lott carey

Alerts

13 May 2013

The news of the recent tornados in Oklahoma continues to amaze us.  The devastation of the storms and the tragedy of loss pulls at our hearts.  The response of volunteers has been overwhelming, and one governmental and community leader recently stated that “what we need now is prayer.”

 Lott Carey is communicating and coordinating with our Disaster Response Partners to ensure that our resources are targeted to the places and people who will need it most.  This is where Lott Carey consistently targets our support – at the margins were people are most vulnerable.

You can make an impact in the lives of people at the margins who will be struggling to recover from the storms.  Our disaster response mantra is: “Helping people rise again.”  That is what we will do for our siblings in Oklahoma.

You can make an online contribution or mail a check designated for “Oklahoma Disaster Response”

16 November 2012

 Lott Carey – a global Christian missional community – is supporting disaster response efforts in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy and the November Nor’easter through church coordinating partners in three New Jersey areas.  Each church listed below is housing community-wide services to residents surviving the storms.

 To provide financial support to New Jersey

 Send checks or money orders to:

Lott Carey

220 I Street, NE, Suite 220

Washington, DC 20002

202.543.3200

lottcarey@lottcarey.org

Give online at:

www.lottcarey.org

Give through mobile phones by:

Text lottcarey to 20222 (data and message rates may apply)

To provide material support to Newark, NJ

The Willing Heart Community Care Center

555 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard

Newark, NJ

973.622.2100

www.willingheartccc.com

Contact: Mary Ann Williford (201.563.6341)

Supplies Needed:  Located in Newark’s Central Ward, Willing Heart Community Care Center has been receiving requests from people beyond their ward.  Additionally, since FEMA is using the facility, they are receiving residents with needs from other wards.

• Coats, gloves, and hats
• Clothing – especially men’s, children, and baby’s clothing (new/unused only
• Under Wear & Socks for Adults and Children (new unopened packages only)
• Nightgowns (new unopened packages only) 
• Winter: Gloves, Hats, Scarfs (new/unused only) 
• Non-Perishable Food (canned or boxed)

Items should be shipped in 24x16x24 Shipping Boxes.  Each box should be filled with the same item (e.g., a box full of underwear, a box filled with babies’ clothing, etc.) and should have content labels on the outside of each box.

To provide material support to Atlantic City, NJ

Second Baptist Church
110 Rev Dr Isaac S Coles Plz
Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Phone: (609) 348-3580

www.secondac.org

Contact: Pastor Collins Days

Supplies Needed:  Some 6,000 homes are damaged because of flooding, and people are without heat because of boiler damage.  Last Sunday, the church services more than 2,000 survivors before running out of supplies with long lines of people remaining subserviced.

• Under Wear & Socks for Adults and Children (new unopened packages only)
• Nightgowns (new unopened packages only) 
• Winter Coats, Gloves, Hats, Scarfs (new/unused only) 
• Clothing (new/unused only) 
• Blankets
• Supplies for removing water damages in houses (mucking)
• Supplies for repairing water damaged houses
• Heavy Duty Contractor Grade Garbage Bags
• Industrial Cleaning Supplies
• Bleach
• Sponges and Buckets

Items should be shipped in 24x16x24 Shipping Boxes.  Each box should be filled with the same item (e.g., a box full of underwear, a box filled with babies’ clothing, etc.) and should have content labels on the outside of each box.

Volunteer Opportunities:  Seeking volunteers with specialized skills in:  Removing water damages in houses and repairing water damages in houses.  Contact Pastor Days to coordinate volunteer teams.

To provide material support to Red Bank, NJ

Pilgrim Baptist Church

172 Shrewsbury Ave

Red Bank, NJ 07701

www.pilgrim-baptist.org

732-747-2348 (office)

Contact: Pastor Terrance Porter

Supplies Needed:  Pilgrim Baptist Church is serving as a distribution hub for the Shore Area of NJ.  From this location, supplies are distributed to one for four distribution sites serving survivors in the region.

• Non-Perishable Food (canned or boxed)
• Batteries (C & D Sizes) & Flashlights
• Toiletries (Deodorant, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Soap etc.)
• Diapers & Pull-Ups
• Wipes
• Gallon Ziploc Bags Heavy Duty
• Contractor Grade Garbage Bags
• Industrial Cleaning Supplies
• Bleach
• Sponges and Buckets
• Toilet Paper & Paper Towels
• Brooms
• Dust & Work Clothes
• Hand Sanitizer
• Towels, Wash Cloths, Blankets, Sheets, Air Mattresses
• Under Wear & Socks for Adults and Children (new unopened packages only)
• Nightgowns (new unopened packages only) 
• Winter: Gloves, Hats, Scarfs (new/unused only) 

Unless arriving on pallets, items should be shipped in:  55 Gallon Fiberboard Drums or 24x16x24 Card Board Boxes.  Drums/Boxes should have content labels on the outside of each container.

Volunteer Opportunities:  Seeking volunteers with specialized skills in:  home-gutting and tree removal.  Teams should be no larger than 10 persons per group. Contact Pastor Porter to schedule service opportunities.

14 November 2012

Ongoing New Jersey Storm Assessment and Preparation

Our work in New Jersey continues.  We are coordinating with pastors in heavily impacted areas on the coast and will forward specific requests for your material support in a few days.  Many people continue to be dislocated and distressed because of loss and uncertainties for the future.

We are working with networks of pastoral care professionals in the region to collaborate around responding to the spiritual care needs that many people currently have and that will develop.  Our experience in past disasters has taught us that the stress of the storms will result in a number of challenging ways – increases in substance abuse and addiction, domestic violence, depression, and more.  We will resource our sisters and brothers with spiritual, personal, material, and financial support.

