Local church responds to Haiti's cries for help
The Rev. Stephen Winemiller, senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, invites all area residents to a Community Prayer Service for Haiti on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 2:30 p.m.
Pastor Joseph Livenson Lauvanus of the Lutheran Church of Haiti will be the guest preacher, and the offering collected will go to the Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund of the Lutheran Church of Haiti. Lauvanus left Haiti on Jan. 11 for planned travel to the United States, narrowly missing the earthquake that ravaged his country the next day.
"We invite all people, all churches, and all clergy – the entire community – to come together in spirit and join us in prayer for the citizens of Haiti," Winemiller said in a press release.
He added, "Two of our congregation members, Dr. Steve Newman of Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Dr. Laura Morris, a pediatric neurologist in Sarasota, are traveling to Haiti on Feb. 4 to assist as much as possible in response to this week’s devastating earthquake."
Dr. Steve Newman works on a young patient during an earlier mission trip to Haiti.
The two doctors will be traveling as part of a larger medical mission organized by The Lazarus Project, a grassroots effort of individuals and congregations working in ministry for the people of Haiti. Faith Lutheran is one of 50 member congregations throughout the U.S.; Winemiller is a member of the board of directors for The Lazarus Project.
Faith Lutheran has a long-standing relationship with Haiti. In addition to its work through The Lazarus Project, the church works in ministry to support the Little Church of Jesus, an orphanage in Haiti for physically challenged young children.
Area choirs are invited to convene at the church beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 to form a combined choir under the direction of Faith Lutheran Music Director Roger Roszell.
For more information about the Community Prayer Service or about Faith Lutheran’s ministry in Haiti, contact Pastor Stephen Winemiller at 408-3729. For more information about the combined choir, call 924-4664.
Faith Lutheran Church is located at 7750 Beneva Road in Sarasota. Call 924-4664 or visit www.faithsarasota.com to learn more.
The Lazarus Group’s website describes its mission as "a grassroots effort of a growing number of individuals and congregations to be in ministry in Haiti. In the context of Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is a response to a modern Lazarus in the suffering poor of Haiti, lying on our doorstep begging to be fed with our crumbs." Visit www.lazarusprojecthaiti.org to learn more.