St. Mark’s-Newport Supports Haiti’s Bishop Tharp Institute
Church Raises $7,000 to Repair Storm-damaged School
By Bob Wilson
Although Hurricane Matthew has all but vanished from recent headlines, its destruction can still be seen across the Western Atlantic. Students and staff of the Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI) in Les Cayes, Haiti know all too well of the havoc, but a $7,000 donation from their friends at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Newport, Vermont, will go a long way to speed their recovery.
On Sunday, November 6, St. Mark’s congregants hosted a jazz Evensong followed by dinner and silent auction. The event raised $3,500, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by an anonymous donor. Such generosity held special meaning for David Bullock, a St. Mark’s member who supported the founding of the school in 2004 and remains a staunch advocate of its mission.
A dream of the late Bishop Robert G. Tharp, former chair of Episcopal Relief and Development, and Bishop Jean-Zaché Duracin of Haiti, BTI exists to provide postsecondary, technical education with a view to employment and economic self-sufficiency for Haitians.
Event attendees described lively music led by Dr. Sara Doncaster, singer April Streeter, and musicians, a moving homily delivered by the Rev. Titus Pressler, and a memorable service celebrated by the Rev. Jane Butterfield. Chefs served dinner to an at-capacity crowd, all of whom remained for a presentation by Bullock about BTI.