Newsline: Brethren pray for Haiti on one-year anniversary of earthquake

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl

Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Brethren pray for Haiti on one-year anniversary of 2010 earthquake

(Jan. 13, 2011) Elgin, IL -- Brethren Disaster Ministries staff and

volunteers yesterday called for prayer for Haiti as Brethren help 
rebuild

there. Jan. 12 was the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that 
struck

Haiti's capital city Port-au-Prince, killing hundreds of thousands of 
people

>and making millions homeless.

"As we approach the anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti let us all 
pause

for prayer. Thousands of Haitians still live in tarp shelters, hungry 
and

exposed to the weather," began the message from Brethren Disaster

Ministries executive director Roy Winter, his staff, and volunteers.

"Pray for new Haitian leadership that will guide the country out of 
poverty.

Pray for physical and spiritual fortitude for our Brethren sisters 
and brothers

in Haiti. Pray for those who have been permanently disabled by their 
injuries.

Pray for the children who have been left orphaned. Remember those who 
are

toiling endlessly to rebuild homes and communities, to restore 
livelihoods,

>and to rekindle hope.

"The Brethren response to the earthquake has many facets from 
agriculture

to home construction, from distribution of food to water filters, 
from health

care to trauma recovery. Pray that our efforts nurture solidarity and 
support

a sustainable recovery for those whom we serve. Let this whole day be 
one

>of prayer and remembrance."

In related news, an additional grant of $150,000 has been given from 
the

Church of the Brethren's Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) for relief work

in Haiti. The grant provides Brethren Disaster Ministries with ongoing

support for its longterm recovery effort following the earthquake.

The grant will support construction of a multi-use structure to be a 
guesthouse

for workcamp groups and for Haitians coming to Port-au-Prince for 
meetings

or training; homes for earthquake survivors; water and sanitation 
projects;

new agriculture projects that help communities be increasingly 
self-sufficient;

and a new micro-loan program in Port-au-Prince, to be made available 
to

Church of the Brethren members from the devastated Delma 3 
congregation.

Previous EDF grants for earthquake relief in Haiti total $550,000.

In further news, yesterday IMA World Health held a Day of Prayer to 
mark

the anniversary of the earthquake. Three of the organization's staff 
who work

out of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., were trapped 
in the

rubble in Port-au-Prince and rescued some days after the disaster. 
IMA held

the prayer service at Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, Md., 
with

president Rick Santos presenting the current situation in Haiti, and 
pastors

leading a time of prayer to ask for hope, comfort, and provision for 
the Haitian

people. Participating ministers included Glenn McCrickard of 
Westminster

>Church of the Brethren.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to

continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out 
its faith

in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist 
faith

traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It 
celebrated its

300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the 
United

States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in 
Nigeria, Brazil,

>the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org