Saturday, January 16, 2010

How Will We Respond to the Suffering in Haiti?

The disaster in Haiti is being brought into our living rooms by the news media, online reports, blogs and tweets. By now we are all aware of the horrible suffering going on. What is our response?

As Mark Harris points out, there are some responses that are less than helpful and others that are simply evil, to not mince words. Unfortunately, both the above examples are from supposed "Chrtistian" sources, which the media will no doubt use over and over again to point out the bankruptcy of our faith traditions.

If the above examples were the only response, I might be inclined to agree with the media. Thankfully, the "God zappers" are not the only voices speaking in the name of Christ. For instance, Andy Gerns points us to this video from Frank Logue of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia:



Now that I've mentioned some inappropriate and most appropriate Christian responses, let's take a step back, and consider the reall issue here. People are suffering. They need our help. We have the means to help them. Not out of pity. But out of an awareness that we are yoked to them by nature of our own humanity. They are us.

To broaden that idea a bit more, consider this brief video:



So, do what you can to help those suffering in Haiti. To read about the efforts of Episcopal Relief and Development, and to make a donation, go here. To text message a donation of $10.00 to the Red Cross, go here. A list of other organizations responding to this crisis can be found here.

Pray for those who mourn and suffer in Haiti. And then get up off your knees and act. Now.

J.

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