Prayers for Haiti

A Hymn of Hope: In Haiti There is Anguish

ST. CHRISTOPHER 7.6.8.6.8.6.8.6 (“Beneath the Cross of Jesus”)

In Haiti, there is anguish that seems too much to bear;
A land so used to sorrow now knows even more despair.
From city streets, the cries of grief rise up to hills above;
In all the sorrow, pain and death, where are you, God of love?

A woman sifts through rubble, a man has lost his home,
A hungry, orphaned toddler sobs, for she is now alone.
Where are you, Lord, when thousands die — the rich, the poorest poor?
Were you the very first to cry for all that is no more?

O God, you love your children; you hear each lifted prayer!
May all who suffer in that land know you are present there.
In moments of compassion shown, in simple acts of grace,
May those in pain find healing balm, and know your love’s embrace.

Where are you in the anguish? Lord, may we hear anew
That anywhere your world cries out, you’re there — and suffering, too.
And may we see, in others’ pain, the cross we’re called to bear;
Send out your church in Jesus’ name to pray, to serve, to share.

Tune: Frederick Charles Maker, 1881
Text: Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. Permission is given for use by those who support Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is co-pastor, with her husband Bruce, of the Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE.

Carolyn visited Haiti on a mission trip when she was a Lebanon Valley College student. Other hymns by Carolyn that might be helpful for churches responding to this disaster that are posted on the PDA web site include:  Who is My Neighbor, hymn inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan and God We've Known Such Grief and Anger.  She is also the author of Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor (Discipleship Resources/Upper Room Books, 2009) and Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today’s Worship (Geneva Press, 2000).

Donations can be made be made through PDA by phone (800-872-3283), on-line or checks can be mailed to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.  Reference Account Number DR000064. 

Click here for status updates through the PDA website.
The following prayer is from Bruce Reyes-Chow, General Assembly Moderator; Gradye Parsons, PC(USA) Stated Clerk; and Linda Valentine, Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council:

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As the eyes of the world turn to Haiti, let us join our hearts in prayer:
God of compassion
please watch over the people of Haiti,
and weave out of these terrible happenings
wonders of goodness and grace.
Surround those who have been affected by tragedy
with a sense of your present love,
and hold them in faith.
Though they are lost in grief,
may they find you and be comforted.
Guide us as a church
to find ways of providing assistance
that heal wounds and provide hope.
Help us to remember that when one of your children suffers
we all suffer;
through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives
and rules this world with you. Amen.
(Adapted from Book of Common Worship)

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is responding to the earthquake through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and its partners. Presbyterian World Mission is gathering information on the safety and status of our mission personnel and ecumenical partners in the area.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has already sent funds and is working in cooperation with our ecumenical partners on the ground to provide emergency food, water, shelter and medical supplies.