| Pastor's Message |
MARY TAYLOR MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
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The Reverend Virginia G. Carle
Click here to meet
Pastor Ginny
Pastor Ginny is an avid
photographer. Link here to
Main Avenue Galleria where
you can see some of her
artwork. At the home page,
choose view by artist and
select GG Carle.
www.mainavegalleria.com
photographer. Link here to
Main Avenue Galleria where
you can see some of her
artwork. At the home page,
choose view by artist and
select GG Carle.
www.mainavegalleria.com
Learn more about
Mary Taylor Memorial
United Methodist Church
Mary Taylor Memorial
United Methodist Church
168 Broad Street
203-874-1982
mtmumc@sbcglobal.net
Webmaster: Comments@mtm-umc.org
203-874-1982
mtmumc@sbcglobal.net
Webmaster: Comments@mtm-umc.org
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
“Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw
the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was
God’s Son.’” Matthew 27:54
Dear Friends in Christ,
Dear Friends in Christ,
I write this to you two weeks after my return from an incredible journey in Haiti. Our VIM
(Volunteers in Mission) team was the first to go from the NY Annual Conference after the
earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12th of this year. We were met at JFK
Airport at 6:30 AM by Bishop Jeremiah Park who joined with us in prayer and
pronounced a special blessing upon us for safety and productivity in our mission. After
a four hour flight, we landed in Port-au-Prince, the capital city, to a noon temperature of
about 98o with a heat index that remained steadily at about 104o. We ate our lunch in a
large public cafeteria called Epi D’Or where every cell phone, radio, and iPod was
tuned to the World Cup Soccer tournament (everyone in Haiti was rooting for Brazil!).
Our first night we spent in Petionville, about eight miles southeast of PAP, in the
Methodist Guest House. There, we adapted to the climate, the culture, and the food.
We had a team meeting with the onsite coordinator, Mike, who filled us in on our work
for the week. Providentially, we would be working to rebuild a church in Fond Dueze,
west of Petit Goave, one of the four cities hardest hit by the quake. Practically and
theologically, we felt blessed to know we would be building Christ’s church – the center
of life for people in this village.
Early Wednesday morning, we set out in a cramped van (no air conditioning in Haiti) for
the three and a half hour drive to Petit Goave. We passed through Carrefour – much in
the news as the epicenter of the quake – and Leogane, where President Clinton had
toured only the week before. We saw much devastation: homes and businesses
crumbled or standing dangerously askew; road heaves and bridges down (we forded
more than one creek bed – two of which had creeks running through them); tent cities
where donated tents were stacked stake to stake for rows and rows; entire communities
wiped from the face of the cities and towns; rubble two stories high along the shoulders
or on the medians of the roads. We passed many adults and children on makeshift
crutches, legs missing or casted.
But we also saw signs of great hope: cell phone towers up and running (within two
weeks Digicel was functioning); street vendors selling their wares; children in uniforms
heading to and from school; people salvaging steel rods, rocks, and other re-usable
items for reconstruction; and nature’s bounty blooming everywhere: bougainvilleas
climbing and flowering over walls, trees, and piles of concrete; banana palms and
coconut palms heavy with fruit; mangoes virtually dripping their sweet juices from very-
ripe fruit; hibiscus and chenille plants and royal Poinciana trees ablaze with color;
livestock such as goats, chickens, and cattle grazing; and the easy smile that came with
a wave of our hand or a simple “bonju” greeting.
In Petit Goave, we were housed in a simple guest house – camp dorm style.
Electricity was intermittent and never on at night. After supper and our team
reflection times, we mostly were bedded down by 8:00 PM – to be awakened by the
rooster at 4:30 or 5:00 AM (who started practicing at 2:00 AM). After a breakfast of egg,
hot dog, toast, mango, banana, coffee/tea, and a Tang-like juice, we headed each day
to our work site where we were greeted by capable and dedicated Haitian workers,
hoards of children, and a few hesitant mothers and grandmothers.
The women toted water in 10 gallon buckets on their heads from the lake about 500
yards away to the waiting barrels. From there the water was bucket dipped to pour on
the cement powder on the ground, hastily mixed, then shoveled into buckets and
passed down our bucket line to the waiting crew. It was then poured over the rock
foundation which we helped to place, then sent back for the cycle to begin again. The
local boss and workers were very skilled – the stones were carefully set for stability,
having been salvaged from the church that had collapsed in the quake. Meanwhile, two
or three of us rotated time playing all sorts of games with the children.
We learned of their hopes and dreams. (Two teenage boys about 15 or 16 wanted
to be doctors; one young woman wanted to go to nursing school; two young ladies
shared that they’d like to teach one day in the university, and almost every child wanted
to play soccer in the World Cup.) We helped in their schooling with flashcards of
arithmetic and sound recognition. We jumped rope, tossed Frisbees and a softball, and
led choo-choo trains around the site. We shared food, water, laughter, and smiles with
our brothers and sisters. Even the pregnant mamas came to join in, and a few words of
encouragement brought big smiles to their faces even in the extreme heat of impending
delivery. Our daily lunches consisted of small sardine/onion sandwiches with a
packet of crackers, bananas, and a bottle of fruit juice.
