Haiti update regarding parishioner Jude Harmon
Posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010
In the 36 hours since the Earthquake in Haiti, we have used every imaginable means to try to locate our good friend, former Vestry Clerk and Christ Church parishioner Jude Harmon. This morning we have received multiple confirmations that Jude is alive, well and camping out with others from the seminary on a nearby soccer field. According to our sources, he was teaching a class at the Episcopal Seminary when the quake hit. He was able to evacuate his class and himself before the building collapsed. It sounds as though there is little left of the seminary. We don't know yet about Jude's own rooms and personal possessions. The seminary is in the same neighborhood as the National Palace that we've all seen crumbled on television Here is what we received from the National Church offices......... The Episcopal Church has four U.S.-based missionaries working in Haiti, three of whom were in-country when the earthquake hit: the Rev. Oge Beauvoir, 53, dean of the theological seminary in Port-au-Prince, and Young Adult Service Corps volunteers Mallory Holding, 23, of Chicago and Jude Harmon, 28, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. "After spending hours trying to contact Harmon and Holding, Copley received word on the evening of Jan. 13 that both are alive. Holding finally was able to call her mother, the Rev. Canon Suzi Holding of San Diego, Copley said. Mallory Holding reported that she was camping out near the diocese's seminary in Port-au-Prince and that Harmon was well but not with her. The phone connection between mother and daughter failed after only a short time, according to Copley. A few hours later, Copley said, he heard from Harmon's grandfather that his grandson was camped out on a soccer field near the seminary. Harmon told his grandfather that he had been teaching at the time of the quake but escaped with his students before the building they had been in collapsed, according to Copley. Both Harmon, a member of Christ Church in Cambridge, and Holding, a member of St. Mark's, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, work with Beauvoir. Holding also does development work for the diocese, Copley said. Both began their placements in September 2009." We have also heard from our bishops, clergy friends, locally and around the country, and parishioners who have used social network resources to confirm this official information. My personal thanks to so many of you who have expressed concern and been a part of our search in these tedious hours. Together, we can do almost anything. It is not yet clear whether the church will evacuate these missionaries immediately, but that decision should be made in the next few days. In any case, we look forward to talking to Jude as soon as that becomes possible. There will, no doubt, be a concerted relief effort on the part of the Episcopal Church to reach out to the millions in need in Haiti. In support of that cause we will collect a Haiti Earthquake Fund offering on Sunday. My own experience in the wake of Katrina on Mississippi's Gulf Coast taught me that direct giving is often the most effective and expeditious kind of monetary aid. Your wardens and vestry will determine the best path for our contributions to take to make the most difference in the most lives. To make your offering, use the special offering envelopes you will find in the pews on Sunday and make your check payable to Christ Church. On the memo line please write Haiti response. Say a special prayer for Jude, his colleagues and all the people of Haiti and join us on Sunday to make your own offering of concern and gratitude. Christ's peace, Joe+