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Dear Parish Family,

As we watch the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti unfold, we extend our thoughts and prayers to that nation and its people. As a community, we remember those whose loss right now is immeasurable and whose lives have been disrupted beyond imagining. We remember also those who have lost loved ones or who are hoping simply to be in touch with loved ones, but are unable to do so in the usual ways.

Trinity Wall Street has long-standing mission ties to this part of the world. With thanks to God, provisional reports indicate that the Sisters of the Society of St. Margaret, and the Rev. Canon Oge Beauvoir, who is Dean of the Theological Seminary in Port-au-Prince and our missionary in Haiti, are safe. Both the convent and seminary buildings were destroyed in the earthquake.

Parishioner and former staff member Ali Lutz was not in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. Ali currently works for Partners in Health, an organization that provides access to basic health care for the world's poor, and will return to Haiti to help in recovery in the near future.

As the Trinity community did for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in South Asia, we will again be coordinating an emergency fundraising response.

We are pleased to announce that the Rector, Vestry, and Wardens, at their January 13 meeting, have approved the allocation of $100,000 to provide relief in Haiti as a first step. The funds will be provided for working directly with Canon Beauvoir and the Seminary and the Sisters of St. Margaret as well as joining efforts with the Diocese of New York and Episcopal Relief and Development.

We encourage members of the Trinity community, near and far, to give generously to the support of the rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti. A special donation page has been set up on our website, www.trinitywallstreet.org/haiti, to provide funds for Trinity's mission in Haiti – the work of the Seminary and the Sisters of St. Margaret. We will be updating the needs of these two missions in the coming days and weeks.

We also invite members of the community to give financially to Episcopal Relief and Development's Haiti Fund, to Partners in Health, or to an organization of your choosing. Collection boxes are clearly marked at the entrance to Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel and links are provided on our website.

As the people of Haiti begin a long process of recovery, keep them in your thoughts and prayers and financial support. Like Katrina and the tsunami, we will be making a long term commitment to this work.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector
The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Vicar

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