We have posted a statement from the Primate which is reprinted from the ACoC website, a letter that Bishop Michael forwarded from an Episcopal priest in the (francophone) DIocese of Haiti and a brief report from Partners in Mission Director, Dr. Andrea Mann about the Episcopal seminary in Port au Prince.
A statement from the Primate on the disaster in Haiti
Reprinted from the Anglican Church of Canada Website
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Anglican Church of Canada
January 13, 2010 -
Haiti has been devastated by a terrible earthquake. Thousands are feared to have died and many more injured. The people in Haiti have suffered so much in the past 10 years. Hurricane Jeanne ripped through the island in 2004 and in 2008 tropical storms took a huge toll. Now a new disaster. Through the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, our church has made an initial donation of $15,000 for emergency relief through Action by Churches Together (ACT).The Anglican Church of Canada and especially the Diocese of Montreal has had a long relationship with the Anglican Church of Haiti, personalized in many respects by Canon Ogé Beauvoir, the dean of the theological seminary in Haiti. A graduate of Montreal Diocesan College, he went to Haiti in 1991 as a Volunteer in Mission. In 1996, he returned to Canada to serve as regional mission coordinator for Africa and the Middle East. He returned to Haiti, where he was born, in 2004. We are grateful to know that he and his wife Serette are safe.
Please pray for the people of Haiti as they struggle with such devastation and grief.
Please remember as well their relative in Canada and the Canadian Haitian community many of whom anxiously await news of friends, relatives and loved ones.
Please give generously to increase our support for relief efforts.
I make this appeal in the name of Christ in his compassion for all who suffer.
+Fred
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Dear Friends in Christ:
We have devastating news to share with you from Haiti in the aftermath of
the earthquake yesterday. According to reports I have received here in Les
Cayes, the damage in Port au Prince and areas around it is terrible.
There is no Cathedral. The entire Holy Trinity complex is gone. The convent
for the Sisters of St. Margaret is gone. The Bishop's house is gone.
The College St. Pierre is gone. The apartment for College St. Pierre is
still standing. Bishop Duracin no longer has a house in which to live.
In Trouin, four people were killed during a service.
In Grand Colline, the church is gone.one part of st Martin of tours is
gone. In St. Etienne Buteau the church, the rectory and the school are gone.
In Les Cayes, BTI is OK, but some people were injured trying to get out of
the buildings during the quake. The rectory in Les Cayes is in very bad
condition.
The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
(Image on right is Holy Trinity Cathedral prior to the earthquake)
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The Episcopal seminary in Port as Prince, and the Dean there: Canadian Haitian Canon Dr. Oge Beauvoir (mentioned in Archbishop Fred Hiltz' statement) and his family are safe. Andrea Mann is in contact with their daughter and extended family in Ottawa.
Partnerships has had a long term relationship with the seminary. Oge was also a former national Partners in Mission colleague of National Church Partners-in-Mission Director Dr. Andrea Mann. Andrea visited Oge, the seminary and Port au Prince this past November.
Canon Dr. Oge Beauvoir