It will not be long until the media attention will be gone and the relief support will dissipate.  This will be a place where the Lott Carey network has proven our “staying power”.  We solicit your support now and in the weeks to come so that we can come alongside our siblings who are struggling to survive the storm.  Our call continues to be “helping people to rise again.”

New York Storm Veterans “All Clear”

Our Lott Carey New York Disaster Response Team has received the "ALL CLEAR" as of 12 PM on Wednesday, 14 November 2012, from the American Red Cross. Our current position is back to "Prepare/Training".  We are grateful for the readiness and service of our "Veterans of Super Storm Sandy and Nor’Easter 2012-1"

We thank God for the following churches who were prepared for service and who will continue their preparation and training for local disasters and deployment readiness.

• Kingdom Ambassador Global Ministries (Long Island)
• Convent Avenue Baptist Church (Harlem)
• Union Baptist Church (Harlem)
• St. Johns Baptist Church (Harlem)
• Canaan Baptist Church (Harlem)
• Trinity Baptist Church (Bronx)
• Salem Missionary Baptist Church (Brooklyn)
• Bethel Baptist Church, (White Plains)
• Mount Olivet Baptist Church (Peekskill) 
• Beulah Baptist Church, (Poughkeepsie)

We are grateful for the outstanding leadership of Brother Richard Cox, Richard Cox,
Lott Carey/American Red Cross Coordinator (NYC-PG).

Lott Carey will continue to build our network of volunteers who will train for service as disasters continue to approach.  Willing hearts are good.  Willing hearts with trained heads and hands are better.  Contact Kathi L. Reid (kreid@lottcarey.org) to confer about how to get equipped for disaster response service and deployments.

7 November 2012

8 November 2012

Our Lott Carey Disaster Response Team in New York has been upgraded from Standby to Activation.  In partnership with the American Red Cross, they will be serving in "Relief Zones" in Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.  They will be registering people into the Red Cross System and distributing food, water, and comfort kits.

Many people are struggling to survive the "one-two punch" of Super Storm Sandy followed by the November Nor-Easter.  Please pray for survivors who are facing dislocation, discomfort, and disorientation.  Please pray for the servants who will be providing support and relief during this stressful time.  Please pray for Pastor Gregory Jackson, Mount Olive Baptist Church, Hackensack, New Jersey and Lott Carey Second Vice President, who is our coordinator in New Jersey.  Please pray for Brother Richard Cox, Project Umoja of Convent Avenue Baptist Church, Harlem, New York, who is our coordinator for New York.  These leaders have been assessing and mobilizing effectively.

Your Lott Carey Disaster Response Network has worked to prepare for this challenge.  We have volunteers and churches that are willing, ready, and able to collaborate with relief strategies.  Our leaders in New Jersey and New York will be listening for the opportunities we will have for our Resurrection Strategies following the Relief Stages.

In previous large scale disasters in the Gulf Coast, we have provided pastoral care ministries, social service support, mental health counseling, child development services, and personal needs supplements.  We have worked to provide needs, broker services, and advocate for resources.

In addition to individuals who are giving online at www.lottcarey.org and giving through their mobile phones by texting lottcarey to 20222, churches are preparing to receiving offerings and forward them to Lott Carey's Washington, DC office so that we can amplify our impact.

We will continue to communicate updates and opportunities for "touching lives with the transforming love of Christ."

31 October 2012

The Lott Carey family has been in prayer and preparation in anticipation of, through the experience of, and in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy.

Prior to hurricane Sandy, Lott Carey had 40 people in the Mid-Atlantic region trained and 30 people trained by the American Red Cross (ARC).  The New York volunteers have been on standby and are being activated.

As the storm took shape, we identified churches in Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Baltimore to be on standby should they be needed for service.

As the storm's impact became clearer, we identified churches in New Jersey to be ready for collaboration with the ARC, and we are identifying New York churches who can be activated as well.

Our Lott Carey Men-on-Mission have taken the responsibility for encouraging households and households of faith to "make a kit, and make a plan" to be prepared for disasters.  See www.ready.gov for help.  (They seem to be coming with more frequency and intensity).  Additionally, we continue to recruit members of churches to work with us for training and preparation for deployment to serve in the aftermath of disasters.  Contact Sister Kathi Reid (kreid@lottcarey.org) if you are interested in mobilizing for disaster response missional engagements.

Finally, there are always opportunities to serve people who are at the margins of support, relief, and recovery in the aftermath of disasters.  We have learned to minister in these circumstances from experience in Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mozambique, and Somalia.  This prepared us to serve in the Gulf Coast after hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Hannah, and Ike.  We will be preparing to support churches to minister more effectively in the aftermath of Sandy.

Your prayers for grace and guidance are needed.  We are receiving financial contributions to minister and to extend to people "shelter in the time of storm."  Once again, we will implement our disaster response mantra - helping people rise again.

29 August 2012

When Hurricane Isaac made landfall on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, our Lott Carey network was already in action.
 

Lott Carey, the Louisiana Home and Foreign Mission Baptist State Convention (our principle partners in Louisiana), and the American Red Cross have been working to prepare for the disaster ahead of time. The partnership has yielded improved responses with effective and open communication and local coordination between our local responding partners and American Red Cross personnel - locally and nationally.
 

