The Episcopal Church in Haiti, Our Largest Diocese

With between 100,000-150,000 baptized members and 168 congregations, The Episcopal Church in Haiti is the larger than any in North America (and part of the reason why ERD is so well positioned to head up relief efforts).

Read more about The Episcopal Church of Haiti here and here. View a video message from the Presiding Bishop and President of Episcopal Relief & Development.

Here is an update from the Sisters of St. Margaret (thanks to Canon Rank)

January 13, 2010
My Sisters and Brothers:

Following yesterday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, I want to share with you what we know of the situation, particularly as people connected to our diocesan community are affected.

Early reports indicate terrible damage, with Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port au Prince and Bishop Jean Zache Duracin’s home there destroyed. The convent of the Sisters of St. Margaret also is gone. We do know that Bishop Duracin and his wife are safe, and the Sisters of St. Margaret here in Boston have heard through a reliable secondhand source that their three sisters, Sister Marie Margaret, Sister Marjorie Raphael and Sister Marie Therese, are alive. We have an unconfirmed report that Jude Harmon, a postulant from our diocese who is serving in-country as a Young Adult Service Corps volunteer, is OK; we are waiting for verification from the Episcopal Church’s mission personnel office.

We also are in the process of contacting parishes in our diocese with known mission relationships in Haiti to extend our concern and gather more information.

The best help we can give right now is to direct our donations to either the Sisters of St. Margaret here in Boston or through Episcopal Relief and Development. Their Web sites and address information appear at the end of this message.

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.

FOR MORE INFO: The Society of St. Margaret, 17 Highland Park Street, Boston, MA 02119. For updates and more information about the sisters’ work in Haiti, go to http://www.ssmbos.com/ and click on the “Haiti” page link.

Episcopal Relief and Development: Donate online at http://www.er-d.org/ or call 800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Donations can be mailed to Episcopal Relief and Development, PO Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058. (Please put “Haiti Fund” in the memo line of all checks.) Also, Episcopal Relief and Development is producing a bulletin insert that will be available online.