Development: www.er-d.org

Mallory Holding's blog: www.holdinghaiti.blogspot.com

The Sisters of Saint Margaret: www.ssmbos.com

More on the response from parishes in our diocese: www.diomass.org