Haiti Ministry

Haiti Ministry

“Development cannot be reduced to mere economic growth: it must include the moral and spiritual dimensions. At the same time, an authentic and integral humanism can only consist of solidarity, and solidarity is one of the loftiest expressions of the human spirit; it is one of the natural duties of the human being, applicable to both individuals and peoples; the full development of peace depends on the implementation of this duty.” [Pope Benedict XVI, 2008]

If you are interested in getting involved with our Haiti Ministry, please contact Tom Campbell, committee chair, at judentom@embarqmail.com, or Sheila in the office (justiceandcharity@incarnationparish.org).

Our Twinning Partnership

Since the 1990s, the Church of the Incarnation has participated in the Diocese of Richmond’s Haiti Twinning Program through our partnership with the Petits Fréres et Petites Sœurs de l’Incarnation (Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the Incarnation), an order of religious men and women working to “become one with the peasants”–that is, the poor and marginalized living in six dioceses of Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and one in the Dominican Republic. The order, led by Br. Franklin Armand and Sr. Emmanuelle Victor, seeks to improve conditions among Haiti’s poor by being “salt and light” for the world–that is, servants in Christ and for Christ.

According to the Little Brothers and Little Sisters, “Haiti is like the reed which bends in the wind but does not break.  It shows to the world once again the historic strength of the poor.  The poor, the blessed of God, are a sacrament of the saving and liberating power of God, a sacrament of God’s justice (which is to say, God’s mercy for all people), and a sign of God’s forgiveness and non-violence.  Haiti knows how much it is loved and cherished by God precisely because it is one of the poorest countries on earth.  Its poverty is its richness.  Haiti knows it is loved and cherished by a Father who would never abandon His children.”  (This youtube video, produced by a different organization working with the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the Incarnation as well, shows some of the work that the order undertakes as a response to their call to live among and serve the poor in the name of Christ.  Incarnation supports many similar programs in the area.)

A student at a primary school in Pandiassou that we support (photo credit – Linda Hexter)