A Message to the Clergy and People

The Feast of the Holy Cross

14 September 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Our Episcopal Church in Southeast Florida embraces the largest community of Haitians in our nation, and we have two Haitian congregations in our diocesan family, as well as Haitian Episcopalians who worship in other churches. Haitian Americans are our family members, our neighbours, our friends, our colleagues, our clergy, our fellow Christians, our fellow citizens. They are artists, writers, musicians, public servants, educators, directors of charitable and non-profit organisations,first responders, leaders in business and contributors to the common good at every level of our society. The Haitian community in our region is generations old, and has helped to create the rich and diverse heritage that we enjoy today.  

The accusations against the Haitian community of Springfield, OH, this week, which seem to have been made solely for political gain and which have resulted in grave difficulty for the Haitian community in that town as well as for our Haitian sisters and brothers here in South Florida and elsewhere, are incomprehensible, inexplicable, and inexcusable. There can be no place in our political, social, community, or church life for such deplorable rhetoric.

The Christian Gospel does not only not understand such treatment of human beings; the Gospel stands over against such words and actions in Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbouras ourselves.  This is a commandment without exceptions.  As your bishop, I am compelled in this moment to remind us all of the grave danger to the soul of our nation of such dreadful lies about, and specious objectification of, particular groups in our country.  This is not a party political issue.  Our Christian moral tradition insists that human beings can never be treated as means to any end, or robbed of their innate and God-given human dignity. Christianity abhors all generalisations that rob human persons of their uniqueness.

The Episcopal Church in Southeast Florida has always stood with, and will continue to stand with, our Haitian sisters and brothers as full and equal participants in life of our Church, our region, and our nation. And we remain firm in the Church’s moral tradition of condemning all words and actions that discriminate against, demonise, paint a caricature of, or encourage others to attack any group of our fellow Americans or those who are among us as recent immigrants in search of the promise that this nation has always afforded those who seek refuge on these shores.

I am asking that in all our congregations tomorrow at worship there will be prayers for our Haitian sisters and brothers and for the well-being of our Haitian community here in South Florida.

Here is a good prayer for this moment. Some of the language will be very familiar to us.

Loving God,

we give you thanks for the beauty of this world,

the splendour of nature,

the wonder of life,

the diversity of the human family,

and the mystery of love.

Give us grace as those who live in this circle of life

to be for one another

strength in need, counsellors in perplexity,

comfort in sorrow, and companions in joy.

Inspire our public leaders and ourselves

to strive for justice and peace among all people,

live sustainably,

and respect the dignity of every human being.

Open us all to receive the spirit of humility,

wise intentionality, and a sense of our sacred purpose 

in the mission of the Gospel to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour,

who is the model of our life and witness. Amen.

With love and prayers,

+Peter