French hymnals for students and churches in Haiti

HAITI – In mid-July, copies of Lutheran Church–Canada’s (LCC) French hymnal—Liturgie et cantique luthériens—were distributed to students enrolled in an upcoming liturgy course from LCC’s Francophone Lutheran Liturgical Institute (Institut liturgique luthérien francophone – ILLF) being offered in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti’s (Église Évangélique Luthérienne d’Haïti – EELH) Concordia Seminary in Laotchikit.

“In the name of all the members in our Lutheran churches in the Central Plateau, we thank you for all your efforts for us,”

“In the name of all the members in our Lutheran churches in the Central Plateau, we thank you for all your efforts for us,” said Rev. Walta Clercius on behalf of the recipients. “You are blessing us with your love, your charity, and your books. Words and expressions are not sufficient to really express our thankfulness to you.” Rev. Clercius, a native of Haiti, serves as Assistant Missionary-at-Large for LCC’s French Ministries.

Additional hymnals are also being distributed to local congregations in order to introduce and encourage the use of the hymnals, through the leadership and guidance of those enrolled in the course. In the last decade, a dozen schools and churches have been planted in the Central Plateau region where the seminary is located.

The gift of hymnals comes in response to LCC’s increasing involvement with the EELH and its seminary in Laotchikit. It also grows out of the IILF’s intensifying activity in assisting Francophone Lutherans with liturgical formation—a growing need brought on by the recent spurt of growth in Francophone Lutheran churches worldwide. The recent liturgy workshop in Montreal, which brought together Francophone Lutherans from across the globe, is another example of the ILLF’s work in the area of liturgical formation.

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Photos: Students in Haiti pose with newly received French resources, including LCC’s French hymnal.

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