We wandered the property a bit, and saw corn and sugar cane growing mightily. There
was beauty in the lush fields and the mountains looming across the small lakes. We
drank water by the gallon and adjusted to the intense tropical heat. Mostly, we
enjoyed being a team with our Haitian brothers and sisters, with the children, and
with each other.
On Sunday, we attended two worship services – the first at 6:30 AM under tent flaps on
the campus of the Methodist school in Petit Goave (where my colleague Rev.
Barbara Mungin was the preacher of the day). We were surprised at the presence of the
President of the Methodist Church of Haiti and the Rev. Gesner Paul who had come to
be a godparent to the infant being baptized. The second Service was at 9:00 AM in a
town nearer to Mirogoane (further west) called Olivier in a church whose
congregation had doubled since the quake. Here they had a church band: drums,
keyboard, bass guitar, and saxophone all sounding very Caribbean steel drum-like. I
had been asked to preach at this service. With the help of Jean-Claude, a translator I
had met two years earlier in Furcy, I shared the message of the day about the hope that
lingers beyond the earthquake as in the text from Matthew.
After worship, we were invited as guests to the rear of the building to the clinic – seems
many churches in Haiti have a clinic attached (healing of body and soul!). We had
brought a huge suitcase full of medicines to leave here, and the woman who was the
pharmacist was overjoyed with being able to re-stock her shelves. We stopped at
the clinic in Petit Goave. (This was where Jean-Claude had been trapped in a clinic
when it collapsed in the quake and although injured, he had survived. Two nurses from
Texas working there that day did not survive.) We had a prayer for healing and a
consecration of the ground for its rising again as a surgical clinic. Other medical
supplies, especially those sterile surgical supplies given to us by Milford Hospital,
were shared between the eye clinic in Petit Goave and the University of Miami field
hospital in PAP.
It was hard to leave Haiti. There is still so much to be done, and we have grown to love
the people so much. They live simply – no pretense of position or possessions – but
with a faith in God that is unshakable, even at a magnitude of 7.2. They are
genuine, loving, and open. They live in hope, borne of a faith that has carried them
through a century of dictators and devastation. They hope for better things for their
children, for a better education and opportunity, and for no more “tremblement du terre”
– shaking of the earth. I kept wondering, how would US Americans respond to the
devastation these people have endured? Would we be people of faith and hope,
smiling and accepting help as naturally as breathing? Or would we be in constant
complaint mode, cursing God and all who are sent to us?
Yours in the love of Christ and of his Church,
Pastor Ginny
PS: Thank you:
-To Paul, Pastor Hal, Sandy, and Laura for preaching on those Sundays that I have
been away at conference, in mission, or on vacation.
the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was
God’s Son.’” Matthew 27:54
Dear Friends in Christ,
Dear Friends in Christ,
I write this to you two weeks after my return from an incredible journey in Haiti. Our VIM
(Volunteers in Mission) team was the first to go from the NY Annual Conference after the
earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12th of this year. We were met at JFK
Airport at 6:30 AM by Bishop Jeremiah Park who joined with us in prayer and
pronounced a special blessing upon us for safety and productivity in our mission. After
a four hour flight, we landed in Port-au-Prince, the capital city, to a noon temperature of
about 98o with a heat index that remained steadily at about 104o. We ate our lunch in a
large public cafeteria called Epi D’Or where every cell phone, radio, and iPod was
tuned to the World Cup Soccer tournament (everyone in Haiti was rooting for Brazil!).
Our first night we spent in Petionville, about eight miles southeast of PAP, in the
Methodist Guest House. There, we adapted to the climate, the culture, and the food.
We had a team meeting with the onsite coordinator, Mike, who filled us in on our work
for the week. Providentially, we would be working to rebuild a church in Fond Dueze,
west of Petit Goave, one of the four cities hardest hit by the quake. Practically and
theologically, we felt blessed to know we would be building Christ’s church – the center
of life for people in this village.
Early Wednesday morning, we set out in a cramped van (no air conditioning in Haiti) for
the three and a half hour drive to Petit Goave. We passed through Carrefour – much in
the news as the epicenter of the quake – and Leogane, where President Clinton had
toured only the week before. We saw much devastation: homes and businesses
crumbled or standing dangerously askew; road heaves and bridges down (we forded
more than one creek bed – two of which had creeks running through them); tent cities
where donated tents were stacked stake to stake for rows and rows; entire communities
wiped from the face of the cities and towns; rubble two stories high along the shoulders
or on the medians of the roads. We passed many adults and children on makeshift
crutches, legs missing or casted.
