January 13, 2010

CHICAGO – The Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti, and called for prompt support in the relief efforts, after the Jan. 12 earthquake.

The major earthquake that shook the Caribbean nation of Haiti is another in a series of natural disasters to hit this already vulnerable nation, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.

The quake, which registered 7.3 on the Richter scale and struck the area in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince, caused heavy damage, knocking down buildings and power lines. It was reported to be the strongest earthquake in the country in 200 years.

"On behalf of the fellowship of churches of the World Council of Churches, I express our condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti, as they once again experience the great burdens of anguish, damage and death because of a natural catastrophe," said Tveit, a Lutheran. "They already have carried many burdens of political instability and poverty."

"The people of Haiti should now experience the prompt support and help from others," Tveit said early Wednesday morning. "Through the work of the ACT (Action by Churches Together) Alliance, there will be given support as expression of the actions of churches together worldwide."

"Let us keep our member churches in Haiti and all affected by the earthquake in our prayers and thoughts," he said.

ACT International member churches are already involved in responding to the earthquake. The ACT secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, is now coordinating a global response to the catastrophe.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a member of the WCC and works through the Lutheran World Federation, ACT and other partner organizations in responding to global disasters.

Information about the the World Council of Churches is at http://:www.coe-wcc.org/, on the Web.

Information about ACT International http://www.act-intl.org/index.php, on the Web.

ELCA News Service