Loving God, we ask for your protection upon the residents of Haiti as gang violence, government instability, and food insecurity continue to afflict them. Be with those who are displaced from their homes, those who are struggling to meet basic needs, and those who are attempting to create security and safety. Empower and activate organizations and governments that have the capacity to help. Guide all of us in discerning and advocating for a just, sustainable future for Haiti. 

Amen.

God our Governor, breathe your vision of a just and peaceful society into Haitian leaders and the leaders of all of nations whose actions directly affect Haiti. Give all of them the strength, the will, and the means to eradicate the sins of trafficking in human suffering.  Break the chains of corruption, scandal, and violence, and turn systems of power and the people within them toward good governance practices.  Grant all leaders a deeper awareness of the characteristics required for the high calling to public service.  Reconnect Haiti with its proud history, and call its government to faithful stewardship of its culture, resources, and people.  Let justice roll down like the waters of the Artibonite River, and let the Haitian people flourish like the crops planted by its banks. 

Amen.

God, in whose name we organize, convene, worship, and serve as the Episcopal Church, we recognize and celebrate before you the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, the largest diocese in our church. Grant the Haitian clergy and lay leaders the strength and inspiration to continue to lead the more than 250 churches and schools, dozens of hospitals and clinics, and myriad other admirable ministries of the diocese, serving the most vulnerable people of Haiti. Support their leadership to help them come together in united purpose, especially during this time of great challenge.  In your good time, send your Holy Spirit to raise up a committed and wise Bishop to lead them, and inspire vocations in the young as the Haitian church nurtures a new generation of leaders. Give us, their brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church, the eloquence to share their inspiring stories, a commitment to walking with them in support and solidarity, open arms to make the many resources of the Church available to all, and the strength to follow their good examples in faith, effort, prayer, and pastoral commitment.  We pray through Jesus Christ, our mutual high priest and companion on the journey.  

Amen.        

God our companion, bless our friendships with our Haitian siblings, and guide us in our efforts to be faithful companions.  May we learn to listen intently so as to understand their needs, their priorities, and their preferences for the ways we might accompany them in bringing about their hopes for a better future. Teach us deep respect for their abilities, their skills, and their intelligence. In times of struggle and despair, may the help we offer be the help they need. Give us the determination to stay the course; give us eloquence to move others to help; give us tenacity to hold our own elected officials accountable for the ways in which policies have harmed lives and livelihoods.  Hasten the day when we may once again be together around your table, sing and pray together in your church, and deepen the friendships which so enrich our lives and for which we are humbly grateful. 

Amen.   

Loving God, we entreat your protection for all of the children of Haiti, especially those who are directly impacted by gang violence. We give thanks for family members, friends, and strangers who give them protection, shelter, nurture, guidance, and hope. We pray especially for those children who have no one to care or advocate for them. We give thanks for schools in Haiti which have doubled their class size to make a place for them, families who still have a home who are sheltering extra families under their roof, and strangers who are working to distribute food and health care. We pray especially for the children without access to assistance. We give thanks for the joy and spirit children embody even in brief minutes of play time, and may they remind us of the importance of joy to our full humanity. We mourn the Haitian children who have died at the hands of the gangs, on the dangerous trip along the long trail away from their homes to a safer place, of hunger, and of preventable diseases in the absence of medical care.  Gather their souls to yourself as your Christ welcomed children during his time on earth. We pray in the name of Jesus, a refugee child.

Amen.

​Dear Lord, we ask you to please look upon us as we call on you. We ask you to help our leaders cultivate humility and consciousness so that they can save the people from insecurity.

We want to stop running from the bandits we are living with; we can't run anymore because our morale is low.

We ask you to have mercy on your people, please deliver them. We live in great anxiety, with fear, sorrow, and dread, where any day anything can happen. But this does not prevent us from praying; all our hope is in you.

We want stability for the country, especially for Mibalè. For us to stop running, we want activities to resume again. What is happening is having a significant impact on our minds; we would like this to end for life to start again.

I ask you to help me grow my faith in you; I want to remain faithful, I want to live with the hope that tomorrow will be good for a better future. Even though it is difficult, I believe this and with you, everything is possible.

Lord, we pray to you like this with much love!

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HMP, located in Mirebalais, Haiti, has since the earthquake of 2010 provided shelter, nutrition, education, and hope to children and youth who are homeless or living in extremely difficult circumstances.  When gangs overran their city and their facility, the residents and staff fled on foot to Hinche, a large town approximately 40 miles north of Mirebalais where they are currently being sheltered and educated.

Creating God, we give thanks to you for all of the artists of Haiti who work continually to nourish the beautiful soul of the nation.  We pray for:

Painters on canvas and on houses;

Sculptors in clay, stone, and metal;

Inventors of fanciful creatures and masks of papier-mache;

Fabric artists of textile, thread, and embroidery;

Hairdressers weaving intricate designs of braids;

Manicurists adorning hardworking hands;

Carvers of wooden statues and boats and spoons and furniture and coffins; Dancers; singers;

Drummers and players of all musical instruments;

Those who decorate homes, churches, and people with their art;

Cooks and chefs who prepare exquisite food to nourish the body and the soul;

Farmers who grow flowers to bloom along with their crops;

Weavers of baskets and hats;

Jewelry-makers; photographers;

Makers of mosaic murals;

Parents who dress up their children for Sundays and birthdays and funerals; Visionary architects and builders;

Decorators of tap-taps and buses;

Tailors and clothing designers; costume-makers;

Poets and authors; playwrights and actors;

Market ladies who stack their fruits and vegetables in magnificent arrays;

And every Haitian who makes an effort to create beauty.

May they understand that their work is appreciated, necessary, and blessed; may they feel your inspiration and know that, just as at the beginning of all things, you look upon their co-creation of the world and see that it is very good.

​

Amen.  

Tender and compassionate God, in this time of trial for our Haitian siblings, we offer our prayers to you, asking that the miracle of your self-giving love touch the heart of those who do violence. In this time of trial, we ask that hope be kept alive in the hearts of all our Haitian siblings and in our hearts, as we journey with them toward a new day. We give thanks for the love and care we have for one another and ask to be strengthened as we work with one another toward a future of justice, peace, and love. We bring these prayers in the name of the Christ, the Risen One.

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Amen.