St. Margaret's Episcopal Church

Bishop Chilton Knudsen, retired bishop of Maine, reports from her mission trip to the Diocese of Haiti - follow her journey on her blog  here

In January four parishioners of St. Alban’s, Cape Elizabeth, went to Haiti to visit Pere Louis Toussaint Rosanas, who, in addition to being our partner priest, is the priest of their partner parish, St. Luc’s, Trou-du-Nord. They carried a “yearbook” of student and teacher pictures I prepared from photos I took on my visit to St. Etienne’s last March.  The important thing for me about making the yearbook and sending photos of each student is the connection of names with faces.  In our baptism we are given a name, and we are Christ’s own forever.  So many of the images we see from developing nations have no names with faces.  Now we have names for real brothers and sisters in our partner parish.  Take a look at the yearbook; there is a copy in the parish hall.

Another way we are developing a relationship is through correspondence.  Pere Louis gave me names of the eighth graders who are learning English and who would like to write.  He has asked that we begin the correspondence.  If you would like to participate, please let me know.

                                                                                                                 -- John Arrison

TOGETHER WE CAN

     The theme of November’s Haiti Connection Conference in Port-au-Prince was “C’est Ensemble,” or “Together We Can.” Shortly after the conference, Pere Louis reported to me that school didn’t start until October 19, a date set by the government. He said, though, that the teachers needed to be paid for September and that parents wouldn’t pay tuition for September. Because of the great increase this year in the price of rice, beans, and fuel, Pere Louis had to increase the salaries of the school staff. The total monthly cost is now almost $2,000. I was feeling a great burden on me and on all of us, as members of St. Etienne’s partner parish. Yet, in one of his e-mails, Pere Louis reminded me of the “Together We Can” theme of the conference. I must admit that one of my responses was one I learned in my Haitian Creole class: Kote nou panse mwen jwenn lajan?, which means “Where do you think I can find the money?” Yet, the “Together We Can” theme hit home when I remembered the value of our prayers, and that God, too, is a mighty important part of our partnership.

     Our partnership has grown. This fall, St. Thomas’s in Camden joined with us to help support St. Etienne’s. Our hope is that it will also build our relationship with St. Thomas’s. We are also thankful for the partnership of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia, which recently sent $3,000 to St. Etienne’s. It was Emmanuel that funded the construction of the church and school in the 1980s. And, in December, I received a call from Christ Church in Portsmouth, as a follow-up call that Pere Louis and I made last summer when he was visiting, asking for more information on how they might help. Our Outreach Committee, with other donations, sent $1,400 in October, and we have wired another $1,750 at the end of January, thanks to the many who made donations through the Christmas Giving Tree and through our Teacher Sponsorship drive. Thank you, thank you, to the many donors. Oh, God does provide!

     Together We Can. Yes, it works! Praise be to God!

      The Outreach Mission committee voted to respond to pleas for support from Pere Louis Rosanas at our partner parish, St. Etienne's, in Limonade, Haiti, to help prepare for the beginning of the school year. Because of the hurricanes, the government delayed the start of school year to Oct. 6. At the end of September we sent $1,000 to help with teacher salaries and the purchase of student desks and benches.
On Sept.24, John Arrison made a presentation about Haiti partnerships to the Outreach Committee of St. Thomas's Episcopal Church in Camden. They have since decided to join St. Margaret's in our partnership with St. Etienne's. We are certain that this will help us build a stronger and more supportive relationship with St. Etienne's, while building a stronger spiritual community relationship between St. Margaret's and St. Thomas's. We look forward to growing together through our common work in Haiti

     Père Louis Toussaint Rosanas, priest-in-charge of St. Étienne’s Episcopal Church in Limonade, Haiti, visited St. Margaret’s in late July and early August, for a five-plus day stay in Belfast. He arrived in Maine on July 26, staying for a few days with parishioners of St. Alban’s, Cape Elizabeth, and St. Luke’s, Wilton, which are partners with Père Louis’s other church, St. Luc’s, Trou-du-Nord.
For most of his visit, Père Louis stayed with John and Janet Arrison, though he also was treated to an overnight with Charles and Margaret Demere; Margaret had spent time in Haiti before, so was interested in hosting Père Louis.
     We kept Père Louis pretty busy during his visit, giving him a chance to meet and chat with parishioners at a number of events. Almost as soon as he arrived in Belfast, John Arrison subjected him to a row on the Come Boating! gig Belle Fast; at least he got a lobster for his efforts! On Thursday evening, Joan and Baird Whitlock hosted an excellent potluck dinner for Père Louis and the Outreach Committee. The gathering included Dr. Carol Kuhn, who makes medical visits to Cap Haitien about three times a year.
     Friday evening, Nan Cobbey, who lived in Haiti for two years, cooked a delicious Haitian meal, followed by a showing of the movie The Agronomist, a documentary about Haitian journalist and activist radio broadcaster Jean Dominique. The movie tells the story not only of Dominique’s role in promoting free speech and making Haitians aware of political corruption in government, but also of Haiti’s painful history since the days of dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Père Louis confirmed the reality of the violence and difficulties in Haiti shown in the movie.
     Saturday afternoon, Charles Demere took Père Louis to the Penobscot Marine Museum. Sunday morning, Truman Fudge preached a splendid sermon, connecting Christ’s feeding of the 5,000 with our partnership with St. Étienne’s in a very effective and thoughtful way. At each service, Père Louis presented a banner made in Limonade of a map of Haiti, as a reminder of our partnership. Remember that we sent a St. Margaret’s banner, made by our young people when John went to Haiti in March. Between services, Père Louis showed some photographs of St. Étienne’s, showing the construction of the new fence and the students. He answered questions, thanks to Betty Becker-Theye’s fine help as a French interpreter. At the second service, Susan Mayer presented a check for $500 to Père Louis from the Women of St. Margaret’s. Thank you!
     Sunday afternoon, John and Janet Arrison hosted an all-parish barbecue at their house, along with Vestry co-hosts Erin Ireland and Richard Burk. Many brought lots of goodies to add to the menu. The weather was perfect despite many threats of thunderstorms.
     Monday was a work day for John and Père Louis, as they made connections with other churches and wrote letters of introduction. Also, they went over lists of things St. Étienne’s needs, along with their costs and priorities. In the afternoon, they went up Mt. Battie and then into Camden. They stopped at St. Thomas’s at the end of the day, and they had the good fortune to meet John Rafter, St. Thomas’s rector.
John and Père Louis unsuccessfully tried to get to bed early Monday night, as the two left at 2:30 in the morning to drive to Logan Airport in Boston to catch Père Louis’s flight back to Haiti.
All in all, we give great thanks to all who participated in Père Louis’s visit, a sure sign of the strength of our partnership. We look forward to keeping our partnership vital and growing.