Haiti Earthquake Disaster Responses – Commentary and Resources

A lot is being written and said in the media about the earthquake in Haiti and the responses of religious folk to pray, and act, and give.  They range from Pat Robertson’s scandalous comments suggesting the earthquake was due to Haiti’s “pact to the devil,” to Tony Campolo’s “Haiti: God’s Love is Greater,” to Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s appeal for “prayers and support,” to the beautiful published prayer written by Bruce Reyes-Chow, Gradye Parsons and Linda Valentine of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Washington National Cathedral is holding a prayer service on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 6 PM.

Prominent blogs like the Episcopal Cafe are both covering the ongoing disaster responses and providing perspective, such as Craig Uffman’s “Where Was God in the Earthquake?“  Alban’s own Congregational Resource Guide (CRG) has a rich set of resources on Disaster Relief, which was instrumental in providing leads to the resources listed below.  In addition, Claudia Greer, a Resource Associate at the CRG, has added a very thoughtful and kind Friday Perspective contribution, “Niceness, Kindness, and an Earthquake.”

Among all the headlines in all the websites we located, my personal favorite headline is on the Salvation Army website:  “We Combat Natural Disasters With Acts of God.”

Yet as churches and religious organizations respond to the devastation in Haiti, they also were among the victims there, including the Roman Catholic archbishop Joseph Serge Miot whose body, according to the Catholic News Service, was found in the rubble of the archbishop’s residence. Still, across the spectrum of the congregations that we serve, we here at Alban are aware of the extraordinary outpouring of assistance from religious groups and organizations.

Many of you, our readers, are concerned, we know, to find appropriate ways to assist in the disaster response for Haiti.  So we have assembled the following list of links to websites specifically dedicated to the Haiti earthquake and the responses of religious communities to the vast tragedy that has been inflicted on the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.  We want to share those with you, in hopes that this will help you to make contacts with groups through whom you choose to channel your support.

The list is by no means exhaustive; if we’ve omitted your religious group or organization, please leave a comment with a link and we’ll add it to a subsequent update.  Or comment on this post to suggest other ways that you would suggest for religious groups to respond with compassion to the needs of Haiti.

• AlertNet  Troops and food headed for quake-hit Haiti
• American Bible Society  Hope for Haiti
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee  Haiti Earthquake Disaster Response
• American Jewish World Service  Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
• ARDA     Haiti Earthquake Response Fund
• Baptist World Alliance Haiti – BWAid Responds to Earthquake
• B’nai B’rith International  Disaster Relief in Haiti
• Brethren Disaster Ministries Haiti Earthquake
• Catholic Relief Services  Haiti Earthquake Response Set
• Christian Church Disciples of Christ Haiti Earthquake Relief
• Christian Reformed World Relief Committee  Urgent Needs in Haiti
• Church World Service  The people of Haiti need your help!
• Episcopal Relief and Development  Haiti Earthquake (bulletin inserts)
• Habitat for Humanity Help earthquake victims in Haiti
• Hearts with Hands  Items Needed for Earthquake Victims
• International Aid  International Aid Responding to Haiti Earthquake
• International Orthodox Christian Charities  Relief for Haiti
• Jewish Federations of North America  The Haiti Earthquake
• Lutheran Disaster Response  Haiti Earthquake Relief
• Lutheran World Relief  Haiti Earthquake Emergency Alert
• Mennonite Central Committee  Haiti earthquake, donations welcome
• Nazarene Compassionate Ministries  Catastrophic Earthquake Hits Haiti
• Operation Blessing International  The day the earth shook
• Presbyterian Disaster Assistance  Disaster Relief — Haiti (Prayer for Haiti)
• Salvation Army  The Salvation Army in Haiti
• Samaritan’s Purse International Relief  Help for Haiti Quake Victims
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul Haiti Earthquake Relief Funds
• Southern Baptist Disaster Relief  Haiti fund
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee  Emergency Reponse – Haiti Earthquake
• United Church of Christ  Haiti earthquake appeal
• United Methodist Committee on Relief  Haiti Emergency
• World Relief  Haiti Earthquake – World Relief Responds

Our human responses to disaster draw on the deepest wells of our spiritual resources.  Practice compassion.  Put love into action.  Pray.  Act.   Give.