St. James Roman Catholic Church
A Roman Catholic Community in Cazenovia, New York
6 Green Street, Cazenovia, NY 13035
Parish Office: 315-655-3441 Religious Education Office: 315-655-4871
News from Haiti
As news unfolds of the devastation from the eathquake in Haiti. we keep in our prayers all of the Haitian people as the entire country was touched by this tragedy. We have a special concern for the parishioners of St. Ives, our sister parish in Thibeau, Haiti. Initial word is that damage is less in that area, but all are deeply affected by lack of information on their families and friends in the more damaged areas.This page will contain news and a link to donate directly to the fund to aid the parish of St. Ives.
When you click on the "Give Now" button, you will be taken to the St. James Electronic Payment page. Choose the Haiti Fund in the "Payment for" field.
April 5, 2010
Update to the Jan 18 NBC Today Show spot on Matthew 25 House - a little over 2 1/2 months after the quake. Much of the contributions from St. James are going directly to Matthew 25 House, and have aided in the healing. Please continue your generosity by donating.
Following are the latest updates from Fr. Peter and Shannon Richard, as of January 23, 2010
- Update from Bob Hood
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Excerpts from en email from Theresa Patterson who is with the Parish Twinning Program / Visitation Hospital Foundation
- What the Haitian Twinning Committee at St. James is doing.
Update from Bob Hood's trip to Haiti
It took Bob Hood (a St. James parishioner) two days to get out of Florida and into Haiti. Many people (Haitians) in the air port were desperate to get to Haiti for the burial of their family members. There were many tears and desperation. After dealing with broken planes and rescheduled flights, Bob finally got out of the airport on a small 15 passenger plane and went to Cap Haitian, northern Haiti. A great number of people are arriving by bus and the infrastructure of Cap Haitian and small surrounding villages can't handle the number of people coming in. They need food and water right now. Eventually they will need help building and getting supplies. Bob says people are worn out and wondering how they will continue without gas, food shortages, water shortages. He has been working and talking with Father Almyre and many to find out how to take care of the displaced people and families and with so many obstacles!!! We'll keep you posted.
Excerpts from Theresa Patterson, and the efforts at Matthew 25 House
They are extremely busy right now at Matthew 25 House treating patients in the soccer field and trying to meet all of the needs of the moment. I spoke with Sr. Mary at length on Saturday night and she was feeling good about their situation in general in that they had adequate water, food and meds. A team of 14 from Colorado arrived yesterday with supplies and will be working at Matthew 25 and as you will see on the video, Dr. Jim Toth and his wife from St. Monica in Duluth, Georgia managed to get across the Dominican Border with 400 lbs. of supplies.
View the video of Sr. Mary Finnick and the Matthew 25 House here:
Hospital Corporation of America sent a plane full of supplies last Friday and they were not able to get into the airport. Thus, the flight that several of our doctors had hoped to be on, had to be canceled. Senator Bill Frist from Nashville left on Sunday with supplies, but there was also not sufficient time for us to gather supplies for that mission.
St. James Haitian Twinning Committee Update
The Haitain Twinning Committee is still encouraging parish members and friends to contribute how you see fit. If you would like to donate through our committee you can do it online or send a check to St. James Church/Haitian Twinning Committee 6 Green Street Cazenovia, NY 13035.
We are directing the donations to the most important mission to begin food, water and medical and then re-evaluate and distribute to the next most important projects, including the efforts at Matthew 25 House.
Email from Father Almyre to Fr. Peter on the situation of the church (Thursday, January 14):
Dear Fr. Peter and the parishioners Saint James,
I greet you in the Name of God. I would to like to tell you about the new reality that we are living after the earthquake.
The Catholic church is in trouble:
The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince died
Almost all the parochial churches, rectories,frr example the Cathedral of Port-au-Prince, Sacred Heart the Archbishopric, the rectories of the Cathedral and the Sacred Heart and others destroyed.
All the Major Seminaries ( Section of Philosophy and Theology ) are destroyed.
Some priests and seminarians diedThe Seminarians lost all their materials. Some of them are coming back in their respective dioceses, because the Capital is destroyed.
For this year, the Archdiocese of Cap-Haitien had 45 Seminarians:
10 in preparatory (propedeutic)
17 in Philosophy
18 in Theology
We are happy to receive them because they are in life. But now the big problem they have nothing because they lose clothes, shoes, socks, undergaments, shirts, books, computers, money and others. As expected, it's very sad to see them in a such situation. Above all we don't have enough possibility to support them for their total integration ( Spiritually, Economically, Sphychologically ).
At last, let me tell you the Catholic Church has no structure for the formation of the seminarians. It's hard for the Catholic Church in Haiti that is poor. Please pray for us.
The Archbishop, the General Vicar and I are working to see what king of support we can give at the seminarians that are living a difficult reality.
May God bless you!
Always your brother in Christ,
Fr. Joseph Almyre
Email from a young woman who lives in the Kara Hood Center to Bob Hood (Tuesday, January 12)
Dear Bob,
We are fine, and so are the people of Thibeau and around. The most damages seem to be in Port-au-Prince. The news are very bad over there. We are trying to catch the news on internet because the radios and the phones aren't working. Thank you very much for thinking of us. Thanks to God we are fine. However, I don't know about my family in Port-au-Prince because I can't reach them on the phone. It seems that things aren't that bad in Jeremie, but Magnus does have family in Port-au-Prince as well. We weren't able to reach Father Almyre at the retreat so far. We will try again tomorrow. We had non stop rain today, and it is still raining as of now. The KHC was pretty much shaky during the earthquake, but everything is fine here thanks to God.
Again, thanks for your email. That is very much comforting. See you soon.
Edlyne and Magnus