Haitian Brethren name provisional board, hold blessing for first ministers.

Eglise des Freres Haitiens--the Haitian Church of the Brethren--has taken significant steps toward its formal establishment in Haiti with the naming of a provisional board, and the blessing of ministerial leadership during a recent ceremony.

Ludovic St. Fleur, Haiti mission coordinator and pastor of Eglise des Freres Haitiens in Miami, Fla., and Jay Wittmeyer, executive director of Global Mission Partnerships for the Church of the Brethren, both took part in the ceremony. A workcamp group attending the ceremony also represented the involvement of Brethren Disaster Ministries in mission and church development in Haiti.

A theological training for the Haitian church held in mid-August closed with the special evening worship service that received Pastor Yves Jean as the first ordained minister of Eglise des Freres Haitiens. The Church of the Brethren accepted his ordination as a transfer from another denomination.

Six people were licensed to ministry at the service: Telfort Jean Billy, Telfort Romy, Ely

Frenie, Dieupanou St. Brave, Altenor Jean Gesurand, and Altenor Duvelus. The licensed ministers also received the blessing of laying on of hands. Those who had completed the theological training received certificates.

Canned chicken donated from the meat canning project of Southern Pennsylvania District and Mid-Atlantic District was distributed during the service, evidence of the active collaboration between the Haitian Brethren, Global Mission Partnerships, and Brethren Disaster Ministries. The canned chicken was shipped to Haiti through the church’s Material Resources program and Brethren Disaster Ministries, as part of ongoing disaster relief work in Haiti following the four hurricanes and tropical storms that caused massive destruction there last year.

The Haiti Workcamp group was led by Jeff Boshart, Haiti disaster response coordinator, and Klebert Exceus, a Haitian consultant from Orlando, Fla. The group included five American Brethren, translators from the Haitian Brethren community in Florida, accompanied by members of Exceus’ family, and two Brethren pastors from the Dominican Republic--one of Haitian and one of Dominican background.

On the morning after the ordination and licensing service, Wittmeyer met with leaders of the Haitian church and the group established a provisional board for its new organization. The group elected leaders: Telfort Jean Billy of Croix de Bouquet Church of the Brethren was named as chair; Ely Frenie of Cap Haitian Church of the Brethren was named secretary; and Telfort Romy of Gonaives Church of the Brethren was named treasurer.

Source: 8/26/2009 Newsline