Betsy Wall to speak at Niagara United Mennonite Church Sunday

Betsy Wall will be speaking at Niagara United Mennonite Church on Sept. 17 during the morning service at 10:45 a.m. After the service, everyone is invited to our gym for a potluck lunch followed by a question and answer period with Betsy. The service and the potluck are open to everyone.

For many of us, the visit of Betsy Wall is particularly special because of her family’s past connection to NUMC. The church was built in 1948, and Betsy’s parents, Jack and Anne Wall, were among the first couples to be married here. It was also the church in which Betsy was dedicated as a baby, and some of us older members have vague memories of these events.

In the late ’60s, Jack Wall became the founding president of International Child Care, and several NUMC businessmen joined him in this venture. Before this, Jack and Anne had run a home for troubled boys in Ailsa Craig, and the NUMC members actively supported the Walls and the school. Our church Youth Group even visited the school, and later one of our members taught there for several years. In 1980 Jack founded FIDA (Foundation for International Development) to “empower the poor to become masters of their own destiny.” When Jack and Anne then decided to move completely to Haiti in 1984 to run FIDA (Foundation for International Development), many of us who had followed their involvement with Haiti over the years were impressed by their devotion to a country which seemed to be constantly experiencing natural disasters, and never able to overcome its poverty.

Although our church connection to Jack and Anne Wall had become more distant over the last few decades, many of us still regarded their passion for Haiti with great respect. It was thus with excitement that we met and visited with their daughter Betsy who exuded all the enthusiasm and energy of her parents as she introduced us to the goals of the upcoming FIDA fundraiser. It was like a second chance to reconnect with Haiti through the Walls.

As a congregation, NUMC is fortunate to be able to hear firsthand about the needs of Haiti, and how FIDA is working to fill these needs. Betsy Wall will share her experiences and visions with us in the sanctuary of NUMC.

Please join us for a most enlightening morning! 

Kathy Rempel

NOTL