Thank You from Pere Michaud

Dear Friend Marcia,

Hello to all our brothers and sisters in Macon.  It is very difficult to find the right word to express our thanks to all of you.  Through your prayers and generosity to the people of  Trouin, you have shown us that people are truly compassionate, merciful, charitable and  truly practice the love of God and (like a good Samaritan) the love of your neighbor, showing you have the heart of God and you are imitating His words and actions. We are truly appreciative of the funds you sent on June 29^th which we have already received and the man who was responsible for the window bars has already finished them. This afternoon he is placing the bars on the windows and I am taking photos. Of course I plan to send you pictures of the bars already placed on the two classrooms.  From the heart, as my friend, Père Ajax said after visiting Trouin, you have made an enormous contribution to the development of this community and you deserve 10 out of 10! Bravo to you all! Finally, to show our gratitude I am going to use the 8 letter English expression:

T H A N K  Y O U.

I pray that God bless our relationship as partners each day and that the churches, St. Francis (USA) and St. Marc (Trouin, Haiti) be one through Christ  and call this community a union of brothers and sisters in action for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

Respectfully submitted,

Your brother always,

Père Michaud, priest in charge

Letter of Gratitude from Pere Michaud

Greetings to my friend Marcia,

You and Haitian Hope are fantastic Americans who coordinate and complete your work so

very well. We are lucky to have you as collaborators with Trouin. You are without

comparison! I take pleasure in saying thank you to the people of Saint Francis for all that you

have done for us in Trouin. Thank you for initiating the partnership program with Trouin.

Saint Francis Church has truly achieved marvels for us in our community, transforming it into

a locality for tourism through our beautiful construction projects. You have also helped

initiate other partnerships and have been an excellent model for them. So, if we have all these

Americans coming from all over the USA to work in Trouin, it is thanks to St. Francis. Bravo

and thank you, St. Francis! From all our hearts, we are very grateful to you. Applause,

compliments, thanks, and prayers: that is what we can offer to you with our love and all our

being.

Also, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to tell you that we are about to begin

registration for St. Marc’s School for the new academic year, 2012-2013, in just a few days,

so if you can send the money to buy the uniforms and other things, sooner would be better.

Thank you in advance.

Also, tomorrow, June 10th, will be my 36th birthday and I ask for your prayers.

With my greetings as your brother in Christ,
Rev. Pere Michaud, Priest in Charge

Millennium Goals Pledge Money

As the St. Francis recipient of the Millennium Development Goals' pledge money of 0.7% based on the 2012 church budget, Haitian Hope would like to share the particulars of these goals, understanding they are supported by the Episcopal Church as stated in the General Convention.  Haitian Hope's support of education for all children in Trouin as well as the continuing efforts to provide required uniforms and daily school lunches, addresses most of the goals listed below.    If you are interested in broadening your perspective of Global Mission work through the Church, please plan to attend the October 6th event at Emmanuel Church, Athens.  Another opportunity to discover what other diocesan churches are doing in Haiti will be made available on July 28th from 10AM—12 noon at St. Bart's at 1090 La Vista Road, Atlanta.  Please plan to join us.

Millennium Development Goals    What Can One Church Do?    MDGs at General Convention   Today [11 July], the General Convention of the Episcopal Church recommitted to the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, for next three years.  The MDGs were adopted by the United Nations in the year 2000. It is a list of 8 goals designed to eliminate extreme poverty, which is defined as living on less than $1 a day. This type of poverty is found in countries where social safety nets do not exist, countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 189 nations signed the Millennium Declaration in support of the MDGs, the Bush Administration committed in 2003.  Signatory countries pledge 0.7% of their gross national income for development aid.  The U.S. works through USAID in part to meet the goals.   In 2003 the Episcopal Church adopted these goals by General Convention resolution.  The resolution budgets 0.7% of the church's non-government revenue to support the MDGs. This commitment was renewed at General Conventions in 2006, 2009 and now in 2012. The revenue is administered by Episcopal Relief & Development for their programs that address the MDGs.  Nets for Life is one such project.  The Episcopal Church called on dioceses to adopt the MDGs and to pledge 0.7% of their operating budget to projects that support these goals.  The Diocese of Atlanta committed to them at the 2004 Annual Council.  Our diocesan funds have helped with education in our Companion Diocese of Central Tanganyika. In turn, our diocese asked that each of our parishes pledge 0.7% of their operating budget to projects that meet the MDG goals.  Many of our parishes have done so and continue in this dedication.  This newsletter has featured some of the MDG projects of those parishes.     See The General Convention website to learn more. Below are the 8 MDG goals:  UN Millennium Development Goals 1.      Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2.      Achieve universal primary education 3.      Promote gender equality and empower women 4.      Reduce child mortality 5.      Improve maternal health 6.      Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7.      Ensure environmental sustainability 8.      Develop a global partnership for development

Partnership Program - Diocese of Haiti

6/23/2012

Dear brothers and sisters,

Thank you for your support for the academic year 2011-2012, which is nearing its end. Many of our schools are already on vacation. In the Haitian education system, the month of July is the period of official exams for the primary (Grade 6), Basic (Grade 9), and secondary ( Bac 1 and Bac 2 or Rheto and Philo).

The year was successful for some of our brothers and sisters. The Episcopal Church of Haiti now has a suffragan bishop who works in the far north of the country where the following parishes are located: Holy Spirit, Cap-Haitien, the Resurrection in Gros Morne, St. Innocent in Port de Paix, Saint-Etienne in Limonade and St Basil Le grand of Gonaïves.

July 29th, seven candidates for holy orders, including five men and two young women, will be ordained deacons. The number of women priests will be increased next year according to the will of God.

Angela who assisted me in the Partnership Program for the past two years is at the end of her term as a missioner for the Diocese of Haiti. By next week, the coordination will have 2 people who assist me, Rev. Roger Bowen and Mr. Vundla.

Coordination relies on your continued support. Reports and budgets are being prepared.

We are also preparing for the General Convention. The Haitian delegation will be 13 people: 2 bishops and their spouses, 4 nuns of St. Margaret, 4 deputies and the COO of the diocese.

My participation as a deputy of the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church is a good opportunity for me to meet some of you to exchange a few words about your projects in Haiti.

I would ask you to encourage your deputies to vote positively resolutions about Haiti - 1) the Development Office funding at General Convention and 2) Resolution PF151 Structural Reform.

Have a good summer.

Rev. Dr. Kesner Ajax

Kesnerajax@yahoo.com