|
St. Mary Church Covenant with Les Palmes Haiti |
  
|
COVENANT WITH LES PALMES, HAITI On November 30, 2003, St. Mary-St. Joseph, entered into a covenant with Our Lady of the Presentation in Les Palmes, Haiti. This means that we will support them with prayer and visits as well as giving them financial support. The last five years we have had 85 donors, 25 of which were not of this parish, but family and friends of the group that did the fund raising. Our goal was to raise $10,000 a year for five years. The goal was easily met! In fact it was exceeded. From the 25 donors that were non-parishioners there was a commitment of $18,000 (over five years). From the 60 remaining, parishioners of St. Mary-St. Joseph, there was a commitment of $48,000. There were changes in financial status over the time period and some had to give less and some gave more. Some gave as a one time only donation and then gave more as their circumstances permitted. Others save their soda bottles and return them to give the money monthly or gave up something they especially enjoyed, such as soda, candy, morning coffee break or a breakfast, lunch or dinner out. God is good and has provided us with this opportunity to help the poorest of the poor in Haiti. Education for them is an answer to knowledge that will make life better. Public schools in Haiti have limited space and there is a fee and private schools are costly. In the mountain they didn’t have school after 6th grade unless the family could afford to send their child to the city to stay with someone and pay for a room and bring them food. Most families need the children to be at home to help out with chores and care of siblings. Pledge cards are available anytime for people to commit, with financial support for this project. The pledge is for the three year covenant to help pay for the teachers’ salaries. Please pray about this and be as generous as possible. We have a goal of $15,000 per year. This may seem out of reach but as I said earlier there are ways to attain our goal. In the church hall is a bulletin board for Haiti with information and pledge cards. November of 2011 will be date to commit to a new covenant for five years. Thank you and God Bless you all The Haitian Ministries Committee
, Fr.Vil Johnson, (Pastor Les Palmes, Haiti) Fr. Victor Chaker (Pastor St. Mary’s) Fr. John Morin (Immaculata Retreat House, Creole translator)
|
