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The Kingdom on Earth

November 26, 2011

By Simon Chambers

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Today, Naba and I visited the parish of St. Matthieu with Father Cole, the Coordinator of CEDDISEC (the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti’s development arm) and Father Phanord, the priest of the 7-point parish of St. Matthieu.  PWRDF has been heavily involved in the area since the earthquake, and we visited the permanent school we have helped to construct with Finn Church Aid, and also several of the 70 transitional shelters (houses designed to last about 7 years) that we have funded in the parish.

But I don’t really want to get into the technical specs of what we’ve done, nor do I want to write up the stories of the people we met today- they will come in due time.

Today, I want to get all theological and share something Father Cole said as we were sitting at Father Phanord’s house with a cold drink and some cashews after our visits.  During this wind-down to our day, we talked about the overall work in the parish, about the challenges faced by people in the region before the earthquake, and how the Church could be involved in addressing those issues.

One thing that is important to note before I tell you what Father Cole said is that the parish has put all its efforts since the earthquake into re-building the school and into building housing for the most vulnerable people in the community. The church itself was damaged so badly in the quake, they haven’t been able to worship in it since.

Father Cole thanked us for our partnership with CEDDISEC, and said that we were helping the Church to make the Word of God real for the people in St. Matthieu.  “We need to provide not just the promise of a better life, but the ways to achieve it.  After all, the Kingdom of God is not just in the sky but here on earth, too.”

I think he summed up in two sentences the mission of PWRDF here in Haiti.  We are here as the Canadian Anglican response to the devastating earthquake that struck almost two years ago.  We are here sharing the generosity of so many thousands of people in Canada who gave so generously to our relief efforts.  We are here to work not just to rebuild lives, but to rebuild better- to offer a better life.

That work is taking place in the work of a Canadian engineer who has been here for over a year helping to construct schools that exceed the earthquake and hurricane strengths that Haiti faces.  It is taking place in the offering of meals to children so they can go to school.  It is taking place in the work with families living in the heart of Carre Four who are learning to cultivate small gardens in the centre of their urban sprawl.  It is taking place in the cooperation of all the agencies of the ACT Alliance working here.  And it is taking place in the work of St. Matthieu as they focus on the needs of the community, but also on the needs of the church- they want to rebuild their house of worship soon, as the church building will be able to continue to act as the glue holding the community together, and as a beacon to that better life we are promised in the Gospel.

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