Helicopters, satellite phones, a little shared rice, prayer and the laying on of hands were all part of the Episcopal Church's continued efforts to help the country of Haiti nine days after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake decimated parts of the impoverished nation.

The hardware is coming into Haiti by way of the Dominican Republic, the Episcopal Church diocese there and Episcopal Relief & Development, and the rice and ministering prayer is coming, in part, from the three sisters of the Couvent Sainte Marguerite, adjacent to the cathedral and operated by the Sisters of Saint Margaret, who have told their Boston-based colleagues that they are staying put.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) plans to scale up operations and strengthen logistics capacity in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic following the Jan. 20 arrival of the first DWS convoy with urgently needed relief supplies in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is sharing funds given to the church by members in response to the Haiti earthquake with the LWF/DWS, Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore, and Church World Service, New York.   Earlier this week, the ELCA News Service reported more than $1.2 million in credit card gifts had been contributed to the ELCA for Haiti relief.

Since news of the earthquake came to light, International Orthodox Christian Charities staff have been contacting partners active in Haiti and attempting to reach Orthodox parishes on the island to coordinate our response to the growing need. Like many Haitians who have been struggling to reach their loved ones, IOCC is finding direct communication difficult – symptomatic of the widespread destruction and ruined infrastructure that is now beginning to be revealed.

The Mar Thoma Church is urging parishes and congregations to collect voluntary contributions for the relief work.

The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., published on its Web page a list of items urgently needed rot relief in Haiti and announced journeys to Haiti amid fears that NBC mission sites have been destroyed.

National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. President, the Rev. Dr. Julius R. Scruggs, requested "the cooperation of all National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Auxiliaries, Boards, Commissions, Ministries, Churches, State Conventions and District Associations to work together under the leadership of the Parent Body.  By working together, our impact will be multiplied.  As the situation in Haiti becomes clearer and more stable over the next several days and weeks, the Convention will develop and execute a disaster relief plan with measureable goals and objectives.  In the meantime, we must focus our efforts on raising funds which ultimately will determine how much assistance we will be able to provide."

The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends reported that Julian Brelsford was on a volunteer service trip in Haiti with his sister Christa when the recent earthquake hit. The building they were in collapsed, and Christa's leg was crushed. They are now both safe in Miami (Christa’s foot had to be amputated), and are speaking out to raise awareness about the thousands of Haitians currently in desperate need of medical care and emergency supplies.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is coordinating its efforts with our ecumenical and international partners in the relief work in Haiti. Carlos Cardenas is on the ground in Port-au-Prince as part of the initial response team. The past few days’ priorities have focused on search and rescue, medical attention for those injured by the earthquake, along with food distribution for the survivors.

Leaders of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. noting its mission work in Haiti since the 1960s, appealed to its member churches for financial contributions "to support the millions of people devastated" by the earthquake.

David Dethmers, coordinator for Reformed Church World Service, was able to report that while most of the news coming out of Haiti is bad, there are encouraging signs -- including the relative calm of the Haitian people and the hard work of the Haitian government to provide needed supplies such as drinking water.

The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, Archdiocese of the Eastern United States, expressed empathy for "the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Today, we are collecting a special collection for the people of Haiti. We appeal to your generosity and ask you to donate as much as possible to this important cause. After receiving your donations into our Archdiocesan Relief Fund, we in turn will channel the collected donations to the people of Haiti, through trusted Christian Charity organizations, who are already working in the relief operations there."