By Ilexene Alphonse
I bring greetings from our brothers and sisters of Church of the Brethren in Haiti (l’Eglise des Freres d’Haiti), from the general secretary, the moderator, the National Committee of the church, and from the delegates and nondelegates!
I was well received as the representative for the Global Mission of the Church of the Brethren in the USA. I shared with the conference attendees the message from the Global Mission interim director Roy Winter, and I shared how the Church of the Brethren in the United States is concerned about the wellbeing of the church and the people in Haiti in the mist of the turmoil that Haiti is experiencing. How the Church of the Brethren continues to lift up the church in Haiti in prayer and with continuing support.
The church in Haiti is very grateful for the support from their sister church. They made a great deal of all the communion/fellowship with the US church. They recounted the support from the beginning of the church in Haiti back in 2003, from spiritual to social, from disasters to construction, humanitarian support during insecurity and country lockdown, from seminars to the annual conference, from short-term to in-country staff.
The church is 21 years old, and this was its 10th annual conference. Everyone who spoke, from delegates to nondelegates, took some time to thank the US church for continuing support, especially for the last humanitarian aid received from Brethren Disaster Ministries. And they charged me to greet everyone and to share their heartfelt gratitude.
This year, the conference didn’t have a lot of new business but received reports from different agencies and leaders in each area. The delegates elected a moderator, a National Committee clerk, a treasurer, and a commission for elections, and leaders for children, women, youth, and men. A new general secretary was called, as the current general secretary concluded his second term, but the current general secretary will continue until the annual conference of 2025 in order to train the newly nominated general secretary, just as in the moderator and moderator-elect system.

Below: A line at the microphone during the annual conference in Haiti. Photo courtesy of Ilexene Alphonse

The theme for this year’s conference was “The Power of Unity” from a few passages in the Bible. I had the privilege of preaching the closing sermon on Sunday, Aug. 18, and consecrated the new leaders of the church.
The conference was held in Saint Raphael, north of Pignon and south of Cap Haitian. All the pastors stayed at the church’s northern headquarters, with the delegates and nondelegates at a National School in the area, and worship services and business meeting held at a Baptist church.
It is peaceful in the north of Haiti, in fact anywhere outside of Port au Prince seems to be safe now. No gang activities were reported. Because of the insecurity in Port au Prince and the neighboring cities, the churches of Leogane, Lavandale, and Saut Mathurine did not send any delegates to the conference.
— Ilexene Alphonse serves as Country Advisory Team member for Haiti for the Church of the Brethren’s Global Mission. He is pastor of Miami (Fla.) Haitian Church of the Brethren.
#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving
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