WE INVITE YOU!

........to help RING OUT THE BELLS AT SACRE-COEUR DE MEYER!

........to make a donation at the Sacred Heart Christmas Fair

        Haiti Table!

........to see the drawings of the Meyer children...5, 6, 7 year olds...

        who Sacred Heart Parish.

........to get your own bell decoration as a memento!

This is different. This is an appeal for donations to rebuild the church in Meyer. Dismantling the old church and excavating a new foundation has already begun with $30,000 from our parish and the Haiti Diocese of Jacmel. The whole project will cost over $100,000. Our parish (especially the Social Justice & Peace Commission) is trying to find a mechanism for raising funds -- an effort which is compatible with our diocesan Capital Campaign. There are constraints at this time; however, we would like to offer the Meyer parish additional money in early 2010 so that the project can move forward. Building a church in Haiti may seen like a worthwhile effort to you in this holiday season and the new year. You may want to support it with a special donation. We hope so.

 

We continue our support to Sacre-Coeur de Meyer with door collections. With your contributions, our parish is able to help Father Simon Francois and the parish of Meyer. It was also of interest in the past month when the Haitian Senate voted no-confidence in Premier Michele Pierre-Louis, faulting her in particular for inadequate economic progress. President Rene Preval has named, as her replacement, Jean Max Bellerive, who was the Planning and External Cooperation Minister.

The sister parish relationship with Sacre-Coeur de Meyer continues with exchanges of information with Father Simon Francois. He is aware of our parish’s busy schedule and is interested in broader issues like our upcoming November elections. It was also an interesting sidelight to learn this week about the dedication of a memorial in Savannah, Georgia, to commemorate Haitian volunteers who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

In the battle of Savannah on October 9, 1779, “Les Chasseurs Volontaires De Saint Monigue”... fought alongside the American Army.... The new memorial of six bronze figures standing atop a granite base, in downtown Savannah, represents more than 500 free volunteers from Haiti who fought for American independence.... After returning home from the war, Haitian veterans soon led their own rebellion that won Haiti’s independence from France in 1804.

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A Heartfelt Thanks for Your Support: In recent weeks, we have seen once again your important support for the Parish outreach efforts. We offer our sincere thanks to St. Jude and Sacred Heart parishioners.

In a recent message from Father Simon Francois, he offered an update on his parish.

Here, as you know it, we are in the middle of the hurricane season. God be praised and we remain safe. Nevertheless. the heat wave that descends on the country at this time causes tropical storms which can be severe and troublesome.

The construction work on the church continues. Since all work is done by hand, the basement excavation has taken a lot of time. This first phase is dealing with the rear section behind the main church. I think that next week the first slab will be poured. Given the limited funds at our disposal, the work will not last for a long time. The next phase of construction should be to tear down the whole church building. We are not at a standstill - not idle “with crossed arms.” We are arranging for a theatrical troupe from Port-au-Prince to perform on December 12 in a Meyer night club. We hope that it will raise money for church construction.

Thank you for supporting the parish of Meyer. My warm greetings to all parish members. Father Francois

 

Father Simon Francois of Sacre-Coeur commented on the new school year.

Monday morning (September 7) was the beginning of the new school year and, as has been the custom, I celebrated Mass of the Holy Spirit for 350 school children of Meyer, along with their teachers. It pleased me since I didn't expect that many people. It was a joyful celebration.

I recently received the scholarship money ($l800 equaling 73,658 Haitian gourdes) from Sacred Heart Parish. I also held a monthly  meeting in early September with the neighborhood “fraternites” leaders of the parish and the choir  directors to review the distribution of money. Some 30 lay leaders attended.  I wanted an evaluation of how money was distributed  in past years. From different comments, it appeared that some children from extremely poor families needed more support than school enrollment fees. These children needed shoes, socks, books, and other basics. The parish’s neighborhood leaders knew better than I about conditions in areas of Meyer which are extremely poor. They identified 30 families to receive 1500 gourdes ($37) for the children. For this reason, Sacre-Coeur will help fewer families with school fees by comparison to last year. The parish will offer extra money to children from poor families -- equal to $1118 -- and scholarship help to an additional group ($712). I will send bank documents and list of the beneficiaries very soon.

