Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Arriving in Haiti by Jim Curry

We were met at the airport in Port-au-Prince by Bishop Zache Duracin. He had made arrangements for us to move quickly through customs as honored guests. Night fell as we left the airport, but we were able to see the huge tent city that has been built on the road into the center of Port-au-Prince.

I was last in Port-au-Prince fourteen years ago. I had visited on one of the trips from the Diocese of Connecticut when we were partnering with the four dioceses (Haiti, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, and Cuba) who were seeking to form an independent province of the Anglican Communion. It was during that time that many of the deep parish to parish partnerships were formed between our diocese and parishes in Haiti.

Even in the dark, I could see that the traffic was much the same with brightly painted Tap-Tap trucks carrying people through the city. People crowded the roadways and stands were selling everything from fruits to crafts. But also just beyond the verge of the road were temporary buildings, tents, wooden walls surrounding rubble and destroyed buildings and homes.

Another thing that has stayed the same is the welcoming spirit of the Haitian people. The Bishop and his staff, especially Angela Galbreath, have done everything possible to make us welcome.

Tomorrow we will be briefed on the work of the Episcopal Church of Haiti and have a chance to tour sites throughout Port-au-Prince. I'm sure that in the daylight we will see both the extent of the devastation and the energy of the people of the church to be about God's Mission.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Connecticut Bishops Go to Haiti



Bishops Laura Ahrens, Ian Douglas and Jim Curry leave tomorrow (December 6) for a one week trip to the Diocese of Haiti. We will be joined by Bishop Gordon Scruton of Western Massachusetts and Bishop Gerry Wolf of Rhode Island. We will spend the first two days of our trip being briefed by Bishop Duracin of Haiti and touring rebuilding sites in the Port-au-Prince area.

Thursday we will host a conference for the clergy of Haiti and engage the question of Shared Leadership and Mission in Difficult Times. Friday we will be leading a conference for seminarians. Saturday and Sunday we will travel out to parishes in Gonaives, Les Cayes and Leogane.

We are not sure of the quality of internet access we will have during the trip. Our hope is to send postings and photos to this blog daily.