Jerusalem the Golden, and the Sisters in Haiti

What has our beloved hymn “Jerusalem the Golden”, #624, got to do with the earthquake in Haiti? The words were translated from a 12th century text by Bernard of Cluny by an invalid Church of England priest, John Mason Neale, in the mid 1800s whose other passion was caring for the poor elderly and children. To help him, he founded a religious order for women in 1855 known as the Sisters of St. Margaret.

Since 1927 the Episcopal Sisters of St. Margaret have had a convent and ministry in Haiti. They are best known for their work at the school in Port-au-Prince they founded and another they began for handicapped children. In the 1970s they started the only Haitian youth symphony orchestra which was later brought to the famous Tanglewood summer music camp through friends at the Boston Symphony and funds the sisters raised. Their Order came to the United States from England in 1873 to run Children’s Hospital, Boston less than twenty years after it was founded. The mother house of the order is in Boston and if any remember the classic children’s book, “Make Way for Ducklings,” the nuns in the story and illustrations are our Sisters of St. Margaret.

Sadly, today, the convent of St. Margaret in Haiti is destroyed as are the schools for the handicapped and other students. The Sisters were found safe as refugees with hundreds of others in the football field of St. Pierre College. Danger is nothing new to these nuns. I remember other Sisters telling us stories of dodging bullets during revolutions in previous decades since the convent and schools are near the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince. Sister Marjorie Raphael said once, “We would have to crawl beneath the windows to avoid the gunfire.” These are brave and courageous women who have a long term commitment of faithful service to the needs of the children and elderly of our church in Haiti.

There is now an urgent appeal for funds for their work to continue. You can contribute via their website. They also recommend donations to Episcopal Relief and Development or Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

I’ve known about the work of the Sisters of St. Margaret for many years. As a life professed monk for fifty years I’ve come to know many members of our religious Orders. From 1982 until 1988 I was President of the Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas. Canon Barnabas Hunt and I always attended the annual meetings and other gatherings of the conference. The late Sister Ann Marie, SSM was Secretary of the Conference during one of my terms and we worked closely together on a number of projects. I’ve known Marjorie Raphael since the 70s. I gave the Sisters of St. Margaret their long retreat in 1988 at their place in Duxbury, Mass. There may be many communities, but really only one religious life in the Episcopal Church. We are an extended family.

Rev. Andrew Rank is a Canon of the Cathedral

Pictures from the website showing the convent before the earthquake, and Sr. Marie Margaret, Sr. Marjorie Raphael and Sr. Kethia.