The Free Methodist Church in Canada

The National Leadership Team is meeting with the Network Leaders and Mentors at Wesley Acres from August 31 to September 2.

Please note the Ministers Conference dates:
East - September 28-30 - Wesley Acres
West - October 5-7 - Entheos Retreat Centre (near Calgary)

FM Pastor Jean Marc Zamor and family in front of the tent which has been their home since the quake.

It hardly seems possible that over six months have already passed since shocking news of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti began to reach us.  We remember the stunning photos of devastation. Our disbelief as the death toll mounted to more than 225,000 who had perished in mere moments (including 3 FM missionaries). Our tears as we watched on TV the desperate efforts to find those trapped by debris. Our sense of helplessness for more than one million homeless.

PRAISE the Lord for what has been accomplished since January by the Haiti Free Methodist Church, partnering with the FMCs in Canada, USA and other countries and relief agencies.
Financial assistance and now construction teams have been making a difference!

After January 12 the FMC in Canada stepped to the plate IMMEDIATELY.  Substantial Canadian donations enabled compassionate support to the most needy during the early Relief phase and are being productively used during the longer-term Recovery efforts now underway and continuing into 2011 and beyond. 
Canadian donations for Haiti have come through three channels:      

1. World Relief Canada
2. FMCiC Bishop’s Relief Fund
3. International Child Care Ministries (Canada)

1)  WORLD RELIEF CANADA
WRC is our partner in responding to emergencies globally, and is well-connected in Haiti. We were able to move funds quickly to help with early Relief before the Free Methodist Church could mobilize its own program. Within one month of the quake, Canadian FMs donated $91,500 to WRC – a level 13% higher than by any other denomination!  The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) matched these gifts, for a total of $183,000.  In Port au Prince, World Relief has used funds for medical attention to hundreds of injured at Kings Hospital; and set up feeding centers with local churches for daily hot meals, water, non-food items and psychological support to thousands of people. Thank you for your early passionate response!!

2)  BISHOP’S RELIEF FUND
Canadian FMs have contributed to date nearly $80,000 through this channel. Portions of this amount have been disbursed or allocated for the following, working also with leaders of the FMC in Haiti and the US to ensure that needs are prioritized and funds are handled in an accountable manner:

i) US$20,000 (allocated in late July) for the Free Methodist community in Morne a Bateau, near the quake’s epicentre. They lost the 2-story structure housing both its sanctuary and primary and secondary schools.  Our donation will purchase a nearby building which withstood the quake [photos #1 and #2].  After repairs and upgrading, the school’s operations should fully resume by year’s end.  Slots for work teams here are available for Sept 14-24 & Oct 16-26.

Click here to read Grant Sigsworth's full report

Rick Hiemstra is director of the Centre for Research on Canadian Evangelicalism (CRCE) and recently wrote an article entitled, "Is the census really an evangelical issue?" as a Guest Blogger for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) - an affiliate ministry of FMCIC.

The census causes marginalized groups to be visible to governments who might otherwise ignore them because they aren’t powerful.

Is the census really an evangelical issue? It depends on how the census question is framed.  Right now the government is framing it as an issue of privacy.  If you ask me “Are you for privacy?” I’ll say, “Yes, how can you be against privacy? It’s like being against motherhood.”

There is a lot of heated talk about the census asking how many bathrooms you have in your house. It doesn’t; it never did.  Here are links to the census long forms for 2001 and 2006. These questions are very important so we should be on the same page about what is and isn’t being asked. This is a big form.  Some of the questions could easily be construed as intrusive.  So why might anyone advocate for the government to continue to collect this kind information, if not exactly the same information?

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