The parish communities of Assumption, Galloway; St. Joan of Arc, Camden; and St. Bartholomew, Camden will come together this weekend in support of a mission to Haiti, that priests and laypeople will take to the earthquake-torn country on Easter Sunday, April 5.
Called “Hand-to-Hand,” the mission will involve Haitian-born priests, Father Yvans Jazon, parochial vicar at Assumption, and Father Rico Ducle, parochial vicar at St. Bartholomew; Father Charles Colozzi, parochial vicar, St. Francis de Sales, Barrington; Father Freddy Washington, of the Archdiocese of Chicago; and 18 laypeople from the three parishes who will make their way to the Diocese of Jacmel in Haiti. There they plan to reach out to hospital patients and villagers, and to distribute toiletries, medical aid, and food for a week, April 5-12.
Food for the Poor, an international relief and development charity, has already pledged 100 bags of rice, each weighing 100 lbs., to Hand-to-Hand.
“We will help people with love and dignity,” noted Father Jazon. “We will pray with them, bring them hope, let them know we are with them.”
Father Ducle, whose mother, godmother, brother, and sister live in Port-au-Prince, hopes that this trip will be the first in a series of humanitarian trips to Haiti.
“We’re at the beginning of this mission, to observe, see what we can do” now and in the future, he said.
“When you go personally” to help them, he said, “it’s even more appreciated, even the small things.”
This Saturday morning, March 27, at 10 a.m., there will be a Mass of thanksgiving at Assumption Parish in Galloway, to bless those going to Haiti and all of those who have helped sponsor the mission.
Later in the day, at 6:30 p.m., there will be a “Concert for Haiti” fundraiser at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Camden, where choirs from St. Joan of Arc, St. Bartholomew and other parishes will perform. From 5-6 p.m., there will be refreshments. A free will offering is requested. For more information, call the St. Joan of Arc rectory at 856-962-8642.
For more information on the Mass of thanksgiving, call Assumption Parish at 609-652-0008.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”