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RSSOctober 31, Proper 26
by the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton for ERD
10/31/2004
Isaiah 1:10-20
Ps 32
II Thessalonians 1:1-5(6-10)11-12
Luke 19:1-10
"For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost." -- Luke 19:1-10 (NRSV)
We don't yet know how many lives Hurricane Jeanne claimed in Haiti. We may never know—it is always hard to count the poor, hard to know where the homeless live, hard to know where a child went whose only home was in the street. One thing is certain: when Jeanne struck, thousands of people in Haiti had nowhere to go and no way to get there.
Every victim of the current terrible hurricane season, no matter where, is a grievous loss. But the heavy losses in Haiti, the poorest nation in our hemisphere, still reeling from civil strife and this year's earlier flooding, tugs especially at the hearts of those planners and workers from Episcopal Relief and Development who have become involved with the courageous ministries of service in the Diocese of Haiti, the Episcopal Church's newest Diocese.
Action is one antidote to despair: the people at ERD will never know why it is that the people of Haiti must suffer so, but at least they know what to do. The organization is practiced at fast and effective emergency relief, at knowing what is needed and knowing how to get it there. Grief cannot be allowed to paralyze the living: that another thousand or more may have died must not slow the drive to save those who remain, and give them a chance to rebuild their lives.
And there is another antidote, an earlier one—the first one. Prayer unites us with those for whom we pray, bringing all of us under the roof of the divine love. ERD will use its quick expertise—the bishop of Haiti contacted ERD within hours to ask for its help with repairs to people's homes, with food, with medicine. The response was immediate, amplifying the ongoing ERD ministry of presence already in place there in support of the Church's hospitals, food and clothing distribution and building programs. And each appeal it sends us for help in this good work comes also with the prayer that God will move our hearts to respond.
To learn more about ERD's response to the victims of Hurricanes in Haiti and elsewhere, visit http://www.er-d.org/, or call 1-800-334-7626, ext 5129.
Episcopal Relief and Development saves lives and builds hope in communities around the world. We provide emergency assistance in times of disaster. When the immediate crisis is over, we rebuild devastated communities and offer long-term solutions in the areas of food security, health care, and HIV/AIDS.
