Global Ministries

Protesting. Rioting. Marching. Walking. Those words can conjure any number of images to mind. In Haiti, they are called manifestasyons (“manifestations.”) The Haitian people are no strangers to voicing the injustices they’ve been subjected to over hundreds of years; today is no different. 

Aware of the weakness of our health system, the unhealthy conditions, and the overcrowding in the country, CONASPEH is skeptical in the face of an adequate response now that Haiti has just registered its first two cases of COVID-19.

Haiti

Lectionary Selection:  John 9:1-41

Prayers for Haiti:  

Jesus, our Great Physician, our Healer. You have shown us over, and over, and over again, how You are not only capable to heal our ailments but you are willing to do so. Lord, You are so good to meet us right where we are; right in our mess, in the middle of our desperation, in the midst of our blindness. 

You not only pour out Your compassion on us, which is more than any of us deserve; You invite us into love and graciously invite us to participate in God’s story. 

Lord, we thank you for Your mercy to not leave us on the side of the road, begging for meager scraps. You offer innumerable blessings, so much more than we imagine! You offer Your healing. We would be happy with just physical healing. How like You, to open our eyes beyond our selves, You open them to so much more. You open our eyes to Your majesty and glory. When we see You - we are compelled to worship You. We pray for the people of Haiti; all who need to see You and Your miracle in their lives. You have proven to us that not only can You - You are willing to do so. Lord Jesus, we give you all the praise and glory. Amen.

You are invited to join us on Thursday, February 27 at 2 pm ET, for a live update on the situation in Haiti and the work of the National Spiritual Council of Churches (CONASPEH) with its President, Bishop Francoise Villier.  Please register here.

As a child, you probably heard the sage advice from our adults, instructing us to "be safe." With a finger wagging in your face, you knew to heed their warnings.

Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in both Haiti and Ecuador after the governments of both countries eliminated fuel subsidies, following the instructions of the International Monetary Fund. Latin America and the Caribbean has a long history of following policies imposed by the IMF as well as the World Bank as a condition to get loans and financial benefits from those two institutions. Those policies along with the foreign debt crisis have affected the continent for decades. The situation in Ecuador and Haiti are good examples of the direct impact of that in the everyday life of the people there. That is what we would call “two wings of the same bird.” It is two countries facing the same root cause of their problems.

Stateless people are individuals who are not recognized as citizens by any country in the world, and consequently are denied basic human rights – rights that individuals often take for granted: right to health care, to education, to own property, to travel, to get a birth or death certificate, etc. Without protection from any state due to their lack of legal identity, stateless people are vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation, violence. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
WCC Statement on the Human Rights of Stateless People, November 8, 2013 

There are two things that come to mind when I reflect on my recent trip to Haiti on behalf of Global Ministries to serve in ministry and to be a presence with our partners, CONASPEH.  One is the adage that “knowledge is power."  

Lectionary Selection: John 13:31-35

Prayers for Haiti:  

All loving and gracious God, You have given us a new commandment - to love one another. We are to love others as You have loved us. You did not come to teach us only in words, not to rule over us with laws and regulations. And we thank You for being the perfect model of love. You came to show us how to truly be servants of others, and by doing so - we love. We pray, Lord, help us to put aside our egos, our “good intentions,” our personal agendas, assumptions, and fears, in doing so we can love others with a humble spirit and open heart so our actions will reflect and glorify You. Lord, help us to be ready, at any moment, at all moments - to love. Simply love.