• We have about a dozen of Red Cross certified persons now deployed in Louisiana. We have 115 persons certified as American Red Cross workers in Louisiana.
• We have churches which are American Cross certified and prepared at a moments notice to be activated as Red Cross Shelters and or Distribution Centers.
• The Fountain Pines Baptist Camp in Colfax, LA (that was made possible during our previous Hurricane Response Strategy through the generosity of the Fountain Baptist Church, Summit, New Jersey and Pastor J. Michael Sanders and is located 175 miles North of the Gulf of Mexico) is ready with buildings equipped with cable, Internet and an Executive Director to coordinate with churches and agencies across the region.
• Churches with our Louisiana state convention partner are designated as shelters have been put on alert.
  The Louisiana state convention Disaster Relief Trailer is loaded with its first round of supplies such as water, batteries, flashlights, electric cords, snacks etc., and ready to deploy where needed.

We have learned much in the last 7 years about preparedness for and responses to disasters in the United States. Your faithfulness during the previous emergencies have enabled the Lott Carey network to assist our partners in the Gulf Coast to build their capacity to prepare and respond.
 

We solicit your prayers grace and your preparation for generosity.

23 February 2012

A team of pastors visited the Santo community near Leogane, Haiti this week where we partnered with Habitat for Humanity International to fund the establishment of a 500 home planned community. Our African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration $500,000 pledge was THE FIRST for this project and made it possible for them to leverage the other gifts to launch the project. Our Haitian friends continue to emphasize that we were THE FIRST to invest, and others followed.

Our hearts rejoiced to meet some families that have moved into the first 150 homes. Some have already started adding to their porches and building separate kitchens. The showers and toilets are clean and safe. People are walking down the gravel roads of this planned community, women are cooking under their porches, children are riding bicycles, and young men are riding motorbikes.

On a visit to Grace International Village in Lambi, we met 21 volunteers from Emmanuel Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY. While in a meeting with one of our Haitian partners, I received a telephone call from the Bates Memorial Baptist Church, Louisville, KY to set in motion plans for deploying a team to help build houses with Grace International later this year. This was exciting to work on planning an immersion team while another was here serving!

As we walked through the villages, the song continued to ring in one pastor's ears - "If I can help somebody as I pass along ... then my living shall not be in vain." The Lott Carey family has helped somebody!

There is so much still to do to help our sisters and brothers in Haiti. We still rejoice in the progress that we are making. We are helping to “move the needle” in the right direction.

One of our Haitian leaders told us, “Haiti needs friends, and you have been our friends.”

Haiti does need our friendship. Our diverse network of partners in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America need our friendship, too. Please continue to invest in this ministry with your prayers and your gifts. We need to continue to help somebody.

12 January 2012

A few weeks ago, a brother asked, “Are we still doing anything in Haiti?”

My answer was an emphatic, "Yes we are!" On this second anniversary of the January 2010 earthquake, I invite you to remember those who perished, to remember those who struggle, to rejoice in our service, and to recommit to helping Haiti rise again.

The world will never be the same again for hundreds of thousands of Haitians.
The devastating earthquake that destroyed lives, livelihoods, and land two years ago today continues to shape the realities of most Haitians.

Those who lived at epicenter of the quake near Leogane, where Lott Carey has a church, lost nearly all of their housing and infrastructure. Those who lived around the overly populated capitol city of Port-au-Prince found themselves living in and around homelessness, unsanitary tent cities, and disarray in every sense of the word. The sights and sounds during my visit to Haiti a few weeks after the quake are still vivid to me. My emotions still stir when I remember the destruction all around.

The Lott Carey family, like many other networks, responded with generosity to the tragedy. We sponsored first-responders, supported displaced families, gave food grants, gave cash grants, bought goods from farmers, paid caterers, fed hospital patients, recruited medical volunteers, funded youth camps for displaced young people, provided counseling and coaching for pastors and their spouses, and continued to support our network of churches of the Strategic Union of Baptist Churches in Haiti.

Additionally, we are participating in integral ways in two unprecedented partnerships. First, we are the administrative partner for the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration in which the four historic National Baptist denominations and Lott Carey are partnering to amplify our impact in Haiti. We understood that we can do more together than any of us can do alone.

• During 2010, we pledged and paid a one million dollar ($1,000,000) grant in less than nine months to Habitat for Humanity International to invest in transitional and permanent housing solutions;
• During 2011 more than 1800 families received transitional housing solutions, 150 families received permanent housing solutions, scores of individuals received construction training and employment, and more families accessed counseling to strengthen their economic viability.
• During 2012, we are expanding our efforts to create more housing units using volunteer teams from the United States and to increase the capacity of hospitals and clinics (through financial support and medical volunteers) to provide quality preventive, reproductive, and restorative health care for Haitians.

Second, we are the administrative coordinator for the Haitian Diaspora/African-American Christian Advocacy Coalition which has brought together Haitians in America, Haitian-Americans, and African-American Christians in traditional African-American denominations and in traditional European-American denominations to influence United States policy that supports a safe, strong, and sustainable Haiti. Our principal areas of work are:

1. To advocate for fair and humane immigration policies that favor family reunification;
2. To advocate for investment in agriculture for economic vitality to benefit all levels of the agriculture sector (including the small scale farmers); and
3. To advocate for transparency and inclusion of Haitians and African-Americans in reconstruction contracts and grants to ensure capacity building and cultural competence in rebuilding the country.

We will be calling on you during the year to help advance this important agenda with policy makers who represent you.

Are we still doing anything in Haiti? Yes we are! And yes we will!

1 September 2011

As we continue to come through the devastation of hurricane Irene, see information about federal assistance before, during, and after a hurricane see Intergovernmental Affairs Advisory.