But we also saw signs of great hope: cell phone towers up and running (within two
weeks Digicel was functioning); street vendors selling their wares; children in uniforms
heading to and from school; people salvaging steel rods, rocks, and other re-usable
items for reconstruction; and nature’s bounty blooming everywhere: bougainvilleas
climbing and flowering over walls, trees, and piles of concrete; banana palms and
coconut palms heavy with fruit; mangoes virtually dripping their sweet juices from very-
ripe fruit; hibiscus and chenille plants and royal Poinciana trees ablaze with color;
livestock such as goats, chickens, and cattle grazing; and the easy smile that came with
a wave of our hand or a simple “bonju” greeting.
In Petit Goave, we were housed in a simple guest house – camp dorm style.
Electricity was intermittent and never on at night. After supper and our team
reflection times, we mostly were bedded down by 8:00 PM – to be awakened by the
rooster at 4:30 or 5:00 AM (who started practicing at 2:00 AM). After a breakfast of egg,
hot dog, toast, mango, banana, coffee/tea, and a Tang-like juice, we headed each day
to our work site where we were greeted by capable and dedicated Haitian workers,
hoards of children, and a few hesitant mothers and grandmothers.
The women toted water in 10 gallon buckets on their heads from the lake about 500
yards away to the waiting barrels. From there the water was bucket dipped to pour on
the cement powder on the ground, hastily mixed, then shoveled into buckets and
passed down our bucket line to the waiting crew. It was then poured over the rock
foundation which we helped to place, then sent back for the cycle to begin again. The
local boss and workers were very skilled – the stones were carefully set for stability,
having been salvaged from the church that had collapsed in the quake. Meanwhile, two
or three of us rotated time playing all sorts of games with the children.
We learned of their hopes and dreams. (Two teenage boys about 15 or 16 wanted
to be doctors; one young woman wanted to go to nursing school; two young ladies
shared that they’d like to teach one day in the university, and almost every child wanted
to play soccer in the World Cup.) We helped in their schooling with flashcards of
arithmetic and sound recognition. We jumped rope, tossed Frisbees and a softball, and
led choo-choo trains around the site. We shared food, water, laughter, and smiles with
our brothers and sisters. Even the pregnant mamas came to join in, and a few words of
encouragement brought big smiles to their faces even in the extreme heat of impending
delivery. Our daily lunches consisted of small sardine/onion sandwiches with a
packet of crackers, bananas, and a bottle of fruit juice.
We wandered the property a bit, and saw corn and sugar cane growing mightily. There
was beauty in the lush fields and the mountains looming across the small lakes. We
drank water by the gallon and adjusted to the intense tropical heat. Mostly, we
enjoyed being a team with our Haitian brothers and sisters, with the children, and
with each other.
On Sunday, we attended two worship services – the first at 6:30 AM under tent flaps on
the campus of the Methodist school in Petit Goave (where my colleague Rev.
Barbara Mungin was the preacher of the day). We were surprised at the presence of the
President of the Methodist Church of Haiti and the Rev. Gesner Paul who had come to
be a godparent to the infant being baptized. The second Service was at 9:00 AM in a
town nearer to Mirogoane (further west) called Olivier in a church whose
congregation had doubled since the quake. Here they had a church band: drums,
keyboard, bass guitar, and saxophone all sounding very Caribbean steel drum-like. I
had been asked to preach at this service. With the help of Jean-Claude, a translator I
had met two years earlier in Furcy, I shared the message of the day about the hope that
lingers beyond the earthquake as in the text from Matthew.
After worship, we were invited as guests to the rear of the building to the clinic – seems
many churches in Haiti have a clinic attached (healing of body and soul!). We had
brought a huge suitcase full of medicines to leave here, and the woman who was the
pharmacist was overjoyed with being able to re-stock her shelves. We stopped at
the clinic in Petit Goave. (This was where Jean-Claude had been trapped in a clinic
when it collapsed in the quake and although injured, he had survived. Two nurses from
Texas working there that day did not survive.) We had a prayer for healing and a
consecration of the ground for its rising again as a surgical clinic. Other medical
supplies, especially those sterile surgical supplies given to us by Milford Hospital,
were shared between the eye clinic in Petit Goave and the University of Miami field
hospital in PAP.
It was hard to leave Haiti. There is still so much to be done, and we have grown to love
the people so much. They live simply – no pretense of position or possessions – but
with a faith in God that is unshakable, even at a magnitude of 7.2. They are
genuine, loving, and open. They live in hope, borne of a faith that has carried them
through a century of dictators and devastation. They hope for better things for their
children, for a better education and opportunity, and for no more “tremblement du terre”
– shaking of the earth. I kept wondering, how would US Americans respond to the
devastation these people have endured? Would we be people of faith and hope,
smiling and accepting help as naturally as breathing? Or would we be in constant
complaint mode, cursing God and all who are sent to us?
Yours in the love of Christ and of his Church,
Pastor Ginny
PS: Thank you:
-To Paul, Pastor Hal, Sandy, and Laura for preaching on those Sundays that I have
been away at conference, in mission, or on vacation.
