What a gift it was to have 24 hours with other Canadian church leaders on retreat last week, thanks to The Canadian Council of Churches.

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.”
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

France, Claire, and Isabella lost a father, father-in-law, and grandfather in the Haiti earthquake. France’s mother and sister remain in Haiti, waiting for necessary heart medication and more. This family, like many others, hopes that the government of Canada will do for Haitians what Canada has done for others before, temporarily loosening immigration practices to make it possible for families to be reunited.

With you, I continue to pray and act from a deep sense of relationship with the people of Haiti. It’s also been a week of responding to enthusiastic (mostly) response to my letter, “Where Is the Hope after Copenhagen?” within media interviews, correspondence, and conversation.

As we witness unimaginable pain and suffering in Haiti, we join with others crying this question and, through our tears, we hear an answer. God is in the most painful moments, the most painful places, weeping with every child, with every mother and father, with every person suffering through this tragedy.

You may have heard about the letter by this title that I have written as an open letter to all Canadians, to be read in pulpits across the United Church this Sunday (January 17th) and personally delivered to the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and other party leaders on Jan. 18th. Others, including all parliamentarians, will also receive it.

I hope that you enjoyed a change of pace over Christmas, allowing for rest and recreation. For me, this often comes in the form of movies and theatre.

My last message from Copenhagen was over a week ago. Daily blogs were planned to end on December 18th, but it’s time to renew my regular (normally weekly) correspondence.

Bleached coral from the Pacific Ocean was the most eloquent voice in Copenhagen this week (during the Ecumenical Celebration for Creation), accompanied by glacier stones from Greenland, dried up maize from Africa, remarkable faith leaders from around the world, and words of scripture, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Rom. 8:19).