26 August 2011

Hurricane Irene is battering the east coast of the United States and is the largest storm to do so in 70 years.  Having done significant damage in the Caribbean, Irene is poised to hit North Carolina and proceed northward up the coast.  The American Red Cross is opening shelters and deploying emergency supplies and personnel.  Shelters can be located in your area at the American Red Cross website.

 30 April 2011

The late April 2011 storms that hit seven southern states are proving to be among the deadliest in US history. More than 300 people are confirmed dead, many are missing, thousands have been injured, and more than a million people were impacted. The Lott Carey network is responding to this large-scale disaster as in the aftermath of hurricanes that devastated lives and property in the Gulf Coast states. We are building this disaster response strategy on lessons learned from our global responses in places like Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mozambique, and Somalia in addition to our United States Gulf Coast work in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

We will begin our partnership in Alabama – the hardest hit state in the recent spate of storms. We are presently determining which of several devastated communities can support Relief Centers that will supply immediate needs like food, water, personal hygiene products, computer access, assistance in applying for available resources and the like. We will evolve appropriately from Relief Centers to Resurrection Centers that will most likely need minister through pastoral care ministry, social service support, mental health counseling, and child development programs. Further, we have begun securing pastoral counseling coaching and support for impacted communities so that church leaders can be better equipped to serve their congregations and communities as well as ensure self-care for themselves and their families.

Many organizations and people will be providing a variety of needs. Good work will be done by good people with good intentions. Our experience teaches us, however, that some many people are going to have difficulty accessing the resources that should be available to them. We will be working to ensure that support is extended to many who are likely to become invisible, voiceless, and most vulnerable.

We ask the Lott Carey family to respond in the following ways now:

1. Pray for individuals, families, communities, and churches that have been directly impacted through loss of live, health, property, and livelihood. Ask for strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Ask for the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the communion of the Spirit to embrace and empower. Ask for generous responses of support and strengthen.
2. Prepare to gather and to give generous offerings that God can multiply to meet a wide array of immediate and intermediate needs. As is our tradition, we will be good stewards and seek to leverage your generosity that puts love into action and demonstrates our commitment that faith without works is dead.
3. Pray for the Lott Carey disaster response strategy that is rapidly emerging through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We need the Lord to guide our feet, hold our hands, and be our friend while we run this race, because we don’t want to run this race in vain!

Thank you for your partnership in this ministry as we launch this disaster response strategy focused on “helping people rise again.”

19 March 2011

Presidential Runoff Elections in Haiti

The Republic of Haiti has a Presidential run-off election on Sunday, 20 March 2011, between Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly. Much is at stake for the country. Although the next President cannot single-handedly bring about the systemic change and long term efforts needed for the country to rise from the devastation that the January 2010 earthquake added to the fragile country, the next President will play an indispensable role in the country's successes or setbacks.

The Lott Carey network has been working with partners in Haiti for most of the 20th century and throughout the last decade. In addition to providing monthly support for the 22 churches in the Strategic Union of Baptist Churches in Haiti, we have responded to many needs of multiple hurricanes. Additionally, we have responded singularly and collaboratively to the devastation of last year's earthquake. Beyond supporting the work of first responders, we have provided cash and food; counseling coaching for pastors and their families; a camping experience for youth; resources to battle to cholera epidemic; and more. We partnered with the historic African-American Baptist denominations to provide $1 million for housing solutions in 2010. Further, we are part of a newly developing collaboration of African-American Christians and Haitians in the Diaspora to build a movement between these two communities to advocate for transparency and inclusion in reconstruction efforts, smart investment to build a robust agricultural sector, and just immigration policies for Haiti.

I write you today to ask you to pray for God's grace in this critical election. We pray for fair elections. We pray for peaceful elections. We pray for people to be open to the will of the Holy Spirit as Haitians elect their next presidential leadership. We pray for the millions of people who live vulnerably, violated, and victimized. We pray for God's will to be done.

Thank you for your partnership in this ministry and in this season of prayer.

3 March 2011

Advocacy for Haiti

Dear Lott Carey Partner:

Your generosity during the last year has enabled us to respond effectively after the January 2010 earthquake centered at Leogane, the city of one of the churches we support. We supported first responders and rescuers. We connected medical personnel to volunteer opportunities. We gave cash grants and food grants to families. We provided food for hospital patients by purchasing crops from farmers, paying caterers to cook, and delivering fresh and nutritious meals to the St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc. We have provided pastoral care support for pastors and their families. We funded a summer camp for youth impacted by the devastation. We funded water and sanitation solutions in response to the cholera epidemic. We deployed pastoral teams to listen, learn, encourage, and pray. We helped churches invest in housing solutions.

Additionally, we are part of the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration where Lott Carey; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and Progressive National Baptist Convention are linking resources to amplify our impact in Haiti. Among our deliverables are pledging and paying $1 Million to provide temporary and permanent housing solutions in Haiti in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International in less than 10 months from forming the Collaboration. Additionally, we are providing staffing that will plan and manage short-term missions assignments to Haiti beginning the second half of 2011 and forward.

Now, here is the new initiative for which we need your prayers. The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration has enlarged its reach to invite the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and Church of God in Christ to partner with several Haitian-American and Haitian advocacy groups to work on developing a coherent and compelling advocacy agenda for Haiti. This weekend, 10 - 12 March 2011, some 60 African-American, Haitian-American and Haitian leaders will convene in Washington, DC for a Summit on Advocacy for Haiti. This is an unprecedented collaboration among African-American Christians and the Haitian Diaspora.

Please pray that God's Spirit will give us wisdom to discern the agenda that we should advance in the United States and throughout the international community. We have the opportunity to engage in "game changing" work that can help Haiti develop a safe, strong, and secure future for itself and its region.

