Co-hosted by Desert Foothills Community Education and PPC, an exhibition of photographs taken during the January 2012 medical mission trip to Haiti will be on display at the FACE Gallery, located in the lobby of the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, from August 13 through September 24. Open to the public as well as school groups, you can stop in any time to view the display Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., or evenings when there are programs in the Fine Arts Center. The Fine Arts Center is located at 33606 N. 60th Street, Scottsdale. If you are in town, please stop by!

For additional information on the "From Here to Haiti" exhibition, contact special projects coordinator Elaine Adrian, Desert Foothills Community Education, at 480.575.2071 or eadrian@ccusd93.org. For additional information on the Haiti Initiative or the exhibit, contact Jan Loichle at 480.575.9125 or jloichle@me.com.

Join in the Up From the Rubble: Harmony's Hope for Haiti campaign to rebuild the church, school and clinic for Harmony Ministries in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The fund-raising event (business casual attire) is at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 20 at the FCF Holland Community Center in North Scottsdale. There will be videos, pictures, a bassoon quartet, a Haitian choir and Pastor Luc Deratus from Harmony Ministries; wine and "nibbles" too.  The goal:  $150,000.  A PPC member has made a $40,000 matching gift challenge, so let's meet and exceed that.

Up From the Rubble:  Harmony's Hope for Haiti Fund-Raising Gala

FCF Holland Community Center

34250 N. 60th Street, Scottsdale  85266

Directions:  Take Scottsdale Road north to Carefree Highway; turn left (west). Go to 60th Street (there's a stoplight) and turn left (south). Turn right into the first street/driveway; the Community Center is the first building on the left.

Donations can also be sent to Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. Please make checks payable to:  Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, memo: Harmony's Hope.

Put on your sneakers and join us for the PPC "Hoofin' It for Haiti" walk-a-thon on Saturday, March 19 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the PPC campus. It's $5 to enter ($20 maximum per family) and there are crafts and activities for the children as well as a petting zoo from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.  Walk, stroll, pull a wagon full of grandkids, or whatever. Bring a picnic lunch and your camera and make a day of it. Join Pastor Luc at 4 p.m. and for the cookout dinner starting at 5 p.m. And yes, there's a bake sale too!

A generous PPC family will  match all funds raised in the walk-a-thon (up to $2500), so let's get walking and make a donation for Harmony Ministries.

Kent Annan

“It’s a heartbreaking day to look back at what happened a year ago in Haiti – and during the year since. A day for silence, reflection, prayer, and working to do what we can.” This is a reflection from Kent Annan’s Internet blog on Jan. 12, 2011 – the one–year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.

Kent Annan, author of After Shock (January 2011) and Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle (2009), is co–director of Haiti Partners, a nonprofit organization focused on building schools and training teachers in Haiti. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, he began working in Haiti in 2003 after previously working with refugee ministries in western Europe, Albania and Kosovo. He now travels to Haiti regularly from Florida, where he lives with his wife and two young children.

He also is the U.S. sponsor of the Gustave Cadet family, whose son Mike was diagnosed with acute leukemia in the days following the earthquake and evacuated to the United States. It was Mr. Annan’s plea for help through Princeton Theological Seminary that resulted in Pinnacle Presbyterian Church’s connection with Gustave, Mike and their family.

We bring Kent Annan to speak on Tuesday, March 15, about both facts and myths of conditions in Haiti, and of his experiences since the earthquake. His stories and observations are compelling. He says, “Haiti does desperately need help, but we can’t just do it for them. Of all that has been lost, broken, shattered in the last year, what cannot be taken away is the deep desire I see in Haiti of people who want to improve their country themselves.”

Additionally, we will have Gustave Cadet and a panel of people from local organizations who have traveled to and worked in Haiti in the past year. They and Kent Annan will answer questions and provide their observations. Included are:

Christa Brelsford - ASU student who was working with Heads Together Haiti, a community literacy program, and lost a leg during the earthquake.  Saved by co-workers including the co-director of Haiti Partners, Christa has returned to ASU and has founded the charitable organization "Christa's Angels".

Christine Ellis – a local businesswoman and Haitian expatriate who was instrumental in founding Haiti Disaster Relief of Arizona, a nonprofit organization that has been sending relief supplies to Haiti since the earthquake

Kathi Juntunen – former high–tech businesswoman and co–founder of Chances 4 Children, a nonprofit that provides financial and strategic support for orphanages and schools in Haiti. She traveled to Haiti 15 times in 2010 bringing supplies to children and assessing their needs and caregivers.

Gustave Cadet – the Haitian who with his son Mike was evacuated to Miami and then Phoenix after the earthquake to allow Mike to be treated for acute leukemia at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Hear Kent Annan discuss “One Year Later” from 7–8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, in the Chapel. This free program is co–sponsored by Pinnacle Promise Haiti Initiative and the Pinnacle Theological Center.

For questions or information, call the church office at 480.585.9448.

The Haiti Initiative Team is working with other members and staff to bring educational experiences and events focused on Haiti to PPC during March. Mark your calendar and look for additional details on these happenings:

• Tuesday, March 15, from 7-9 p.m. in the Chapel – Pinnacle Theological Center partners with the Haiti Team to bring you featured speaker Kent Annan, founder of Haiti Partners and author of Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle and After Shock. Hear about life in Haiti one year after the earthquake, and meet people from other organizations in the Valley that provide Haiti support.

• Saturday, March 19, 6 a.m. - 6 p.m.(Note change in time) – Join the “Hoofin’ it for Haiti” Walk-a-Thon! You don’t need to walk for all 12 hours; come any time during the event and walk, push a stroller, skip with grandchildren, etc. Purchase craft items made by our preschoolers; get baked goods.  Meet Pastor Luc. Location: PPC Campus

• March 18–20 - Visit with Pastor Luc Deratus during his visit to Pinnacle.

• Sunday, March 20, from 6–8 p.m. — Come to the “Up From the Rubble: Harmony’s Hope for Haiti” fund-raising event and help meet our commitment to raise money to rebuild the church in Port-au-Prince. Location: FCF Holland Community Center in north Scottsdale. Pastor Luc is the featured speaker.

• March 13–April 17 — Support our children’s Lenten project:  Heifer for Haiti. Heifer International has a project placing sheep with families in rural Haiti. Learn more about it and the sustaining value of Heifer projects.

Take a week to read materials on the website, in our brochures and in the bulletin; attend a learning event; find out what the needs are and how we at PPC help.