WCC general secretary to visit Haiti

An ecumenical delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, will visit Haiti from 14-16 June. The purpose of the visit is to express solidarity with the victims of the 12 January earthquake, offer pastoral accompaniment and reflect on the current challenges the churches are facing as they try to serve the Haitian people.

The delegation will learn first-hand about church projects that are providing support and relief to the victims of the earthquake, and will visit church buildings of different denominations that were destroyed in the quake.

They will pray with leaders of churches in Haiti – including mainline Protestant churches, Evangelical and Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal – and discuss with them what it means to be church together in Haiti today. A meeting with government officials is also on the agenda.

The visit will be hosted by the Protestant Federation of Haiti. It is hoped that it will help the ecumenical family to continue advocating and working together towards a new beginning for the reconstruction of the country, based on justice and self-determination of the Haitian people.

Members of the delegation:

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary
Rev. Dr Bernice Powell Jackson, WCC president from North America
Mr Gerard Granado, Caribbean Conference of Churches general secretary
Rev. Nilton Giese, Latin American Council of Churches general secretary
Mr Lorenzo Mota King, executive director of Social Services of the Dominican Churches, ACT Alliance
Dr Victoria Kamondji, vice-president of the French Protestant Federation
Rev. Dr Carlos E. Ham, WCC programme executive for Latin America and the Caribbean