Thanks for your partnership in this ministry!

12 January 2011

Haiti One Year Later: Grief and Hope

12 January 2011 is the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. We recognize this occasion with grief and with hope.

We grieve the loss that the earthquake brought – loss of life, family, friends, communities, homes, health, livelihoods, and more. We live in a world that likes to deny losses. We like to think that life can bring unending victories, successes, advancements, and prosperity. Living in this way is living in denial. As the refrain of old spiritual songs reminds us, “I’m sometimes up and sometimes down/I’m sometimes level to the ground.” Our Haitian sisters and brothers know loss in immeasurable degree. They cry out in grief. God hears their cries. Lott Carey has sought to hear their cries as well. We grieve with our Haitian siblings as they struggle to survive.

Yet, we also live in hope. We live in hope because we live in the light of the resurrection that comes out of the crucifixion. We live in hope because we live in the power of the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit. We live in hope because we live in expectation that death is not our end. We live in hope because we live in anticipation of God completing what God began in the world and in us. Because we live in hope, we have been working hopefully. We have not accomplished all that we have imagined. But if we had, who would need hope? Our hopeful work has enabled us to see several moments of impact in our ministry response to the earthquake in Haiti one year ago.

• We supported the work of first responders
• We provided food security where we bought crops from Haitian farmers, employed Haitian caterers to cook, and fed patients in a Haitian hospital
• We provided cash grants to thousands of people
• We provided grocery grants to thousands of people
• We deployed doctors and nurses
• We deployed a clinical psychologist/pastor to work with pastors and their spouses
• We sent teams for pastoral visits to listen, learn, encourage, and pray
• We funded training seminars for pastors
• We funded a week-long youth retreat for more than 500 teenagers
• We financed medical responses to combat cholera
• We financed sanitation and water solutions to families to combat cholera
• We partnered to send $1 Million for housing solutions in Cabaret and Leogane
• We provide technical support for churches who are doing large scale responses
• We are planning short-term missions assignments for 2011
• We are working with Haitian and Haitian-American leaders to craft and advance a clear and compelling advocacy agenda for Haiti

Our grief does not prevent our hope. For “we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3 – 5).

As we remember 12 January 2010, let us work in hope for Haiti.

30 December 2010

African American Baptists Give $1 Million for Housing in Haiti

On 30 December 2010, the African American Baptist Mission Collaboration transferred five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to Habitat for Humanity International to provide permanent housing solutions in Leogane, Haiti in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. The Collaboration is a partnership between Lott Carey; National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and Progressive National Baptist Convention. With this transfer and our one-half million dollar grant in June, we have given one million dollars ($1,000,000) for housing solutions in Haiti in 2010! The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoice. 

1 September 2010

Answering the Call

Lott Carey Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Rev. David Emmanuel Goatley, Ph. D., authored the following article for the September 2010 edition of the Habitat World magazine.  See the magazine at Habit World Magazine.

In spite of the trends in many fast-paced societies where people are more and more isolated and separated, all of us deeply need community. In the sentiment of an ancient African proverb, “I am because we are.” People are healthy and whole when we are in meaningful relationships with others. We share insights, wisdom, strength, joys and sorrows. We are not independent. We are interdependent.

Habitat’s commitment to partnership with God and people to develop communities with people in need of housing is a valuable contribution to making life better and fuller for people. There are no givers and receivers in this model. There are only sharers, and whether one shares through donating resources or through participating in construction, all share and all receive. Consequently, all are blessed.

The work of Habitat is also involved in providing housing solutions for families who need them. Nearly everyone longs for a place to call home where they can feel out of harm’s way and know that they have space and place to be “at home.” Decent housing should not be reserved for the few or the well-to-do. Decent housing is connected to stable communities and contributes to strong societies.

Building community and providing safe housing are essential to Habitat’s work and connected to the biblical instruction to care for “the least of these.” “The least of these” refers, in part, to those who are vulnerable. Who is more vulnerable than those who live outside of community and absent safe shelter? Isolation and exposure prevent people from being able to thrive. To thrive, to live into one’s fullest possibilities, is surely part of God’s vision for the world.

When we advance the work of Habitat, we help to bring stability and security to vulnerable populations. When people are safe and sound, they can be more of what God’s will is for their lives.

9 August 2010

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Nakia Fowler
Habitat for Humanity International
404-962-3445 nfowler@habitat.org

Deidre Malone/Latrivia Nelson

The Carter Malone Group, LLC

901-278-0881

dmalone@cmgpr.com

Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention members meeting in Columbus, Ohio this week helped contribute $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity for housing in Haiti: Model of Haiti transitional housing on display during the Annual Session

Thousands of members of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention will be in Columbus this week for an annual conference. Many of the conference participants helped contribute a $500,000 gift from The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration (AABMC) to Habitat for Humanity International as a part of their commitment to help Haitians rebuild their lives and communities. This contribution is the largest single donation given to Habitat by a faith community for its Haiti earthquake-recovery efforts. AABMC has committed to raise $50 million for Haiti.

“Creating housing solutions for families in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti is among the highest priorities for all of us,” said Dr. David E. Goatley, secretary and treasurer, Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention. “Shelter is critical for people to build secure lives, and the partnership between the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration and Habitat for Humanity is a unique expression of compassion and empowerment.”

Presidents from Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and the Progressive National Baptist Convention came together in January of this year and formed the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration to create an opportunity to more effectively respond to the devastation in Haiti after the earthquake. The partnership with Habitat is one of the first to fulfill that mission.

