Gangs take over Methodist Churches in Haiti

Protest in Haiti. Photo from Voice of America, via Wikimedia Commons

“Most days are like the one that precedes and the one that follows. The unending grief from continuous gang warfare, with murder, rape, extortion, and robbery tends to lull us into complacent oblivion,” writes David Draeger, Mission Director for Methodist Haiti District.

“Some church buildings, like St. Martin and Croix d’ Boquets, that have been taken over by the local gangs so that the people are unable to worship in their own sanctuary. Other congregations are unable to travel through gang-infested areas to their normal places of worship.”

As the situation in Haiti worsens, it becomes harder to see a solution to the crises that face the country. But despite the violence, poverty and despair, Mr Draeger reminds us that Methodist Church in Haiti remains “as a light in a darkened world… Throughout the year there are births and deaths, weddings and funerals, there are still confirmation classes and Bible studies where people are coming to Christ and as a result are professing their membership in the Methodist Church of Haiti."

You can find more about the situation in Haiti, and how you can pray for the church, here.