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By John W. Coleman
Special to the UMConnection

Victims of last week's tragic earthquake in Haiti were remembered in words and songs of hope, as well as donations and news updates, during a Friday evening prayer service Jan. 15 at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington D.C.

Nearly 70 worshippers joined in Scripture readings, hymns, prayer concerns and reflections on faith and responsibility. But they also heard reports on rescue efforts and on families, friends and colleagues who had survived or were still missing.

Tom Hazelwood, regional head of disaster response for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), announced that three of his colleagues from UMCOR and its parent agency, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, were found and rescued the night before. They had been missing for 55 hours.

That announcement later proved sadly premature. The Rev. Sam Dixon, head of UMCOR, the Rev. Clinton Rabb, a Mission Volunteers Unit executive, and James Gulley, an UMCOR consultant, were located with other survivors in the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Haiti. However, it was later reported that Dixon died from his injuries before he could be rescued, and Rabb died Jan. 17 at a Florida hospital after his evacuation.

The Rev. Dean Snyder, Foundry's pastor, shared additional prayer concerns of Foundry and other churches around the nation for friends and colleagues doing mission work in Haiti when the earthquake struck. He reported one death and one last-minute escape, both from collapsed buildings, plus one mission team still missing its members and another struggling to provide emergency assistance to survivors in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Snyder also reported the rescue of Foundry member Leigh Carter, who had fallen from a second-story window, but was saved and evacuated to a Santo Domingo hospital in the Dominican Republic, the nation adjoining Haiti on the tiny island of Hispaniola.

Carter is director of Fonkoze USA, which supports the work of Fonkoze, Haiti's largest alternative bank and microfinance institution serving the poor. She was scheduled to lead a Foundry mission team to Haiti in the fall of 2010. Carter's husband was at Andrews Air Force Base Friday night, despite limited communication from his wife, waiting but still uncertain of when she would return.

Washington Area Bishop John Schol encouraged prayer service attendees to overcome their sadness, fears and doubts from the tragedy by relying on God's steadfast mercy and by connecting with one another and with the people of Haiti through prayers and active support for relief efforts.

"When the earth shakes, it's not unusual for us to be sad and afraid. You can just imagine the fear of people there and of friends and families here who worry for their loved ones," said Schol. "But it is by acting on behalf of others that we can overcome our sadness and fear."

Schol told of a family who helped rescue their daughter from a collapsed building, but rather than accompany her on the ride to the hospital, returned instead to help free others from the ruins.

Confessing his own doubts about the survival of the lost but finally found UMCOR executives, the bishop recalled the assurance of God's faithfulness found in Romans 8 and urged the congregation to always remember and hold fast to that assurance.

Schol and Snyder together presented a $1,000 check from Foundry to the Haitian embassy to be used for relief efforts. "God's grace is with you and with all of us in this painful time," said Wilby Louis, a volunteer staff member of the embassy, in accepting the gift. An offering was also taken to support UMCOR's work in Haiti.

Paul Monteiro, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, reported that President Barack Obama "is in constant contact with the Haitian ambassador" and that the White House is working with Haiti and Haitian-American groups to support relief efforts. Monteiro urged listeners to make only monetary donations for now, through credible relief organizations like UMCOR, and to consult the Center for International Disaster Information at http://www.cidi.org/ for updates on where and how to give.

Jim Winkler, head of the denomination's Board of Church and Society in Washington, called upon United Methodists to not only give money but also advocate for improvements in U.S. immigration, trade and economic development policies toward Haiti. Those policies have been described by some as exploitative and destructive to Haiti's economy.

"Haiti has been called an unlucky country," said Winkler, describing difficult U.S. relations with the tiny nation ever since its slaves overthrew French control in 1804 and declared their independence. That independence was initially rejected by the U.S. because of fears that Haiti's slave rebellion might spread here.

"We're going to need to be ready to open our arms to receive survivors who will come to our country to escape from this tragedy," said Winkler. "This will be a test for us at a time when we have not been as hospitable as we should be to immigrant peoples."

Snyder reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had just announced the designation of Temporary Protected Status for undocumented Haitian immigrants in the U.S., including those scheduled for deportation. The decision will allow those immigrants to remain in the U.S. for up to 18 months during the expected earthquake recovery period.