The bridge between Haiti and Minnesota: Six Minnesota parishes are engaged in MDG work with the Diocese of Haiti
by Janell Draper
Of all the ways Minnesota churches could answer the Presiding Bishop’s call to address the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), why have so many chosen Haiti? Perhaps it is because Minnesotans and Haitians alike place a high value on education. Since the Haitian government cannot afford to provide free primary education, the only opportunity many children have to learn reading and math is inside the local Episcopal church. Every Episcopal parish in Haiti also runs a school, often with an altar on one wall of the church and chalkboards on the other. This is how the Diocese of Haiti has chosen to combat extreme poverty, and their methods have rung true in Minnesota.
“One church, one school, this much we can do,” says Jane Peck, a member of St. Luke’s in Minneapolis. “No longer am I overwhelmed and paralyzed by global need. We now know the faces behind the need, and we have found a pathway to respond to the need. It was amazing to me to see how much one can help in this country with just a small amount of money. Furthermore, we are all invited to visit Father Jonas and St. Patrick’s School and Church to see our money at work. Now what charity allows that kind of accountability? Here is our chance to help cut extreme poverty in half and provide basic education by 2015, as stated in the MDGs endorsed by the Episcopal Church.”
The first Minnesota church to begin a partnership in Haiti was Messiah, St. Paul, in 1995. Then a few more parishes followed that lead. Today, six parishes in the Diocese of Minnesota have or are developing significant shared ministries with parishes in Haiti. Or maybe you could say Haiti has a significant ministry in Minnesota!
From e-mails and phone calls, to visits to Haiti or Minnesota, to fundraisers and awareness campaigns, the bond between these two very different communities is strong and growing stronger. Take this story from Elizabeth McClure, a member of St. John’s in Minneapolis, who recently visited St. John’s partner parish, St. Philippe-St. Jacques:
“St. John’s parish is in the hearts of our friends in Haiti. Father Kerwin Delicat, the parish priest, shares news from the St. John’s website with his congregation. He reads our newsletter online and shares our photos in the St. John’s directory. We are very real to our Haitian friends, even though most members from both parishes will never see each other face to face. . . . I also want to report on a very important activity that has arisen from the commitment we have made to our sister parish. Donations from St. John’s have doubled the number of teachers in the parish school and given approximately two hundred children a hot, nutritious lunch about twice a week. The number one request of the parents of these students is to expand the lunch program so it can someday provide meals five days a week. It gives parents great peace of mind to know their children will get at least one (and too often only one) nutritious meal a day.”
Among the Minnesota churches working in Haiti, three have formalized partnerships. St. Alban’s, Edina, is partnered with St. Patrick’s, Tomb Gateau; Messiah, St. Paul, with Epiphanie, L’Acueil; and St. John’s, Minneapolis, with St. Philippe-St. Jacques, Gressier. St. James, Minneapolis—which is an MDG Pilot Parish—is exploring a partnership with Bonne Nouvelle, Bigonet. The exploration involves extensive education of both children and adults at St. James and in the larger community about the history, culture, language, and deep strengths of Haitian people. St. James and Bonne Nouvelle are also exploring development of a three-way partnership that would include St. Matthew’s, St. Paul. In addition, St. Luke’s, Minneapolis, supports a lunch program at the primary school run by St. Patrick’s. All six of the Minnesota parishes doing MDG work in Haiti meet regularly to hear updates on each other’s activities and relationships in Haiti and to educate themselves about that country’s history, language, of culture. These meetings are always open to newcomers, whether they are individuals with connections to Haiti or congregations investigating if a partnership is right for them. Contact any of the Minnesota parishes mentioned in this article to find out when the next interparish Haiti meeting will take place.
~Janell Draper is Coordinator for the University Episcopal Community in Minneapolis.
