Pray for the People of Haiti

St. Thomas Episcopal Church of Battle Creek has a sister parish
in the town of Thor, Haiti (see red dot above or click on map).
"The Church of the Ascension" is a thriving Episcopal parish
with a large congregation and many outreach programs.
The Rector of that church is the Rev. Frantz ("Fanfan") Cole.

Unfortunately, our sister parish in Haiti was hit by the massive earthquake
that struck on Jan. 12, 2010, killing untold thousands in the nation
and forcing millions of people out of their homes.

We have learned through our ECUSA contacts in Haiti that Rev. Cole is alive.
Because of damage to local structures and continuing aftershocks,
Fanfan is living in a tent city next to the College St. Pierre,
an Episcopal primary school that collapsed during the quake .

Thor, Haiti, is adjacent to the large city of Carrefour, pronounced "kah-FOO,"
which is situated about 15 miles due west of Port-Au-Prince.
In the most recent census, Carrefour reported a population of about 450,000.

News Update: February 9, 2010

We've recently learned that Rev. Cole's wife is alive. They were separated
for some time after the earthquake. Apparently, Mrs. Cole initially fled
to a less populated area of Haiti but she is now reported to be OK.

Sadly, we've also learned that three parishioners
of the Church of the Ascension were killed during the earthquake.
All three were in Port-au-Prince at the time, about 15 miles away,
where much of the heaviest damage was sustained.
Please keep them and all of Haiti in your prayers.

The building that houses the Church of the Ascension
was not seriously damaged, according to our latest reports,
and may be salvageable. It's not clear if services are being
held in the church building at this time.

Needed: Children's Medicine

Rev. Cole has asked us to send over-the-counter children's medicines
to his parish, particularly pain killers and cold and flu medicines that are
specifically labeled for children's use. We have sent one shipment already
and we're planning to send another much-needed shipment soon.
If you'd like to help, please bring new, unopened packages
of these children's medicines to the St. Thomas office
in downtown Battle Creek. (See map)

Episcopal Diocese of Haiti

Diocesan officials in Haiti tell us that the Episcopal university
and seminary in Port-au-Prince were heavily damaged by the quake.
The Episcopal Bishop of Haiti is asking us to send financial help
and to avoid coming to Haiti at this time unless you are
a trained "first responder" for this type of crisis.

To read an news update from the Episcopal News Service
posted on January 19, please click here now.
To see photos from the tent city
at College St. Pierre, click here now.
We will update this page as more news becomes available.

Donate to the Relief Effort

If you would like to donate money to the relief effort,
please consider Episcopal Relief and Development, which has a long-standing
presence in Haiti. (Haiti is the largest Diocese of the Episcopal Church today.)

To make a tax-deductible donation to the ERD Haiti Fund, please click here now
or visit www.er-d.org on the Internet. Thank you!

For more information about St. Thomas and our relationship
with Haiti , please call the parish office at (269) 965-2244.