In earthquake-stricken Haiti, an Episcopal bishop is providing relief to as many survivors as he can while they wait for the arrival of official aid. Jean Zache Duracin speaks with WSJ’s Charles Forelle on how he’s trying to help.
Main Haiti information page at Episcopal Relief & Development, including a letter from Bishop Duracin and the Rev. Lauren Stanley, TEC missioner to Haiti.
“Our hearts are broken,” the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in a homily at a prayer service for Haiti on January 17. The Presiding Bishop joined Bishop of Washington John Bryson Chane, Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III, The Honorable Susan E. Rice, US Ambassador to the United Nations, His Excellency Raymond Alcide Joseph, Ambassador of Haiti, and others at “Strength through Unity — L’Union fait la Force: A Service of Prayer for Haiti” at Washington National Cathedral.
Our hearts are broken, as we sit transfixed before images of devastation and ruin, the bodies of children and elders piled in the streets, buildings crushed to dust, pleading arms and voices raised to heaven. We respond in lament and grief and sorrow, we push back against the senseless mystery of life’s pain. We yield to those ancient questions: Why? What sort of a God permits destruction like this? What can I do, how can I help? Those questions can’t ever be fully answered fully, yet they are most important in times like these. The reality is that life is not safe or predictable, but what we do with our lives gives them meaning. God does not cause suffering or punish people with it, but God is present and known more intimately in the midst of suffering. Above all, we become more human through our broken hearts. (more…)
A service of music and prayer for the victims, families, and survivors of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. The offering will benefit relief efforts in Haiti. The service will feature prayers from interfaith representatives and a Haitian folksong sung by countertenor Jean-Luc Princivil.
Main resource. Real time reports from Haiti and from across The Episcopal Church on missionaries, church responses, persons in Haiti, blog locations, congregational resources, prayers, hymns, ministries, missions, current needs: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/haiti.php
The Diocese of Haiti
FAQ. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is a member of Province II of The Episcopal Church. The Diocesan offices are located in Port-au-Prince. Haiti is the largest and fastest-growing diocese in The Episcopal Church with over 83,000 members (2008 parochial reports). There are 97 Episcopal churches in Haiti. TEC is in the process of ascertaining their status; updates will be posted on the Episcopal Church Haiti page. In 2008, the diocese celebrated over 200 child and adult baptisms, and over 700 child and adult confirmations. There are over 200 Episcopal schools with more than 6000 students. (more…)
The Episcopal Church and the Sisters of St. Margaret (an Episcopal religious community) have concentrated on helping all the faithful in Haiti since 1927. The Sisters run programs with the elderly and do work with the poor people throught the area. They also are involved at two schools the order founded, one specifically for the handicapped and the other for children within the neighborhood.
The Sisters of Saint Margaret’s mission in Haiti has never been more needed.
The most recent news received is that Sisters Marie Margaret Fenelon, Marjorie Raphael Wysong, and Marie Therese Milien are alive. They have lost their convent, but are committed to continuing their mission of working iwth the elderly, poor, indigent, and young.
Your urgent support is greatly needed. An unfathomable catastrophe like this in a place that has already known so much hardship is a true tragedy. We are asking for your prayers, donations, and service.
Faithfully yours,
Carolyn H. Darr, SSM Superior
Adele Marie Ryan, SSM Asst. Superior
Donations may be made online. Please send donations by mail to: The Society of St. Margaret, 17 Highland Park St., Boston, MA 02119-1436. For updates and more information about the Sisters’ work in Haiti, go to ssmbos.org
The Sisters of St. Margaret are an Episcopal Religious Order of women called to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through our worship and work, prayer and common life. Their commitment to God and to one another is expressed through vows of poverty, celibate chastity and obedience. The Sisters maintain a presence in Haiti, and the three working there have been accounted for. They are staying in a tent on the football field at College St. Pierre (which was heavily damaged). Above is a picture of the convent before the earthquake.
