The hospital is a ministry of the PC(USA)’s partner church in Haiti, the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti.
A medical worker living in Leogane told National Public Radio Jan. 15 that the 7.3-magnitude quake, whose epicenter was very near Leogane, destroyed the entire city. “There is nothing left standing,” she said on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”
The Presbyterian News Service has learned that a fourth PC(USA) congregational mission team — from First Church in LaCrosse, Wisc., was in Haiti when the quake struck. The medical mission team, led by the church’s pastor, J. Taylor Haley, was scheduled to return to the U.S. Jan. 16, but will remain in Haiti “for at least a few more days,” said Galen Smith of nearby West Union, Iowa.
Three other mission teams that were in Haiti at the time of the quake — from Lawrenceville (N.J.) Church, from Warrenton (Va.) Church, and from First Church in Atlanta — previously reported that they were safe and unharmed.
PC(USA) phone lines and Web links continue to be flooded with responses from people wishing to help. Sara Lisherness, director of the General Assembly Mission Council’s Compassion, Peace, and Justice Ministries, says the best response at this time is cash donations.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has already sent $100,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing offering funds to support the immediate crisis response. PDA disaster specialist Carlos Cardenas is part of an assessment team from ACT International — the Geneva-based global ecumenical alliance that includes the PC(USA) — that is on the ground in Haiti determining how the churches can most effectively help meet the overwhelming needs there.
PDA is accepting donations through PDA account number DR000064. Gifts can also be made by calling Presbytel toll-free 800-872-3283 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. (EST) and checks can be mailed to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.
Worship resources and updated information on PDA’s response to the tragedy in Haiti is available on the PDA Web site.
