Epicenter of Ministry
When the earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010, it effectively leveled the most populous diocese of The Episcopal Church. Seventy percent of church buildings were considered a total loss. Diocesan-run schools, clinics and hospitals that served over 100,000 Episcopalians, as well as countless community members, were wiped out in thirty-five seconds.
Many of the services we expect from the government— healthcare, education, culture—are provided in Haiti by The Episcopal Church. And many governmental agencies and NGOs have rushed to fill these needs in the aftermath. Episcopal Relief & Development is partnering with the Church in Haiti to provide short-term employment, provisional homes, and sanitation systems in addition to other community-focused recovery programs. The Clinton- Bush Haiti Fund sponsored mobile health clinics, and a United Nations fund has underwritten the clean-up of six neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. But there is one thing no one else can rebuild for The Episcopal Church: Holy Trinity Cathedral. Home of the famous murals that depicted the Biblical narrative, the Cathedral was a beacon in a land where strength of faith is inversely proportional to economic development.
Holy Trinity Professional School and the primary and secondary schools also located on the Cathedral grounds, raised up future leaders in an environment of cultural and spiritual grace. In 35 seconds, it was all reduced to rubble.
Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin and the people of Haiti have asked for our help. The Episcopal Church, acting through the Executive Council, asks every Episcopal diocese and congregation to join in this initial phase of rebuilding the Diocese of Haiti. As the walls of a new Cathedral rise, so too will the hearts and fortunes of those who have depended on Holy Trinity for spiritual succor, for education, and for income. We have the chance to resurrect the spirit of a nation.
As they say in Haiti, Men anpil chay pa lou, or many hands make the load lighter. Working together, we can complete this project brick by brick, and $10 buys a brick.
Roll Away the Stones
Before the walls of a new cathedral can rise, the rubble must be cleared and the land secured against transient inhabitants. With help from UNESCO and the Smithsonian, workers have sorted through the ruins for surviving fragments of the church’s famous murals. Where rubble once choked the compound, tin roofs shade open-air classrooms, and the former cathedral’s checkered floor tiles lie cleared and open to the sky.
Brick by brick you can help recover one of Haiti’s great masterpieces.
Rebuild the Soul of a Nation
Out of the destruction of the entire Cathedral Complex, new life has begun to rise, full of possibilities. The Haitian government has granted The Episcopal Church a plot of land that will nearly double our presence in downtown Port-au-Prince. Responsible rebuilding requires a thorough site inspection and the development of a master site plan before construction of individual buildings can begin. The process will begin with formal requests for proposals from architects and builders.
Brick by brick, you can help create a new spiritual home for thousands of Episcopalians.
New Life for Haiti
The new Cathedral will serve as an anchor to the expanded Episcopal presence in downtown Port-au-Prince, offering worship space for 1,000, housing diocesan offices and a rectory, and incorporating the former cathedral ruins as an historic memorial garden.
Brick by brick, you can raise up the walls of a new cathedral over the ruins of the past.
The Diocese of Haiti has conducted initial strategic planning, and engineers are already at work in Haiti instructing masons in earthquake-safe methods that are no more costly than the masonry that failed.
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