Pray for Haiti on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Pray for Haiti on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Lectionary Selection: Mark 9: 30 -37 New International Version (NIV)

Prayers for Haiti:
Oh God our God how excellent is your name in all the earth.  We, the people of Haiti love and adore you.  We know there is no other like you.  We know it is you, God, that keeps us going day after day, even through disasters.  We know it is the strength that only you can provide that helps us get up and start a new day.  So that we are not praying selfishly, we pray for all our sisters and brothers all over the world that suffer from natural disasters and from unjust systems that promote unjust daily living environments. We pray for leaders all over the world that they will have a transformed mind and an open heart for those on the margins of life. We seek strength and peace.  Therefore we pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to empower our sometimes weak mind, spirit and body so that we, like Jesus will rise again and again.

Mission Stewardship Moment from Haiti:
Another storm disrupted an already challenging life in Haiti.  Winds blew strong, tents that provided shelter for those suffering from the 2010 earthquake were destroyed, trees were uprooted, roofs were blown off, street signs for direction and advertisement were destroyed and a few are grieving the loss of loved ones.  One could easily say, “Haiti is down again.”  However, the construction work on the new school building was not affected by the storm.  With the help of our DOC and UCC partnership and mission work, CONASPEH continues to rise.  Since the earthquake, the College St. Andre School for kindergarten, elementary and secondary grades, has been meeting under tents on the CONASPEH grounds.

During the spring and the summer break, the CONASPEH community has been busy with construction work to finish the new school building for the opening of school this Fall season (October).  The building has two floors of classrooms with a student capacity of 1300.  It will include a library, laboratories for languages, physics, chemistry, and computer science.  The building includes an open-air auditorium to seat 1,000 people which will be used for programs such as training of seminarians, graduations, conferences, and other events as well as being available to CONASPEH churches when they have an event.  It will also include a water reservoir and restrooms.

Mark 9: 31b says, “They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” What a powerful analogy of hope, strength and a “come-back better than before spirit.” With the continued help of our mission partners–Rise CONASPEH, Rise!

(Prayer and Mission Moment by Jeannette Salley)

Video Resources about Haiti:

Interview with missionary Jeannette Salley:
http://globalministries.org/resources/multimedia-resources/videos/video-mission-moments/jeanette-salley.html

Music video about Haiti and the US:
http://globalministries.org/resources/multimedia-resources/videos/video-mission-moments/bryan-sirchio.html

Global Ministries International Partners in Haiti:

More information on Haiti:
http://globalministries.org/lac/countries/haiti/

Global Ministries Missionary in Haiti:
Jeanette Salley, a member of St. John’s United Church of Christ, Richmond, Virginia, serves with the National Spiritual Council of Churches in Haiti (CONASPEH) as an assistant for disaster preparation and response, as well as a teacher at St. Andrew Seminary.