wfn.org | Church of the Brethren Haiti mission grows congregation

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: Jan. 5, 2006
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100  F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com)

NEW CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN MISSION IN HAITI GROWS FLEDGLING  CONGREGATION

Jan. 5, 2006 (Elgin, IL) -- A Haiti Advisory Committee for the new Church  of
the Brethren mission in Haiti heard a report at its first meeting Dec. 17,
2005, of a fledgling Church of the Brethren congregation in
Port-au-Prince. The
 mission effort is less than a year-and-a-half old, having been initiated in
Oct.  2004.

The meeting was held at L'Eglise des Freres Haitiens (Haitian Church of
the 
Brethren) in Miami, Fla. The committeeâs primary task at the meeting was to
clarify its role in the new mission effort. Those present included Ludovic St.
Fleur, pastor of L'Eglise des Freres Haitiens, Volcy Beauplan, Jonathan
Cadette,  Marc Labranche, Jean Nixon Aubel, Wayne Sutton, Merle Crouse, Renel
Exceus, Jeff  Boshart, and Merv Keeney, executive director of Global Mission
Partnerships for  the Church of the Brethren General Board. Boshart provided this
report of the  meeting.

St. Fleur shared that a "mother congregation" has been formed in Haiti's
capital of Port au Prince. Over 100 people are attending worship, and leadership
development is under way. The church building is located on land leased from
the  Haitian government, near one of the most dangerous parts of the city. As
there  is tremendous uncertainty regarding the stability of the
government, a
new  location for worship is being investigated. St. Fleur said the greatest
needs of  the new congregation at this time are for much prayer, more Brethren
printed  materials to be translated into Haitian Creole, and the necessity of
locating a  new place of worship.

Jonathan Cadette of First Church of  the Brethren in Miami, Fla., who worked
as a lawyer in Haiti before coming to  the US, said that to be recognized as a
denomination in Haiti the Church of the  Brethren will have to meet certain
criteria including establishment of a  headquarters, formation of at least five
congregations, and initiation of a  social outreach, for example in
education, health, agriculture, etc. Work will	be done toward meeting the
requirements, but the committee felt that practically  speaking they do
not have any
immediate impact on the fledgling  congregation.

The committee sought to define its role and clarify how it may support the
mission effort. It also began to think about ways to report about the mission,
and to connect the effort more widely. The advisory committee model is an
effort	to support St. Fleur and Haitian leadership who have been assigned the
responsibility for guiding the new mission effort under the General
Board's 
international mission structure, the Global Mission Partnerships office.

The Haiti mission was approved by the General Board in Oct. 2004 as a
"Haitian-led" endeavor, a new model for the church according to Keeney.
The  mission
was begun following lengthy exploration with Brethren districts,
congregations, and individuals already at work in Haiti.

Former General Board mission staff Merle Crouse, of New Covenant Church of
the Brethren in Gotha, Fla., recounted previous Brethren involvement in Haiti
and expressed his hope that some connections will be made with remnants of
that  earlier work. Committee members will follow up on various contacts both in
the  US and in Haiti.

The general feeling of the meeting was one  of optimism and a desire to see
the work in Haiti grow and flourish. "We need to  keep God in first place, use
our knees, leave room for our faith to act, and  remember that the future does
not belong to us," said Cadette. June 3 was  selected for the committee's
next meeting.

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 celebrates its  300th
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil,
the 
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.

# # #

For more information contact:

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_
(mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org)

*****************************************************************
The  Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,
 director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board.
Newsline  stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the source.
To  receive Newsline by e-mail, write _cobnews@aol.com_
(mailto:cobnews@aol.com)  or call 800-323-8039 ext.  260.