“Habitat is currently providing housing solutions for families in Haiti recovering from January’s earthquake,” said Mike Carscaddon, executive vice president, Habitat for Humanity International. “Our overall goal is to serve approximately 50,000 families in Haiti, including approximately 3,000 in the town of Cabaret. This significant gift from the AABMC will be used for our work in Cabaret to help 630 families have shelter from the rain.”

The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration represents more than 10 million Christians in the United States, most of whom are of African-American heritage.

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built, rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than 350,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people.

Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention is an association of Baptist churches throughout the world committed …. The conference is taking place Aug. 9- 13 in Columbus.

###

8 June 2010

Contacts:
Nakia Fowler
Habitat for Humanity International
404-962-3445 nfowler@habitat.org

Deidre Malone/Latrivia Nelson

The Carter Malone Group, LLC

901-278-0881

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African-American Baptists donate $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity for housing in Haiti

This is the largest gift given to Habitat from a faith community for recovery efforts in Haiti

ATLANTA— The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration (AABMC) presented a check for $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity International in Atlanta, GA on Tuesday, 8 June 2010, as a part of their commitment to help Haitians rebuild their lives and communities. This contribution is the largest single donation given to Habitat by a faith community for its Haiti earthquake-recovery efforts.

Presidents from Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and the Progressive National Baptist Convention were on hand for the presentation. The Baptist communities came together in January of this year and formed the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration to create an opportunity to more effectively respond to the devastation in Haiti after the earthquake. The partnership with Habitat is one of the first to fulfill that mission.

"We are inspired to invest in this ministry for housing solutions, because we are following the teachings of Jesus who said that when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give shelter to those without shelter that we do this for him. We do this for Jesus, and we do this for those who suffer in Haiti," said Dr. Stephen John Thurston, President, National Baptist Convention of America.

"Habitat is currently providing housing solutions for families in Haiti recovering from January's earthquake," said Mike Carscaddon, executive vice president, Habitat for Humanity International. "Our overall goal is to serve approximately 50,000 families in Haiti, including approximately 3,000 in the town of Cabaret. This significant gift from the AABMC will be used for our work in Cabaret to help 630 families have shelter from the rain."

The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration represents more than 10 million Christians in the United States, most of whom are of African-American heritage. For more information on AABMC, contact Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley regarding the group effort at (202) 543-3200 or degoatley@aol.com.

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built, rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than 350,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people. For more information, or to donate or volunteer, visit www.habitat.org.

17 April 2010

Today, we loaded the last of more than 50 tons (100,000+) of supplies left our warehouses in Lake Charles, LA to be loaded on a ship and sent to Haiti. This shipment is in addition to several tons of supplies we sent in partnership with Friendships Unlimited that sailed several weeks ago. See a video report here. See additional video updates on Lott Carey TV on YouTube.

We rejoice in this partnership between National Baptist Convention of America and Lott Carey that is showing that "Faith Works"!

10 February 2010

A Call to Action!

29 January 2010

We heard from our network of churches in Haiti today.  Our leaders from St. Marc continue to provide care and relief for the large numbers of people who have fled Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the earthquake.  Some have come to stay while others are transient - on their way to other parts of the country.
 
As you can imagine there is a large need for providing food and shelter and a ministry of presence.  In this time of crisis, the church is a place where people are turning for help.  Many churches in Haiti are doing there best to "step up".  We rejoice in the churches in the US with whom we are working as well.  Churches with missional hearts are "stepping up" for Haiti.
 
An additional challenge that people are facing in Haiti is related to medical care.  You have heard news reports about people who have not been able to secure medical care and how infections are likely to increase dramatically.  Amputations are expected to rise. The fragile medical infrastructure in Haiti will continue to be challenged and stressed.  One challenge in the communities that are receiving internally displaced persons related to what people face when they get emergency care and have to leave the over-burdened hospital.  When you get released from emergency care, where do you go when your home is destroyed?  How do you get follow-up care? This is a need that our network and others are trying to determine how to address.
 
Our leaders from St. Marc went to Leogane this week.  This city is near the epicenter of the earthquake.  It took a full day to make the 60 km trip (that takes two ours or so under normal circumstances).  Negotiating the roads, debris, and detours made for a stressful and challenging trip.  Streets in Leogane are still filled with rubble.  It is still difficult to confirm survivals because many people who were able scattered to the country sides.

 
Our team could not reach Miragoane which is about 60 km west of the epicenter.  The roads were impassible.

We continue to pray for and work for our sisters and brothers, as we help people rise again.

28 January 2010

Collaborations and Volunteers

We rejoice in an unprecedented spirit of collaboration to bring support to our sisters and brothers in Haiti in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and its aftermath.  We celebrate a partnership of those with a Heart for Haiti that presently includes:
 

Kingdom Association of Covenant Pastors (www.kingdomassociation.org)
National Baptist Convention of America (www.nbca-inc.org)
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (www.sdpconference.info)
The African American Pulpit (http://www.theafricanamericanpulpit.com)
Lott Carey (www.lottcarey.org)

Our regular conversations are planting seeds for additional partnerships daily.  We thank God for the Spirit of collaboration that we are witnessing!  Below are two strategic alliances we have cultivated to help deploy the gifts and abilities of many in these networks.  We continue to expand our capacities to deploy and servce.
 

We are collaborating with Mercy Ships (www.mercyships.org) to facilitate some volunteer opportunities in Haiti.  The opportunities for service will be pressing for several months through a few years, and this partnership will enable us to make fuller use of the variety of gifts available through the growing collaboration of Christians with a Heart for Haiti.  If you feel inspired to volunteer in Haiti, this is one vehicle that we are making available.  To begin the application process does not commit you at this time.  It can, however, be part of a journey of discernment as you seek to hear God's call on your life for engaging in the ongoing relief and recovery efforts with our sisters and brothers in Haiti.
 