There is good news for Meyer. About four years ago, our Bishop Poulard allowed me to search for nuns to work in this parish. After two visits in Meyer, the Superiors of  the Congregation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, based in Quebec, agreed to come. On Thursday, September 10th,  two members will arrive and will live in the Cyvadier neighborhood of Meyer. The two sisters are coming from the Dominican Republic and both are Dominican nationality. May God be blessed for this gift.

Please give my greetings to your whole parish,

Sincerely

Father Simon Francois

As planned, the work on the church building began on Monday, August 3. It began with the demolition of the small area at the rear which had served as the sacristy. It will allow us to celebrate the liturgy in part of the old building. A temporary wall has been built to make sure that the dust remains in the work area. From the position of this new wall, the slab for the basement is going to be constructed as well as the roof and walls. Photographs will show more. I shall send them to you shortly.

Rebuilding of Sacre-Coeur de Meyer in Haiti began in early August with dismantling the rear structure which functioned as a sacristy. Workmen have been excavating coral rock to create a basement level which will eventually have meeting/classroom space and storage. An upper level will house an office, sacristy and meeting space. Later, the old church will be demolished and a new structure will emerge. This first building phase, now in August, is fairly modest since Sacre-Coeur has started with a limited fund of $30,000. Half of that amount was provided by our parish. The Diocese of Jacmel provided additional funds. The whole project will cost approximately $140,000. For the time being, Sacre-Coeur can continue to use the main church for services because construction is taking place at the rear.

In recent weeks, some parishioners here at Sacred Heart and St. Jude Churches have asked about our plans to make a special appeal for rebuilding Sacre-Coeur. We have not taken this initiative because the Portland Diocese is conducting a capital campaign -- “strengthening the heartbeat of the Church.” It did not seem advisable to have two appeals taking place at the same time. However, Sacre-Coeur in Haiti exists as the “third” church of our parish and any contributions for that building project will be deposited in a savings account. Parishioners can choose at any time to make donations to Meyer. There is also the possibility that a portion of the Diocesan campaign -- a part of what this parish pledges -- will be designated for Haiti.

It is our hope that we will be able to find a way to help Sacre-Coeur and Father Francois to rebuild the Meyer church. Our faith counsels us to trust in God’s design and that is what we will do.

Our door collection at Masses provide an opportunity to support our sister parish in Haiti. We do a door collection once a month in order to provide financial support to Sacre-Coeur de Meyer and its cleric, Pastor Simon Francois.

The next door collection for our sister parish in Haiti is September 12/13

For over ten years, our parish has maintained an association with communities on the Caribbean island -- first with a parish in Jeremie and now with Sacre-Coeur de Meyer. We are one of 353 Catholic churches in the US and Canada who offer support under the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas. The Nashville-based Program has now been in operation for 28 years. It has expanded in health assistance, arranging for 100 children and adults to receive surgery in the US and for some 65 medical teams to undertake 300 medical mission trips to treat some 400,000 Haitians. In the capital of Port-au-Prince, the Program will now be directed by Sister Mary Finnick, a member of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart who will oversee a guest house, facilitate the arrival of American groups and help with in-country travel. Between 600 and 700 persons associated with the Program travel to Haiti each year.

To learn more about the Parish Twinning Program, visit:  www.parishprogram.org

More information on the hospital initiative of the Visitation Hospital Foundation, which was founded by Theresa Patterson of the Parish Twinning Program, is available at www.visitationhospital.org.  The Foundation is developing a clinic and hospital in southwest Haiti in the city of Petite Riviere de Nippes.