[October 22, 2009] Following deep budget cuts which caused personnel reductions and a re-focus of work operations, the staff of the Episcopal Church Center is gearing up for a new strategic model that is project-based and goal-oriented. (more…)
originally published in the August 4, 2009 Angelus, newsletter of Emmanuel Episcopal Church
During 2008-2009 school year, Eden Seminary had its second Anglican priest from Tanzania as a student. In February Isaiah Chambala was elected the first bishop of the new Diocese of Kiteto. Since Bishop Smith was going to be at General Convention on the date of Isaiah’s consecration, the bishop sent Dr. Katherine Mathews and me to represent himself and the diocese.
Both before and after the consecration, we visited a congregation in each of the eight deaneries. The Diocese of Kiteto has 140 congregations within 35 parishes. We were met with such gracious hospitality and experienced such a lively faith (expressed in very lively music by more than one choir in even the smallest congregations) that it was a bit overwhelming. (more…)
Emmanuel-Webster Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 9 S. Bompart, Webster Groves, MO 63119, ph 314-961-2393, www.emmanuelepiscopal.org
July 14, 2009 — The House of Bishops and the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church today completed passage of a revised Resolution D025, Commitment and Witness to the Anglican Communion, at the Church’s triennial General Convention in Anaheim, California.
The resolution…
Reaffirms an abiding commitment of The Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion, noting that it will seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible;
Encourages dioceses, congregations and members of The Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many instruments, networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion; (more…)
Cathedral Christ Church Cathedral, 1210 Locust St., St. Louis, MO 63103, ph 314-231-3454, www.christchurchcathedral.us
Imagining the Episcopal Church in 2019, an online survey for all Episcopalians
A newly named Strategic Planning Committee, established by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, is seeking our opinions. They’ve developed a short survey and invite our participation before July 28, 2009.
We sent this out in yesterday’s iSeek and over half the readership clicked through to the survey in the first hours after delivery.
ENS reports:
The survey results could help shape how the church raises and budgets its money in the future.
“Program, Budget and Finance begins with program, what shapes the program that’s the mission, it’s the program that causes the action and it is funded by the budget,” said Albert T. Mollegen, a council and committee member, in an interview.
In addition to the survey results, the Anglican Five Marks of Mission will serve as a guide to shaping the strategic plan, Mollegen said.
The Five Marks of Mission: The Mission of the Church is the mission of Christ
To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To seek to transform unjust structures of society
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth (Bonds of Affection-1984 ACC-6 p49, Mission in a Broken World-1990 ACC-8 p101)
In an effort to deal with today’s economy and reality, the Episcopal Church is offering a free resource, Finding Hope in Hard Times: Seven Spiritual Practices, designed to provide faith communities with practical and spiritual disciplines in order to nurture a culture of generosity and hope, in the midst of fear, anxiety and despair.
“Christian hope is based on trust,” explained the Rev. Laurel Johnston, the Episcopal Church’s Program Officer for Stewardship. “Trust that God will continue to fulfill God’s promise in a new way to each generation that leads to freedom, free to be the people God intended us to be. The Finding Hope in Hard Times resource guide invites communities of faith to take on seven disciplines that nurture hope and a path towards spiritual and financial freedom.” (more…)
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Our hearts are broken, as we sit transfixed before images of devastation and ruin, the bodies of children and elders piled in the streets, buildings crushed to dust, pleading arms and voices raised to heaven. We respond in lament and grief and sorrow, we push back against the senseless mystery of life’s pain. We yield to those ancient questions: Why? What sort of a God permits destruction like this? What can I do, how can I help? Those questions can’t ever be fully answered fully, yet they are most important in times like these. The reality is that life is not safe or predictable, but what we do with our lives gives them meaning. God does not cause suffering or punish people with it, but God is present and known more intimately in the midst of suffering. Above all, we become more human through our broken hearts. 
A service of music and prayer for the victims, families, and survivors of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. The offering will benefit relief efforts in Haiti. The service will feature prayers from interfaith representatives and a Haitian folksong sung by countertenor Jean-Luc Princivil.
The Episcopal Church and the Sisters of St. Margaret (an Episcopal religious community) have concentrated on helping all the faithful in Haiti since 1927. The Sisters run programs with the elderly and do work with the poor people throught the area. They also are involved at two schools the order founded, one specifically for the handicapped and the other for children within the neighborhood.
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