A message from CRS Executive Vice President, Joan Rosenhauer.

Download this message in a Word document in English or Spanish: CRS Message Earthquake in Haiti; CRS Message Earthquake in Haiti SP

Downloadable donation flyer for Haiti in English or Spanish: Haiti Earthquake Flyer ENG; Haiti Earthquake Flyer SP

January 14, 2010

Help Spread the Word about the Catholic Response in Haiti

Dear CRS Friend,

Over the past 48 hours Catholics across the United States have contacted us asking “how can I help” the people of Haiti as they face this devastating earthquake? Our response is simple and direct: Pray and give. But you may be looking for the opportunity to do a little bit more…

This weekend many dioceses across the country will be taking up a special collection for the people of Haiti. This is a perfect time to encourage others to respond to the urgent needs through CRS.

As you plan to attend Mass this weekend – or participate in other church or community gatherings in the next few weeks – please offer to read the attached message to let people know how they can participate in the Catholic Church’s response in Haiti. (We have also provided a prayer and general intercessions.)

Suggested next steps for getting the message included in mass:
• Ask your pastor if you can deliver the message yourself.
• If you are invited to speak, open with one or two sentences about your personal experience with CRS and then use the attached message. For example, “my name is Sarah Smith and I have been connected with CRS for the past 15 years because I know the good work they do around the world.”
• If not, please ask for the message to be included in announcements.

Your relationship with CRS gives you a unique perspective about the people we serve and the Catholic values CRS brings to our work. You do not need to be an expert about Haiti or emergency response; people just need to know what they can do to help and what organization they can trust.

For more information about CRS’ response to the Haiti earthquake, visit our website: www.crs.org.

God bless you for your support and compassion for the people of Haiti,

Joan Rosenhauer
Executive Vice President
Catholic Relief Services

Catholics Respond to the Haiti Earthquake

Over the past 48 hours Catholics across the US have been asking “how can I help” the people of Haiti as they face this devastating earthquake? Our response is simple and direct: pray and give. Please keep those who are suffering in your prayers.

We can be proud that the Catholic community in the United States is reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Haiti in significant and immediate ways. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, is mobilizing food, gearing up our emergency capacity, and deploying prepositioned emergency shelter and hygiene kits in Haiti, as well as bringing supplies in from the neighboring Dominican Republic. CRS has made an initial commitment of 5 million dollars for immediate use in the relief effort. Your generous support is greatly needed.

[If there is a special collection]: Please give generously to the special collection for US Catholic response to the Haiti Earthquake. These funds will be used to support the efforts of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, as they respond to immediate emergency needs for such necessities as water, food, shelter and medical care, as well as to the long term need to rebuild after widespread destruction and to the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church in Haiti.

(If the “Collection for the Church in Latin America” will be taken up next weekend, January 23-24) : Please also give generously next weekend to the Collection for the Church in Latin America to respond to the pastoral needs of the Church in Haiti and other parts of Latin America in the weeks and months ahead.

[If there is no special collection:] If you would like to donate, please call 1-877-HELP-CRS, Text: Relief to 30644 or give online at www.crs.org

Prayer:
God of all creation, as we weep with our family in Haiti, console us.
In this time of crisis, open our eyes to look beyond the disaster
to see Christ in our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as Christ sees us.
Be with all creation; strengthen us in solidarity with those living and working in Haiti.
All creation returns to you in mourning and your grace guides our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the grieving and stand for justice.
With your mercy, sustain us at this time as we continue to work for peace and justice.
Amen.

General Intercessions:

For our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti Affected by the Earthquake

For the people of Haiti, that they may be comforted in their time of suffering. We pray to the Lord.
Lord Hear Our Prayer
For the families of those missing, may God’s healing presence comfort them in this time of uncertainty. We pray to the Lord.
Lord Hear Our Prayer
For those providing relief, that God may give them the strength and courage to assist those who are most in need. We pray to the Lord.
Lord Hear Our Prayer
For those who have died, that they may rest in the eternal peace of God. We pray to the Lord.
Lord Hear Our Prayer.

The response will no doubt go on for some time, so feel free to share this with parishes or other groups for use over the next few weeks. For the latest information go to www.crs.org and crsespanol.org.

Tags: earthquake, haiti

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 9:15 am and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.