Earthquake devastates Haiti

1/18/2010

This article is being revised as news and resources arrive.
Last update: Jan. 18, 2010, 8 p.m.

LETTER FROM THE BISHOP
Bishop Smith wrote a letter Jan. 13 to the Diocese, which is posted online (www.episcopalct.org) and is here as a PDF to download and reprint. Also available as archived eNewsletter. Link here.

Eglise de l'Epiphanie, Stamford, a Haitian congregation, with St. John's, Stamford will hold a memorial service at St. John's on Jan. 24 starting at 4:30 p.m.

PLEASE SEND DONATIONS TO ERD!
The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut is sending $5000 immediately to Haiti through Episcopal Relief and Development.
Make your donation through ERD here.     Bulletin insert from ERD.  Full page ERD insert.

Money is the most needed resource right now, no volunteer visits yet. 

LITURGICAL, PASTORAL RESOURCES

Praying for Haiti; reading, litany, and prayer, written by Bishop Jeffery Rowthorn. (Also as PDF)

Liturgy and prayers, from clergy in the Diocese of SE Florida, on this page

Talking about tragedy: Talking to children and to teens, prepared by LeaderResources

GENERAL INFORMATION

Video on YouTube, Where is God? In the tragedy in Haiti. Nearly five minutes long, voice-over photos of devastation photos from AP. Created in response to Pat Robertson remark. Made by the vicar of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia.

Here is a set of photos from 1995 posted on a flickr site, showing the murals of Holy Trinity Cathedral. Don't know the photographer but hadn't ever seen these murals -- now gone -- also a few from the Holy Trinity School.

NEWS SOURCES:
Episcopal Cafe is gathering news from across the Episcopal Church.
Episcopal Life Online ongoing news stories.
Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD) page with articles, video, updates, link to donation page.

EPISCOPAL CHURCHES/SCHOOL/ INSTITUTIONS:

• Bishop Duracin's house is destroyed. Bishop Duracin is safe; his wife's foot was injured.
• Holy Trinity Cathedral and school and the entire complex is gone;
• Convent for the Sisters of St. Margaret is destroyed and part of the Foyer (a home for elderly women that the Sisters run), has collapsed in front, but the back is still standing. The Sisters are safe; Sr. Marie Margaret, Sr. Marjorie Raphael and Sr. Marie Therese were located at College St. Pierre, in a football field, with some of the ladies from the Foyer. Visit the SSM web pages.
• College St. Pierre is gone. People are congregating in their field, however.  Bishop Tharp Institute is OK and its director, Fr. Ajax, is OK
• The Roman Catholic archbishop died in the earthquake, and the RC cathedral was badly damaged.

• ***NEW UPDATES 1/18/10: Ecole Le Bon Samaritan: Old St. Andrew's, Bloomfield will be coordinating a relief and reconstruction effort. See Old St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Bloomfield CT. Last update Mon. 1/18, 5 p.m. School is NOT destroyed, but it is damaged. The Rev. Jean-Elie Milien and his wife Mona Millien are directors of the school. Mona was in Haiti, but is unharmed; their son works for the UN in Haiti and is also ok. Pere Jean-Elie and daughter Stephanie are at home for now, in Connecticut. Old St. Andrew's has a friendship with the Milliens and a partnership with the school. Fr. Jean-Elie was the first vicar of l'Eglse de l'Epiphanie in Stamford; after he resigned Fr. Wectnick Paul served. Fr. Paul retired last year and Pe Judith Alexis is now priest in charge.

• ***  NEW INFO JAN 18: St. Vincent's School for the handicapped - St. VIncent's director Pere Sadoni has emailed an update, read it at www.friendsofstvincents.org (select "Haiti update" in left menu, then Jan 18 email). He reports: The first building at St. VIncent's is down, and everything has been looted. Six children and staff died. Everyone else evacuated to the field at College St. Pierre. Pere Sadoni is petitioning the Bishop of Haiti to take the children to Montrouis for three weeks. The Rev. Cn. Bill Squire, president of CMMH (Childrens Medical Mission of Haiti) came Jan. 17 via the  Dominican Republic and brought money, which Pere Sadoni plans to use to feed the children while in  Montrouis. Pere Sadoni is hoping the state will pull out the old wall at St. Vincent's so they can build a new one, and protect the rest of the school. The Friends of St. Vincent's, and the CMMH, are both taking donations.
• The Norwich Mission House (Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich Haitian Ministries) has been destroyed. St. Mark's in Mystic stayed there in October while visiting their partner school/church, St. Luc's, in Mercery. They have no news yet about how St. Luc's has fared.
• Churches: Churches are gone in Grand Colline and in St. Etienne, and four people were killed during a service in Trouin. This was reported by Fr. Ajax, the parish partnership program director in Haiti and also director of the Bishop Tharp Institute in Cayes, in an email sent this morning. 

• Episcopal Church missionaries. The Episcopal Life Online article reports that there were three Episcopal Church missionaries in Haiti when the earthquake hit, a seminary dean and two young adults in the Young Adult Service Corps.The Rev. Lauren Stanley, an Episcopal Church missionary to Haiti, was in the U.S. when the quake hit. All missionaries are accounted for and ok.

• Hope Lennartz, of the Friends of St. Vincent's, heard that a member of her board, Marie Montose, of St. John's, W. Hartford, has two sisters in Port au Prince, who are safe, but one sister's daughter (Marie's niece) was in the marketplace and died from the earthquake. 
• St. John's in Essex has a partnership with Hospital Albert Schweitzer. The hospital is ok, but their 12 new residents and all physicians all have families in Port au Prince.   
• The Rev. Ellen Huber of Christ's Church, Easton reports that their mission partner, Holy Trinity Foundation is in La Saline, is ok. It's not close to the capital. But the American/Haitian missioner there has relatives close to the epicenter of the quake.
• The Rev. Judith Alexis, vicar of L'Eglise de l'epiphanie (a Haitian congregation in Stamford) and St. John's, Stamford, held a prayer service on Thursday at 6:30 at St. John's. Epiphanie is inviting the community to a special Mass at 6:15 pm on Sunday afternoon. ***NEW : Alexis and Epiphanie are planning a community-wide memorial service Jan. 24 starting at 4 p.m. More info to come.

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2/12/2009
Upcoming benefits for Haiti
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1/19/2010
Connecticut responds to Haiti quake
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