The Haitian tragedy has produced an unending stream of explanations for why the earthquake has been so devastating.

Marty Davis directs the Congregational Resource Guide. Reach him at mdavis@alban.org.

Shortly after the earthquake, Pat Robertson famously (and shamelessly) placed the blame on the nation's leaders of two hundred years ago and a pact they supposedly made with the devil. As ridiculous as that explanation is, David Ignatius notes in Thursday's Washington Post that other explanations, while more reasonable, are no more helpful. Some people have blamed Haiti's class system for making a bad situation worse. Others point to international loan policies that have worsened Haitian poverty, leading to the poor conditions that resulted in so many deaths. And still others blame the loss of life on the absence of an ordered civil society.

"Often," Ignatius writes, "the most honest answer is: It just happened." Our capacity to explain the massive loss of life and property, he concludes, means nothing. What matters is what we do in the face of it.

And religious congregations have done a lot: from the millions of dollars that denominational and other faith-based organizations (such as Catholic Relief Services, the Salvation Army, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief) have sent to Haiti, to the Baptists in Miami who are standing by to aid the thousands of refugees expected to flood South Florida.

In her 2006 book, Christianity for the Rest of Us, Diana Butler Bass listed healing as one of the ten signposts of congregational renewal. Indeed, it is the "expression of God's harmony—what the Hebrew scriptures refer to as shalom, 'God's dynamic wholeness'."

"To heal," Butler Bass continues, "to pray for healing, to work for healing, is to enact God's dream of shalom, to participate in God's longing to restore created harmony in the universe."

In our current culture, where talk of the "death of the mainline" and worries about youth's declining interest in traditional religious practices consume so much ink, it is worth remembering that when things are at their worst, congregations are often at their best. Few organizations mobilize and respond to tragedy with the vigor and sense of purpose that America's congregations do.

If Butler Bass is correct that healing is a sign of renewal, then the events of the past week may reflect a well-kept secret. America's congregations may struggle with outward signs of decay (declining numbers, aging facilities, and internal spats), but when it matters most, congregations are there.

"The response to inexplicable events," Ignatius concludes his article, "is not debate but action." Likewise are the markers of congregational vitality.

— Marty Davis
January 22, 2010

Related resources:

"Haiti Relief," January 20, 2010, interview with relief worker Todd Nichols.

"Disaster Relief," a guide to religious and secular responders as well as organizations that evaluate charities.

Raging with Compassion reflects on the gestures and practices of Christian life that help people live with healing and hope.

Public Offerings, a narrative of great community ministries.