Medical personnel are invited to contact us to connect with our partners who are working for deployment of volunteers in February.  We are especially looking for doctors, Physicians Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners for the February 14 and 21 trips, but there is much room on the Feb 7 trip as well.  These are one week assignments in partnership with American Baptist Churches International Missions.  If you hear God calling you to this ministry, email us at lottcarey@lottcarey.org and type "Medical Volunteer" in the subject line.  We will share the documents relevant to applying and help you connect swiftly with the volunteer coordinators for medical support.
 

We will continue to share opportunities for service as we develop them.

27 January 2010

Medical Volunteers Needed

We are seeking medical professionals who are interested and available to volunteer in Haiti.  Volunteers will fly into the Dominican Republic, be transported to Port-au-Prince by vehicle to serve for five days, then return to the Dominican Republic to fly back to the US.  Medical professionals who are interested in applying for these service opportunities should do the following:

Send an email to lottcarey@lottcarey.org with "Medical Volunteer" typed in the Subject Line.
Let us know your area of practice (e.g., general practice, surgery, registered nurse, etc.).
There will be a need for many weeks to come for medical professionals.  We invite you to pray for laborers for this field

26 January 2010

Our Lott Carey Churches in and around St. Marc, Haiti are busy feeding and caring for internally displaced persons who have been leaving Port-au-Prince.  We understand that people have been arriving in St. Marc by the hundreds daily.  Resources are being sent to assist in caring for those who are arriving in need.  Thanks for making resources available for this need in addition to the support for medical care and rescue and recovery work in Port-au-Prince.

We have learned that four of our 22 churches have suffered destruction.  The churches are in:  Leogane, Miragoane, Petit Riviere de Nippes, Petit Goave.  We are still awaiting confirmations of life or death.  Communication within the country is still very difficult.  You can see a map of Haiti and the roster of our churches as you pray for the people of Haiti.  

22 January 2010

We rejoice in a growing momentum of concern and generosity around the world since the 12 January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti. Once again, the Lott Carey Network is demonstrating its capacity to mobilize swiftly and significantly to be a blessing to those who struggle.  Thank you for your open hearts and open hands.

Although the needs in Haiti are still emerging, the Lott Carey Network’s experience in responding to disasters in recent years (e.g., Hurricane Ivan that battered Grenada in 2004; the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated communities on the coast of Somali in 2004; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that ravaged the Gulf Coast of the US in 2005; and Hurricane Ike that destroyed much of Galveston, TX in 2008) has taught us how to prepare to “help people rise again.”  That is not just a motto for us.  It is a commitment.  We want you to know how our response strategy is emerging.

Financial Support
We are receiving financial support from churches, individuals, and foundations who are committed to Lott Carey approach of international engagement – providing financial assistance and technical support to indigenous communities and leaders so that they can do more effectively what God is calling them to do.  We are supporting the first responder work of Baptist World Aid that has a Rescue 24 team that is working now from the United States and Europe.

We will use money to provide direct support to families through our network of churches, L’Union Strategique des Eglises Baptistes D’Haiti, as well as additional church and organizational partnerships that we are developing.  Families will need money for living expenses in a variety of ways as people relocate from hard hit areas in and around Port-au-Prince to other parts of the nation. 

We will also use your financial support and the lessons we have learned from various international partners to ramp up appropriate service responses.  In Grenada we repaired and/or rebuilt houses.  In Somalia we purchased fishing boats and equipment to launch self-sustaining economic empowerment, funded a hospital, and provided psycho-social counseling.  In the Gulf Coast we provided pastoral ministry, social service support, mental health counseling, child development programs, coaching for pastors, grants to churches, scholarships for adult vocational and academic education, and support economic development projects.

It is too early for us to make definitive decisions about multi-month and multi-year programs less than two weeks after the initial earthquake.  However, you can see that we have experience that will help us to collaborate with Haitians to determine effective strategies to help people rise again.

Supplies
We are partnering with Friend Ships Unlimited to ship needed supplies to Haiti.  We have provided a supply list with specific instructions for preparation and shipment.  As we receive specific requests for additional items, we will post those lists with instructions.  On the first voyage that leaves the end of January, Friend Ships Unlimited will work with partners in context who are ready to deploy.  They have a large complex to set up a base camp and operate from on the ground.  They also have 2000 homeless people camped out on their property right now.  We have purposely not committed ourselves to a lot of specifics beyond that for this first trip until so that we are able to respond as we see fit while we are in port.  An initial team of 30 people will be there to distribute the supplies.  Subsequent missions can carry supplies that churches or organizations in the States are sending to a specific group in Haiti, if by that time, logistics are such that the groups will be able to pick up the goods.

Volunteers
We are conferring with a range of partners to determine the skills needed and the opportunities available for service in Haiti.  There are many needs and many compassionate people who are willing to go.  We manage opportunities and interests with the capacity in the country to receive and deploy your service well.  We do not want to burden our partners in country with concern about providing lodging, food, and transportation for more people than they can accommodate.  This will be a multi-year opportunity for service, and Lott Carey has good experience in implementing effective international immersion opportunities.

Remember to pray for those who struggle and suffer, and pray for those who serve.  You can give online here.

21 January 2010

We received this message from our partners in Haiti today.

