It seems hard to believe February will be soon upon us already! Our work in Stokesley has seen us continue to engage in fresh ways to reach a new generation with  the message Christ brings. We have very much a seed sowing work. We sow seeds of faith into young people we meet every day and it is real blessing to have conversations which show a real desire to know more and investigate further.

At the end of last term, we led Christmas lessons with year 7 and year 9 looking at The True Meaning of Christmas. Our year 7 students were also presented with their own New Testaments as a gift from our friends “The Gideons”.

This year we joined year 7 in a visit to both Stokesley Parish church and Methodist Church. We shared the importance of the Church in the life of a Christian and hopefully brought insight into why we worship each week.

Our S1 youth events each month are going well. We lost some members who moved on to university last year and these have been replaced by new members. It is a sign of the continuing work amongst new students each year. Our recent event looked at the idea that being a Christian is about a journey, a path that we follow and affects each day of our lives. Thank God for the new students who have joined this event, directly through our lunchtime club input.

This year we are running three lunchtime clubs, covering all school years. We are seeing a good nucleus attending each week and eager to enjoy the fun but also learn about faith. Many of these do not regularly attend church so we are grateful to God for each of them.

Please pray for us. Here are a few pointers to help!

• Thank God for the new young people joining us each month at S1
• Thank God for the input we are having with Year 7 and pray that these contacts will grow as they move through the school
• Pray for the witness of the Christian members of staff, particularly Anthony Laffan, Head of RE

For many years, St Joseph’s parish has provided financial support to the Tees Valley Youth for Christ Workers in Stokesley School. (Youth for Christ is an initiative resulting from the visit of Billy Graham to Britain years ago). On the weekend of Sunday 14 February Neil Harris the leader of the Team at Stokesley School will speak about their work at the end of our Masses.

This is the tragic report of Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Papal Nuncio to Haiti only a few hours after the catastrophic earthquake of 13 January.

‘Port-au-Prince is completely devastated. The Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Residence, all the great churches, all the seminaries are reduced to rubble. The pastor of the Cathedral, who survived the earthquake, told me that the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince perished under the rubble, along with hundreds of seminarians and priests who are under the rubble.’

As I write, the Vicar General, Fr Charles Benoit is still missing and nothing has been heard from Missio’s Haitian National Director, Fr Clarck de la Cruz.

Part of the heartbreaking reality of the Haiti earthquake is that many of those who would have offered their support to the shattered lives of the people of the island are themselves victims, an uncounted number also listed amongst the fatalities.

The overwhelming tragedy wrought by the few brief seconds of the earthquake’s duration is poignantly summarised by a photo taken in the rubble of the cathedral in Port-au-Prince: Jesus hangs on the Cross in the midst of his people.

One of the poorest countries on earth, Haiti’s people have experienced a seemingly endless cycle of poverty, political upheavals, crime and natural disasters since it became the world’s first black-led republic and the first independent Caribbean State in the early 19^th century.

Haiti, last year alone received more than £286,000 in support from Missio, supporting the work of the Church in basic and preventative healthcare, education, pastoral care and building projects, including major reconstruction in Port-au-Prince after massive flooding in May 2009.

‘Last year floods hit; now the earthquake has shocked us with the extent of its devastation,’ said Martin Teulan, Missio’s National Director in Australia. ‘We are saddened by the news of Archbishop Serge-Miot and how many lives have been lost. When the Victorian bushfires devastated people’s lives here a year ago, the greatest response we received for prayer came from the people of Haiti and the Caribbean – people who understand what it means to have little. Their prayers strengthened us. Our prayers will be greatly appreciated and encourage them.’

Another aspect of Haiti’s tragedy was expressed by Isabel Perez, an Ecuadorian who works for Missio in England and Wales and who worked in neighbouring Dominican Republic. ‘We helped many Haitians to set up small projects and schools, assisting them with many other concerns. I’ve been trying since yesterday to contact people to see how they are, but it is so hard. All forms of communication are down. I have heard nothing. All I can do is to watch television and read the news reports… and pray. Just now, all we have is prayer.’

The number of fatalities in the earthquake will probably never be known. One slum alone housed more than 70,000 inhabitants and there were many such slums in Port-au-Prince alone.

Mgr John Dale, National Director for England and Wales, commented. ‘Haiti’s loss at the moment is made even more difficult because so many clergy, Religious and seminarians are amongst the dead and so cannot give the pastoral care that is so urgently needed at this time.

‘Missio has always supported the Church in Haiti, helping it to grow and develop in its own distinctive way. We will remain in the country, helping it to rebuild and find hope. Missio is not an emergency aid organisation, but just as we have been present for the Haitians in the past, we will be there for their future as they try to reconstruct their homes and lives. In the present, the people of Haiti are in our thoughts and prayers. We pray for those who died and may those who survived the earthquake be given all the comfort, strength and help that they need.’

As well sending money to CAFOD, a number of parishes have also decided to send donations to Missio Haiti through the London office at 23 Eccleston Square. This will be used to rebuild the shattered Churches in Haiti. For further information, please phone 020 7963 6829 or e-mail Monsignor John Dale at director@missio.org.uk St Joseph’s and St Margaret’s people already support Missio through the Red Mission boxes many people have in their homes and this information gives us a good idea of where the money donated goes.

The following information provides an idea of how the Church through CAFOD is responding to the disaster in Haiti.

Haiti earthquake Q&A

We are working closely with our partners on the ground in Haiti to respond to the earthquake that has devastated the capital

What has happened?

On the evening of Tuesday 12 January 2010, a major earthquake hit Haiti, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale.

The earthquake struck just 10 miles south-west of the bustling capital Port-au-Prince and was so strong that many buildings including the National Palace, the cathedral and the headquarters of the UN peacekeepers have collapsed.

It is believed that thousands of people have died including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot. This is the strongest earthquake that Haiti has experienced in more than 200 years.

What are the humanitarian needs?

Humanitarian needs are for emergency relief supplies to help survivors with the provision of clean drinking water, food, medicines and basic shelter.

At present there are no accurate figures of the number of people who have been killed or made homeless by the quake.

But it is clear that with three million people living in the affected region, out of a total national population of nine million, very substantial humanitarian assistance will be required.

Who are our partners?

Our emergency response in Haiti is being co-ordinated by the Caritas International Federation – a group of Catholic church agencies from around the world.

Catholic Relief Services from the US, Secours Catholique from France, and Caritas Swiss from Switzerland all have programmes in Haiti and are well positioned to respond to this crisis.

Our local partner in Haiti is Caritas Haiti who have a presence in every community, parish and diocese of the country and will be key to getting aid to those who have been affected.

We are in constant contact with other Caritas agencies to share information and plan our response.

What are we and our partners doing?

We have already pledged £100,000 to our partners for humanitarian assistance in Haiti, who will find out what is needed to help the most vulnerable people.

The money pledged will help our partners supply water, food, medicines and shelter to people in the worst affected areas and will help the people of Haiti to rebuild their lives in the longer term.

How long have we been working in Haiti and what have we been doing?

We have worked in Haiti since 1970. During that time we have supported a wide range of development projects focusing on literacy, agriculture, empowering women and legal aid.

We have a lot of experience in supporting emergency response programmes through our partners in Haiti, including the relief efforts following Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna in 2008.