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DURHAM -- The Rev. Joe Harvard, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, said his church and many others in Durham are stepping forward to help disaster-stricken Haiti, and he hopes the community will continue to be part of rebuilding the nation.
Harvard said First Presbyterian is sending money to the Presbyterian Disaster Relief Committee.
"And they're being used right away," he said. "The Presbyterian Disaster Relief Team was on the ground very soon after the earthquake struck, and so we're working through folks who know what they're doing. They go all over the world, wherever there's a disaster."
Harvard also said that the church's former associate pastor, Arabella Meadows-Rogers, who died recently, asked that all funds collected in her memory be sent for disaster relief in Haiti.
"So this has given an additional impetus for all of us to be supportive," he said. "We're remembering someone we loved, and we're also dealing with the situation that calls for Christian compassion for the people of Haiti."
Harvard noted that many people in Durham have ties with Haitians from previous church mission trips.
"So I think as soon as it's feasible for us to send people to help rebuild that country, we ought to find ways to do that together."
"When you have a personal connection with people in a country that goes through a disaster, it brings it home in an incredible way," he said. "And so, I'm hopeful that we can find ways to not only send money, but also to send people, and be a part of rebuilding that country."