“It has been very difficult to get definitive news on the pastors, their churches and congregants in the Lott Carey network.  Most people in St Marc (which is north of Port-au-Prince) are not getting news about Port-au-Prince and the other southwest regions impacted by the earthquake.  Pastor Marc-Pierre-Louis, President of our network of churches in Haiti, has had reports of a couple of churches destroyed in the Petit Goave region.  In Leogane, which is very near the epicenter of the earthquake, one Lott Carey Church is cracked and split completely down the middle!  We have, at this point, no confirmed reports of fatalities from the churches.  However, there is very little information because the lines of communication are almost totally destroyed.

“Pastor Marc is coordinating the humanitarian aide from St Marc to feed people arriving by the hundreds in St Marc everyday.  Whatever supplies they had on hand are almost depleted.  He is making a plea over the airwaves for St Marc residents to provide whatever meager assistance possible to the relief effort of feeding and providing shelter to those coming from Port-au-Prince.
 

"Pastor Pierre-Louis will provide update as he continues the efforts to contact the Lott Carey family in diverse parts of the country.”

We continue to pray for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.  Please see a video message from Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley here.

20 January 2010

We are supporting first responder volunteers in Haiti through our partnership with Baptist World Aid.  Our support, along with others, has helped experienced first responders, such as some from Hungary, to go to Haiti for faithful and difficult service.  The article below represents one story that helps us learn about the depth of tragedy that people are enduring in the aftermath of the earthquake. 

Pastor Lamerique, now with the Lord due to the tragic earthquake, was one of the leading Baptist pastors in Haiti. He led a church of 600, managed a kindergarten, a primary school and a children’s sports club. His wife and children survived. They shared the happenings of the devastating hour: “I was reading on the first floor when the earth moved as if a great chasm opened up and our house fell into it,” said Bioutelle, the 11 year old daughter.“My mother and father were talking in the living room; my father was just standing up to leave the house. A piece of the ceiling fell down, hit his head and he fell on the ground. My mother also fell down on the ground and rolled under the table. As for me, I don't know what happened to me.

The children of Bienne L’Amerique, pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, who died in the earhtquake on January 12. From left to right: Berlau George, 13, Bioutelle, 11, and Bethill, 16.

16 January 2010

The news of the earthquake's devastation in the Republic of Haiti continues to be overwhelming.  We are encouraged, however, about the compassion that is inspiring the Lott Carey network to move quickly
 

1. We launched a Mission Alert urging prayer support and financial contributions for people in Haiti.  Lott Carey will work in collaboration with L'Union Strategique des Eglesis Baptistes d'Haiti and other church networks to facilitate cash grants to families impacted by the earthquake through churches.  L'Union is our group of 22 churches in Haiti for whom we provide monthly financial support and annual Pastors' Schools for training in theology and ministry in AIDS contexts.  While food and water will eventually begin making its way to people, our experience with previous hurricane disasters in Haiti teaches us that people will also need some cash to make things happen.
2. We entered a partnership with the National Baptist Convention of America and Friend Ships Unlimited to solicit supplies for a ship that will carry workers and supplies to Haiti in the coming days.
3. We teleconferenced for information gathering with the White House, USAID, and the National Security Council.
4. We are consulting for collaboration with various communities like the North American Baptist Fellowship Disaster Relief Network, the NAACP, the missions executives from all four National Baptist Conventions, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, the Kingdom Association of Covenant Pastors, the Hampton University Ministers' Conference, and The African American Pulpit Network.  We will continue to explore synergies with these communities and more.

We are working on our longer-term strategic options.  We need you to pray for discernment.

1. One approach can replicate our robust multi-year impact in Somalia following the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami where we funded a hospital, psycho-social care for traumatized children, skills training for young adults, and launched an economic development fishing collaborative for self-sustainability.  We did this in partnership with the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and Baptist World Aid.
2. Another approach can follow the ongoing partnership for substantial engagement in the Gulf Coast of the United States following hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike.  We have enabled pastoral care ministries, food and clothing distribution, social service assistance, mental health counseling, child development programs, economic development housing projects, grants to churches, coaching for pastors, free legal advice, skills training for discouraged workers, and the development of a Christian campground that is also a command post for future hurricanes in the region.  We have done this work in collaboration with the National Baptist Convention of America, National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, the African American Catholic Congregation, The Fountain Baptist Church/Fountain Project, and with a new partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Stafford Foundation.

The longer term possibilities for helping people rise again will depend on the scale and scope of support.  The Lott Carey Network's generosity enabled us to make some of the largest humanitarian investments from church communities in Somalia following the tsunami and in the Gulf Coast following Katrina.  The depth of our response will drive the breadth of our work. 
 

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and donations.  We value on ongoing support for our sisters and brothers in this catastrophe.  We intend to walk through it with them.  We have learned that, as we are faithful, God provides.

12 January 2010

Responding to the January 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

A massive earthquake struck Haiti the evening of 12 January 2010.  It was the worst earthquake in 200 years.  Lott Carey is receiving funds to support families impacted by the tragedy in partnership L'Union Strategique des Eglesis Baptistes d'Haiti.  Our partners are a network of 22 churches through whom we will reach people in community to help people rise again from this disaster. 

See a map of the devastated area at Map of Impacted Area in Haiti.

To provide financial support send a check or money order designated for "Haiti Earthquake Relief" to Lott Carey, 220 I Street, NE, Suite 220, Washington, DC 20002 or give online. Donate

Join us in prayer for the victims of the earthquake.

Join us in prayer for the responders who are arriving to serve.

Join us for a spirit of generosity and compassion to meet the needs ahead.

Additionally, Lott Carey, National Baptist Convention of America and Friend Ships are Loading a Disaster Response Ship for Relief to Haiti.  See Supply List for Haiti