The Haiti Committee says THANK YOU! to St. Mary's Pastor Fr. Kevin O'Reilly for his unwavering support of our twinning mission with St. Josephs!
Father Verdieu, with his vision, many skills, wit, and enthusiasm, has also been a huge blessing to our twinning efforts.
Jack Reid explains why our parish twinning with a Haiti parish is vitally important: "When I am asked, why Haiti and not someplace in America? My
answer is I don’t believe God sees us as Americans or Haitians but rather as his
children, each having the same worth, but with different needs and abilities.
This world is made up of many different nationalities, but all are of one family
in God. When asked, why us and why now? My answer is… if not us, then who? And
if not now then when?" PLEASE CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT TWINNING PARISHES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON D.C. TO HAITI PARISHES: TWINNING VIDEO
Here is the full message about twinning written by Jack Reid for St. Mary's
Parishioners in 2008 when he initiated the twinning of St. Mary's to
St. Josephs, Carcasse Haiti:
"Many of you know that I have recently returned from a visit to Haiti, and I
would like to share, with you, some of the reasons why I went.
The US
Catholic Conference of Bishops stated “ The international commitment of the
church in the United States is not all it can and should be. Our parishes often
act as islands of local religious activity rather than as parts of the mystical
body of Christ.” Acting on this call for greater international involvement, the
Archdiocese of Washington instituted a Twinning Program through which parishes
from our area could twin with parishes in the Diocese of Jeremie in south
western Haiti. The objective of Twinning is to: 1) develop a sense of
solidarity between the parish communities, 2) provide a sense of Christian
universality, 3) discover ways in which members of our community can share their
time and talent with another parish in Haiti, 4) discover ways in which the
people of Haiti can share their lives with us, 5) to be an advocate for Haiti
when and if the opportunity presents itself and 6) to share our material
wealth. In short to increase our international awareness and
responsibility.
Deacon Dave’s sister Mary McGinnity, who works for the
Archdiocese of Washington brought this idea to Dave’s attention who in turn
discussed the possibility with Father Lawrence. Father Lawrence was in favor of
the idea but wanted to wait until after our 200th anniversary celebrations’ and
the Christmas season. Father’s subsequent illness and passing delayed any
action on twinning, but the desire to be of service to and learn from an area in
so much need has never left me.
The Archdiocese of Washington supplied a
list of prospective parishes from which to choose and in January St Joseph’s of
Carcasse was chosen. I spent a week getting to know the people, their needs and
desires.
When I am asked, why Haiti and not someplace in America? My
answer is I don’t believe God sees us as Americans or Haitians but rather as his
children, each having the same worth, but with different needs and abilities.
This world is made up of many different nationalities, but all are of one family
in God. When asked, why us and why now? My answer is… if not us, then who? And
if not now then when?"
Twinning of our two parishes is a wonderful
opportunity for both parishes.
