HAITI EMERGENCY
Haiti
is a disaster. Or, more accurately, Haiti was a disaster even before the
earthquake struck on January 13th. The poorest nation in the hemisphere,
where people often survived on less than $1 a day, the highest illiteracy
rates, high infant mortality rates, and more that 70% unemployment all add up
to a nation in a perpetual state of disaster. Despite the efforts of
countless missionaries and foreign aid agencies, the nation of Haiti has,
for many years, been nothing less than an unmitigated failure.
But we cannot blame the individual people. Haitians
who emigrate to the United
States and other countries, if given the
chance, are very successful, productive members of society. Yes, there has
been bad government; but US and other nations foreign policy towards Haiti has not
helped. We cannot take seriously the unsubstantiated story, (as Pat Robertson
suggested recently) that Haitians "made a pact with the devil" to
get free of the French at the end of the 18th c. and have been paying for it
ever since. Now is not the time for blame, or lies, or recriminations Now is the
time for compassion.
We have the opportunity, despite the massive destruction and loss of life, to
help Haiti
start over. And start over they must...nothing is left. There is no economy
to speak of, no infrastructure, and a barely functioning government. Former President
Bill Clinton, now the UN Special Envoy to Haiti, seems to be taking charge.
In an NPR interview on January 18th, President Clinton sounded a note of
hope; that in the midst of such terrible tragedy, the possibility still
exists that the nation of Haiti
can rebuild, and emerge as a productive happy place.
We can, and must, pray and help. Collections for Haiti will continue for some
time. Opportunities to travel to Haiti to help in the rebuilding
will come along. And out of ruin, with our help, and some vision, and enough
funding, and a bit of luck, Haiti
will be reborn.
Pastor Jim
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THE COVENANT
Center Congregational
Church
WE COVENANT with the Lord and with
one another, and do bind ourselves in the presence of God to walk together in
His holy ways.
WE WILL STRIVE to be doers of the
Word and not hearers only, to be firm in faith, quickened in hope, and
constant in love.
AND WE WILL CONSECRATE our time, talent,
income and influence as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. AMEN
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HOSPITAL ADMISSION PROTOCOL
The
Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (HIPAA),
originally intended as a safeguard about the release of patient information
to insurance companies,
has grown into a nightmarish monster
extending into areas of patient information
never intended to be affected by the
original act.
One consequence is that the routine notification to churches about a
parishioner's admission
to a hospital or other health care facility now cannot happen unless the
patient specifically requests that notification be made. When you are
admitted to a hospital please be sure to put Center
Congregational Church on the notification list if you want the Pastor to visit
you.
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