The Rev. Lauren Stanley, a priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Virginia, has accepted a three-year placement as an Episcopal Church missionary to the Diocese of Haiti.
 
Ms. Stanley’s previous assignment as a missionary to the Diocese of Renk in the Episcopal Church of the Sudan came to an abrupt end in March when Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of Sudan learned about  comments she had made during debate of a resolution on same-sex blessings during the annual council meeting of the Diocese of Virginia in January.
 
Ms. Stanley’s initial assignment in Haiti will be to assist with communications work and several training programs.
 
In April Ms. Stanley met with the Rt. Rev. Zache Duracin, Bishop of Haiti, to discuss a partnership. “The more I thought about it, the more Haiti kept screaming at me,” she said. “It has tremendous need and it’s about building relationships.”
 
The Diocese of Haiti is one of 12 international dioceses of The Episcopal Church and the largest in terms of active baptized members, according to the 2009 edition of The Episcopal Church Annual. Haiti is considered the least developed nation in the Western Hemisphere with more than half its people living on less than $1 per day. One-third of its children are malnourished and 500,000 cannot attend school. The unemployment rate is estimated to be 60 percent.
 
Episcopal News Service contributed to this report.