News from partner congregations

Since Sunday, several people have established contact with Fr. Kerwin Delicat, the Priest-in-Charge of several of the congregations with partner parishes here in Minnesota. We have received word via Kerwin+ and other sources about the Episcopal congregations in Bigonet and L’Acul, both partners of Twin Cities parishes, as well as in Jasmine.

Dianne Pizey spoke to Kerwin+ on Monday morning:

He told me what we already knew – Haiti is almost completely destroyed, the church has lost almost everything, every person he knows has lost at least one loved one, everyone is sleeping outside and they have nothing but the clothes on their back, everyone is crying [for] their loved ones. He didn’t lose any immediate family, but he lost three cousins in Port au Prince. He lost many, many parishioners from Ste. Croix in Léogâne, including three young people who had just started at the Episcopal University in Port au Prince.

At St. Philippe – St. Jacques, the church is completely destroyed, and the school is very badly damaged, just like all the other churches and schools. He said there were not many deaths there.

Kerwin+’s wife, Rholcie, and daughter, Kercie, are both okay but still shaken. Terry Franzen, who leads the Haiti partnership at Christ Church in Norcross, GA, and joined the St. John’s trip to Haiti last June, reports from a conversation with Kerwin+ on Tuesday:

[Kerwin+] has made arrangements to get Rholcie and Kercie to the Dominican Republic on Friday and then to Ft. Lauderdale, where Kerwin’s cousin will meet them.

St. Joseph d’Arimathie, Jasmine

In the same e-mail, Terry relays news from Kerwin+ about Christ Church’s partner congregation, of which he is also Priest-in-Charge:

Kerwin said that he spoke to Maxo, the lay leader for St. Joseph’s today. He said that the church is badly cracked and that everyone is sleeping outside because of the damage to their homes and their fear of another quake.

Bonne Nouvelle, Bigonet

Maria Roesler, a friend of Ruth Anne Olson of St. James on the Parkway‘s Haiti partnership, spoke to Kerwin+ on Sunday about Bonne Nouvelle in Bigonet, St. James’ partner congregation.

He reports that the church is destroyed and the school was badly damaged, but nobody from the Bonne Nouvelle church or the school died. He did mention another church that is nearby (I didn’t catch the name) and says that a lot of people from that church died. [...] [M]ost people are sleeping outside, as their houses were destroyed. [...]

He says that they truly need prayer in this time, because many people are crying for family that they have lost. He was encouraged to hear about the prayer service that was held here for Haiti.

Epiphanie, L’Acul

Epiphanie, the Episcopal congregation in the town of L’Acul near Léogâne, is partnered with Messiah in Saint Paul. Mike Carlin, co-director of CODEP, which is located across the road from Epiphanie, sent this report to Suzanne Wiebusch, Messiah’s liason for their partnership, on Monday:

Epiphan[i]e has some serious damage to [its] facility. I will be assessing the damage the[re] later today with an architect that is stopping by. We worshipped outside yesterday and had a beautiful service.